What is the best salon booking software in the UK?
There isn’t one best booking system for every UK salon. It depends on how many of you there are and where your clients come from. If you work alone or in a team of up to five and most clients book with you directly, look for a flat monthly price, no commission, card deposits and consent forms: Covered Beauty, which we make, has all four for £9 a month for one person or £19 for up to five. If you need a marketplace to bring in new clients, Fresha, Treatwell and Booksy are built for that, and bigger teams with several sites are better served by Phorest, Timely or Mindbody.
Who wrote this
Dean Hodgson, founder of Covered Beauty. We’ve included our own product because it’s the one we know best, and we’ve said plainly where another system is the better choice. There are no affiliate links on this page. Every competitor figure links to the provider’s own page, with the day we checked it.
How did we judge them?
We looked at what matters to a small UK salon from one week to the next, using what each provider publishes. This isn’t a hands-on test of every system, and we haven’t given scores.
- What it costs for your team. The monthly price for everyone who needs a diary, with VAT where the provider says it applies.
- Fees on your bookings. Whether a booking or a new client carries commission, and which ones.
- Deposits and no-shows. Whether clients can pay a deposit when they book, and whether you can charge a no-show fee.
- Consent and medical forms. Whether clients can fill them in before they arrive, and whether they’re kept with the client record.
- Who it’s made for. Tools for salons, such as treatment lengths, patch tests and packages, or a general diary for any business.
- Trying it and leaving. The free trial, any contract and getting your client list out.
How do the main options compare?
Twelve systems side by side, checked 10 October 2026 and 12 October 2026. On a phone, swipe the table sideways and the names stay put.
| Option | One person, a month | Commission | Deposits | Consent forms | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Covered BeautyOurs. See both plans | Solo: £9/month. Salon: £19/month for up to five people | None, on any booking | Card deposits through Stripe on both plans, paid into your own Stripe account | Included on both plans, with 22 ready-made templates | Independent practitioners and teams of up to five whose clients mostly book with them directly |
| FreshaSource: Fresha UK pricing, checked 12 October 2026 | Independent: £14.95/month, excluding VAT. Team: £9.95 per team member a month, excluding VAT | 20% once on a brand-new client from its marketplace, minimum £4, excluding VAT. None on returning clients or your own booking links | Upfront payments and no-show fees through its optional payments. Online card payments 1.40% + 25p | Consultation forms and patch tests are listed among its features | Salons of any size that want a consumer marketplace to help new clients find them |
| TreatwellSource: Treatwell UK pricing, checked 12 October 2026 | Not published. Ask Treatwell for the price of your plan | 35% on a new marketplace client’s first booking, plus VAT. 0% on repeat bookings and bookings made directly with you | Online prepayment, with a 2.5% processing fee plus VAT | We couldn’t confirm this from its pricing page. Ask Treatwell | Salons that want a marketplace to bring in new clients and are happy to pay for each one |
| BooksySource: Booksy UK pricing, checked 12 October 2026 | £40/month plus VAT. Extra users £5/month each | None on standard bookings. Optional Boost: 30% once on a Boost client’s first visit, minimum £5, plus VAT | No-show protection is included. Its card processing fees apply | Custom forms and liability waivers are included | Salons and barbers who want a consumer booking app as well as a diary |
| PhorestSource: Phorest UK pricing, checked 12 October 2026 | Price on request. Its plans are pitched at salons and clinics with 3+ staff | None listed on its pricing page | Online bookings with deposits on every plan | Consultation forms sent before a visit, from its Grow plan | Established salons and clinics with three or more staff who want marketing and retention tools |
| TimelySource: Timely pricing, checked 10 October 2026 | From £4/week. The bill changes with the bookings you take each week | No new-client fees | Online deposits on every plan. Cancellation fees from its Boost plan | Consultation forms sent before an appointment, from its Boost plan | Salons, spas and clinics with a team that want unlimited staff and a full business system |
| SalonizedSource: Salonized pricing and Salonized deposits help, checked 10 October 2026 | Pro: £59/month | None listed on your own online bookings. Its optional Treatwell add-on lists 35% on new Treatwell bookings | Deposits or full prepayment at online booking | We couldn’t confirm this from its pricing page. Ask Salonized | Established salons with a team that want diary, till, stock and marketing in one system |
| VagaroSource: Vagaro UK pricing, Vagaro plans and pricing and Vagaro UK new customer fees, checked 10 October 2026 | From £20/month for one bookable calendar. £10/month for each extra calendar, up to seven | 20% once on a brand-new client’s first booking through its marketplace or partners, such as Instagram and Google | Online deposits and cancellation fees through its Online Shopping Cart | Forms add-on: £10/month | Bigger teams that want card terminals, memberships, packages and a consumer marketplace |
| Square AppointmentsSource: Square Appointments UK pricing and Square UK waitlist page, checked 12 October 2026 | Free: £0 for one location. Plus: £29/month per location | None listed | Prepayments on every plan. No-show and cancellation fees need Plus | Contracts sent to clients when they book, on every plan. Custom contract fields on Premium | Businesses already taking card payments with Square’s readers or till |
| SimplyBook.meSource: SimplyBook.me pricing, checked 12 October 2026 | Free: £0 for 50 bookings a month. Basic: £12.90/month for 100 bookings a month | No transaction fees of its own | Deposits from its Basic plan | Intake forms are a premium custom feature, which counts towards your plan’s feature limit | A quiet diary, or a general booking system with lots of optional extras |
| MindbodySource: Mindbody UK pricing, checked 12 October 2026 | From £89/month per location. Plans priced through a call | 20% of a new client’s first purchase when its app brings them to you, capped at $30 or 30 in local currency | Card-on-file payments and cancellation policies through Mindbody Payments | We couldn’t confirm this from its pricing page. Ask Mindbody | Spa, wellness and fitness businesses with several staff or locations, classes and memberships |
| SetmoreSource: Setmore pricing, Setmore payments and Setmore FAQs, checked 10 October 2026 | Free plan for up to four users. Pro is priced per user in US dollars | No transaction fees or commission of its own | Through Square, Stripe or PayPal, at their own rates | We couldn’t confirm this from its pricing page. Ask Setmore | A simple diary if you don’t need tools made for salons |
Each provider’s figures come from the pages linked in its row, read on the day shown. Where a page doesn’t say whether VAT is included, we haven’t guessed. Card processing fees and optional extras are separate on all of them. Covered Beauty’s prices are the monthly subscriptions in our pricing section.
Which booking software is best for your kind of business?
Start with how you work and where your clients come from. Then try the one or two that fit with your real treatments before you move.
Working on your own
Most of your week is the same few jobs: taking bookings, collecting deposits, reminding people and keeping notes. Covered Beauty’s Solo plan does those for £9 a month with no commission, so a client you found yourself never costs you a cut. Fresha’s Independent plan is £14.95 a month excluding VAT and comes with its marketplace. If your diary is quiet, Square Appointments has a free plan for one location and SimplyBook.me’s free plan covers 50 bookings a month, though you pay card fees and work within their limits.
Sources: Fresha UK pricing, Square Appointments UK pricing, Square UK waitlist page and SimplyBook.me pricing, checked 12 October 2026.
Our guides for nail technicians and lash and brow artists go into the detail.
A small team of two to five
Price the plan for everyone who needs a diary, not the starting price. For five people, Covered Beauty Salon is £19 a month in total. Fresha Team is £9.95 a month per team member, which is £49.75 for five, both excluding VAT. Booksy is £40 a month plus £5 for each extra user, which is £60 plus VAT for five. Timely and Phorest include unlimited staff on every plan, Timely from £4 a week and Phorest by quote.
Sources: Fresha UK pricing, Booksy UK pricing and Phorest UK pricing, checked 12 October 2026, and Timely pricing, checked 10 October 2026.
You need new clients, not just bookings
A marketplace can introduce people who’ve never heard of you, and it charges for that. Fresha takes 20% once on a brand-new marketplace client, minimum £4, excluding VAT. Treatwell takes 35% on a new marketplace client’s first booking, plus VAT. Booksy charges 30% once, minimum £5, plus VAT, only through its optional Boost. Work out what a new client is worth to you, then compare it with the fee.
Covered Beauty lists salons on its Find a salon page at no fee, but it isn’t a big marketplace. Choose it to run your bookings, not to find clients.
Sources: Fresha UK pricing, Treatwell UK pricing and Booksy UK pricing, checked 12 October 2026.
An aesthetics clinic
Medical history and consent matter most here. Covered Beauty sends the form with the booking confirmation, reminds the client if it isn’t done and keeps the signed copy with their record. You can record the product, batch number and expiry used at each visit too. If you need before-and-after photos in the record, Phorest’s pricing page lists them in its client records, and Pabau’s lists photos and e-prescribing. Read booking software for aesthetics clinics.
Sources: Phorest UK pricing and Pabau pricing, checked 12 October 2026.
A tanning or sunbed shop
Covered Beauty’s Salon plan sells sunbed minutes packages, books beds with a cool-off gap after each session and won’t book anyone onto a UV bed without a date of birth showing they’re 18 or over. If you need the software to switch beds on through a T-Max or Sigma timer, or to run a till, Salon Tracker and Envy Tech are built for that. Read booking software for tanning salons.
Sources: Salon Tracker tanning software and Envy Tech tanning salon EPOS, checked 12 October 2026.
A bigger team or several locations
Covered Beauty’s Salon plan covers up to five people. Beyond that, Phorest, Timely and Mindbody include unlimited staff, and Mindbody prices by location. Vagaro charges £10 a month for each bookable calendar after the first, for up to seven of them, and its support pages say extra staff cost nothing after that. If you’d still like to talk to us about a bigger team, email hello@covered.technology.
Sources: Phorest UK pricing and Mindbody UK pricing, checked 12 October 2026, and Timely pricing, Vagaro UK pricing, Vagaro plans and pricing and Vagaro UK new customer fees, checked 10 October 2026.
What is each one best for?
In the same order as the table. The order isn’t a ranking.
Covered Beauty
Best for: Independent practitioners and teams of up to five whose clients mostly book with them directly.
Look elsewhere if: You want a big marketplace to bring you new clients, you have more than five people, or you need before-and-after photos or prescribing in the client record.
Fresha
Best for: Salons of any size that want a consumer marketplace to help new clients find them.
Look elsewhere if: Most of your clients already book with you and you’re paying for every team member.
Source: Fresha UK pricing, checked 12 October 2026.
Treatwell
Best for: Salons that want a marketplace to bring in new clients and are happy to pay for each one.
Look elsewhere if: You don’t need help finding clients, or you want to see a monthly price before you sign up.
Source: Treatwell UK pricing, checked 12 October 2026.
Booksy
Best for: Salons and barbers who want a consumer booking app as well as a diary.
Look elsewhere if: You work alone and want the smallest monthly bill.
Source: Booksy UK pricing, checked 12 October 2026.
Phorest
Best for: Established salons and clinics with three or more staff who want marketing and retention tools.
Look elsewhere if: You work alone, or you’d rather not price your software through a demo.
Source: Phorest UK pricing, checked 12 October 2026.
Timely
Best for: Salons, spas and clinics with a team that want unlimited staff and a full business system.
Look elsewhere if: You’d rather your bill stayed the same in a busy month.
Source: Timely pricing, checked 10 October 2026.
Salonized
Best for: Established salons with a team that want diary, till, stock and marketing in one system.
Look elsewhere if: You work alone and only need bookings, deposits and forms.
Sources: Salonized pricing and Salonized deposits help, checked 10 October 2026.
Vagaro
Best for: Bigger teams that want card terminals, memberships, packages and a consumer marketplace.
Look elsewhere if: New clients find you on Instagram or Google and you don’t want a fee on their first visit.
Sources: Vagaro UK pricing, Vagaro plans and pricing and Vagaro UK new customer fees, checked 10 October 2026.
Square Appointments
Best for: Businesses already taking card payments with Square’s readers or till.
Look elsewhere if: You want no-show fees without paying for Plus.
Covered Beauty vs Square Appointments
Sources: Square Appointments UK pricing and Square UK waitlist page, checked 12 October 2026.
SimplyBook.me
Best for: A quiet diary, or a general booking system with lots of optional extras.
Look elsewhere if: You take more bookings than your plan’s monthly limit.
Covered Beauty vs SimplyBook.me
Source: SimplyBook.me pricing, checked 12 October 2026.
Mindbody
Best for: Spa, wellness and fitness businesses with several staff or locations, classes and memberships.
Look elsewhere if: You run a small salon and want to see the price before a sales call.
Source: Mindbody UK pricing, checked 12 October 2026.
Setmore
Best for: A simple diary if you don’t need tools made for salons.
Look elsewhere if: You want UK prices in pounds, or you need consent forms and can’t confirm Setmore covers them.
Sources: Setmore pricing, Setmore payments and Setmore FAQs, checked 10 October 2026.
When isn’t Covered Beauty the right choice?
- You want a marketplace to send you a steady flow of new clients. Our Find a salon page is small.
- Your team is bigger than five, or you have several branches each with its own staff.
- You need before-and-after photos or prescribing in the client record.
- You run a tanning shop and want the software to switch beds on or run your till.
- You travel to clients’ homes. It doesn’t ask clients for the address you’re visiting or plan travel between visits, though you can keep a gap after each appointment.
- You’re outside the UK. Covered Beauty is for UK businesses, with prices in pounds.
If none of those apply, it’s worth a free week. You don’t need a card to start, and nothing is charged unless you add one and carry on.
Questions about choosing salon booking software
What is the best salon booking software in the UK?
There isn’t one best booking system for every UK salon. It depends on how many of you there are and where your clients come from. If you work alone or in a team of up to five and most clients book with you directly, look for a flat monthly price, no commission, card deposits and consent forms: Covered Beauty, which we make, has all four for £9 a month for one person or £19 for up to five. If you need a marketplace to bring in new clients, Fresha, Treatwell and Booksy are built for that, and bigger teams with several sites are better served by Phorest, Timely or Mindbody.
What is the cheapest salon booking software in the UK?
Of the options in this guide, three have free plans. Square Appointments’ Free plan is £0 a month for one location and SimplyBook.me’s free plan covers 50 bookings a month for one person (both checked 12 October 2026). Setmore’s free plan covers up to four users (checked 10 October 2026), though its paid plans are priced in US dollars. You pay card fees on any payments you take, and all three free plans have limits. Covered Beauty is £9 a month for one person, with unlimited bookings, deposits and consent forms.
Which salon booking software doesn’t charge commission?
Going by their own pricing pages, Covered Beauty, Phorest, Timely, Square Appointments, SimplyBook.me and Setmore list no booking commission or new-client fee. Fresha, Treatwell, Vagaro and Mindbody charge a one-off fee on some new clients who find you through their marketplace, app or partners. Booksy does only through its optional Boost, and Salonized only through its optional Treatwell add-on. Card payments carry processing fees on all of them.
Is Fresha free in the UK?
No. When we checked on 12 October 2026, Fresha’s UK pricing page listed its Independent plan at £14.95 a month for one person and its Team plan at £9.95 a month per team member, both excluding VAT. It also charges a one-time 20% fee, minimum £4, excluding VAT, on a brand-new client who finds you through its marketplace.
Which salon booking systems have a free trial?
Covered Beauty has 7 days free, with no card needed. When we checked (10 October 2026 and 12 October 2026), Fresha showed a 7-day trial on both its plans, Booksy a 7-day trial with no card, Timely, Salonized and SimplyBook.me 14 days with no card, and Vagaro 30 days. Square Appointments’ Free plan has no time limit, and its Plus and Premium plans have a 30-day trial. Phorest and Mindbody offer a demo instead.
Do I need a marketplace like Fresha or Treatwell?
Only if you need help finding new clients. If most of your clients are regulars, recommendations or come from Instagram, a direct booking system does the job without a fee on each new client. If a marketplace brings you new clients who come back, its fee can be worth paying, so work out what a new client is worth to you first.
Is this guide biased towards Covered Beauty?
We make Covered Beauty, so read this knowing that. We’ve said where other systems suit a business better, and every competitor figure links to the provider’s own page with the day we checked it, so you can check it yourself.
Which guide fits your business?
Best booking software for nail technicians in the UK
Infills, full sets and removals, deposits that stop no-shows, and regulars booked in every few weeks.
Read the guide ↗Best booking software for lash and brow artists in the UK
Patch tests, a consent form for each treatment, deposits on full sets and clients back for their infills.
Read the guide ↗Best booking software for aesthetics clinics in the UK
Medical history and consent signed before the appointment, kept with the record, and deposits on longer treatments.
Read the guide ↗Best booking software for tanning salons in the UK
Sunbed minutes packages, bed bookings with cool-off time and an 18+ check on every sunbed booking.
Read the guide ↗Fresha alternatives for small UK salons
Seven booking systems small salons look at instead of Fresha, four more you may come across, and how each one charges.
Read the guide ↗How to choose salon booking software
A practical checklist for your diary, client records and monthly costs, to take into any free trial.
Read the guide ↗See every side-by-side comparison on one page.