Why do small salons look for a Fresha alternative?
Fresha does a lot, and plenty of salons are happy on it. Owners usually start looking for one of these reasons:
- The cost of a team. Fresha’s Team plan is priced per person, so the bill grows with every stylist or therapist who needs a diary.
- New-client fees. A new client Fresha introduces through its marketplace carries a one-off fee.
- Not using the marketplace. If most of your clients come from recommendations, regulars and Instagram, you may be paying for something you don’t need.
- Wanting something simpler. Some owners only need bookings, deposits, consent forms and client records.
If Fresha’s marketplace brings you profitable new clients, staying may be the right call. Count what it brings in as well as what it costs.
How much do Fresha alternatives cost?
Here are the published UK prices for the systems we have checked, next to Fresha’s. A subscription is only part of the cost, so look at the fees too.
| What you pay | Covered Beauty | Fresha | Booksy | Treatwell |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One person | Solo: £9/month | Independent: £14.95/month, excluding VAT | £40/month, plus VAT | Ask Treatwell for the current price |
| Five people | Salon: £19/month for up to five | Team: £9.95 per person. £49.75/month, excluding VAT | £60/month, plus VAT | Ask Treatwell for the current price |
| Fees on new clients | None | 20% once for a new client from its marketplace, minimum £4, excluding VAT | Standard marketplace bookings free. Optional Boost: 30% once, minimum £5, plus VAT | Its UK FAQ quotes 35% on a new marketplace client’s first booking, plus VAT |
| Repeat and direct bookings | No commission | No new-client fee | No commission on standard bookings | 0% commission |
| Card payments | Stripe processing fees | Processing fees are separate | Processing fees are separate | Online prepayment processing: 2.5% plus VAT |
Sources, checked 20 September 2026: Fresha UK pricing, Booksy UK pricing, Treatwell UK pricing. Covered Beauty prices are the monthly subscriptions in our pricing section. Check each provider’s current terms for your team before you decide.
| What you pay | Covered Beauty | Phorest | Timely | Square Appointments | Setmore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One person | Solo: £9/month | Price on request | From £4/week, rising with your weekly bookings | Free: £0 for one location. Plus: £29/month per location | Free plan for up to four users. Pro is priced per user in US dollars |
| Five people | Salon: £19/month for up to five | Price on request. Unlimited staff on every plan | The same plans. Unlimited team members | No staff limit. Priced per location | The free plan covers four users. Pro is charged per user |
| Fees on new clients | None | No booking commission listed on its pricing page | No new-client fees | None listed | No transaction fees or commission of its own |
| Contract | Monthly. Cancel any time | One year, renewing each year unless you give two months’ notice | No contract. 14 days’ notice | No long-term commitment | No contract. Renews monthly or yearly until you downgrade |
| Card payments | Stripe processing fees | PhorestPay. UK rates not published | Online 1.85% + 30p. In salon 1.59% + 5p | In person 1.75% on Free, 1.6% on paid plans. Online Store and payment links 1.4% + 25p | Through Square, Stripe or PayPal, at their own rates |
Sources, checked 10 October 2026: Phorest UK pricing, Phorest UK terms, Timely pricing, Timely terms of service, Square Appointments UK pricing, Square UK pricing, Setmore pricing, Setmore payments, Setmore FAQs. Phorest prices by quote, and Setmore shows its prices in US dollars only, so see their sites for what you’d pay. Where a provider’s page doesn’t say whether VAT is included, we haven’t guessed.
What are the best Fresha alternatives in the UK?
Here are seven, with who each one suits. The right one depends on your team, where your clients come from and the tools you use every day.
1. Covered Beauty
Good for: independent practitioners and teams of up to five who want one simple monthly price.
Clients book from your own branded page and pay a deposit through Stripe. Consent forms, client records and email reminders are included, with 50 free text messages a month. Solo is £9/month for one person. Salon is £19/month for up to five, and adds smart rebooking, stock tracking and your own web address.
There’s no booking commission on any booking, first visit or fiftieth. Stripe’s processing fees apply to card payments, and extra texts are paid for separately. It isn’t a big marketplace, so choose it to run your bookings, not to find new clients. Covered Beauty vs Fresha.
2. Booksy
Good for: salons and barbers who want a consumer booking app as well as a diary.
When we checked, Booksy’s UK price was £40/month plus VAT for one person, with extra users at £5 each. Standard bookings through its marketplace are free. Its optional Boost service charges 30% once on a Boost client’s first visit, minimum £5, plus VAT. Covered Beauty vs Booksy.
Source: Booksy UK pricing, checked 20 September 2026.
3. Treatwell
Good for: salons that want a marketplace to bring in new clients and are happy to pay for each one.
Treatwell combines a marketplace with salon software. Its UK FAQ quotes 35% commission on a new marketplace client’s first booking, plus VAT. Repeat bookings and bookings made directly with you are commission-free. Ask Treatwell for the monthly price of your plan. Covered Beauty vs Treatwell.
Source: Treatwell UK pricing, checked 20 September 2026.
4. Phorest
Good for: established salons with a team who want client marketing tools built in.
Phorest is salon software with tools for bringing clients back, such as loyalty, a reputation manager and marketing texts. It doesn’t publish plan prices: every plan on its UK pricing page asks you to request a quote, and the page pitches its plans at salons and clinics with three or more staff. Its UK terms set a one-year contract that renews each year unless you give two months’ notice. There’s no free trial, but it offers a demo. Covered Beauty vs Phorest.
Source: Phorest UK pricing and Phorest UK terms, checked 10 October 2026.
5. Timely
Good for: salons, spas and clinics with a team that want a full business system.
Timely bills weekly rather than monthly. Its plans start at £4, £7 and £9 a week, and the bill goes up or down with the number of bookings you take, so a busy salon pays more than the starting price. Every plan includes unlimited team members, and there are no new-client fees. Cancellation fees and consultation forms sent before an appointment start on its Boost plan. It has a 14-day free trial with no card needed. Covered Beauty vs Timely.
Source: Timely pricing, checked 10 October 2026.
6. Square Appointments
Good for: businesses already using Square’s card readers or till.
Square Appointments is part of Square’s payments system. Its Free plan is £0 a month for a single location, with no staff limit. Plus is £29/month per location and adds no-show fees, a waitlist and more than one location. Premium is £69/month per location. Square charges a processing fee on every card payment, 1.75% in person on the Free plan, so count that in with the subscription. Covered Beauty vs Square Appointments.
Source: Square Appointments UK pricing, checked 10 October 2026.
7. Setmore
Good for: a simple diary if you don’t need tools made for salons.
Setmore is general appointment scheduling software used by many kinds of business. Its free plan covers up to four users, and its paid plan is priced per user in US dollars on its site, so check its pricing page for what you’d pay in the UK. It can take deposits through Square, Stripe or PayPal and keeps client notes. Check it covers consent forms and anything else you need day to day.
Source: Setmore pricing, Setmore payments and Setmore for salons, checked 10 October 2026.
What other salon software might I come across?
Four more names come up when salons shop around. Each has its own side-by-side comparison.
Salonized
All-in-one salon software that its UK launch page says is part of the Treatwell Group. UK visitors to its pricing page see one plan, Pro, at £59/month, with texts bought separately as credits. It has a 14-day free trial with no card needed. Covered Beauty vs Salonized.
Source: Salonized pricing and Salonized UK launch page, checked 10 October 2026.
Vagaro
Booking, payments and marketing with a consumer marketplace. In the UK it starts at £20/month for one bookable calendar, with £10/month for each extra calendar. Since 14 July 2026 it charges UK businesses a one-off 20% fee on a brand-new client’s first booking through its marketplace or partners, such as Instagram and Google. Bookings through your own booking widget don’t carry it. Covered Beauty vs Vagaro.
Source: Vagaro UK pricing, Vagaro plans and pricing and Vagaro UK new customer fees, checked 10 October 2026.
SimplyBook.me
A general booking system with plans set by your monthly bookings. Its free plan covers 50 bookings a month for one person, and Basic is £12.90/month for up to five people and 100 bookings a month. Texts are bought as credits, priced in US dollars. Covered Beauty vs SimplyBook.me.
Source: SimplyBook.me pricing, checked 10 October 2026.
Mindbody
Software for fitness studios, spas and beauty businesses, with classes and its own consumer app. Its UK pricing starts at £89/month per location, with plan prices by quote. When its app brings you a new client, it charges 20% of their first purchase, capped at $30 or 30 in local currency. Covered Beauty vs Mindbody.
Source: Mindbody UK pricing, checked 10 October 2026.
What’s the best booking software for a small UK salon?
It depends on where your clients come from and what you do every day. Start here:
- Clients find you through Instagram, word of mouth or as regulars? Look at direct booking systems first. There’s no point paying for a marketplace you don’t use.
- Need a steady flow of new clients? Fresha, Treatwell, Booksy, Vagaro and Mindbody all have marketplaces or apps for finding new clients. Work out what a new client is worth to you, then compare it with the fee.
- Working on your own? Compare the one-person price, and check deposits and consent forms are included.
- A team of two to five? Price the plan for everyone who needs a diary. Per-person pricing adds up.
Whichever you pick, try it with your real treatments before you switch. Our guide to choosing salon booking software has a checklist to take into any free trial, and the best salon booking software in the UK sets out which systems suit nail techs, lash artists, clinics and tanning salons.
How do I move my clients from Fresha to Covered Beauty?
- Export your client list from Fresha.
- In Covered Beauty, open Data export and import and upload the file as it is. We pick out each client’s name, email and phone, even when first and last names are in separate columns.
- Add future appointments with our appointments template. The client import matches people by email, so running it again is safe.
- Keep Fresha until you’ve checked that your clients and every future booking have come across. Then change the booking link on your Instagram, Facebook and website.
Want a hand? Email hello@covered.technology and tell us what you use now.
Questions about leaving Fresha
Is there a free alternative to Fresha?
Square Appointments has a free plan for a single location, and Setmore and SimplyBook.me have free plans with limits on users or bookings. Check what they include and what you’ll pay in card fees. Covered Beauty has 7 days free, then costs £9/month for one person or £19/month for up to five. No card is needed to start.
Does Fresha charge 20% on every booking?
No. Its UK pricing page describes a one-time fee for a new client introduced through the Fresha marketplace. Direct bookings and returning clients do not attract that new-client fee. Covered Beauty charges no booking commission.
Which Fresha alternatives don’t charge for new clients?
Going by their own pricing pages, Phorest, Timely, Square Appointments, SimplyBook.me and Setmore list no booking commission or new-client fee, and nor does Covered Beauty. 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.
Does Covered Beauty charge for new clients?
No. Covered Beauty charges no booking commission or new-client fee. Stripe’s processing fees still apply to card payments.
Can I bring my clients from Booksy or Treatwell too?
Yes. Upload the client list you export from Booksy or Treatwell in the same way. For other systems, paste your clients into our template and upload that.