Fresha Alternatives: Bookafy vs Fresha (2026)

For years the pitch was simple: Fresha is the salon software that is free. That is no longer true, and a lot of salon owners have not done the maths on what it costs now. This page does it, using Fresha’s own published US pricing as of July 2026.

Fair warning up front: for a good number of beauty businesses, Fresha is still the right answer and you should stay. We say exactly who, further down. But if you already have your own customers and you just need a booking tool, you are almost certainly overpaying.

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What Fresha actually costs in 2026

There are three bills, not one.

1. The subscription

Independent — $19.95/month. One calendar column. 100 free messages, 50 free marketing emails.
Team — $14.95 per bookable team member, per month. Multiple calendar columns, 100 free messages and 50 free marketing emails per team member.
Enterprise — custom, for 20+ team members.
Premium (phone) support on Independent is a further $14.95/month.

2. The marketplace commission

Any brand-new client who discovers you through the Fresha marketplace costs a 20% one-time commission, with a $6 minimum per client. Returning clients are free, and clients who come from your own website, Google or Instagram are free.

3. Card processing — on Fresha’s rails

Online payments: 2.79% + $0.20
In person: 2.29% + $0.20 (plus $0.10 per tap-to-pay authorisation)
Manual card entry: 3.30% + $0.20
Terminal hardware: $139 per device

And then the add-ons, all monthly: AI Concierge $99.95 per location, Client Loyalty $59.95 per location, Google Rating Boost $14.95 per location, Insights $9.95 per bookable team member, Team Connect $2.95 per member, Data Connector $295 per location. Texts run out at 100 per member per month, then $0.02 each; marketing texts are $0.08 each.

Bookafy, for comparison: Free $0 (1 user, unlimited appointments) · Pro $7 per user/month · Pro+ $11 per user/month. SMS reminders included. Payments run through your own Stripe account, at your own Stripe rate. We take 0% of your bookings — ever.

A four-person salon, side by side

	Fresha Team	Bookafy Pro
Subscription (4 staff)	$14.95 × 4 = $59.80/mo	$7 × 4 = $28/mo
Reporting (Insights add-on)	$9.95 × 4 = $39.80/mo	Included
New client from the marketplace	20% one-time, $6 minimum	0% — no marketplace
Online card payment	2.79% + $0.20 (Fresha Payments)	Your own Stripe, your own rate
Text reminders	100 per member/mo, then $0.02 each	Included

Before a single card is swiped, that is roughly $100/month versus $28. The gap widens every time the marketplace sends you someone.

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The three real arguments for leaving

1. You are paying per chair, at double the rate

$14.95 per bookable team member is Fresha’s headline number, and it scales with every stylist you hire. Bookafy is $7 per user on Pro. Same model, less than half the price.

2. The marketplace is an ad channel you may not need

The 20% commission is not a rip-off — it is a customer-acquisition fee, and if Fresha is genuinely sending you new clients it can be money well spent. But if your bookings come from your own website, your Google Business Profile, Instagram, and word of mouth, you are on a platform built around a lead engine you are not using. Bookafy sends you no customers, charges you no commission, and costs less because of it.

3. Payments are locked to Fresha

Deposits and no-show fees run through Fresha Payments at 2.79% + $0.20 online. With Bookafy you connect your own Stripe account: you keep your processing relationship, your negotiated rate, and your payout schedule.

Where Fresha beats us — plainly

It is a full salon operating system and we are not. Point of sale, retail and inventory, gift cards, memberships, packages, staff commissions, wages, pay runs, timesheets — Fresha has all of it. Bookafy has none of it. If you need a till and stock control, stay where you are.
The marketplace is real. Fresha puts you in front of millions of consumers actively searching for a haircut, a facial, a massage near them. Bookafy will never send you a single customer. If discovery is how you grow, that 20% is cheap advertising.
Beauty-specific scheduling logic. Processing and finishing times, patch tests, resources, waitlists — built for the trade, and we do not match it feature for feature.

So who should switch?

Salons and clinics that already own their demand. Own website, strong Google profile, loyal book. You need a calendar, reminders and deposits — not a marketplace.
Multi-staff teams that do not need a till. If you take card payments through a POS you already like, the whole retail half of Fresha is dead weight you are paying per-chair for.
Anyone outside beauty who ended up on Fresha because it was “the free one.” Clinics, therapists, consultants, coaches, tutors, trainers, home services, legal, finance. Fresha is built for salons; a general booking tool will fit you better and cost less.

What you get on Bookafy: SMS reminders in the plan price, deposits and no-show fees through your own Stripe, round-robin and skill-based routing so the right stylist or practitioner gets the booking, two-way Google and Outlook sync, 32 languages, and a HIPAA tier with a BAA on Pro+ if you are in healthcare.

Start free — unlimited appointments, 1 user

Frequently asked questions

Is Fresha still free?

No. As of July 2026, Fresha lists an Independent plan at $19.95/month and a Team plan at $14.95 per bookable team member per month, with a 7-day trial. The free-forever era is over.

What is Fresha’s marketplace commission?

A 20% one-time commission, with a $6 minimum, on each brand-new client who discovers your business through the Fresha marketplace. Returning clients are free, and clients who book through your own website, Google or social channels are free.

What does Fresha charge for card payments?

Per Fresha’s published US rates in July 2026: 2.79% + $0.20 for online payments, 2.29% + $0.20 in person (plus $0.10 per tap-to-pay authorisation), and 3.30% + $0.20 for manual card entry. Terminals are $139 per device.

Does Bookafy have a point of sale or a consumer marketplace?

No to both, and we would rather say so. Bookafy does not do retail, inventory, gift cards or memberships, and it will not send you customers. If you need those, Fresha is the better product.

How much would a 4-person salon save?

Fresha Team for four staff is $59.80/month, and reporting via the Insights add-on adds $39.80 — roughly $100/month before card fees or marketplace commission. Bookafy Pro for four is $28/month with SMS reminders included and payments through your own Stripe.

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More honest comparisons

We wrote one of these for every major booking tool, with real pricing and the parts where we lose.

Keep reading

If you have not settled on a category yet, start with the overview of appointment scheduling software — what it does, what it costs, and when you should buy something else entirely.

Written for your situation

Other honest comparisons

Also useful: every Bookafy integration — what is native, what needs Zapier, and what we do not do — and the pricing page, where the feature matrix is the real answer to “is that included”.