The Fresha alternative where the client stays yours.
Fresha is a marketplace with a subscription attached: a monthly plan per team member, a one-off fee on the new clients it sends you, and other salons listed under your name. Our alternative is the opposite shape: an app under your salon's name, no commission, no marketplace, €50 a month flat for any number of staff.
- No commission on any booking
- No other salons inside your app
- Your client list, your data, cancel any month
Ana Beauty Club
Duo Gea StudioA subscription that grows with the team, and a fee on top for new clients.
- Paying a share of the first booking for a client who found you on the marketplace.
- Your salon listed next to five others, with their prices and their reviews.
- Texts, reminders and marketing billed per message on top of the plan.
- A client list that lives on the platform, not with you.
What changes when the app is yours
Fresha and your own app, side by side
Both take bookings around the clock. They differ in who owns the client and who pays for growth.
| Fresha (marketplace) | Your own app | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to start | A 7-day trial, then a monthly plan | €0 build fee |
| Ongoing cost | Subscription per team member, a one-off fee on new marketplace clients, paid texts and marketing | €50 a month, flat, any number of staff |
| Where clients book | The Fresha app and website | Your app, under your name |
| Other salons shown next to you | Yes, it is a marketplace | No |
| Client data | On the platform | Yours |
| New-client traffic | Yes, from the marketplace | No, you bring your own clients |
| Deposits and no-show protection | Yes, through Fresha payments | Yes, Stripe or a local processor |
| Messages to your clients | Marketing messages are a paid feature | Push included |
Fresha's pricing page in September 2026 lists an Independent plan, a Team plan per bookable team member, a one-off fee on new marketplace clients and card processing; our Fresha pricing guide has the numbers.
When Fresha is still the right choice
A salon that opened last month and needs strangers to find it should be on a marketplace, and Fresha is a good one. A solo professional on the Independent plan who rarely pays the new-client fee is spending less than she would with us, and should stay. If most of your bookings still come from people who did not know your name, stay, and come back to this page in a year.
When it is time to leave
The moment to move is when your regulars are the business. At that point the marketplace is no longer bringing you people; it is charging you for people who would have booked anyway, and showing them the salon next door while they do it. Owners tell us the same three things: the per-member subscription plus the new-client fee adds up as the team grows, the client list does not feel like theirs, and they want their own icon on the client's phone.
An app under your name fixes all three at once, and the price does not move with your success.
How switching works
You do not have to leave Fresha on day one. Many salons keep the marketplace listing for discovery and move regulars into their own app, where there is no commission. We set up your services, staff and hours on the first call, the demo is on your phone in a week, and the app is live in both stores in three to four weeks. A link in your Instagram bio and one message to your regulars does the rest; most salons see the majority of bookings arrive through the app within the first month or two.
Also leaving Booksy, Vagaro or GlossGenius?
Booksy runs on the same marketplace-and-commission shape as Fresha, so everything above applies. Vagaro and GlossGenius charge subscriptions instead, per calendar or per plan, and the case for an owned app there is the flat price and the brand rather than the commission. Our pricing guides for each are in the blog, and the Vagaro comparison has its own page.
What happens after you send the form
- Day 1We call you20 minutes: your services, staff, working hours, logo.
- Day 7Demo on your phoneYour branded app, your services, real booking flow.
- Week 3–4Live in both storesYour name in the App Store and Google Play. Clients start booking.
What salon owners say
Thank you @codersyapps for making my life easier and saving me from all that hassle. No more waiting — clients pick their own slots and move them themselves if they need to.
Clients are thrilled with the app. I already love it myself — it's going to make my work so much easier.
It means a lot to me and makes my work easier — I'm really happy. Many clients have already got used to it and I push everyone to book only through the app.
Owners ask
Not any more. Fresha charges a monthly subscription, either an Independent plan or a Team plan priced per bookable team member, plus a one-off fee on new clients booked through its marketplace, card processing and paid texts. Our Fresha pricing guide walks through the current numbers with a worked example.
Yes. Keep the marketplace listing for discovery if it brings you new people, and move your regulars into your own app where there is no commission. Over time most salons let the marketplace go once the app carries most bookings.
No. They can install your app like anyone else, and regulars usually do the next time they are in the chair. What you lose is the marketplace's stream of strangers, which is why we suggest keeping the listing until the app carries most bookings.
€50 a month, flat, with no development fee, no commission and no per-booking fee. It includes the client app and the admin app on iOS and Android, publishing under your name, servers, push notifications and updates. Cancel any month.
A demo with your real services in 7 days and the app live in the App Store and Google Play in 3–4 weeks. You keep taking bookings on Fresha in the meantime.
Get the app that is yours.
Leave your details and we call you within one working day.