Fresha, Booksy & Treatwell fees explained (and how to keep your clients)
If you run a salon or work for yourself, you've almost certainly been pitched one of the big booking platforms. They're slick, they're everywhere, and they promise to bring you new clients. But the way they charge can quietly eat a big chunk of your takings — and the real cost is often hidden in the word "free".
Here's a plain-English breakdown of what the popular platforms charge in the UK, so you can work out what they'd actually cost your business.
Fresha: free software, paid new clients
Fresha's booking software is free to use, and that's genuinely useful. The catch is the marketplace: when a brand-new client finds you through Fresha and books, Fresha takes a commission on that first appointment (around 20%). There are also card-processing fees on payments, and add-ons per team member. For a busy salon bringing in new faces every week, that new-client commission adds up fast.
The question to ask any platform: once a client has found me, do I keep paying every time they come back?
Booksy: a monthly subscription plus boosts
Booksy is a monthly subscription (roughly £40 + VAT for a single user, more as you add staff). On top of that, its "Boost" feature — which surfaces you to new clients — charges a commission on those bookings (around 30%). So you can be paying a monthly fee and a per-new-client cut at the same time.
Treatwell: high commission on discovery
Treatwell leans heavily on its marketplace. Commission on a new client's first booking is high — often around 35% plus VAT, so effectively over 40%. The trade-off is reach: Treatwell has a big audience. But you're paying a premium for each new client it sends, and the client relationship largely sits with the platform.
The real cost: do the maths on your own numbers
Percentages feel abstract, so put your own numbers in. Say you take on 10 new clients a month, and an average first appointment is £40:
- At ~20% commission, that's £80/month gone — nearly £1,000 a year — just on first appointments.
- At ~40%, it's £160/month — close to £2,000 a year.
- And that's before card fees, monthly subscriptions, or per-staff add-ons.
Now factor in repeat business. A good client comes back monthly. If a platform keeps charging you (through boosts or by owning the relationship), you're paying, again and again, to be sent someone who's already yours.
The bit that matters most: who owns the client?
Fees come and go, but the deeper issue is ownership. On some platforms, the client's contact details, their booking history and the relationship live with the platform, not with you. If you ever leave, you can't easily take them with you. That's the real lock-in — and it's why "free" software can be the most expensive option in the long run.
When you're comparing options, look past the headline price and ask three things: What do they charge for a new client? Do they keep charging for repeat clients? And if I leave tomorrow, do my clients come with me?
That's exactly the gap Veluma is built to close: a booking page, a website and a marketplace listing with no booking fees, ever — and every client stays yours, with their details exportable any time. If you're weighing up your options, that's the standard worth holding everyone to.