Fresha vs Booksy: which one fits your business in 2026?

Fresha and Booksy top most salon and barbershop software shortlists, and from a distance they look like the same product in different colors: a polished booking app, a big consumer marketplace attached, a monthly subscription, and a cut of the first visit when that marketplace brings you someone new. We make neither of them, which makes this easier to write. Up close, they price those pieces very differently - and the differences compound once you add staff.

This comparison sticks to the numbers and the trade-offs, as of July 2026. Both are genuinely good products with real strengths, so the question is not which one is better in the abstract - it is which one fits how your business actually gets clients.

Pricing compared

Start with the subscriptions, because Fresha's changed. Fresha is no longer free: it moved to paid plans, and the old advice that Fresha only charges when the marketplace sends you a client is out of date. As of July 2026, Independent is $19.95 a month for one bookable team member, Team is $14.95 a month per bookable member, and Enterprise (20 or more members) is custom. Booksy charges $29.99 a month plus tax for the first team member, then $20 a month for each additional one, with a 14-day trial and no card required.

For a solo pro, Fresha is about $10 a month cheaper. For teams the gap widens: a three-person shop pays roughly $44.85 a month on Fresha's Team plan against $69.99 on Booksy. Fresha's per-member price is lower, and there is no separate base fee quietly doing extra work on the bill.

Now the marketplace fees, head-on. Both platforms run consumer marketplaces, and both charge you when the marketplace delivers a new face. Fresha takes a one-time 20% of that client's first visit, with a $6 minimum; returning visits are free, and clients who book through your own link cost nothing. Booksy's version is Boost, its marketplace demand engine: a one-time 30% of a new Boost client's first visit.

Two things to watch. Fresha's $6 minimum stings on cheap services - 20% of a $20 trim would be $4, but you pay $6. And the common complaint about Booksy Boost is attribution: owners report paying the 30% for clients who already knew them but happened to book through the marketplace. On paper, though, Fresha's cut is clearly the smaller one.

On card processing the two trade blows. In person, Fresha's headline rate is lower: 2.29% + $0.20, plus $0.10 per tap authorization, against Booksy's 2.49% + $0.10 with the card reader or 2.49% + $0.20 for tap. Online, Booksy's 2.69% + $0.30 for mobile and keyed entry sits close to Fresha's 2.79% + $0.20, though Fresha charges 3.30% + $0.20 for keyed cards. Booksy's fast payouts cost an extra 1.5%.

Fresha's add-ons deserve a line of their own: AI Concierge is $99.95 per location per month, Client Loyalty is $59.95 per location per month, and texts beyond the included 100 per member cost extra. On neither platform is the sticker price the whole bill.

Where Fresha wins

Price, mostly. The solo plan is cheaper, the per-member price is cheaper, the marketplace fee is smaller, and the in-person processing rate is lower. A three-person shop saves around $25 a month before anyone swipes a card.

Beyond the numbers, Fresha is a genuinely polished product with strong inventory and point-of-sale tools, which matters if you sell retail alongside services. Its marketplace is huge and its footprint is worldwide, so it travels well outside the US - and the new-client fee only ever applies once per client, with returning visits free.

Where Booksy wins

Discovery. Booksy's consumer marketplace delivers real new clients, especially for barbers, and its enormous TikTok and social presence keeps that funnel full. If your growth plan is being found by strangers in your city, Booksy is one of the strongest engines there is.

The mobile app is the other half - clients actually keep it on their phones, and teams who run the day from theirs tend to prefer it. Booksy also ships solid no-show protection tools, and the 14-day trial with no card makes it easy to find out whether the marketplace is busy where you work. For shops that feed on new faces, that is worth the higher price.

Who should pick which

Pick Fresha if you run a team and the subscription math matters, if you sell products and want inventory and POS in the same tool, or if you want marketplace exposure at the smaller cut. Pick Booksy if you are a barber or in a city where its marketplace is busy, if new-client flow is the main thing you are buying, or if you want the stronger client-facing app.

One thing they share: on both, your profile sits beside your competitors'. That is the deal with any marketplace - it brings you strangers and shows your regulars other options in the same scroll. Fine if you need the demand; worth pausing on if you do not.

The quiet third option

Full disclosure: this is our corner. We make hey.booked, and it exists for the people who read that last paragraph and winced - the pros whose clients come from an Instagram bio, Google, and word of mouth, not from a marketplace. There is no marketplace here at all: your booking page is yours alone, nobody is listed beside you, and no one ever takes 20% or 30% of a first visit.

The pricing is deliberately boring. The free plan covers a solo with up to three services and 30 confirmed bookings a month, with email reminders and your own page at heybooked.com/b/your-name - no card needed. Pro is $15 a month, or $150 a year, for unlimited bookings, staff, and services, 100 SMS texts a month, and two-way Google Calendar sync. No per-staff fees, no commission, and clients book from a link with no account and no app.

The honest catch: hey.booked does not process payments. No deposits, no card on file, no POS, no charging no-shows. If built-in payments are on your must-have list, Fresha or Booksy will serve you better - this option is for people who already handle money their own way and want the calm calendar.

Which is cheaper, Fresha or Booksy?

For a solo pro, Fresha - $19.95 a month against Booksy's $29.99 plus tax, as of July 2026. For teams the gap grows: Fresha charges $14.95 per bookable member on its Team plan, while Booksy adds $20 per extra member on top of its base price.

Is Fresha still free?

No. Fresha moved from its free-plus-fees model to subscriptions: Independent at $19.95 a month for one bookable team member, Team at $14.95 a month per bookable member. Older articles calling Fresha free are out of date.

Does Fresha take a commission?

Only on new clients who discover you through the Fresha marketplace: a one-time 20% of their first visit, with a $6 minimum. Returning clients and clients who book through your own link cost nothing.

How much does Booksy Boost cost?

Boost takes a one-time 30% of a new Boost client's first visit. Regular bookings from your existing clients are not charged - the fee only applies to clients Boost brings you.

Do Fresha and Booksy charge for card processing?

Yes, both. In person, Fresha charges 2.29% + $0.20 and Booksy 2.49% + $0.10 with its card reader; online it is 2.79% + $0.20 and 2.69% + $0.30 respectively, as of July 2026.

Can I use Fresha or Booksy without the marketplace?

You can rely on your own link on both, and the new-client fees only trigger on marketplace-sourced visits. Your profile still lives in the marketplace beside competitors, though. If you want no marketplace at all, look at tools like hey.booked or Acuity.