Fresha is the largest booking platform for the beauty industry. The pitch: free for you, monetised by Fresha through marketplace bookings and payment processing.
The reality: it’s more like a sharecropping arrangement. You build the customer relationships; Fresha owns the platform. Specific concerns operators raise:
- 20% commission on Fresha-marketplace bookings
- Customer data shared with Fresha + their other clients (your competitors)
- Payments routed through Fresha (cash flow lag)
- Branding subordinated to Fresha
- Hard to leave (no easy data export)
If these matter to you, here are the alternatives.
1. Zedule — flat pricing, your domain, your data
Best for: salons / spas / barbers that want ownership over the customer relationship.
Pricing: $100/year flat.
Strengths:
- Per-tenant data isolation (your customer data is yours)
- Custom domain (
book.yoursalon.com) - BYO email + SMS providers
- No commissions, no marketplace, no platform-imposed branding
- $100/year — not $0 like Fresha, but no commissions
Weaknesses:
- No marketplace (you drive your own traffic)
- No payment processing native (V2)
- Newer than Fresha
2. Booksy — alternate marketplace + booking
Best for: barbers / individual practitioners who want both marketplace AND personal-brand control.
Pricing: $29.99-89.99/user/month + booking commissions.
Strengths:
- Built for personal-service businesses
- Marketplace presence
- Mobile-first booking flow
Weaknesses:
- Per-user pricing climbs
- Marketplace commissions still apply
- Customer data still platform-shared
3. Vagaro — comprehensive vertical platform
Best for: mid-sized salons / spas wanting an all-in-one operations platform.
Pricing: $25-105/month.
Strengths:
- Booking + POS + marketing + payroll in one
- Custom domain available
- Less aggressive marketplace than Fresha
- Customer data is yours
Weaknesses:
- Steeper learning curve
- More expensive than Zedule
- Some lock-in to Vagaro ecosystem
4. Square Appointments — Square ecosystem
Best for: salons already using Square POS.
Pricing: Free for solo; $29-69/month for multi- staff.
Strengths:
- Free for solo
- Tight Square POS integration
- Payment processing fee-included
Weaknesses:
- Only ideal in Square ecosystem
- Branding limited
Compare Zedule vs Square Appointments →
5. Acuity Scheduling — flexible service-business
Best for: salons that want depth + Squarespace ecosystem fit.
Pricing: $20-61/month.
Strengths:
- Recurring + package billing
- Class / group bookings
- Squarespace site integration
Weaknesses:
- More expensive than Zedule
- Branding requires custom CSS work
6. Mindbody — for spas / wellness
Best for: wellness-leaning salons / spas.
Pricing: $129-499+/month.
Strengths:
- Wellness/spa feature depth
- Membership / retail / inventory
Weaknesses:
- Expensive
- Marketplace dynamics similar to Fresha
Migration considerations
Leaving Fresha is harder than people expect:
Customer data export: Fresha allows partial export — customer names, contact info. Booking history, package balances, and notes are harder to extract.
Payments: If you take payments through Fresha, you need to set up your own processor (Stripe, Square, Razorpay). Plan for 1-2 weeks setup.
Customer communication: Email all customers about the platform change with new booking link. Run dual-platform for 30 days to catch stragglers.
Existing bookings: Manually migrate future bookings to the new platform. Or honour them on Fresha until they’re done, then switch.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Cost (per business, /yr) | Marketplace fees | Customer data ownership | Custom domain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fresha | ”Free” | 20% on marketplace | Shared with platform | ❌ |
| Zedule | $100 | None | Yours (per-tenant DB) | ✅ |
| Booksy Pro | $360-1,080 | $0.50-2/booking | Shared | ❌ |
| Vagaro | $300-1,260 | None | Yours | Available |
| Square Appts | $0-828 | None | Yours | ❌ |
| Acuity Powerhouse | $732 | None | Yours | ❌ |
| Mindbody Essential | $1,548 | Yes | Shared | ❌ |
The “free” calculation
Fresha is free if you don’t use the marketplace and don’t process payments through them. Once you do either, the cost is real:
- 20% commission on Fresha-app bookings
- Payment processing fees (similar to Stripe)
- “Boost” fees if you advertise on the marketplace
For a salon doing $200k/year with 30% of bookings via the Fresha app, the commission cost is: $200k × 30% × 20% = $12,000/year
Suddenly $100/year on Zedule looks reasonable.
Which to pick
- Want marketplace + accept commissions: stay with Fresha.
- Want marketplace + lower commissions: Booksy.
- Want full control + lowest cost: Zedule.
- Want all-in-one ops: Vagaro.
- Already use Square: Square Appointments.