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Reserving

Fresha alternative for salons and spas without the new client fee

Fresha charges 14.95 USD a month for every bookable team member and takes 20% of a new marketplace client's first booking, at least 6 USD each time. Reserving is a Fresha alternative that charges one price per location: 149 USD a month, or 74 USD billed yearly, for up to 10 staff, with deposits by service, two-way SMS reminders and a booking page on your own domain. For a solo artist or a team of three, Fresha stays the cheaper tool.

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North Street Salon

Open 09:00 to 19:00

6 chairs
Treatment, minutes
60
Channel
Guest
Manual hold
Off

Chair board

Booked Yours Buffer

Chair fitted

 

Deposit rule

No-show risk

 

Reminders

01

How much does Fresha cost a salon per month?

Fresha costs 19.95 USD a month for an independent professional and 14.95 USD a month per bookable team member on the Team plan, with custom pricing above 20 team members. There is no contract and you can cancel any month. On top of the plan come card processing and the one-time fee on every brand new client who finds you through the Fresha marketplace.

The plan price is rarely the biggest line. For a busy salon, the marketplace fee often is. The bars below split one month for a six-stylist salon with an 85 USD average ticket and ten new clients from the marketplace.

Plan New client fees Reserving plan

Fresha, six stylists

259.70 USD

89.70 USD plan plus 170 USD in new client fees

Reserving Growth, billed monthly

149 USD

Reserving Growth, billed yearly

74 USD
One month, before tax and card processing. Ten new marketplace clients at 85 USD each, 20% of the first booking. A month with no marketplace clients costs 89.70 USD on Fresha.
Line on the bill Fresha Reserving
Plan19.95 USD solo, 14.95 USD per team member49 USD Core, 149 USD Growth per location
New marketplace client20% of the first booking, 6 USD minimumno marketplace, no fee
Card in person2.19% + 0.20 USDyour provider's normal rate
Card online2.79% + 0.20 USDyour provider's normal rate
Textssmall free allowance, then paid per messagetwo-way SMS reminders on Growth
Contractmonthly, cancel anytimemonthly or yearly, cancel anytime

Fresha's plan structure, the one-time new client fee, the monthly text allowance and the no-contract terms are from its pricing page. The US dollar amounts are those reported by 2026 pricing reviews, because Fresha shows prices in the visitor's local currency. Reserving prices are list prices per location; yearly billing halves them.

02

Fresha pricing by team size

Fresha's Team plan grows by 14.95 USD with each bookable person, so the question is where a flat price catches up. Billed monthly, Growth matches Fresha at ten people. Billed yearly, Growth at 74 USD matches Fresha at five, and every hire after that widens the gap. Marketplace fees are left out of this table because they depend on your month.

Team Fresha plan Reserving monthly Reserving yearly
1 artist19.95 USD49 USD, Core24 USD, Core
3 stylists44.85 USD49 USD, Core24 USD, Core
5 stylists74.75 USD149 USD, Growth74 USD, Growth
8 stylists119.60 USD149 USD, Growth74 USD, Growth
10 stylists149.50 USD149 USD, Growth74 USD, Growth
3 locations, 8 each358.80 USD499 USD, Multi-Venue249 USD, Multi-Venue

03

What a salon or spa runs on Reserving instead

A booking engine that reads a service as a stylist, a chair or room and a real block of time, with the booking page on your own domain and the client list kept by you.

  • Bookings tied to the stylist and the chair or treatment room, so neither is sold twice
  • Deposit and card-hold rules per service, so a balayage needs a deposit and a blowout does not
  • Two-way SMS reminders where the client confirms or cancels by reply
  • A waiting queue that offers a cancelled slot to the next client in line
  • A no-show risk score on every booking, with the reasons shown
  • A widget for your site and a link for Google and Instagram, with no other salons listed beside you

04

Is there something better than Fresha?

For a solo nail tech or a small team that wins most new clients in the Fresha app, probably not. The plan is cheap, in-person card rates are low and the marketplace brings people in. For a salon of six or more, a spa that loses money on no-shows for long treatments, or a group with several locations whose clients already book from Google and Instagram, a flat per-location system is the better buy.

Stay on Fresha if

  • You work alone or with one or two others
  • The Fresha marketplace is where most new clients find you
  • You take most payments in person, where Fresha's rate is low
  • You want POS, retail and gift cards in the same app

Then 20 to 45 USD a month plus the odd new client fee is fair.

Choose Reserving if

  • You have six or more stylists or therapists and each hire raises the bill
  • New clients come from Google, Instagram and your own site, not the app
  • You want a deposit rule per service to stop no-shows on long bookings
  • You run two to five locations and want one board and one client record

Here the price stays flat and nobody takes a cut of your new clients.

05

Fresha alternatives US salons compare

The tools most often weighed against Fresha in the US are Booksy, Vagaro, GlossGenius and Square Appointments. Each charges in a different way, so the cheapest depends on team size and on where your new clients come from.

Tool How it charges Best for
Fresha19.95 USD solo or 14.95 USD per team member, 20% of a new marketplace client's first bookingsmall teams that want marketplace demand
Booksy29.99 USD plus 20 USD per extra staff member, 30% of a first visit via Boostbarbers and solo stylists
Vagaro30 USD for 1 calendar plus 10 USD per calendar up to 90 USD, paid add-onssmall salons that want POS and payroll
GlossGenius28, 56 or 168 USD a month, 2.6% flat processingsolo stylists and teams up to about nine
Square Appointmentsa free tier, then 49 or 149 USD per location, Square processingshops already on Square POS
Reserving49 or 149 USD per location, 499 USD for 5 locations, half that yearlyteams of 6 or more and multi-location groups that want deposits

06

How do I move my salon off Fresha?

Export clients and future appointments, set up staff, rooms and services, import, then move every booking link before you close bookings on Fresha. Run both for a week so nobody who booked in the app is lost.

  1. 01

    Export your client list

    Download clients with phone numbers, emails and notes, plus the appointments already booked. That file is your client base, and it stays with you.

  2. 02

    Set up the salon

    Add stylists or therapists, chairs and rooms, each service with its real length, and the deposit rule for long or high-value services.

  3. 03

    Import and connect

    Import clients by CSV, paste the booking widget on your site, and point your Google Business Profile and Instagram bio at your booking page.

  4. 04

    Cut over

    Close new bookings on Fresha, serve the appointments already booked there, then cancel the subscription before the next month starts.

FAQ

Questions salon owners ask before leaving Fresha

See pricing
Is Fresha still free?

No. Fresha dropped its free plan and now charges 19.95 USD a month for an independent professional or 14.95 USD per bookable team member, after a 7-day trial. Card processing and the fee on new marketplace clients are charged on top. Bookings from clients who find you on your own website, Instagram or Facebook carry no fee.

How much does Fresha take per booking?

Nothing on returning clients or on clients from your own channels. On a brand new client who found you through the Fresha marketplace, Fresha takes a one-time 20% of that first booking, with a 6 USD minimum. On a 120 USD color service that is 24 USD, once per client.

Is Fresha cheaper than Vagaro?

Up to about five people, the plans cost about the same: Fresha at 14.95 USD per member, Vagaro at 30 USD plus 10 USD per extra calendar. From six people up Vagaro is cheaper on the plan, because it caps at about 90 USD, but it sells texts, forms and a website as add-ons. Our Vagaro pricing guide has the full add-on list.

Is Fresha or Booksy better for a salon?

On price, Fresha is cheaper per person: 14.95 USD against Booksy's 20 USD per extra staff member, and its marketplace fee is 20% against 30% on Booksy Boost. Booksy includes 2,000 marketing texts a month. Both suit small teams that want app demand more than large salons.

Can I take deposits without Fresha?

Yes. On Reserving Growth you set deposit and card-hold rules per service, so a long color or extension appointment can require a deposit while a quick cut does not. We take no percentage of the deposit; your payment provider charges its normal processing fee.

How fast can a salon start on Reserving?

The same day. Create an account, pay by card, add stylists, chairs, rooms and services, and paste the booking widget on your site. There is no sales call, and the live demo at the top of this page runs the same engine on a sample salon.

One price per location, however many stylists you hire

Create your account, add your stylists, chairs, rooms and services, and take bookings with deposits on your own site.

Try the demo