Last Updated on August 12, 2026
The short version
- Choose a booking system by its commission model and who owns the client relationship, not by app store rating.
- Fresha, Booksy, Timely, Square Appointments and Phorest suit different stages. Treatwell is a shop window, not a system.
- The platforms now charge mainly for new client first visits: Fresha 20%, Booksy Boost 30% plus VAT, Treatwell 35% plus VAT.
- Whatever you pick, make sure you can export your client list and take deposits.
Most salons choose their booking system the way they would choose a takeaway: whichever app looks nicest and has the most stars.
Then the system quietly becomes the most important commercial relationship the salon has. It owns the diary, the client list, the reminders, the payments, and in some cases a cut of every new face that walks in.
That decision deserves ten minutes of thinking. Here it is.
The mistake: shopping for features instead of terms
Every system on this page can take a booking and send a reminder. The differences that matter are commercial:
- What does a new client cost you?
- Who owns the client relationship, you or the marketplace?
- Can you take deposits, and can you export your list if you leave?
Two of those questions decide real money. No shows cost the average salon about 7% of monthly revenue, and deposits cut them by 65%. And the difference between a 20% and a 42% first visit commission, on the same client, is pure margin. Full figures on our salon marketing costs research page.
1. Running the diary: the main systems
Fresha
The default choice for solo operators and small salons. The core system is free to use, and Fresha charges when its marketplace brings you a brand new client: 20% of that first booking, with a minimum of around £6. Returning clients booked directly cost nothing. Deposits, reminders and card payments are built in.
Booksy
Subscription based, strong on the barbering and beauty side, with an optional Boost feature that promotes you in its marketplace for 30% plus VAT of a new client’s first visit. Because Boost is optional, you can run Booksy purely as your own diary and switch the marketplace on only when you want new faces.
Timely
A subscription diary with no marketplace and no per client commission. You pay a flat monthly fee and every booking is yours. Suits salons that already have demand and want tools, not introductions.
Square Appointments
Free for a single user, with card processing fees as the trade off. If you are a solo operator already using Square for payments, it is the lowest friction start there is.
Phorest
The step up for established multi chair and multi site salons. Subscription pricing at the premium end, with marketing, loyalty and reporting built in. Overkill for a solo operator, sensible when you have a team and a front desk.
2. The Treatwell question
Treatwell is best understood as a shop window with a diary attached. Its marketplace charges 35% commission plus VAT on a new client’s first booking, which is 42% of the booking in real money, and since April 2025 the commission applies even if the salon cancels the appointment.
That can still be worth it, once per client, if and only if you reliably turn first visits into regulars. Roughly two thirds of first time salon clients never come back, so without a rebooking habit you are paying premium acquisition prices for one offs. That trap has its own guide: the discount trap.
The commission maths side by side
| Platform | New client first visit | Returning clients | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresha | 20%, minimum around £6 | Free | Free system, pay per new client |
| Booksy Boost | 30% plus VAT (optional) | No commission | Subscription plus optional marketplace |
| Treatwell | 35% plus VAT (42% all in) | Lower ongoing fees | Marketplace first |
| Timely | No commission | No commission | Flat subscription |
| Square Appointments | No commission | No commission | Free plus card fees |
| Phorest | No commission | No commission | Premium subscription |
Commission structures change and vary by plan. Treat this table as the shape of the market, and confirm current terms on each platform before you commit.
3. Whatever you choose, set these three things
- Deposits on, at least for high value treatments and new clients. This is the highest return setting in salon software.
- Reminders set to SMS around 24 hours before the appointment.
- Client export checked. Log in, find the export button, make sure your names and numbers come out in a file you can keep.
How to turn those settings into fewer gaps and more regulars is covered in our no shows and rebooking guide.
4. Getting paid and keeping the books straight
Booking software takes the money. Accounting software tells you whether any of it was profit, which at an 8.2% average margin is not a detail. Xero and QuickBooks are the two standard choices for UK salons; either connected to your business bank account beats a shoebox of receipts by miles.
5. Your own website still matters
Marketplaces rank themselves first. Your own site is the one place where your booking link, prices and work sit under your name, and it is what Google and AI tools read when someone asks for a salon near them. A simple site on Hostinger with one page per treatment does the job. Check what AI currently finds about you with the free Whito check.
A quick way to choose
- Solo, starting out, want free: Fresha or Square Appointments.
- Established diary, no need for a marketplace: Timely.
- Want your own diary plus new faces on demand: Booksy, with Boost used sparingly.
- Multi chair or multi site with a team: Phorest.
- Quiet salon needing volume fast, with a rebooking habit in place: Treatwell, eyes open, for as short a time as possible.
A note on prices and links
Subscription prices change often, so this page states models rather than monthly fees. Some links on this page may be affiliate links: if you sign up through one, Whito may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, and it never changes which tools we recommend.
The sharp takeaway
The booking system is not admin. It is the terms on which you acquire and keep clients. Pick the one whose commission model matches your stage, switch deposits on the day you set it up, and make sure the client list can leave with you. Where this fits in the bigger plan: Start, Build, Scale for salons.
