Booksy Fees UK (2026): The Real Cost Most Barbers Miss
10 March 2026
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10 March 2026
Found this useful? Share it with another barber
Booksy charges barbers through three main fees:
Most UK barbers typically pay £70–£180 per month depending on team size, card payments, and new client flow.
See what Booksy would cost your shop →
Booksy is one of the most popular booking apps for barbers in the UK.
But what does it actually cost once you start using it?
"Is it just £40 a month?"
"What's this Boost thing charging me 30%?"
"Why is my bill higher than I expected?"
If you've had any of these thoughts, you're not alone.
This guide breaks down every Booksy fee in plain English. No jargon. No spin. Just the numbers.
On this page:
Booksy keeps things fairly simple compared to some competitors.
Here's what you're looking at:
All prices are subject to VAT on top.
Let's break each one down properly.
In plain English: Booksy makes money from your monthly subscription, a 30% cut on new Boost clients, and card processing fees. Once a client has booked through Boost and completed their first visit, every future booking from that client is commission-free.
The way to think about it: Boost is a client acquisition tool. You pay 30% once to get a new bum in the chair. After that, they're yours.
Booksy charges a flat monthly fee. No free tier.
So a 3-chair shop pays £40 + (2 × £5) = £50 + VAT = £60/month for the subscription.
That's straightforward. No hidden tiers or confusing plan levels.
All features are included in the base price — booking, calendar, reminders, client management, marketing tools, gift cards, memberships, reporting. Everything.
How it compares: Fresha charges £14.95/month solo or £9.95 per team member. Booksy's subscription is higher, but Booksy includes everything in one plan. No paid add-ons for reporting or loyalty programmes. For a full breakdown of Fresha's fees, read our Fresha fees guide for UK barbers.
This is the one that surprises people.
When a brand-new client finds your shop through the Booksy marketplace and books via Boost, Booksy takes 30% of that first appointment.
The minimum charge is £5.
So on a £25 haircut, that's £7.50 gone to Booksy.
Fresha charges 20% on new marketplace clients (minimum £4). Booksy charges 30% (minimum £5).
On paper, Booksy's commission is higher. But Booksy doesn't charge for add-ons in the commission calculation. And the subscription includes everything — no paid extras for reporting or loyalty.
Whether Boost is better value depends on how many new clients the marketplace actually sends you.
Yes. Boost is optional. You can:
Real talk: if you're already fully booked most weeks, you probably don't need Boost. But if you're trying to fill quiet days or build up a new shop, 30% on the first visit to get a client in the door isn't bad when you think of it as a marketing cost.
If you take card payments through Booksy, here's what they charge:
Unlike Fresha, Booksy doesn't require you to buy a specific card terminal. You can use Tap to Pay on your phone — no extra hardware needed.
Let's say you do 40 card transactions a week at an average of £25 each.
That's just card processing. Before your subscription. Before Boost fees.
It adds up. But card processing fees are a fact of life with any payment system — SumUp, Square, iZettle, they all charge something similar.
Booksy includes 500 free SMS messages per month in your subscription.
That covers appointment confirmations and reminders for most solo barbers.
Beyond 500 messages, you pay 5p per text.
Appointment confirmations and reminders are always free and don't count towards your 500 limit. The 500 free texts are for marketing messages — things like promotions, last-minute availability blasts, and rebooking nudges.
For a busy 3-chair shop sending marketing texts, you might go over the 500 limit. But even 200 extra texts is only £10.
Not a dealbreaker.
Here's what a typical 3-chair barbershop might pay per month on Booksy:
For a solo barber doing fewer card transactions and not using Boost, it'll be less. Maybe £70–£100/month all in.
Turn off Boost and take mostly cash? You could get away with £48/month (just the subscription + VAT).
Want to work out your exact costs? Use our Booksy fee calculator to plug in your own numbers.
This is the comparison most barbers want to see.
Fresha is cheaper on subscription and marketplace commission. Booksy is simpler — everything included, no paid add-ons, more free texts, no card terminal needed.
For a solo barber watching every penny, Fresha's lower subscription wins on pure cost.
For a shop that wants everything in one plan without bolt-on surprises, Booksy keeps it cleaner.
Neither is "better." It depends what matters to you.
Depends on your setup.
Booksy works well if you:
It might not suit you if you:
The £40/month base fee is higher than Fresha. But you're not going to get hit with surprise charges for reporting tools or loyalty features.
If your online presence is sorted and you're ranking on Google, a booking system like Booksy makes it easy for clients to go from finding you to sitting in your chair.
Two taps and booked. That's the goal.
No. Booksy costs £40/month for a solo barber, plus £5/month for each extra team member. There's a 14-day free trial so you can test it before committing. But there's no free tier after that.
Boost is Booksy's marketplace feature that helps new clients find you. When a new client books through Boost, Booksy takes 30% of the first appointment value (minimum £5). It's a one-time fee — after that, every future visit from that client is commission-free.
Yes. Boost is optional. You can turn it off and still use Booksy for booking, payments, calendar, and client management. You'll still appear in the Booksy marketplace — you just won't get priority placement.
No. The Boost commission only applies to the first visit from a new marketplace client. Every booking after that — whether they book through the app, your direct link, or walk in — is commission-free.
Booksy has a higher subscription (£40 vs £14.95) and higher marketplace commission (30% vs 20%). But Booksy includes all features in the base price — no paid add-ons. Fresha charges extra for reporting (£7.95/member), loyalty (£49.95/location), and requires a £99 card terminal. The total monthly cost often ends up similar depending on your usage.
Booksy lets you require a card on file or take deposits when clients book.
No extra charge for the feature itself. You'll just pay the normal card processing fee on any deposits taken.
If no-shows are costing you money, it's worth setting up. We wrote a full guide on whether barbers should charge for no-shows — it covers when it makes sense and how to handle the awkward chats.
Booksy is a solid all-in-one booking system. The subscription is higher than some competitors, but you get everything included without bolt-on surprises.
Know what you're paying. Use your direct booking link where you can. And if Boost is bringing in good clients, that 30% on the first cut pays for itself fast.
If you're losing bookings because your current system is clunky, that costs more than any monthly fee.
Want to know what Booksy actually costs your shop? See what Booksy costs your shop →
All pricing sourced from Booksy's official UK pricing page and Booksy Help Centre, verified March 2026. Prices exclude VAT unless stated. Fees may change — always check Booksy's website for the latest.