Fresha vs Booksy (2026): Which Is Better for UK Barbers?
16 March 2026
Found this useful? Share it with another barber
16 March 2026
Found this useful? Share it with another barber
Fresha and Booksy are the two most popular booking apps for barbers in the UK. But they work differently, charge differently, and suit different types of shops.
This guide compares them side by side — fees, features, no-show protection, what's included, and what'll cost you extra. No fluff. Just the numbers and the honest take.
Want to see the exact cost for your shop size?
On this page:
For most solo barbers, Fresha is cheaper. Lower subscription, lower marketplace commission, lower card processing rates.
For multi-chair shops, Booksy is often simpler. Everything is included in the base plan — no paid add-ons for reporting, loyalty, or extra texts.
Neither platform is objectively better. It depends on your shop size and how many features you actually use.
For a typical 3-chair barbershop, the real monthly cost difference between Fresha and Booksy is less than £10 once all fees are included. You can calculate your own numbers using our Booksy cost calculator and Fresha fee calculator.
All prices exclude VAT unless stated. Sources: fresha.com/pricing, biz.booksy.com/en-gb/pricing, March 2026.
Let's break each one down properly.
This is where the headline difference is.
Fresha: £14.95/month for a solo barber. £9.95/month per bookable team member on the Team plan.
Booksy: £40/month flat. Then £5/month for each extra team member.
For a solo barber, that's £14.95 vs £40. Fresha wins on price.
Want to see what you'll actually pay each month based on your prices and bookings?
But for a bigger shop, the gap narrows:
Add VAT (20%) to both.
At 3 chairs, the difference is about £20/month. Not nothing — but not massive either, once you factor in what each plan actually includes.
Both platforms have a marketplace where new clients can find your shop and book online. Both charge a commission when that happens.
Fresha: 20% of the first appointment from a new marketplace client. Minimum £4. This is automatic if your marketplace visibility is on.
Booksy: 30% of the first appointment from a new Boost client. Minimum £5. But Boost is optional — you can turn it off entirely.
On a £25 haircut:
That's a one-time fee per new client. After their first visit, every future booking is commission-free on both platforms.
Fresha's marketplace commission is mandatory if you're visible on their marketplace. You can turn off marketplace visibility, but then you lose the exposure.
Booksy's Boost is optional. You still appear in the Booksy marketplace without Boost — you just don't get priority placement. Some barbers turn Boost on when they need new clients and off when they're fully booked.
That flexibility matters. If you're already fully booked most weeks, paying 30% on new clients you don't need is a waste.
If you don't import your existing client list before going live on the Fresha marketplace, your regulars might book with a new account — and Fresha charges you the 20% fee as if they're new.
This has caught out loads of barbers. Always import your full client list first.
Every card payment costs you something. Here's how they compare:
On a £25 haircut paid by card:
Over 40 card payments a week, that's roughly:
Fresha is cheaper on card processing. About £22/month cheaper for a busy solo barber.
But card processing fees are a fact of life. SumUp, Square, iZettle — they all charge something similar. The difference between 1.19% and 1.29% isn't going to make or break your business.
This is where Booksy claws back the subscription difference.
For a 3-chair shop that wants reporting and a loyalty programme on Fresha, that's an extra £23.85 + £49.95 = £73.80/month on top of the subscription.
On Booksy, it's included.
Real talk: most solo barbers won't use half these features. But if you want reporting to track your numbers properly, paying nearly £8/month per person extra on Fresha is annoying when Booksy just gives it to you.
No-shows cost barbers money. Both platforms offer tools to deal with them.
What both offer:
Fresha:
Booksy:
Both work. The main practical difference: Fresha waiving its marketplace commission on no-shows is a nice touch if you're using the marketplace heavily.
For a deeper look at whether charging for no-shows makes sense for your shop, read our guide on whether barbers should charge for no-shows.
Text reminders reduce no-shows. But they cost money.
Fresha: 20 free texts per month. After that, 5p per text. Marketing blasts cost 8p per text.
Booksy: Appointment confirmations and reminders are always free and don't count towards your limit. 500 free marketing texts per month. After that, 5p each.
This is a big difference if you're sending a lot of reminders.
A solo barber doing 30 cuts a day, 5 days a week — that's roughly 600+ reminder texts a month. On Fresha, you'd blow through your 20 free texts on day one. The rest costs you about £29/month in texts alone.
On Booksy, reminders are unlimited and free. Your 500 marketing texts are separate.
For a busy shop, Booksy's SMS model saves you £20–£40/month compared to Fresha.
Here's what a typical 3-chair barbershop actually pays each month, based on ~160 card transactions and 5 new marketplace clients per month:
Surprised? The headline subscription difference nearly vanishes once you add Fresha's extras.
Without the reporting add-on or heavy SMS usage, Fresha is cheaper. With them, it's almost identical.
Solo barber, minimal extras:
3-chair shop, all features:
The bigger your shop and the more features you use, the closer the total cost gets. For larger shops with multiple barbers, Booksy can actually work out cheaper.
Want to run the numbers for your own shop?
Fresha: You must use Fresha's own card terminal (£99 one-off). No SumUp. No Square. No iZettle. If you take card payments through Fresha, you're locked into their hardware and their payment processor (Adyen).
Booksy: No card terminal required. You can use Tap to Pay on your phone. You can also use third-party card readers like Square alongside Booksy. Payments are processed through Stripe.
This matters if you already own a card reader. With Fresha, it becomes a paperweight for Fresha bookings. With Booksy, you can keep using what you've got.
Both platforms pay out next business day for standard transactions.
Booksy also offers fast payouts — your money in 30 minutes for a 1.5% fee. Fresha doesn't currently offer this.
Fresha scores higher on review sites. Booksy's client app has a massive install base — 839,000+ ratings — which means more potential clients actively using it to find barbers.
Booksy's lower Trustpilot score (3.2) is worth noting. Common complaints include slow customer support, app bugs, and Boost commission frustrations. Fresha's main complaints centre on hidden fees, the payment system lock-in, and marketplace charges for existing clients.
Fresha complaints:
Booksy complaints:
Neither platform is perfect. The complaints are different, not better or worse.
Ratings and reviews are one thing. But which platform do barbers in your city actually use?
We counted the number of barber listings on each marketplace across 10 major UK cities. The results are clear: Booksy dominates.
Booksy has more barber listings than Fresha in every single UK city we checked. In Leeds, Booksy has over 8x more barbers listed. Even in London — Fresha's home city — Booksy has nearly double the listings.
Barber listing counts collected from each platform's marketplace search, March 2026. Searches performed using "barber" and "barbershop" queries within each city. Counts include visible marketplace listings and may exclude invite-only businesses.
More barber listings on Booksy suggests stronger barber adoption and a larger marketplace presence. If marketplace visibility matters to you, Booksy clearly has a bigger footprint in the cities we checked.
Across the 10 cities analysed, Booksy had 1,260 barber listings vs 537 on Fresha — about 2.3x more.
But Glasgow is interesting — it's the closest race. Fresha has 52 listings vs Booksy's 73. If you're in Scotland, both platforms have decent presence.
The marketplace gap matters most if you're relying on the app to bring in new clients. If you're driving all your bookings through your own link, Google, and Instagram, the marketplace size is less relevant.
Fresha makes sense if you:
For the full breakdown, read our Fresha fees guide for UK barbers.
Booksy makes sense if you:
For the full breakdown, read our Booksy fees guide for UK barbers.
Let's be honest — neither app is going to transform your business on its own.
The booking system is just one piece. If your online presence isn't sorted, no booking app will save you. And if you're losing bookings because clients can't find you or can't book easily, that costs you more than any monthly fee.
Pick the one that fits your shop. Set it up properly. Make sure clients can book in two taps.
Then focus on what actually matters — doing good work and keeping clients coming back.
Fresha is cheaper for a solo barber in most cases. The subscription is £14.95/month vs Booksy's £40/month. Card processing is also slightly lower. But if you send a lot of text reminders or want reporting tools, the gap shrinks fast because Fresha charges extra for those. You can calculate your exact monthly cost using our Booksy cost calculator and Fresha fee calculator.
With Fresha, no. You must use their £99 terminal. With Booksy, yes — you can use third-party readers like Square alongside Booksy's own Tap to Pay feature.
Both offer card-on-file, deposits, and cancellation fees at no extra charge. The features are very similar. Fresha has one edge: it waives the 20% marketplace commission if you mark a new client as a no-show on the same day.
Depends on whether you need new clients. Boost charges 30% on the first appointment — higher than Fresha's 20%. But it's optional. If you're trying to fill quiet days or build up a new shop, paying 30% once to get a client in the door can pay for itself quickly. If you're already packed, turn it off.
Not anymore. Fresha used to be free when it was called Shedul. In 2025, they introduced a monthly subscription starting at £14.95/month for solo barbers. On top of that, there's a 20% marketplace commission on new clients and card processing fees. It's still one of the cheaper booking systems, but it's definitely not free.
Only through Boost — and Boost is optional. If a new client finds you through the Booksy marketplace via Boost, Booksy takes 30% of the first appointment (minimum £5). After that first visit, every future booking from that client is commission-free. If you turn Boost off, there's no commission at all.
Yes. Both platforms let you export your client list as a CSV file. Neither locks you into a contract. The main hassle is redirecting your existing clients to the new booking link and updating your Google Business Profile, Instagram bio, and website.
Fresha and Booksy are both solid booking systems. They solve the same problem in slightly different ways.
Fresha is cheaper at the base level. Booksy is simpler with everything included.
The right choice depends on your shop size, how many new clients you need, and whether you care about add-on features.
Don't overthink it. Pick one, set it up properly, and make sure booking is easy for your clients. That's what keeps chairs full.
Thinking of opening a barbershop — or wondering how competitive your area is?
Check barber competition in your postcode for free →
All pricing sourced from Fresha's official pricing page and Booksy's UK pricing page, verified March 2026. Review ratings from Apple App Store, Trustpilot, and Capterra as of March 2026. Prices exclude VAT unless stated. Fees may change — always check each platform's website for the latest.