You started your business for freedom. You wanted to do what you love, whether that’s cutting hair, tutoring students or fixing pipes for local customers.
But lately, “freedom” feels like a lot of admin.
You’re juggling WhatsApp pings at 11pm. You’re chasing bank transfers that never arrive. You’re checking three different apps just to see if your Tuesday is actually full. It’s exhausting, it’s messy, and it’s costing you more than your sanity.
So you’re looking for a better way, and two big names keep coming up: Fresha and Booksy. Both promise to sort out the chaos. Both also come with costs that aren’t always obvious at first glance.
Which one is actually better for you? And when do both start to feel like the wrong fit? Let’s break it down honestly.
Prices in this article were checked in October 2026 from each company’s own website. Pricing changes often, so always check the latest before you sign up.
The Fresha model: low subscription, with a fee on new clients
Fresha built its reputation on being cheap to get started. Today you pay a monthly subscription, either as an independent or per bookable team member, and you’re live.
The bigger cost for many businesses is the marketplace fee. When a new client finds you through the Fresha marketplace and books, Fresha charges a one-off 20% fee on that first booking, with a minimum charge per client. Returning clients don’t trigger the fee.
Think about what that means. You do the work. You bring the skill. You pay for the rent and the products. Then a fifth of that first booking goes to the platform because the client clicked through its app.
If you’re already losing clients during the booking process, that fee stings even more.
The verdict on Fresha: useful if you have no marketing of your own and want the marketplace to find clients for you. Less appealing if you already have a loyal following and don’t want to pay a finder’s fee for your own reputation.
The Booksy model: a higher monthly subscription
Booksy takes a different approach. It’s less about a low entry price and more about a full professional suite.
In the UK, Booksy starts at £40 + VAT a month, and each extra team member adds £5 + VAT a month. It’s predictable, but it’s a high fixed cost for a sole trader or a small team.
The “Boost” option
Booksy also has an optional marketplace feature called Boost. You choose whether to turn it on. If you do, Booksy charges 30% on new clients it brings you through Boost.
That’s nearly a third of the booking.
Booksy is feature-rich, but it can feel like overkill. Do you really need half of those buttons? Probably not. You just want to stop the “are you free at 2pm?” texts and keep your customer data safe without becoming a tech expert.
The verdict on Booksy: a solid choice for larger salons with bigger teams who can absorb the monthly cost. A heavier burden for an independent professional who just wants to keep things simple.
The marketplace trap: why both might not suit you
Here’s the part nobody tells you: marketplaces are built to grow the marketplace.
When you list your business on one, you’re standing in a digital queue next to your competitors. A client searches for a local hairdresser. They see you. They also see the person down the road who’s £5 cheaper.
The app doesn’t mind who they book with. Just like social media, you don’t fully own the relationship. You’re a listing.
Then there’s the fragmented app trap:
- One app for bookings.
- WhatsApp for messaging.
- PayPal or bank transfers for payments.
- A notebook for client notes.
That isn’t a system. It’s a house of cards. And when customer details are spread across personal apps, keeping them secure gets harder.
A different approach: Appt In
We saw the fees on new clients. We saw the monthly costs piling up. We saw independent businesses juggling five different apps. So we built something different.
Appt In isn’t a marketplace where you’re just another face in the crowd. It’s one app for independent businesses and the customers they serve.
Keep what you earn
We don’t take a cut of your bookings. When customers pay you through Appt In, you receive 100% of what you charge. No commission on new clients. No boost fees.
One app for the whole job
- Chat and calls: talk to customers inside Appt In, not on your personal WhatsApp.
- Payments: secure, tracked and simple, with instant proof of payment.
- Bookings: a clear booking experience that doesn’t show your customers a list of competitors.
- Customer files: keep quotes, waivers and contracts with the customer they belong to.
Trusted. Connected. Protected.
That’s our promise. Customers can chat and call you without swapping personal numbers, so their privacy is protected and you’re not holding a phone full of contacts. We don’t sell your data.
For your customers, it’s one place to manage all their local services: the plumber, the tutor and the hairdresser. For you, it’s the end of the admin juggle.
The choice is yours
If you want a marketplace to find new clients for you, and you’re happy to pay a fee on each one, Fresha might work.
If you have a larger team and a monthly subscription of £40 + VAT or more suits you, Booksy is a well-known choice.
But if you want to own your customer relationships, keep 100% of what you charge and run everything from one app, Appt In is built for you.
You don’t need more apps. You need a better way to work.
Join the waitlist and be first to know when Appt In launches.