Take Bookings Now vs Booksy
A Booksy alternative for barbers and salons
Booksy is built around its app and marketplace, and many barbers get real bookings from it. If most of your clients already come back to you, you may be paying for reach you do not use.
Prices checked on from Booksy's own UK pages. See the sources.
Booksy is popular with barbers for a reason: clients use the Booksy app to find somewhere to get a cut, and a shop that is new to an area can get real bookings from it. Its UK price is £40 a month plus £5 for each extra team member, plus VAT. That covers the whole system, and appointment confirmations and reminders are free.
The extra costs are optional. Boost puts you higher in the Booksy marketplace and charges a one-off 30% of a new client's first visit, minimum £5, plus VAT. On a £25 skin fade that is £7.50 plus VAT. With Boost off, marketplace clients cost nothing extra.
If your chair is already full of regulars who book you directly, most of what that £40 pays for is reach you are not using. That is the case where a simpler, cheaper booking page makes sense.
Take Bookings Now is likely the better fit if
- Your clients are mostly regulars who would book you anyway
- You want to pay well under half as much each month
- You would rather take deposits through your own Stripe account
- You want to cancel from your account without contacting anybody
Booksy is likely the better fit if
- You are new to an area and want clients to find you in the Booksy app
- You want Reserve with Google, so people book without leaving Google
- You sell memberships, packages or gift cards
- You want a waitlist and built-in text marketing
What it costs each month
The subscription alone, for the cheapest plan on each pricing page that fits the team, before card fees or any fee on new clients.
| Staff | Take Bookings Now | Booksy |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | £17.99 | £40.00 |
| 3 people | £17.99 | £50.00 |
| 6 people | £17.99 | £65.00 |
Booksy: £40 a month plus £5 for each additional team member, all plus VAT. Take Bookings Now: one plan, the same price for any number of staff; the price shown is what you are charged.
Fees and terms, side by side
| What | Take Bookings Now | Booksy |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | £17.99 whatever the size of your team | £40, plus £5 for each additional team member, plus VAT |
| Fee on new clients | None | With Boost on: 30% of a Boost client's first visit, minimum £5, plus VAT. Nothing with Boost off |
| Card payments | Through your own Stripe account, at Stripe's fee: 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards | Booksy Mobile Payments: 1.29% + 20p + VAT; Tap to Pay 0.99% + 20p + VAT |
| Deposits | A fixed amount or a percentage, per service | Need Booksy Mobile Payments switched on; minimum deposit £5 |
| Text reminders | Bought as credit when you want it, with no monthly fee. Email reminders included | Confirmations and reminders free. Marketing texts: 500 free a month, then 5p |
| Where clients find you | Your own booking page only. No marketplace | Your Booksy profile, plus the Booksy marketplace and app |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card | 7 days, no card |
| Cancelling | From your own account, any time | Booksy's help centre says to contact their support team |
What Booksy does that we do not
A marketplace and customer app
Clients browse and book through Booksy's own app, which can bring in people who have never heard of you.
Reserve with Google
People can book you without leaving Google. With us, they tap your link on your Google profile and book on your page.
Memberships, packages and gift cards
Sell bundles and memberships and have them tracked. We do not do this yet.
Waitlist
Clients can wait for a time that is already taken. A full day here simply shows as full.
Tap to Pay and in-person payments
Take card payments on your phone at the chair. We handle online payments only.
Marketing
Email and text campaigns built in, with free marketing texts each month.
Importing clients
Booksy can import a client list from a spreadsheet. We cannot import a client list yet.
What is different about Take Bookings Now
Less than half the price
£17.99 a month for the whole shop, with no VAT added on top of the price you see.
No Boost, no commission
There is no paid visibility and no percentage of anyone's first visit.
Deposits into your own Stripe account
Take a deposit on the services that need one, paid straight into a Stripe account in your name.
Leave when you like
Cancel from your account. Nothing to email, nobody to talk you out of it.
A page that is only about you
Your booking page has your name, your prices and your team, and no other businesses.
Moving from Booksy
Set up alongside Booksy. Start your free trial, add your services, team and hours, and send a few regulars the new link before you change anything else.
Get a copy of your client list. Booksy's help centre does not describe an export button. It says to email [email protected] and ask for a copy of your data, so ask early and allow time for a reply.
Be aware there is no client import here yet. Clients are added to your list automatically the first time they book, and you can add regulars by hand.
Move your links. Booksy asks businesses to point their Instagram and Facebook booking buttons at their Booksy profile, so change those, your Google profile and your website on the same day. Here is where each one lives.
Cancel Booksy once the appointments booked there have happened. According to its help centre, that means contacting its support team.
Questions about switching from Booksy
Booksy's UK pricing page lists £40 a month plus £5 for each additional team member, with VAT added on top. Boost is optional and charges 30% of a Boost client's first visit, minimum £5, plus VAT.
Take Bookings Now is £17.99 a month for the whole shop, with unlimited staff and no commission. It does not have Booksy's marketplace or customer app.
Booksy's help centre says to email [email protected] to request a copy of your data. It does not describe a self-serve export.
Not yet. Clients are added automatically when they book with you, and you can add clients by hand.
With Take Bookings Now, deposits go through your own Stripe account, and you choose a fixed amount or a percentage per service. Booksy's help centre says its deposits need Booksy Mobile Payments.
You will lose any bookings that came from Booksy's marketplace. Clients who already know you, and people who find you on Google or Instagram, book on your own page instead.
Sources
Every figure about Booksy on this page was read from these pages on 16 September 2026. Prices and features change, so check them before you decide. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
- Booksy UK pricing
- Booksy: standing out in the Booksy Marketplace
- Booksy: deposits and no-show protection
- Booksy: cancelling your subscription
- Booksy: getting a copy of your data
- Stripe UK pricing
Booksy is a trademark of its owner. Take Bookings Now is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Booksy.
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Try it alongside Booksy for 14 days
No card needed. Set it up, send a few customers to it, and keep whichever works.
Claim your booking link
See if the address you want is free. No account, no card — it takes a second.
No card required · 14 days free · Your progress is saved, so you can stop and come back