Take Bookings Now vs Fresha
A Fresha alternative with no commission on new clients
Fresha is a big, capable system with a marketplace that can bring you new clients, for 20% of their first booking. Here is what each one costs for a team your size, and which one suits which business.
Prices checked on from Fresha's own UK pages. See the sources.
Fresha is one of the biggest names in UK hair and beauty booking, and it does a great deal. It is not free: its UK pricing page lists £14.95 a month for one person, or £9.95 a month for each bookable team member. On top of that, it charges a one-off 20% commission, with a minimum of £4, when a brand-new client finds you on the Fresha marketplace. A new client booking a £60 cut and colour that way costs you £12. Returning clients, and people who book from your own link, Facebook or Instagram, are not charged that fee.
So whether Fresha is good value depends on where your clients come from. A salon full of regulars pays for a marketplace it hardly uses. A brand-new business with no following may find that 20% is the cheapest marketing it will ever buy. And if you work alone, Fresha's monthly price is lower than ours; the difference starts at two people.
This page sets out the costs and the trade-offs so you can work out which of those businesses you are.
Take Bookings Now is likely the better fit if
- Most of your clients are regulars, or find you through Google, Instagram or word of mouth
- You have a team, and paying for each bookable person adds up
- You want card payments to go into your own Stripe account
- You want your booking page to be about your business and nothing else
Fresha is likely the better fit if
- You are new and want a marketplace to send you clients
- You sell memberships, packages or gift cards
- You want a till and card terminals from the same company
- You need a waitlist or stock control for retail
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 | Fresha |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | £17.99 | £14.95 |
| 3 people | £17.99 | £29.85 |
| 6 people | £17.99 | £59.70 |
Fresha: the Independent plan for one person; for a team, the Team plan at £9.95 for each bookable team member. 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 | Fresha |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | £17.99 whatever the size of your team | £14.95 for one person, or £9.95 per bookable team member |
| Fee on new clients | None | 20% one-off commission, minimum £4, when a new client finds you on the Fresha marketplace |
| Online card payments | Through your own Stripe account, at Stripe's fee: 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards | 1.40% + 25p through Fresha payments |
| Deposits | A fixed amount or a percentage, per service | Upfront payments are part of Fresha payments |
| Text reminders | Bought as credit when you want it, with no monthly fee. Email reminders included | 20 free a month (per team member on Team), then 6p a text. Email free |
| Where clients find you | Your own booking page only. No marketplace | Your page, plus Fresha's marketplace |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card | 7 days |
| Contract | Monthly. Cancel any time | No minimum commitment or long-term contract |
What Fresha does that we do not
A marketplace
Clients search Fresha for services near them and can find you there. That is what the 20% new-client fee pays for.
Memberships, packages and gift cards
Sell a course of treatments or a monthly membership and have it tracked for you. We do not do this yet.
Point of sale and card terminals
Take payment at the desk through Fresha, with terminals from £99. We handle online payments only.
Waitlists
Clients can join a waitlist when a time is taken. A full day here simply shows as full.
Retail and stock
Sell products at the till and keep count of stock.
Marketing tools
Campaigns, deals, and loyalty and Google review add-ons.
Importing clients
Fresha can bring in your client details when you join. We cannot import a client list yet.
What is different about Take Bookings Now
One price for the whole team
£17.99 a month for one person or twenty. We do not charge per member of staff and have no plans to.
No commission on any booking
However a customer finds you, the booking costs you nothing extra.
Your own Stripe account
Card payments and deposits go straight into a Stripe account in your name. If you ever leave, your payment history stays with you in Stripe.
A person to talk to
Live chat and email from the moment you start setting up, with a real person answering.
Moving from Fresha
Run both for a while. Start your free trial and set up your services, team and hours while Fresha carries on as normal. Nothing needs switching off on day one.
Export your client list from Fresha. In Fresha, go to Clients → Clients list → Options and export it as CSV or Excel. You need the Can download clients permission. Card details cannot be exported, from Fresha or from any booking system.
Be aware there is no client import here yet. Customers are added to your list automatically the first time they book, and you can add your regulars by hand. Keep the export safe anyway: it is your record of who your clients are.
Pick a switch-over date. From that date, send new bookings to your new booking page and let the appointments already in Fresha run their course. Change your link on Google, Instagram, Facebook and your website on the same day.
Cancel Fresha once the last appointment booked there has gone. Fresha's help centre says cancelling removes your listing from its marketplace, so do it after you have moved your links.
Questions about switching from Fresha
No. Fresha's UK pricing page lists £14.95 a month for one person, or £9.95 a month per bookable team member, plus a 20% one-off commission (minimum £4) on new clients who find you on its marketplace.
Take Bookings Now charges £17.99 a month for any size of team, with no commission or new-client fee on any booking. Card payments go through your own Stripe account.
Not yet. You can export your client list from Fresha as a CSV or Excel file, and customers are added here automatically when they book. You can also add clients by hand.
About the same. Fresha charges 1.40% + 25p for online payments; Stripe charges 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards. On a £20 deposit that is 53p with Fresha and 50p with Stripe. The bigger differences are the monthly price and the new-client fee.
Not through us: we do not run a marketplace. New clients reach you through your Google Business Profile, Instagram, your website and recommendations, and your booking link works in all of those. If you rely on a marketplace for new clients, Fresha may suit you better.
Yes. The 14-day trial needs no card, and nothing stops you running both while you decide.
Sources
Every figure about Fresha 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.
Fresha is a trademark of its owner. Take Bookings Now is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Fresha.
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Vagaro alternative
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Try it alongside Fresha 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