For a barber, Fresha is the cheaper subscription that takes a smaller cut of each new client, and Booksy is the dearer one that does not charge you per reminder text. Both are marketplaces, though, and that is the part that decides your bill: each takes a one-time commission on clients who find you through its app, and with Fresha you cannot switch the marketplace off and keep online booking.
This is for a solo barber or a small shop choosing between the two, or already on one and wondering whether the other is cheaper. Prices were checked on fresha.com/pricing and biz.booksy.com on November 7, 2026.
Fresha vs Booksy at a glance
A warning about the numbers. Both companies show a different page per country, and the two do not line up: Fresha served us euro prices, Booksy has a separate page per market. To compare like with like, the table below uses each company’s euro page. The US dollar figures sit underneath, and your own market’s page is the one that binds.
| Fresha | Booksy | |
|---|---|---|
| Solo, per month | €14.95 + tax | €44 + VAT |
| Each extra team member | €9.95 per bookable member | €5 |
| New client from the marketplace | 20% of the first visit, €5 minimum | No commission on the Irish page; 30% capped at $100 on the US page |
| Reminders and confirmations | 20 texts free per member, then €0.12 each | Included, free |
| Marketing texts | €0.14 each | 500 free a month, then 5c |
| Card payments | 1.29% + €0.20 | 2.6% + VAT |
| Free trial | 7 days | 7 days in Ireland, 14 in the US |
| Can clients book without an account | No, they book inside Fresha | They book through your Booksy profile |
| Contract | None, monthly | None, monthly |
In the US, Booksy is $29.99 a month plus $20 for each extra staff member, with Boost at 30% of a new client’s first visit capped at $100. We could not pull Fresha’s US page, so treat its dollar prices as unchecked here.
The two full breakdowns are in Fresha pricing and fees explained and Booksy pricing and fees explained.
Where the money actually goes
The new client fee
This is the real difference between them, and it is not the percentage.
Fresha charges 20% of a new client’s first completed appointment, minimum €5, once per client. You cannot avoid it by sending people your own link, because Fresha counts anyone who was not already on your client list and first found you through the marketplace. Nor can you leave the marketplace: Fresha’s help centre says unlisting your profile disables all your online booking channels. If you want online booking from Fresha, you are listed, and the fee applies.
Booksy’s version is Boost, and it is a switch. It is free to turn on, costs 30% of a first visit when it is on, and charges nothing on clients who come through your own Instagram, your Google listing or word of mouth. Turn Boost off and your online booking keeps working. Booksy’s Irish page goes further and states no commission on new clients at all.
So the headline reads “Fresha 20%, Booksy 30%”, and the practical position is the other way round: Booksy’s commission is optional, Fresha’s is the price of having online booking.
Reminders
Fresha gives you 20 free text or WhatsApp messages per bookable team member a month, then meters them at €0.12 a text. A barber doing 120 cuts a month with one reminder each pays about €12 a month to remind people. Booksy includes confirmations and reminders at no charge on every plan.
If no-shows are what brought you here, the mechanism matters more than the brand; our notes on automated appointment reminders cover what actually gets people to turn up.
Card payments
Fresha takes 1.29% plus €0.20 on euro payments, online or in person. Booksy’s Irish page lists 2.6% plus VAT for mobile payments, and its US page 2.69% + $0.30 keyed in or 2.49% + $0.10 on its reader. On a €2,000 month that gap is roughly €27 against €52. Card processing is not really a feature of either product, but it is the line that quietly grows with your takings.
Booksy vs Fresha: which is cheaper for a solo barber?
Take a solo barber in Ireland: 120 cuts a month at €30, one reminder per booking, six in ten clients paying by card, and four new clients a month from the marketplace.
| Fresha | Booksy | |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | €14.95 | €44.00 |
| Reminders | €12.00 | Included |
| New client fee | €24.00 | None on the Irish page |
| Card processing | €42.26 | €56.16 |
| Total | about €93 | about €100 |
Close enough that the averages do not decide it. Change two inputs and it swings hard. If the marketplace sends you ten new clients instead of four, Fresha’s commission goes to €60 and it becomes the dearer of the two. If your book is all regulars and you barely text, Fresha drops to about €57 and Booksy stays at €100, because Booksy’s cost is the subscription and Fresha’s is the traffic.
That is the question to ask yourself before you pick: are you buying software, or are you buying clients?
Fresha or Booksy — and the third option
Both answers above assume you want a marketplace. Plenty of barbers do not. If your chairs are filled by regulars, Instagram and the fella who sat in the chair before, you are paying marketplace pricing on clients you already own.
bbook is the third option: a booking page under your own name, your own link, no marketplace in between and no commission of any kind on bookings or new clients. Clients book without creating an account. The free plan covers one user and 30 appointments a month, and paid plans start from €6.90 per user a month billed yearly, shown in your own currency on the pricing page. SMS and WhatsApp reminders, deposits and card payments through Stripe, and the optional AI receptionist that answers the calls you miss mid-fade come with Business Premium.
If you are weighing a move, the Fresha alternative page and the Booksy alternative page each have a feature-by-feature table.
FAQ
Is Fresha cheaper than Booksy?
The subscription is: €14.95 a month solo against €44 on Booksy’s Irish page. Whether the month is cheaper depends on marketplace clients and texts, both of which Fresha charges for and Booksy includes.
Is Booksy or Fresha better for barbers?
Booksy if you want the marketplace as a switch you control and reminders included. Fresha if your costs are mostly the subscription and you are happy being listed, which with Fresha is not optional.
Can I use Fresha or Booksy without the marketplace?
With Booksy, yes: turn Boost off and online booking keeps working. With Fresha, no, because unlisting your marketplace profile disables online booking. Running your own link with no marketplace means a tool built that way instead.