Salon booking systems compared, country by country: prices, commission and features in the UK, Ireland and across Europe (2026)
Most salon owners compare booking systems on the monthly fee, and most of them end up paying for something else: a share of every new client a marketplace sends, a text message bill that grows with the column, a card fee on every deposit, or a contract they cannot leave for a year. The headline price is the smallest number on the invoice surprisingly often.
On 11 November 2026 we read the public pricing and feature pages of the systems salons in the UK and Ireland meet most often, and the leaders in the other six countries Slotora works in. Everything below is what those pages say. Where a page does not mention something, we write „not stated” — that is a sentence about the page, not about the product. We are a booking system ourselves, Slotora, so our own offer is held to the same rule: only what our product does today.
What actually decides the price
- The fee model: per business, per team member, per calendar or per week of bookings? Including VAT or not? Monthly, or a minimum term?
- Commission: does a new client from the marketplace cost you a share of her first visit, how much, and is there a minimum or a cap?
- Reminders: are email reminders included, what does a text cost, and how many are free?
- Deposits and no-show fees: can you take a card deposit at booking, and what does the card payment cost?
- Apps: is there a business app on iPhone and Android, and a client app or marketplace?
- Accounting: does it link to Xero or QuickBooks, or do you retype the day's takings?
Fresha
Fresha calls itself the world's largest booking platform for beauty and wellness and says more than 130,000 businesses use it. Independent costs £14.95 a month, Team £9.95 per bookable team member, both excluding VAT, with no long-term contract. A brand-new client who finds you on the Fresha marketplace costs a one-time 20% commission, with a minimum of £4; returning clients and bookings through your own link, Facebook or Instagram cost nothing.
Email and app notifications are free and unlimited; you get 20 automated texts a month (per team member on Team), then 6p each. Upfront payments, no-show and cancellation fees are built in; online card payments cost 1.40% + 25p, in person 1.19% + 20p. Add-ons are where the bill grows: client loyalty £49.95 per location, Google rating boost £12.95, and an AI Concierge at £23.95 for messages or £79.95 for calls and messages, per location per month. Good for you if you want the biggest marketplace and are comfortable paying 20% for the clients it sends.
Treatwell
Treatwell is a marketplace first. Its UK page says more than 280,000 UK clients book every month. Connect Freelancer costs £9.99 a month, Connect Advanced £24.99 with unlimited team members, and Expert £59, all excluding VAT. Treatwell charges 35% + VAT on a new client's first booking from the marketplace, with no minimum; a client counts as new if you have not served her through Treatwell in the last 365 days. Repeat clients, your own clients and bookings through your Google or social buttons are 0%.
Online prepayments carry a 2.5% + VAT processing fee. Connect includes free text confirmations and reminders; Expert adds deposits, your own email and text campaigns and client segmentation. There is an AI receptionist from £69 a month that answers calls in your Treatwell calendar. In Ireland Treatwell runs the same marketplace with the same 35% on first bookings, but its Irish page does not show a monthly price. Good for you if marketplace footfall is the point and the 35% is priced into your first-visit menu.
Booksy
Booksy costs £40 a month plus £5 for each extra user in the UK, and €44 plus €5 per user in Ireland, plus VAT, with no commitment. In the UK its Boost programme charges a one-time 30% of a Boost client's first visit, with a minimum of £5; switch Boost off and there is no commission. On the Irish page there is no Boost at all: Booksy says it charges no commission for new clients or bookings there.
Confirmations and reminders cost nothing, and 500 marketing texts a month are included (5p each after that in the UK, 5c in Ireland). Card payments cost 1.29% + 20p + VAT in the UK and 2.6% + VAT in Ireland, and no-show protection runs on them. There is a business app and a free client app, Reserve with Google and Instagram booking buttons. Good for you if you want one flat price, a well-known client app and, in Ireland, no commission.
Phorest
Phorest was founded in Ireland in 2003 and says more than 12,000 salons, spas and clinics use it across Ireland, the UK and beyond. It publishes no prices: every plan, from Starter for salons with three or more staff to Elite, says „Request a quote”. Texts cost 9.5p, 8.2p or 7p depending on the plan (cents in Ireland), and Elite includes 500 a month. Deposits, no-show charges on stored cards, a point of sale with VAT, a branded client app on the Ultimate plan and AI add-ons for the front desk are all on the page. There is no client marketplace. Good for you if you run an established team salon and want a full management system with a sales conversation.
Timely
Timely prices by the week and by how many bookings you take: Run from £4, Boost from £7 and Thrive from £9 a week, with unlimited team members and no new-client fees. Texts are included in proportion to bookings, with extras at 8p, 5p or 4p. In-salon card payments cost 1.59% + 5p, online payments such as a deposit 1.85% + 30p; the cheapest plan takes deposits but not cancellation fees. There is no marketplace, and Timely's region selector had no Ireland option when we looked. Good for you if you want a polished system without a marketplace and your volume is steady.
Square Appointments
Square Appointments is free for a single location, then £29 or £69 a month per location in the UK (€0, €19 or €49 + VAT in Ireland), with no employee limit. Text and email reminders are included on every plan, prepayments too; cancellation fees need Plus. Card payments are Square's own: 1.75% in person on the free plan, 1.4% + 25p online for UK cards. There is an iOS and Android app and no marketplace commission. Good for you if you already take payments with Square and want the calendar in the same place.
At a glance: UK and Ireland
| System | Monthly fee (its own page) | New-client commission | Text reminders | Deposits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slotora | Monthly fee (its own page): £0 | New-client commission: 0%, including our directory | Text reminders: 4 credits, from about 8p | Deposits: yes, through your own Stripe |
| Fresha | Monthly fee (its own page): £14.95, or £9.95 per team member, ex VAT | New-client commission: 20% one-time, minimum £4 | Text reminders: 20 free a month, then 6p | Deposits: yes, card fees apply |
| Treatwell | Monthly fee (its own page): £9.99 / £24.99 / £59, ex VAT | New-client commission: 35% + VAT on the first marketplace booking | Text reminders: included on Connect | Deposits: prepayment 2.5% + VAT; deposits on Expert |
| Booksy | Monthly fee (its own page): £40 + £5 per user (IE: €44 + €5), plus VAT | New-client commission: UK Boost 30%, min. £5; none in Ireland | Text reminders: reminders included at no cost | Deposits: no-show protection, card fees apply |
| Phorest | Monthly fee (its own page): not published | New-client commission: no marketplace | Text reminders: 9.5p, 8.2p or 7p | Deposits: yes |
| Timely | Monthly fee (its own page): from £4, £7 or £9 a week | New-client commission: none | Text reminders: included by volume, extras 4p–8p | Deposits: yes; cancellation fees from Boost |
| Square Appointments | Monthly fee (its own page): £0 / £29 / £69 per location | New-client commission: none stated | Text reminders: included | Deposits: prepayments; fees from Plus |
Read across the table, Slotora is the only row that charges £0 a month and 0% commission and still includes deposits and no-show fees: everything the paid plans sell, without the monthly fee or the cut.
And in the other countries?
Slotora works in six countries besides the UK and Ireland, and each has its own landscape. No vendor publishes its market share in any of them, so we do not name a „market leader” — only the systems salons mention most, and what those systems say about their own prices.
| Country | Systems salons meet most | Typical fees (their own pages) |
|---|---|---|
| Poland | Systems salons meet most: Booksy (which absorbed Versum and Moment.pl), Saloner, Estetify | Typical fees (their own pages): Booksy 145 zł net + 35 zł per extra user, Boost 45% of the first visit, capped at 250 zł net; Saloner 110 zł net; Estetify 99 zł gross, no commission |
| Romania | Systems salons meet most: MERO, Notino Partner, Programo | Typical fees (their own pages): MERO €35 + €10 per extra employee, ex VAT, unlimited booking texts; Notino Partner free; Programo 89 lei |
| Hungary | Systems salons meet most: Salonic, Notino Partner, Minup | Typical fees (their own pages): Salonic 6,200 or 12,400 Ft + VAT per calendar, texts 40 Ft; Notino Partner free; Minup from €0 |
| Germany, Austria | Systems salons meet most: Treatwell, Shore, Salonized, Planity, studiolution | Typical fees (their own pages): roughly €23 to €130 a month; in Germany cash needs a till with a certified TSE, in Austria an RKSV register |
| Spain | Systems salons meet most: Booksy, Treatwell, Fresha, Koibox | Typical fees (their own pages): Booksy €34.99 + VAT, Boost 30% capped at €50 + VAT; Treatwell 25% with a 12-month minimum term; Koibox €0–€55; VeriFactu e-invoicing is the question of the year |
Whichever of these countries you work in, the pattern is the same: marketplaces take a share of every new client's first visit, subscription systems charge per person or per calendar, and texts and card fees come on top. Slotora costs £0 a month with 0% commission in all eight countries, in the salon's own language.
What you get with Slotora
Slotora costs £0 a month and takes 0% commission, including on a new client who finds you through the Slotora directory. Online booking, the team calendar, client records, gift cards, passes, the waitlist, reports and automatic reminders are all in it at no extra cost. Email reminders are unlimited and free. Texts come out of a prepaid credit balance: a UK or Irish text is 4 credits, and the smallest pack, 100 credits, costs £2, so a text is about 8p (about 10c in Ireland), less in larger packs. Credits never expire and there is no monthly minimum. What Slotora costs · Automatic reminders
Deposits, full prepayment and no-show fees run through your own Stripe account; Slotora adds 0% on top and only Stripe's own fee applies. At the counter you can record cash, a QR payment or your own card machine, with tips, emailed receipts and a day-end cash count. Invoices go out through your own Xero or QuickBooks. There is a business app for iPhone and Android, and your booking page speaks English, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, German and Spanish. AI costs money only if you want it to: the AI column that flags no-show risk, profit per service and reorders is free, Nita, our AI assistant, answers 30 questions a month about your own salon for free, and the AI phone receptionist answers your salon's phone from a prepaid pack of minutes. Deposits and no-show fees
Which system suits whom?
- A solo or small team whose clients come from Instagram, Google and recommendations, who want no monthly fee and no commission: Slotora.
- You want the largest marketplace and accept 20% on new clients: Fresha.
- Marketplace footfall in the UK or Ireland is the point, and 35% on a first booking is priced in: Treatwell.
- One flat fee, a known client app, and in Ireland no commission at all: Booksy.
- An established team salon wanting a full management suite and a sales conversation: Phorest or Timely.
- Whichever you choose: book an appointment on your own phone through the booking page before you sign, and read what sits in the add-ons.
Our verdict
For most independent salons and small teams, Slotora is the best choice in this comparison: £0 a month, 0% commission even on new clients from our directory, unlimited free email reminders, texts from about 8p with no subscription, deposits and no-show fees through your own Stripe account with nothing added, invoices through your own Xero or QuickBooks, Nita for questions about your own salon, and a booking page in six languages. A marketplace fee pays for itself only if most of your new clients really come from that marketplace; if they find you on Instagram, Google or through friends, Slotora leaves every pound with you.
