Slotora vs Timely
Timely is a polished, well-liked system with transparent per-staff pricing and no marketplace commission — credit where it is due. The difference is the monthly bill: it scales with every bookable member of your team, and the entry plan holds back several of the features that protect your calendar. Every figure below is from Timely's own pricing page, read from a UK connection, so they are the sterling list. In Ireland, check them yourself before you rely on them: Timely's pricing page builds its plan table in JavaScript and we could not read a euro list from it on 19 September 2026, and we would rather say that than convert a number we have not seen.
Try Slotora free| Comparison | Slotora | Timely |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription price | £0 | £22 (Build), £34 (Elevate) or £39 (Innovate) per bookable staff member/mo |
| Cost of a three-person team | £0 | £66–£117/mo |
| Commission on new clients | 0% | 0% — Timely charges no new-client fees on any plan |
| Card processing fees | 0% from us — Stripe's own fee applies, paid to Stripe | 1.59% + 5p in person, 1.85% + 30p online, 3.00% + 30p international |
| SMS reminders included | Pay-as-you-go credit, per-market price published; email reminders unlimited and free | 100–300 SMS/mo per staff depending on plan, then 9p each |
| Waitlist | Included | Elevate and up (£34/staff/mo) |
| Digital consultation forms sent before the appointment | Included, with e-signature | Elevate and up (£34/staff/mo) |
| Before-and-after client photos | Included | Elevate and up (£34/staff/mo) |
| Loyalty rewards | Included | Elevate and up (£34/staff/mo) |
| Phone support | Email and chat | £20/mo on Build and Elevate; included on Innovate |
| Directory that brings you clients | Free listing in our directory, at 0% | None — Timely does not run a consumer marketplace |
| Stock and inventory management | Included | Included |
| Accounting integration | Xero, QuickBooks and your local invoicing system | Xero and QuickBooks |
| Free trial length | Not applicable — the plan is free, with no card at sign-up | 14 days, no card required |
| A free slot advertised by itself — and the post taken down when it fills | Yes, free. The freed time goes to your Facebook Page with a link that books that exact slot, and the post is deleted once somebody takes it. Instagram gets the same post with your logo; deleting an Instagram post needs a Meta permission we have not been granted yet, so the booking page tells anyone arriving late that the time has gone. | Their feature pages name AI automations and an AI message writer, and a Stock app; advertising a freed slot and withdrawing the post is not among them |
| Posting to your own Facebook Page and Instagram from inside the system | Yes, free — live since 22 August 2026 | An AI text generator for client messages is named; publishing to your own Facebook Page or Instagram feed is not |
Their pricing checked on their own site, 2026-08-13. www.gettimely.com
The honest caveat
Timely takes no marketplace cut and charges no new-client fee, so the monthly price is the whole bill — worth knowing if percentage pricing is the thing you are trying to escape. It is £22 to £39 per bookable staff member per month. Their top plan also runs the back office of a salon with a manager and a payroll — rosters, timesheets, staff targets — which we do not. Slotora is for the one-to-three-person team who would otherwise be paying £264–£1,400 a year for a diary.
Is there a team on your floor?
If several people work in your salon, and somebody else keeps the day running while you are with a client, that is a different job from one diary — and there is a Slotora written for it.
See Slotora for busy salons