Fresha Pricing Explained: What Does Fresha Really Cost in 2026?

Fresha’s UK subscription starts at £14.95 a month for one bookable professional, or £9.95 per bookable team member on Team.Your bill can also include new-client acquisition fees, payment processing, messaging and optional extras.Fresha UK pricing

If you are comparing salon software, barbershop software or a booking system for a beauty business, the useful question is what your particular business will pay over a normal month.

This guide separates the costs, compares them with Cobbtree and works through the arithmetic. For example, a four-person business can save£183.72 a year on the base subscriptionwith Cobbtree Studio. A business that also wants the three optional Fresha products modelled below has a larger£1,320.12 annual software-cost difference. Those are different comparisons, with different assumptions.

About this comparison:This article is published by Cobbtree. Figures are in GBP, before VAT unless stated. Examples use published standard rates, one location and unchanged activity over 12 months. They are illustrations, not customer results or guaranteed savings. Introductory offers are excluded. Payment processing, acquisition charges and message usage are included only where explicitly shown.

How Fresha pricing works

Think of your monthly bill as five separate components:

1. The subscription for the people taking appointments.

2. Charges for eligible new clients acquired through the Marketplace.

3. Fees for payments you process.

4. Chargeable messages and campaigns.

5. Optional services you choose to add.

This distinction prevents two common comparison mistakes: treating all booking revenue as commissionable, and assuming every optional extra is compulsory.

Fresha defines bookable team members by whether calendar bookings are enabled on their profiles. Count the people taking appointments, rather than simply counting every employee or every chair in the premises.Fresha plan management

Fresha UK fee reference

UK prices exclude 20% tax. Verify your account’s applicable rates before committing.Official pricing and allowances

What does Fresha’s 20% new-client fee actually apply to?

It is a one-time acquisition charge for an eligible new client discovered through Fresha, not a recurring 20% deduction from every appointment. A client can first discover you on the Marketplace and subsequently book through your website or social media; that journey can still qualify.

Fresha excludes existing clients already recorded before booking and clients confirming a previous visit. Its calculation uses the original booked value; checkout additions and later discounts do not change that basis. The help centre mentions a high-value cap without specifying its amount, so obtain confirmation for large bookings.Fresha Marketplace fee rules

For ordinary qualifying appointments below any applicable cap, the calculation is the greater of 20% of the fee-bearing booking value and £4:

These are our calculations from the published rate. At the £15 example, the minimum makes the effective percentage 26.67%. Minimum charges therefore deserve particular attention when comparing booking software for lower-priced barber services or short beauty appointments.

Acquisition and processing are different expenses. A booking can attract both if it qualifies for acquisition and you process its payment through the platform. Paying in cash does not, by itself, remove an eligible acquisition charge.Fresha business-wallet explanation

What about cancellations and no-shows?

A client cancelling online through their Fresha account defers the acquisition fee to a later booking. A business cancelling on the client’s behalf can still incur it; leaving an appointment unmanaged does not avoid it.Cancellation rules

For a no-show, Fresha says to mark the appointment accordingly on the same day. The fee is then deferred if the client books again.No-show guidance

Before moving to any booking platform, organise your existing customer records. Fresha specifically recommends importing existing clients before going live so they can be recognised as returning customers.Client import guidance

Cobbtree’s current plans and fees

All three list a website, loyalty, reports, POS and unlimited bookings. One and Studio also charge 5% on gift cards sold on Cobbtree and 5% on membership payments; Max removes these commissions. Payment processing remains separate. Prices exclude 20% VAT.Cobbtree’s live plan table

The pricing explanation describes the new-customer charge as payable after the first completed, paid visit. It does not fully document attribution by acquisition channel, minimums or caps. The acquisition examples below therefore assume the stated visits are chargeable under the respective provider’s rules; they do not assume identical attribution policies.

At 20% VAT, the monthly subscription amounts are £17.39 for One, £29.39 for Studio and £59.39 for Max, rounded to the penny. These are subscription amounts only.

Fresha vs Cobbtree: subscription-only savings

Start with the recurring software charge before adding optional products or usage. This is the clearest baseline for a business that mainly needs a diary and online booking.

Our calculations using the published subscriptions linked above. One location; before VAT; no promotions, usage, commissions, processing or add-ons. Annual difference equals the monthly difference multiplied by 12.

For a four-person team, the base subscription difference is38.47%: £15.31 divided by £39.80. For ten people it is75.39%. These percentages apply to the subscription component, not the entire cost of running the system.

The two-person row matters. Fresha’s base subscription is lower in that situation. Cobbtree Studio becomes less expensive on this measure from three bookable people, because £24.49 ÷ £9.95 is approximately 2.46.

A four-person salon using loyalty, a website and Insights

Now consider a different business: four bookable professionals at one location, choosing Fresha Client Loyalty, Smart Website and Insights as well as Team.

That is an 81.79% lower software bill for this selected package.The calculation is (£134.50 - £24.49) ÷ £134.50 × 100. This reproduces the arithmetic inCobbtree’s comparison calculator, using Fresha rates checked for this article.

It is a comparison of the cost of covering these feature categories. It is not a claim that the products have identical functionality. Test the particular loyalty rules, reporting detail and website controls your business needs. Fresha already includes core reporting; Insights is an optional enhancement, not a prerequisite for every report.

If you would not buy those three extras, use the subscription-only table. Your saving should reflect the services you would actually purchase.

New-client scenarios: how much could you save?

Suppose that same four-person business has20 fee-bearing new-client visits each month, each worth £50. Assume all qualify for the stated charge on the provider being modelled, with no cap affecting the example. There are no gift-card or membership sales in this scenario.

Acquisition charges are £200 with Fresha: 20 × £50 × 20%. At Cobbtree One/Studio’s 10% rate, they would be £100. Max’s modelled acquisition charge is zero.

Before VAT. Excludes payments, messaging, optional products, promotions and switching costs. Assumes the same qualifying visit volume and value each month; it does not predict how many customers either marketplace will generate.

Combining this acquisition scenario with the three optional Fresha products in the previous section gives £334.50 versus £49.49 for Max:£285.01 a month or £3,420.12 a year, an85.20% difference in those included costs. This is a specific scenario, not a general “save 85%” promise.

Acquisition volume deserves as much attention as commission. A lower fee does not demonstrate that two marketplaces deliver equal demand. Compare the profit from clients acquired, their repeat visits and your own marketing expenditure alongside platform charges.

When could Cobbtree Max cost less than Studio?

Max costs £25 more per month than Studio. Ignoring SMS differences and other costs, the subscription increase is offset when avoided Studio commissions exceed £25.

For example, £250 of eligible new-customer visit value at 10% produces £25 in fees. Five £50 visits reach that threshold; a sixth makes Max cheaper on subscription plus those fees. Alternatively, £500 of fee-bearing gift-card sales and/or membership payments at 5% produces £25.

For a mixed month, calculate:

10% × eligible new-customer value + 5% × eligible gift-card sales + 5% × eligible membership payments.

Compare that result with £25. Avoid counting the same underlying charge twice, and use the values to which Cobbtree actually applies each fee. Max’s larger SMS allowance can also affect the decision.

Card processing: compare the transaction, not just the percentage

Cobbtree lists online payments at 1.5% + 20p, subject to Stripe’s card and account rates. Stripe identifies this standard rate with standard UK cards; other card categories can cost more.Cobbtree payment pricing,Stripe UK pricing

Compare it with the Fresha online rate in the reference table, assuming both published rates apply to the same transaction:

These calculations are before any applicable tax, account-specific adjustments or additional charges. Cobbtree’s illustrated rate is lower below £50; the rates are equal at £50; Fresha’s is lower above £50.

This is why a smaller percentage does not always mean a smaller fee: the fixed amount matters too. Likewise, do not compare an online rate against an in-person rate and present the difference as a like-for-like saving.

A four-person business processing 400 qualifying £50 online payments would incur £380 at either illustrated rate. Adding only base subscriptions gives £419.80 for Fresha and £404.49 for Studio. The difference remains £15.31, but it is now3.65% of the included Fresha total, rather than the subscription-only percentage of 38.47%.

A deposit followed by a separate card balance payment can create two transactions. Model the number of payments as well as their combined value. Also check refunds, disputes, international cards, currency conversion, hardware and payout arrangements before relying on a processing estimate.

Fresha offers integrated deposits and cancellation/no-show payment policies. Evaluate how a payment provider supports your workflow, not only its headline charge.Fresha payments

SMS reminders can change the result

Fresha’s Independent allowance is 20 automated messages monthly; Team allocates 20 per bookable member. Its marketing-email allowance is separate. Messaging allowances reset monthly and are used before purchased communication credit.Fresha allowances,communication-balance guidance

For a four-person business sending 200 automated SMS messages in a month, with no WhatsApp usage consuming the allowance:

In this example, Studio is £8.91 cheaper than Fresha. Max is £8.49 more expensive than Fresha when comparing only subscription and SMS. Its commission differences could change the wider result, but they are not included here.

For a solo business sending the same 200 messages, subscription plus SMS is £25.75 with Fresha versus £29.29 with Cobbtree One.Fresha is £3.54 cheaper in that scenario.A £0.46 subscription saving does not override a larger usage-cost difference.

Use chargeable SMS units from your account rather than assuming one appointment always equals one message. Confirm treatment of long messages and the mix of SMS, push, email and WhatsApp you actually send.

How to choose salon or barbershop software using your own numbers

For a reliable estimate, collect one representative month of data: bookable people, eligible new-client visits, their booking values, processed payment count and value by method, message usage, subscriptions and optional extras.

Build the same cost model for each provider:

Monthly cost = subscription + acquisition fees + processing + communications + chosen extras + other applicable commissions.

Then subtract the Cobbtree result from the Fresha result. Divide the difference by the Fresha total to express it as a percentage. Multiply by 12 only when the assumptions reasonably represent a full year. Consider seasonal months separately if your business has large peaks.

Forhair salon booking software, test appointment processing time, colour-service scheduling, consultations and retail checkout. Forbarbershop booking software, test short appointments, walk-ins, team availability and frequent repeat visits. Anail salon booking systemshould be evaluated against your own treatment durations, resources and rebooking process.

Run a realistic journey during your evaluation: create a client, book an appointment, move it, send a reminder, take payment and check the report. Include any specialist workflow your beauty or wellness business cannot operate without.

Frequently asked questions

Is Fresha free for UK businesses in 2026?

The current standard UK offering is subscription-based. A trial or promotion should not be treated as the normal ongoing cost. Fresha’s plan depends on the number of bookable team members.Fresha plan guide

Is Cobbtree always cheaper than Fresha?

No. The two-person subscription and solo SMS examples above show cases where Fresha costs less. Team size, commissionable activity, payment methods and optional products determine the outcome.

Does commission-free mean payment processing is free?

No. Max removes the listed Cobbtree commissions, while processing and chargeable usage remain separate. Treat “commission-free” as a description of those platform charges, not a promise of a zero-cost payment transaction.

Can I move my Fresha reviews to another provider?

Do not assume reviews, payment credentials, memberships or every client-history field are transferable. Fresha says cancellation removes workspace access and unlists the profile at the end of the billing cycle; reviews are retained and restored upon reactivation. Plan your exports and migration before cancellation.Fresha cancellation guidance

Are the annual savings guaranteed?

No. They annualise the stated monthly examples. Changes in rates, staffing, activity, customer acquisition, tax treatment or switching costs can change the result.

Compare your monthly bill with Cobbtree

The most useful comparison starts with your own business. Separate essential software from extras, check how client acquisition is attributed, and price the payments and messages you actually use.

ExploreCobbtree’s current plans and calculator, or read aboutmoving from Fresha to Cobbtree. Use the worked examples here as a starting point, then replace the assumptions with your own numbers.

Research note: UK prices were checked on 30 September 2026 using official provider pages. Fresha’s page is location-sensitive; this article uses the GBP version verified in a UK browser session. All savings calculations are our own. Recheck live prices before making a purchasing decision.