How Much Does Fresha Cost for Salons in 2026? The Real Numbers

For years, Fresha was the platform you recommended because it was free. That era has ended. In 2026, the real cost of Fresha for salons includes a monthly subscription, a 20% commission on marketplace new clients, and transaction fees on every payment processed. This is the full breakdown — with the actual numbers, not just the headline rate.

Fresha Is No Longer Free

Fresha built its market position on a genuinely free product. Tens of thousands of salons adopted it, including many in the UK, because there was no financial barrier to entry. That has changed.

The shift happened gradually rather than overnight, but the outcome is clear: Fresha now has a multi-layer cost structure that varies with your booking volume. Unlike a fixed monthly fee, your total Fresha spend is difficult to predict from month to month — it depends on how many new clients book through the marketplace, how often they prepay, and how much your average booking is worth.

Fresha Cost Structure in 2026

Here is what Fresha charges, based on their current published pricing:

• Monthly subscription: from approx. £11–12/month (Independent plan, 1 person)
• Marketplace commission on new clients: 20% per client (minimum £6)
• Transaction fees: 1.29% + £0.20 per payment
• SMS notifications: approx. £0.12 per message after the included monthly allowance

For salons with multiple staff, Fresha's Team plan charges per bookable team member — a three-stylist salon could easily pay £35–40/month in subscription alone, before any commission or transaction fees.

The 20% Marketplace Commission on New Clients

This is the most significant cost for salons that actively use Fresha to attract new clients. Every time a new customer finds your salon through Fresha's marketplace and books, Fresha retains 20% of the booking value.

The good news is that this commission only applies once: the first time that client books through Fresha. On subsequent bookings — whether through Fresha or directly — no commission applies. Fresha calls this a one-time fee, and it is essentially a client acquisition charge.

In theory, this cost diminishes as your client base matures. In practice, any salon in growth mode is constantly acquiring new clients — and for each of those, 20% goes to Fresha before you see a penny.

The £6 Minimum Fee Per Client

There is a minimum charge per new client that catches salon owners off guard: even if 20% of the booking value comes to less than £6, Fresha still charges at least £6 per new marketplace client.

For lower-value services, this creates a disproportionate cost. A basic men's cut at £18? Twenty per cent would be £3.60 — but Fresha charges £6, which is effectively a 33% commission rate. The lower your average service value, the more the minimum fee inflates your effective commission rate.

The Monthly Subscription: From £11/Month

Fresha's Independent plan (one person, one calendar column) runs at approximately £11–12/month in the UK. Compared to Treatwell's subscription fee, this is more affordable — and it is. The issue is not the subscription in isolation but the combination of subscription, commission, and transaction fees adding up together.

For salons with a team, the per-member pricing of the Team plan means every additional bookable stylist adds to your monthly spend. A two-stylist salon might pay £22–24/month in subscription before a single booking happens.

Transaction Fees and SMS Costs

Beyond commission and subscription, Fresha charges for every payment processed through its infrastructure:

• Online payments: 1.29% + £0.20 per transaction
• In-person payments (POS): variable rates depending on the plan and terminal

On a £50 booking, the transaction fee comes to roughly £0.85. Individually negligible — but a salon processing 150 to 200 payments per month pays £130 to £170 in transaction fees alone, on top of commission and subscription.

SMS reminders and confirmations are included up to a monthly volume. Beyond that, each message costs approximately £0.12. For busy salons with automated reminder sequences, this adds a small but consistent line item to every monthly invoice.

What Do You Actually Pay Per Month?

A realistic example. You run a medium-sized salon. Fresha brings you 25 new clients per month through the marketplace. Your average booking value is £55.

Cost item	Calculation	Monthly cost
Subscription (Independent)	~£12/month	£12.00
Marketplace commission (20% × 25 clients × £55)	0.20 × £1,375	£275.00
Transaction fees (1.29% + £0.20 × 90 transactions)	~£0.91 × 90	£81.90
Extra SMS (est. 40 messages)	40 × £0.12	£4.80
Estimated total monthly cost		~£374

That is approximately £4,490 per year to acquire 25 new clients per month. As those clients become loyal and stop routing their rebookings through the marketplace, the cost decreases — but the acquisition phase carries a real price.

For higher-value services — colour, extensions, specialist treatments — the maths gets significantly worse. A £120 colour booking generates £24 in commission for Fresha. A £200 treatment generates £40. These are costs that come directly out of your margin.

Calculate Your Fresha Costs

Use the calculator below to see what Fresha costs at your actual booking volume and average value, and compare it to a flat monthly fee with zero commission. For a full platform comparison, see our Treatwell vs Fresha vs DoTheBeauty guide.

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The Alternative: A Flat Fee With No Commission

DoTheBeauty charges a flat €19.95/month (approx. £17) with 0% commission on every booking — new clients, returning clients, everyone. There is no marketplace model: clients book directly through your own salon website, built by AI in 10 minutes.

You own the client relationship from booking one. No commission on their first visit, no dependency on a third-party marketplace for your new client pipeline.

Scenario: 25 new clients/month at £55 average	Fresha	DoTheBeauty Starter
Monthly platform cost	~£374	~£17 (€19.95)
Annual platform cost	~£4,490	~£204 (€239)
Commission on new clients	20%	0%
Annual saving vs Fresha	—	~£4,286

The honest trade-off: Fresha brings marketplace traffic. DoTheBeauty does not — your bookings come from your own website and your own marketing. But once a client base exists, you pay nothing to the platform to retain, rebook, or grow it.

Read our full side-by-side comparison at Fresha vs DoTheBeauty, or see how the numbers stack up against Treatwell in our Treatwell cost breakdown.

What To Do Next

If you are currently on Fresha and questioning the cost, the right answer depends on how dependent you are on the marketplace for new client discovery. For salons that rely heavily on Fresha for discovery, switching overnight is a genuine risk.

But if you already have an established client base, a Google presence, or a social following — paying hundreds of pounds per year in first-visit commissions is money that could stay in your business.

Try DoTheBeauty free for 7 days and build your booking site to see what the alternative looks like in practice. Start your 7-day free trial — live in 10 minutes.