Salon Studio vs Fresha
Fresha is a marketplace booking platform from $19.95/month that takes a 20% one-time fee on each new client its marketplace sends you, while Salon Studio is white-label booking software at $50/month flat on your own domain with no marketplace and no commissions.
Fresha is one of the biggest names in beauty booking — 130,000+ businesses across 120+ countries, a polished product, and a marketplace that genuinely sends salons new clients. The model is the trade-off: your clients book on Fresha's platform with Fresha accounts, your booking page lives at a fresha.com address, and growth gets billed — per team member, per new marketplace client, and per add-on. Here is the honest version of how the two compare.
At a glance
Price
Fresha
Independent $19.95/mo; Team $14.95 per team member/mo (as of June 2026)
Salon Studio
$50/mo flat — unlimited staff
New-client commission
Fresha
20% one-time fee (minimum $6) on each new client from the Fresha marketplace; returning clients are free
Salon Studio
None — no marketplace, no commission, ever
Where clients book
Fresha
fresha.com and the Fresha app, with a Fresha account
Salon Studio
On your own website at your own domain
Marketplace exposure
Fresha
Yes — clients browse a directory of 130,000+ businesses, including salons near you
Salon Studio
No marketplace — your site only ever shows your salon
Your own custom domain
Fresha
No custom domain found — booking pages live at fresha.com/a/your-salon
Salon Studio
Yes — included, with white-label branding
Card payment processing
Fresha
2.79% + 20¢ online, 2.29% + 20¢ in person (as of June 2026)
Salon Studio
Optional — your own Stripe account at Stripe's rates (2.9% + 30¢ online as of June 2026); we add 0%
Paid add-ons
Fresha
Texts and emails beyond free monthly allowances, plus add-ons like Client Loyalty ($59.95/mo) and AI Concierge ($99.95/mo)
Salon Studio
None — one plan, everything included
Multi-service booking
Fresha
Varies — check fresha.com for current support
Salon Studio
Yes — clients book several services in one flow, auto-sequenced and conflict-checked
Analytics & reporting
Fresha
Available; varies by plan
Salon Studio
Included — revenue, top services, staff performance, and top clients
Client data ownership
Fresha
Clients hold Fresha accounts; the marketplace relationship runs through Fresha
Salon Studio
Yours — direct relationship, export anytime
| Feature | Fresha | Salon Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Independent $19.95/mo; Team $14.95 per team member/mo (as of June 2026) | $50/mo flat — unlimited staff |
| New-client commission | 20% one-time fee (minimum $6) on each new client from the Fresha marketplace; returning clients are free | None — no marketplace, no commission, ever |
| Where clients book | fresha.com and the Fresha app, with a Fresha account | On your own website at your own domain |
| Marketplace exposure | Yes — clients browse a directory of 130,000+ businesses, including salons near you | No marketplace — your site only ever shows your salon |
| Your own custom domain | No custom domain found — booking pages live at fresha.com/a/your-salon | Yes — included, with white-label branding |
| Card payment processing | 2.79% + 20¢ online, 2.29% + 20¢ in person (as of June 2026) | Optional — your own Stripe account at Stripe's rates (2.9% + 30¢ online as of June 2026); we add 0% |
| Paid add-ons | Texts and emails beyond free monthly allowances, plus add-ons like Client Loyalty ($59.95/mo) and AI Concierge ($99.95/mo) | None — one plan, everything included |
| Multi-service booking | Varies — check fresha.com for current support | Yes — clients book several services in one flow, auto-sequenced and conflict-checked |
| Analytics & reporting | Available; varies by plan | Included — revenue, top services, staff performance, and top clients |
| Client data ownership | Clients hold Fresha accounts; the marketplace relationship runs through Fresha | Yours — direct relationship, export anytime |
Fresha pricing and fees as of June 2026, from fresha.com/pricing — check their pricing page for current rates.
Choose Fresha if…
- You want marketplace reach — Fresha's directory and consumer app are among the largest in beauty, and new-client fees only apply when they actually send you someone.
- You're a solo stylist and the $19.95/month Independent plan undercuts most of the category.
- You want a deep all-in-one feature set — POS, inventory, forms, memberships, gift cards — in the base price.
- You want card terminals and payments from the same vendor.
Choose Salon Studio if…
- You never want to pay a commission on a client again — no marketplace, no new-client fees, no percentage of anything.
- You want your booking site at your own domain, branded as your salon — not a profile at fresha.com.
- You want one flat $50/month that doesn't grow per team member or per add-on.
- You want the client relationship to belong to you, with your list always exportable.
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The real cost: pay-as-you-grow, in every direction
For a small team, Fresha's subscription is comparable to ours — a three-stylist salon on the Team plan pays about $44.85/month, close to Salon Studio's $50. The difference is everything billed on top: a $100 service booked by a new marketplace client costs you $20 in Fresha's one-time new-client fee, every card payment runs through Fresha's processing (2.79% + 20¢ online), texts and emails beyond the free allowance are metered, and features like loyalty ($59.95/month) and AI Concierge ($99.95/month) are add-ons. None of that is hidden — Fresha's pricing page lists it all — but the monthly bill scales with your success. Salon Studio is the same $50 whether you have one stylist or ten, and we never charge you for your own clients. One thing worth saying plainly: Fresha's 2.79% + 20¢ online rate is actually lower than the 2.9% + 30¢ you'd pay Stripe if you turn on Salon Studio's optional payments (as of June 2026). Our difference isn't a cheaper rate — it's that payments are optional, your in-person payments never touch us, and we take no cut of your processing.
The clients Google sends you are free
Fresha's marketplace is a real discovery channel — but it's not the only one, and it's the only one that bills you 20% for the introduction. Most people looking for a salon start on Google, searching things like "balayage in your town." A Salon Studio site is your own domain with SEO and structured data built in, so those searches can land on your booking site directly — and a client who finds you that way costs you nothing, this year or any year after. There's a longer game too: every booking page at fresha.com builds Fresha's search ranking, while a site at your own domain builds yours, and that compounds the whole time you're in business.
Whose client is it?
Fresha's new-client fee makes the ownership question concrete: the marketplace sends you a client once, charges you for the introduction, and the client keeps booking through their Fresha account afterward — inside an app that also shows them every other salon nearby. That can be a fair trade for discovery. But your regulars shouldn't live there. With Salon Studio, your booking page is your own website at your own domain, the rebooking habit builds your brand, and your client list is yours to export any time. Plenty of salons use a marketplace for reach and their own site for loyalty — just make sure the loyalty part belongs to you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Fresha free?
Not as of June 2026 — Fresha lists Independent at $19.95/month and Team at $14.95 per team member/month, plus a 20% one-time fee (minimum $6) for each new client booked through its marketplace, payment processing fees, and per-message charges beyond the free allowances.
What is Fresha's new-client fee?
Fresha charges a one-time fee of 20% of the service value (minimum $6) when a new client books you through the Fresha marketplace; bookings from your existing clients are not charged. Salon Studio charges no commission of any kind — your booking site is yours, so there's no marketplace to pay for.
Can I use my own domain with Fresha?
We couldn't find a custom-domain or white-label option anywhere on Fresha's site as of June 2026 — booking pages live at a fresha.com address. Salon Studio includes a white-label website on your own custom domain in the flat $50/month price.
How do I get new clients without Fresha's marketplace?
Through search. Salon Studio sites ship with SEO and structured data built in, on your own domain — so searches like "balayage in your town" can land directly on your booking site, and your Google Business Profile can link straight to it. A client who finds you on Google costs nothing, while a new client from the Fresha marketplace costs 20% of the service (minimum $6). Both channels are real; only one charges for the introduction.
How do I move from Fresha to Salon Studio?
Export your client list from Fresha so you have your own copy, then set up your services, staff, and hours in Salon Studio — you can be up and running the same day. The 14-day free trial gives you full access, so you can run both side by side while you switch.
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Last updated June 11, 2026. This page is published by Salon Studio. Competitor pricing and features change — we verify claims against each company's public pages and date them. Spot something inaccurate? Email chris@klowd.software and we'll fix it.