Booksy Alternative? 7 Fresha & Booksy Alternatives (2026)

The best Booksy alternative depends on why you want to leave. If the problem is fees, tools like Square Appointments, GlossGenius, Goldie or BeautiDock give you your own booking page with no commission on new clients. If you want to keep marketplace discovery but with different fees, StyleSeat and Fresha are the closest swaps. Below are 7 alternatives with prices as of October 2026, who each one suits, and a step-by-step plan to switch without losing a single regular.

Key takeaways

• Fresha is no longer free: it moved to paid plans in 2025 and is reported at $19.95 a month for one pro, plus a fee on new marketplace clients (reported at 20%, minimum $6, in the US).
• Booksy costs $29.99 a month plus $20 per extra staff member, and its optional Boost charges 30% of a new client's first visit, up to $100.
• Marketplace fees only apply to new clients the platform brings you. If most of your book is regulars, you may be paying for discovery you no longer need.
• Switching takes about 2–4 weeks if you run both systems in parallel until old bookings are done.
• Your client list is the asset to protect: export it before you cancel anything.

Why salon pros look for a Fresha or Booksy alternative

Most people we talk to give one of four reasons.

1. Fresha's end of the free plan. For years Fresha's selling point was free software, paid for by payment processing and marketplace fees. In 2025 it moved to subscriptions: independent guides now list about $19.95 a month for a solo pro and $14.95 per bookable team member, after a 7-day trial. For a pro who chose Fresha because it was free, that is a reason to compare.

2. Commission on new clients. Marketplace apps charge when they bring you someone new:

On a $150 color service, that is $30 on Fresha, $45 on Booksy Boost or StyleSeat. Fair if the client becomes a regular; painful if they come once with a coupon mindset.

3. Per-staff costs as you grow. Booksy adds $20 a month per extra staff member, so a 4-person team pays $89.99 a month before card fees.

4. Your brand vs the platform's brand. On a marketplace, your profile sits next to competitors' profiles. Some stylists prefer clients to book on a page that only shows them.

What to compare before you switch

Before you look at features, write down these numbers from your last three months:

• Online bookings per month, per professional.
• New clients per month from the marketplace (most apps show this in reports).
• Card volume, to compare processing rates.
• No-show count, to judge how much you need deposits. Our guide on salon no-show policies has templates you can copy.

Then compare total monthly cost, not the headline price. Our full salon booking software comparison does this math for a solo stylist and a 3-person salon.

7 Fresha and Booksy alternatives in 2026

1. StyleSeat: closest marketplace alternative for independent stylists

StyleSeat costs $35 a month (promoted at $19 on its pricing page in October 2026). Its New Client Connection fee is 30% of the first appointment but capped at $50, and charged once per client. Clients pay a $2.35 booking fee. Payment processing is 2.5% + $0.30 for tap to pay and 2.6% + $0.30 card-on-file.

Best for: solo hair stylists who still need marketplace discovery and want a cap on new-client fees.

2. Fresha (if you are leaving Booksy)

Fresha's team pricing ($14.95 per member) is lower than Booksy's $20 per extra staff, and its online card rate is 2.79% + $0.20 in the US.

Best for: teams that want a large marketplace at a lower per-seat price. Check the new-client fee shown for your country.

3. Booksy (if you are leaving Fresha)

Booksy's subscription is $29.99 a month and Boost is optional, so you only pay new-client fees if you turn Boost on. Card reader payments are 2.49% + $0.10.

Best for: barbers and stylists who want app visibility but control over when they pay for new clients.

4. Square Appointments: best free alternative

Square's Free plan is $0 a month per location; Plus is $49 and Premium $149 per location. You pay on processing: 2.6% + 15¢ in person, 3.3% + 30¢ online on the Free plan.

Best for: pros who already use Square for payments and want zero fixed cost.

5. GlossGenius: polished all-in-one, no marketplace

Plans are $24, $48 and $148 a month billed yearly ($28, $56, $168 monthly) with a flat 2.6% processing rate. The Standard plan includes a booking website, client notifications and marketing tools.

Best for: solo pros and small teams who want one app for booking, payments and marketing.

6. Goldie: budget pick for solo pros

Goldie has a free Starter plan (20 appointments a month), Pro at $19.99 a month with unlimited appointments and 500 SMS credits, and Pro Plus at $39.99 for teams.

Best for: solo pros starting out who want SMS reminders on a small budget.

7. BeautiDock: your own booking site, no commission

BeautiDock gives you a branded booking website (three templates, your colors and photos, a page per service, a team page), 24/7 online booking, a calendar, client history and notes, email confirmations and day-before reminders, optional deposits per service through your own Stripe account, and a built-in loyalty card.

Pricing: your first 30 online bookings are free, then $0.50 per online booking, capped at $19 per professional per month (or $190 per year). Bookings you add yourself (walk-ins, phone) are always free, and there is no commission. To be clear about limits: BeautiDock has no marketplace, no SMS (reminders are by email) and no POS. See the pricing page.

Best for: pros with an existing client base who want to stop paying per new client and keep their own brand front and center.

Also worth a look: Vagaro and Timely

Vagaro ($30 a month, +$10 per extra calendar) and Timely (from $26 per staff member, with SMS credits included) suit teams that want deeper features like payroll or detailed reporting.

How to switch without losing clients

Here is the plan we recommend. It takes 2–4 weeks and nobody gets lost in between.

Step 1: Export your data first

Export your client list as a CSV before you change anything. On Booksy, the Customers section has an "Export to CSV" option; past appointments are not self-service and you have to ask Booksy support for them. On Fresha, go to Clients, then Clients list, then Options, and export to Excel or CSV. If you can't find the option in any tool, ask support before you cancel. Save a copy of your service menu, prices and durations too.

Step 2: Set up the new tool completely

Add services with the same names and durations, set your hours, upload photos, and set your deposit and cancellation rules. Book a test appointment as a client, cancel it, and book again.

Step 3: Run both systems in parallel

Keep the old system for appointments already booked there. Turn off new online bookings on the old system (or block future dates) the day your new link goes live, so no one double-books.

Step 4: Replace your booking link everywhere

• Instagram and TikTok bio (put the booking link first).
• Google Business Profile booking link (Google lets you add your own booking URL in the Bookings section).
• Facebook page button, website, email signature, WhatsApp Business profile.
• A printed QR code at your station and on your business cards.

Step 5: Tell clients directly

Don't rely on them noticing. Send a short message to your client list, and say it in the chair:

Hi [Name], quick update: I've moved my bookings to a new page, so it's easier to see my availability and book 24/7. From now on, book here: [link]. Your appointment on [date] is still confirmed. See you soon! [Your name]

Repeat it in your next two or three posts and stories.

Step 6: Close the old account cleanly

After your last old appointment, download any remaining reports, then cancel. Reviews on a marketplace profile usually stay on that platform, which is one more reason to ask happy clients for Google reviews: those stay with you whatever software you use. Our 30-day client growth plan explains how to collect them.

The bottom line

Leave a marketplace when most of your bookings are regulars and the fees no longer buy you anything. Stay, or move to another marketplace, if new clients are still your main need. If you want your own booking page with no commission, you can try BeautiDock free, no card required.

Sources

• Pabau: Fresha pricing (2026)
• SchedulingKit: Fresha pricing guide (updated October 2026)
• Fresha pricing page
• Booksy US pricing page
• StyleSeat: How much does StyleSeat cost? (August 2026)
• StyleSeat pricing page
• Square Appointments pricing page
• GlossGenius pricing page
• Goldie pricing page
• SchedulingKit: Vagaro pricing guide
• Pabau: Timely pricing (2026)
• Fresha Help Center: Export your client list
• Goldie support: Importing from Booksy
• Google Business Profile Help: Manage your local business links