Booked vs Fresha
Fresha's software is free to start and makes its money elsewhere — commission on marketplace bookings and payment processing. Booked charges a flat subscription and takes nothing extra from a booking. Which is cheaper depends entirely on your volume.
Side by side
| Fresha | Booked | |
|---|---|---|
| How the vendor earns | Commission on marketplace bookings, plus payment processing | A flat subscription. Card processing is optional and separately priced |
| Cost as you grow | Rises with bookings and new clients | Flat. Busier months cost the same as quiet ones |
| Marketplace | Yes, and it is central to the model | None. Your link is the only front door |
| Card processing | Bundled with the booking product on most plans | Optional. 3.75% + 45¢ per successful charge, all-in, and only if you turn it on |
| Leaving | Export what the platform chooses to export | Export customers and bookings as CSV, any time, without asking support |
Choose Fresha when
- You are starting out, your volume is low, and a free tier genuinely costs you less than a subscription.
- You want marketplace exposure and treat new-client commission as an acquisition cost.
- You need integrated inventory and retail on day one.
Choose Booked when
- You have steady repeat clients, where a per-booking model quietly costs more each month than a flat plan.
- You want your monthly software cost to be a number you can state without opening a dashboard.
- You would rather not have your booking flow tied to who processes your cards.
Questions
- Is Booked cheaper than Fresha?
- Not always. Free software with per-booking economics can beat a subscription at low volume. Work out what commission and processing cost you last month and compare it against a flat plan.
- Does Booked take a cut of my bookings?
- No. The subscription is the whole software cost. If you switch on card payments, that is 3.75% + 45¢ per successful charge, all-in, and nothing else.