Switch from Fresha
Fresha is free, but "free" has a distribution and a data cost. Read this before switching either way.
Fresha's headline is that the software is free; the business model runs on marketplace commissions, in-app card processing, and (optionally) marketing spend inside the Fresha ecosystem. Booked is the opposite bet: a small flat monthly price, no marketplace, your list is yours.
The honest comparison
| Fresha | Booked | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly software fee | $0 | $9 (Starter), $19 (Pro) |
| Card processing | Fresha's rate (varies) | 3.75% + 45¢ all-in |
| Marketplace listing | Yes (drives new clients, keeps you inside their ecosystem) | No |
| Customer list ownership | Shared with the marketplace | Yours only |
| Feature scope | Broad | Deliberately narrow |
Where the money actually is
"Free" is true of the software and not of the arrangement. The commission on a marketplace booking is the price, and it is charged per client rather than per month, so it scales with your success in a way $9 does not. A shop taking a handful of marketplace bookings a month is getting a genuine bargain. A shop taking dozens is paying more for software than any subscription on the market.
Work out last month's marketplace commissions and compare that one number against $9 or $19. It is usually not close in either direction.
Export from Fresha
Fresha admin → Reports → Clients → Export CSV. Fresha also exports an appointments report and a services list; take all three while the account is open.
Import them at Dashboard → Import data. Customers, services and staff first, then the appointments file as Past bookings — Booked matches those by service and staff name, so those records have to exist before the bookings land.
What you keep and what you give up
You gain a customer list nobody else has a copy of and a cost you can predict. You give up the marketplace, which for some shops is a real acquisition channel and for others is a listing nobody has ever clicked.
If a meaningful share of your new clients come from Fresha's marketplace, leaving costs you that channel, and no feature in Booked replaces it.