Best Fresha Alternatives for Salons and Spas (Free & Paid)

Considering leaving Fresha? You’re not alone. 

When Fresha began moving away from its fully free model in late 2024—and later finalized those changes in November 2025—many salon and spa owners started rethinking whether the platform still made sense for their business.

That’s why we’ve put together this guide to the best Fresha alternatives, including free tools, affordable options, and more powerful paid platforms—so you can find the booking system that fits both your business and your budget.

Fresha is an all-in-one marketplace and scheduling app built specifically for salons, spas, and beauty professionals. It combines online bookings, POS, payments, and client management—making it especially popular with appointment-based beauty businesses.

1. The sudden disappearance of the free plan

For a long time, Fresha built its reputation on being accessible—especially for independent stylists and small salon owners. So when price increase notifications began rolling out, it wasn’t just about the money. For many, it felt like a rug pull.

On Reddit, salon owners have been pretty open about what pushed them to start looking for Fresha alternatives: 

Jumping from free to $20/month is tough, especially when many of us stylists started using Fresha because it gave us a fair, accessible option. It feels like independents are getting left behind.”

2. Confusing pricing that adds up fast

Others pointed out that while a monthly fee alone might be manageable, it’s the lack of clarity around additional fees that really starts to wear on people over time. Another Reddit user shared:

The monthly fee on its own isn’t the end of the world, but when you start adding the new client fees and all the little extras, it definitely adds up to a decent chunk each month.”

That same frustration comes up again and again in conversations about Fresha’s pricing. One salon owner shared: 

I have had NOTHING but bother with Fresha from day one. Having used it for nearly a year now, they have taken hundreds of pounds in ‘fees.’ I’m still unsure on what the majority of these fees are, and the price of them kept increasing!” 

3. A loss of trust

Beyond pricing, there’s also a deeper issue of trust. Fresha previously promoted what it called a “free forever” account, and that message stuck. 

When the pricing model changed, some salon owners felt blindsided: 

I'm so frustrated. I still have the email they sent me when I signed up, giving me a ‘free-forever’ account. I sent it to their customer service, and they don't care... don't I have legal protection here? It's in writing. That's a contract.” 

Taken together, these experiences explain why many salon owners started searching for Fresha alternatives—not necessarily because Fresha stopped working, but because costs began to feel harder to predict and trust harder to maintain.

Best Fresha alternative for independent salons and spas	Best Fresha alternative with a marketplace model	Best Fresha alternative for all-in-one salon management
YouCanBookMe (YCBM) YouCanBookMe is the strongest choice if you want a highly customizable booking experience without being locked into a marketplace or unpredictable fees.	Booksy Booksy is the closest option if you like the idea of a marketplace driving new clients to your business, all while avoiding surprise costs.	Vagaro If you need more than a booking tool, Vagaro offers POS, client management, and marketing campaigns in one system.

To keep this comparison practical, we focused on how these tools work in real salons, not just what they claim to do.

We reviewed each option based on: 

• Booking experience—How easy it is for clients to book, and how much control you have over services, staff availability, and scheduling rules

• Best fit by salon size—Whether the tool works best for independent stylists, small teams, or multi-location salons

• Flexibility vs. all-in-one systems—How customizable the platform is versus how much it expects you to run everything in one ecosystem
• Pricing & its transparency—How affordable the tools are, plus how clear and predictable costs feel as your business grows
• Team and multi-location support—How well the tool handles staff scheduling and multiple locations, where applicable

YouCanBookMe (YCBM) is a scheduling-first tool that gives salon and spa owners complete control over how clients book—without locking you into a marketplace or a required payment system.

Unlike Fresha, YouCanBookMe is intentionally focused on doing one thing exceptionally well: making booking simple, flexible, and reliable. You can embed your booking page directly on your website, fine-tune availability down to the minute, and automate confirmations, reminders, and follow-ups—without forcing clients to create an account or download an app.

There’s a generous free plan that works well for many small salons and solo practitioners. While some advanced features are paid, the paid plans remain affordable with no hidden fees.

• Take payments and deposits for appointments: Integrate with Stripe to accept debit cards, credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay in over 135 currencies. You can also offer promo codes with expiration dates, usage limits, and minimum spend rules.

• List multiple different appointment types: Create different services—each with its own price, duration, staff member, location, description, and icon. Clients can book multiple services in a single appointment and add optional extras, like add-ons or products, to increase revenue per booking.

• Embed your booking page on your website: Let clients book without leaving your site—no redirects, no marketplace or competitor distractions.

• Get full control over your schedule: Sync up to 10 calendars, add buffer times between appointments, limit daily bookings, and protect your availability automatically.

• Fully customize your booking page: Match your branding with custom colors, logos, images, text, languages, and booking forms, so your booking page actually looks like your business.

• Send appointment notifications via email and SMS: Use automated confirmation messages to lock in services, reminder messages to reduce no-shows, and post-appointment follow-ups to encourage re-booking and ask for reviews.

Fresha is designed as a full salon operating system, combining booking, POS, and a client marketplace in one platform. That can be appealing if you want everything bundled together—but it also means less flexibility and more dependence on Fresha’s pricing structure and workflows.

YouCanBookMe takes a different approach. It’s a scheduling-first platform built for businesses that want control and adaptability, rather than an all-in-one system that dictates how you operate.

For small salons and spas, this can be a major advantage. Instead of forcing you into a fixed setup, YouCanBookMe adapts to how you already manage staff, services, and availability. Many salon owners choose it once they realize they don’t actually need POS, inventory management, or marketplace exposure bundled together—they just want booking to run smoothly and professionally.

Here’s how some key features compare between Fresha and YouCanBookMe. 👇

Calendar sync

• Fresha: One-way sync only. Appointments booked through Fresha appear on your calendar, but events added directly to your calendar don’t block availability in Fresha.
• YouCanBookMe: Full two-way calendar sync. Any event added to your connected calendars automatically blocks availability on your booking page, helping prevent double bookings and scheduling conflicts.

Customer experience

• Fresha: Clients are required to create or log into a Fresha account to book, which can add friction—especially for first-time clients.
• YouCanBookMe: Clients don’t need an account or app to book, lowering the barrier to booking. For added control, you can enable request-only bookings (approve appointments before they’re added to your calendar), use password-protected booking pages, or share single-use booking links.

Booking page customization

Fresha has been criticized for offering an “ugly booking site on the clients’ end,” and after looking into it, there’s some truth to that feedback. Fresha’s booking pages are largely one-size-fits-all—regardless of your branding, style, or location, booking pages across different businesses look nearly identical.

Here’s an example of two Fresha booking pages, from two different salons, in two different cities:

YouCanBookMe takes a very different approach. Unlike Fresha, YouCanBookMe lets you customize every aspect of your booking pages—from color schemes and backgrounds to footers, photos, icons, and text. This ensures your booking experience actually reflects your brand and doesn’t get lost in a sea of identical-looking salon pages.

For example, here is a side-by-side look at two different salon booking pages built with YCBM:

Keep in mind that if you want to use all of Fresha’s tools, you’ll need to pay additional monthly fees, including:

• Client loyalty (offers for repeat clients): $59.95 per location, monthly
• Insights (analytics and reporting): $9.95 per bookable team member, monthly
• Google rating boost—$14.95 per location, monthly
• Data connector (to connect Fresha to your external spreadsheets or systems)—$295 per location, monthly

• You don’t need POS, inventory, and marketplace exposure bundled together.
• You are looking for a powerful free or low-cost scheduling tool.
• You need a robust, customizable booking tool that will impress customers and let you skip the scheduling hassle.

Make it easy for clients to book time with you

If you want a scheduling tool that’s easy to set up, highly flexible to match how you actually work, and powerful enough to grow with your business, try YouCanBookMe.

Booksy is a salon-focused booking platform that combines scheduling software with a client discovery marketplace. Like Fresha, it helps salons attract new clients while managing appointments in one place.

Booksy is especially popular with independent beauty professionals and small salons that want visibility inside an app clients already use. The tradeoff is increased competition with nearby businesses and a recurring monthly fee, since—like Fresha—Booksy doesn’t offer a free plan.

• Mobile-first booking: Clients can book and rebook appointments easily from their phones.

• Client marketplace: Your business appears in Booksy’s discovery network, helping new clients find you based on location and service.

• Reviews & ratings: Clients can leave feedback that influences your visibility and credibility in the marketplace.
• Appointment reminders: Automated appointment reminder messages help keep your chairs full and reduce missed appointments.
• Business analytics: View booking trends and client behavior to understand demand and peak times.

At first glance, Booksy and Fresha are actually pretty similar tools—both offer an all-in-one platform for salon and spa appointment booking. However, they do have a slightly different focus.

Booksy zeros in on client discovery, putting a lot of work into its marketplace. While Fresha also offers marketplace exposure, it places more emphasis on being a business management system first, with discovery as a secondary benefit.

If you rely on walk-ins, last-minute bookings, or attracting new clients through an app, Booksy can help keep your calendar full. If you already have a loyal client base and want more control over how bookings happen, Fresha can feel less competitive and more business-owned.

Booksy costs $29.99 per month for a single user, with an additional $20 per month per extra team member (plus tax).

Booksy’s optional add-on is Boost, a promotion feature where you pay a one-time 30% fee based on what a new Boost client spends on their first visit.

Booksy doesn’t offer a free plan, but you can try the platform with a 14-day free trial before committing.

• You heavily rely on an online marketplace to find new clients.
• You prefer a mobile-first experience.
• You prefer a fixed monthly subscription instead of Fresha’s usage- and volume-based fees.

Square Appointments is one of the most popular free Fresha Alternatives, particularly for solo salon owners or small teams that already use Square for payments.

Square is, first and foremost, a payments company—and that’s where it truly shines. If POS and payment processing aren’t a core focus of your business, Square Appointments may feel limiting.

That said, it covers the essentials well, with online booking, calendar syncing, and built-in payments. While customization and branding options are more limited than in other tools, Square Appointments remains a dependable, cost-effective choice for salons that prioritize simplicity and seamless payments.

• Reliable POS system: Run in-person transactions, receive tips, and generate receipts in the same system.
• Two-way calendar sync: Keep your booking calendar aligned with your personal or business calendar.
• Client database: Store contact details and visit history for repeat customers.
• Square AI Assistant: Handles appointment confirmations, cancellations, and scheduling when you don’t have time to respond.
• Automated text and SMS reminders: Keep clients informed and reduce no-shows without manual work.

Fresha and Square Appointments are both popular choices for salon and spa owners—but they’re built with very different philosophies.

Fresha is designed to be an all-in-one salon ecosystem. Booking, POS, payments, staff management, and a client marketplace all live inside the same platform. For salons that want everything centralized—and are comfortable operating inside Fresha’s system—this can be convenient.

Square Appointments takes a much lighter approach. It’s primarily a scheduling tool tightly integrated with Square’s POS and payments. It doesn’t try to run your entire salon; instead, it focuses on making it easy for clients to book and pay.

Square offers a free plan with scheduling, payments, and notifications included.

Paid plans start at $49 per month, per location, adding features like class booking and packages, multi-staff scheduling, and multi-location management.

You can test Square out with a free, 30-day trial.

• You already use Square POS.
• You primarily need payments and basic scheduling—not a full management suite.
• You prefer a free option with light setup.

Mindbody is designed primarily for fitness, wellness, and spa businesses that offer a mix of classes and appointments. It’s especially popular for scheduling in yoga studios, gyms, and wellness centers—but it’s also used by higher-end spas and salon brands that run group sessions, memberships, or packaged services.

It’s a powerful platform that can handle a lot: recurring classes, capacity limits, waitlists, memberships, client credits, and multi-service schedules. The downside is cost and complexity. Mindbody is significantly more expensive than most Fresha alternatives and comes with a steeper learning curve, which can make it a tough fit for small salons or solo operators just getting started.

• Class scheduling: Manage group sessions, workshops, or classes alongside individual appointments. Also offers a partnership with ClassPass.

• Memberships: Offer recurring memberships or packages instead of one-off bookings.

• Marketing tools: Send promotions and campaigns to encourage repeat visits and upsells.

• Mobile app: Give clients a branded app to book, pay, and manage their schedule.

• Staff management: Complete with performance reviews, payroll, and staff scheduling.

Pros ✅	Cons ❌
Strong class + appointment support Built-in marketplace Client membership Branded app for your business	High monthly cost Steep learning curve Overkill for small businesses

Fresha vs. Mindbody

Fresha and Mindbody both serve appointment-based businesses and offer a built-in marketplace, but they’re created with very different priorities in mind.

Fresha is geared toward salons and spas that mostly book one-to-one appointments. It’s easier to set up and use, and it covers the basics well—online booking, staff schedules, payments, and day-to-day operations—without a lot of configuration or training.

Mindbody, on the other hand, is made for wellness businesses that do more than just appointments. It’s a more powerful (and more complex) platform built for gym and fitness class scheduling, memberships, and recurring revenue. Mindbody really shines when you’re managing group classes, capacity limits, waitlists, class passes, and member access, all alongside appointments.

Mindbody pricing

Mindbody’s website lists plans starting at $99 per month, per location, but beyond that, pricing isn’t fully transparent. While it offers three tiers—Starter, Accelerate, and Ultimate—exact costs for each plan aren’t publicly listed.

Use Mindbody if:

• Classes and subscriptions are at the core of your business model.

• You have a decent budget and can invest time in onboarding and training.

• You’ve outgrown your previous salon software and need something more powerful. 

5. Vagaro—Best Fresha alternative for an all-in-one salon management platform

Vagaro is one of the closest true competitors to Fresha, offering an all-in-one platform designed specifically for salons, spas, and beauty professionals.

Vagaro combines online booking, POS, client management, salon marketing, and staff scheduling in a single system. Unlike Fresha’s all-or-nothing ecosystem, Vagaro uses a modular pricing model—meaning you pay a base fee and add features as needed. 

This flexibility makes it appealing to salons that want control over costs as they grow, especially those with multiple locations that need shared visibility without losing day-to-day flexibility at each site.

Key Vagaro features

• Multi-location management: Run multiple salons from one dashboard while keeping schedules and booking policies organized.

• Staff scheduling: Manage shifts, availability, and appointments for multiple team members.

• POS: Handle in-salon transactions, tips, and receipts in one system.

• Marketing campaigns: Send promotions and booking reminders to fill slower days.

• Client profiles: Store service history and preferences for personalized experiences.

Pros ✅	Cons ❌
No client fees Marketplace model Online booking + POS in one tool Modular pricing	Dated interface and clunky appointment booking Add-ons can increase cost quickly Payments system known to crash

Fresha vs. Vagaro

Both Fresha and Vagaro aim to be complete salon management systems. Fresha leans into marketplace exposure and a more streamlined, one-size-fits-all approach, while Vagaro puts more emphasis on flexibility and modular control—especially when you’re managing more than one location.

Many salon owners switch to Vagaro because they like what Fresha offers, but want a bit more control, less dependence on a marketplace, and fewer surprises when it comes to pricing. Vagaro’s add-on approach lets you build the system you actually need, and adjust it over time, whether you’re running one busy salon now or juggling schedules, staff, and services across multiple locations down the line.

Vagaro pricing

For a single location, Vagaro’s pricing starts at $30 per month for one bookable calendar, with the cost increasing with every calendar you add.

As you can see in the screenshot below, Vagaro was on sale when I wrote this article (January 2026).

On top of the base price, Vagaro offers 14 paid add-ons, which range from a branded mobile app ($100/month) to integrations like Xero ($20/month).

If you run multiple locations, you’ll need Vagaro’s enterprise offering, and exact pricing isn’t listed publicly. While there’s no free plan, Vagaro does offer a 30-day free trial.

Use Vagaro if:

• You need an all-in-one salon management system.

• You run more than one location and need a tool that keeps up.

• You would prefer a pricing model where you only pay for what you use.

6. Zenoti—Best Fresha alternative for enterprise salons and spas

Zenoti (formerly known as ManageMySpa) is an enterprise-level platform built specifically for large salon, spa, and medspa brands operating across multiple locations.

Unlike Fresha, Zenoti is not designed for individual salon owners or small teams. It’s built for scale, offering deep customization, automation, and reporting across complex organizations. Brands with dozens—or even hundreds—of locations use Zenoti to standardize operations while maintaining local flexibility.

Implementation is hands-on, pricing is custom, and the system is powerful—but for the right business, it replaces multiple tools with a single operational backbone.

Key Zenoti features

• AI-powered operations: Uses "Zeenie" AI for conversational booking, inventory, and analytics. It includes automated marketing campaigns and AI-driven, real-time recommendations.

• Built-in POS: Complete with advanced inventory management and biometric staff login.

• Enterprise reporting: Access deep analytics across locations, brands, and teams with 400+ pre-built reports.

• Marketing: Send personalized SMS and email marketing campaigns based on guest behavior, with AI segmentation and real-time analytics.

• Franchise tools: Manage 100+ locations from one dashboard.

Pros ✅	Cons ❌
Enterprise scalability Deep analytics and advanced automation Dedicated onboarding Custom integrations	Very high cost No free plan Long implementation time Not ideal for small salons

Fresha vs. Zenoti

Fresha and Zenoti are both used by salons and spas, but they’re designed for very different kinds of businesses.

Fresha works best for small to midsize salons that mainly book individual appointments. It’s relatively easy to set up, doesn’t require much training, and covers the everyday essentials—online booking, staff schedules, payments, and basic operational tools—without adding a lot of complexity.

Zenoti is built for scale. It’s designed for large salon, spa, and medspa brands that operate across multiple locations and need tighter control over how everything runs. Zenoti stands out when you’re managing large teams, standardizing services and pricing, and pulling detailed reports across locations. It’s more complex than Fresha, but that complexity is what makes it useful for enterprise-level operations.

Zenoti pricing

Zenoti offers three tiers of pain plans: Growth, Hypergrowth, and Complete, but does not list exact pricing for any of them. 

The tool doesn’t offer a free plan or even a free trial.

Use Zenoti if:

• You run a large or franchised brand and have the budget that goes with it.

• You need enterprise reporting and automation.
• You need to manage 100+ locations in one tool.

Free Fresha alternatives

If you’re not quite ready to commit to another paid salon app, there are a couple of Fresha alternatives that offer free scheduling tools with enough functionality to be genuinely useful. 

YouCanBookMe—Best for flexible online booking

YouCanBookMe’s free plan lets you connect one calendar and create a single booking page that you can brand with your salon’s name, logo, and messaging. Clients can book unlimited appointments, receive automatic confirmations, and have bookings added directly to their calendars.

You can also customize your booking form, add basic booking rules (like availability and buffers), and generate automatic video links if you offer virtual consultations. Payments can be enabled with a standard transaction fee, without upgrading to a paid plan. It's a strong option if your main goal is professional online booking without switching your entire salon system.

Create your free booking page

Get a free 14-day trial of YouCanBookMe's highly customizable scheduling tool. Then, you can upgrade or stay on the free plan.

Square Appointments—Best for salons that want a built-in POS

Square Appointments offers a free plan for individuals that includes online booking, calendar syncing, and built-in payments (+ transaction fees) through Square. Clients can book self-book appointments, receive reminders, and pay at checkout, all in one flow.

While it’s more limited for teams, the free plan works well if you’re a solo stylist already using Square for payments and want booking and checkout to live in the same place.

Final thoughts

Fresha can still work for some salons, but it’s no longer a one-size-fits-all solution—especially as pricing has changed and salon owners have become more intentional about the tools they use.

Luckily, there are plenty of strong Fresha alternatives depending on your needs. Booksy is a good fit if marketplace discovery matters, Vagaro works well for all-in-one salon management, and Mindbody makes sense for wellness businesses offering classes and memberships.

But if what you really want is customizable, flexible scheduling without surprise fees, YouCanBookMe is worth a shot. It gives you full control over your booking experience, works with the tools you already use, and offers a generous free plan—so you can see if it fits your salon without committing upfront.

Try it for free today and see how YouCanBookMe can make booking simpler, more flexible, and fully yours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which salon booking system is best?

There’s no single “best” salon booking system—it depends on how your business operates.

• If you want a simple, flexible booking tool with a free plan and full control over branding and scheduling, YouCanBookMe is a strong option for small salons and spas.
• If you rely on marketplace discovery to bring in new clients, Booksy may be a better fit.
• If you want an all-in-one salon management system with booking, POS, and marketing tools, platforms like Vagaro are often a good match.
• If you run 100+ locations, you might consider an enterprise scheduling tool like Zenoti.

The best system is the one that fits your workflow, budget, and growth plans—rather than forcing you into features you don’t actually need.

What is better than Fresha?

What’s “better” than Fresha depends on why you’re looking to switch.

Many salon owners start exploring Fresha alternatives because they want:

• More predictable pricing
• A free or lower-cost option
• Greater control over branding and the booking experience
• Less reliance on a marketplace

For example, YouCanBookMe is often seen as better for salons that want flexible scheduling without marketplace fees, while Booksy appeals to businesses that still want built-in client discovery. In other words, Fresha isn’t necessarily bad—it’s just not the best fit for every salon.

When did Fresha increase their pricing?

Fresha began moving away from its fully free model in late 2024, introducing new fees and paid elements. Those changes were finalized in November 2025, when pricing updates became more broadly applied across accounts.

That shift is what prompted many salon owners—especially independents who originally signed up for a “free forever” account—to start reassessing whether Fresha still made sense for their business.