How much does Fresha cost in the UK?

Fresha built its name on having no monthly subscription, but that has changed: it now charges a subscription like everyone else. Add the 20% fee on new clients from its marketplace and card fees, and the real bill looks quite different from the old "free" reputation. Here is the honest, full picture for 2026, with worked examples, so you can work out what Fresha would actually cost your business.

Updated 27 July 2026 · 7 min read
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Quick disclosure: we make Solovi, a 0% commission alternative, so we are not a neutral party. We have tried to keep the Fresha numbers accurate and fair. Prices change, so always check Fresha's own pricing page for the latest figures.

The short answer

At the time of writing (July 2026), here is what Fresha costs a UK business:

  • A monthly subscription. Fresha's famous "no subscription" era is over: the UK pricing page now shows around £14.95 a month for a solo user, or £9.95 per bookable team member a month on the Team plan. Prices exclude VAT.
  • Card processing fees on any payment you take through Fresha (around 1.40% plus 25p online and 1.19% plus 20p in person at the time of writing).
  • A one-off 20% fee (minimum £4) on the first booking of any new client who finds you through the Fresha marketplace.
  • Metered messaging: 20 free automated messages per team member a month, then around 5p to 6p per text.

Fresha is still one of the cheaper entries in the market, especially for a solo user. But it is no longer free, and the cost grows when you lean on the marketplace to find new clients and as your card payments grow.

Is Fresha free?

Not any more. For a long time Fresha set itself apart by having no monthly subscription, and plenty of older guides (including an earlier version of this one) still describe it that way. That has changed: Fresha moved to subscription pricing, and its UK pricing page now shows a solo plan at around £14.95 a month and a Team plan at £9.95 per bookable team member a month, with custom rates for businesses with 20 or more team members and a 7-day free trial at the time of writing.

Like most of the market, Fresha advertises those prices excluding VAT, so a solo user who cannot reclaim VAT actually pays about £17.94 a month. On top of the subscription there are two more cost lines: a percentage of payments you process through Fresha, and a fee on the new clients its marketplace sends you.

Card processing fees

If you take card payments or deposits through Fresha, you pay a processing fee, the same way any business pays a card fee. At the time of writing the UK rates are roughly:

Payment type Approximate fee
Online card (deposits, prepayment)around 1.40% + 25p
In person (card reader)around 1.19% + 20p, plus 7p per Tap to Pay authorisation

Indicative UK rates, checked July 2026. Card rates change, so confirm on Fresha's pricing page.

This part is normal. Every booking system that handles payments charges a card fee, because the card networks charge one. It is worth knowing it is there, but it is not the fee that makes Fresha expensive.

The fee people miss: the 20% new-client fee

Fresha runs a marketplace, an app and website where clients browse local businesses and book. When a brand new client discovers you there and books, Fresha charges a one-off fee of 20% (minimum £4) of that first appointment. It applies once, for that client's first visit. After that, they are your client and you keep 100% of what they spend.

A worked example. A new client finds you on the Fresha marketplace and books a £60 first appointment:

  • Fresha new-client fee: 20% of £60 = £12
  • Card processing on the £60: around £1.09
  • Total to Fresha for that one new client: roughly £13

Win ten new marketplace clients in a month at that average and you have paid around £120 in new-client fees, plus card fees, on top of the subscription. That is the trade Fresha offers: it has a big marketplace that can genuinely bring you new faces, and it takes a share of the first visit for doing so.

To be fair to Fresha, this is a one-off per client, not a fee on every booking forever, and it never touches the clients you bring yourself. If the marketplace is bringing you real new business, plenty of owners are happy with that deal.

Add-ons and newer paid plans

Two things sit on top of the subscription. Messaging is metered: you get 20 free automated messages per team member a month, then around 5p to 6p per text after that, alongside 50 free marketing emails per team member a month. And support depends on your plan: email and chat on the solo plan, with phone support added on Team. Fresha's pricing has changed more than once (this article has been updated to reflect that), so the honest advice is to check the current pricing page rather than trust a number you read in a blog, including this one.

A common myth: "Fresha takes 2.19% of every booking"

You will see this figure repeated in a lot of comparison posts, and we have used it ourselves in the past. It is not how Fresha actually works. Fresha does not take a flat percentage of every booking. The real costs are card processing on payments you take, the one-off 20% fee on new marketplace clients, and a few paid add-ons. We are correcting that wherever we have repeated it, because accurate is better than scary.

So is Fresha worth it?

As with most of these tools, it comes down to where your clients come from.

Fresha makes sense if you want a low monthly commitment (around £14.95 a month plus VAT for a solo user), you are happy living inside its app, and you genuinely rely on its marketplace to find new clients. For a new business with no audience yet, that low entry price and built-in discovery is a real draw.

Fresha gets expensive if the marketplace becomes your main source of new clients, because the 20% adds up, or if you would rather own your own website and brand than be one listing among thousands. The clients are Fresha's audience first, and yours second.

The 0% commission alternative

This is the gap we built Solovi to fill. Instead of a marketplace that takes a share of new clients, Solovi gives you your own professional website with booking and payments built in, plus local SEO so you show up in Google for your own name and area. You pay a flat monthly fee and nothing else.

  Fresha Solovi
Monthly fee~£14.95/mo solo, £9.95 per team member (ex VAT)£19/mo (Solo), £39/mo (Local)
CommissionOne-off 20% on a new marketplace client's first visit0%, on everything, always
Card feesYes (Fresha payments)Stripe's standard rate only
Your own websiteNo (marketplace profile)Yes, done for you in 7 days
Free trial7 days (at the time of writing)30 days, no card

The honest trade-off: Fresha has a marketplace that can send you new clients, and Solovi does not. What Solovi does instead is build you a site you own, rank it locally, and take 0% of what you earn. If you already bring most of your own clients, that maths works heavily in your favour. You can see the full side by side on our Solovi vs Fresha page.

Frequently asked

Is Fresha free? Not any more. Fresha moved to subscription pricing: around £14.95 a month for a solo user or £9.95 per bookable team member on the Team plan, both excluding VAT, plus card fees and the 20% new-client fee.

What is Fresha's commission? 20% (minimum £4) on the first visit of a new client found through the Fresha marketplace, charged once per new client. Your own regulars are not charged a commission.

Does Fresha charge per booking? Not a flat per-booking percentage. You pay the subscription, card processing on payments, and the one-off new-client fee, nothing on every booking.

Related reading: the best Booksy alternatives, is Booksy worth it?, How much does Booksy cost in the UK?, How much does Vagaro cost? and The best free booking website for UK businesses.

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A note on this guide. This article is general information to help you weigh up your options, not financial, legal or business advice. The figures were accurate to the best of our knowledge on the date shown above, but third-party prices and terms change often, so always check the provider's own website before you decide. Any product or company names mentioned are trademarks of their respective owners, and we are not affiliated with or endorsed by them. We make Solovi, so we are not a neutral party, and we have tried to be fair and accurate throughout. If you spot anything out of date, let us know and we will put it right.