Fresha vs Treatwell in 2026: which is better for UK salons and barbers?

Fresha and Treatwell are the two dominant booking marketplace platforms for UK salons and barbers. Between them they handle a significant portion of online beauty bookings in the UK and both have invested heavily in consumer-facing apps that clients use to discover and book appointments.

But they work differently, they charge differently, and they suit different types of businesses at different stages. The comparison that made sense in 2023 has changed significantly because both platforms adjusted their pricing and model in 2025. Here is an updated, honest comparison for 2026.

How Fresha changed in 2025

The biggest story in UK salon software in 2025 was Fresha introducing mandatory monthly subscription fees. For most of its existence Fresha marketed itself as permanently free, which made it an attractive alternative to Treatwell and Booksy for cost-conscious salon owners.

In 2025 that changed. Fresha now charges £14.95 per month for solo professionals and £9.95 per team member per month on team plans. For a three-person salon that is approximately £30 per month in base fees, in addition to the commission Fresha charges on new marketplace clients.

This change caught many existing Fresha users off guard. Salons that had built their operations around a free platform suddenly faced ongoing monthly costs they had not budgeted for. It also fundamentally changed the Fresha vs Treatwell comparison, because the main advantage Fresha had was being free where Treatwell was not.

How Treatwell works in 2026

Treatwell's model has remained more consistent. It is a marketplace platform that charges commission on bookings made through it. The commission rate ranges from 20 to 35 percent depending on your plan and agreement. Some plans include monthly software fees on top of commission.

Treatwell's primary strength is marketplace scale. It is the largest beauty marketplace in the UK by consumer awareness and has a large installed base of clients who use the app regularly. For a new salon with no existing client base, Treatwell's marketplace discovery is genuinely valuable because it puts the business in front of clients who would not otherwise find it.

The significant limitation is the commission structure. At 30 percent on all marketplace bookings, including bookings from clients who were already using the salon before they started booking through Treatwell, the cost compounds quickly at volume.

Fresha vs Treatwell: the key differences

Commission structure

Treatwell charges 20 to 35 percent on marketplace bookings with no distinction between new and returning clients. Fresha charges commission only on bookings from new clients acquired through the marketplace, up to 20 percent, and does not charge commission on your existing clients who book through your Fresha profile directly. This is a meaningful difference that favours Fresha for established salons with an existing client base.

Monthly fees

Treatwell charges monthly fees depending on your plan. Fresha now charges £14.95 per month for solo professionals or £9.95 per team member. Neither platform is free at any meaningful usage level in 2026, which represents a significant shift from two years ago when Fresha was genuinely free.

Features

Fresha has the more comprehensive operational feature set of the two. It includes appointment scheduling, POS integration, inventory management, a mobile app, client records, and marketing tools. Treatwell is more focused on the marketplace experience and less on the operational software side.

Client data ownership

This is where both platforms have a significant limitation. Clients who book through either marketplace are considered marketplace clients. If you leave either platform, your ability to contact those clients directly is restricted by the platform's terms of service. Your client relationship exists within their ecosystem rather than yours.

Which is better: Fresha or Treatwell

For new salons and barbers with no existing client base: Treatwell's marketplace scale gives it the edge for raw new client discovery, particularly in major cities where the Treatwell consumer app has high penetration. The commission cost is high but the client acquisition value can justify it while you are growing.

For established salons with a regular client base: neither platform is ideal because both charge significant fees on a client relationship that you have already built. Fresha's lower commission rate and the distinction between new and existing clients makes it the better option of the two if you must choose one, but neither addresses the fundamental problem of guaranteed recurring income.

The growing answer among UK salon owners in 2026 is a combination approach: keep a reduced marketplace presence on Fresha for new client discovery while moving regular clients onto a subscription platform like SubSeat where there is no monthly fee and no commission on the ongoing relationship.

What neither Fresha nor Treatwell offers

The conversation about Fresha vs Treatwell tends to focus on commission rates and feature sets. But both platforms share a more fundamental limitation that is increasingly relevant to UK salon owners: neither offers a subscription or recurring income model.

Both Fresha and Treatwell are built around individual appointment bookings. There is no mechanism on either platform to convert a regular client into a guaranteed monthly payer. Every month the business starts at zero and depends on clients choosing to rebook. The income is reactive rather than guaranteed.

This is why an increasing number of UK salon professionals are supplementing or replacing their marketplace presence with a subscription model. The platforms do not compete with each other on this dimension because none of them offer it. SubSeat was built specifically to fill this gap.