Why is Salonist better than Fresha?

Fresha offers free appointment booking software, but that "free" comes with a catch — it charges transaction fees and marketplace commissions on every new client booking, meaning your costs rise as your revenue grows. Salonist takes a different approach: a transparent flat subscription with no commissions, no surprise fees, and no middleman between you and your clients. Switch to Salonist and keep every penny you earn while accessing deeper management tools including payroll, advanced inventory, WhatsApp marketing, and detailed analytics that Fresha simply does not offer.

Here's what makes Salonist the best alternative to Fresha!.

Affordable Price Plans

Fresha markets itself as free, but charges commissions on marketplace bookings and transaction fees on new client payments — costs that quietly grow with your business. Salonist offers honest, flat-rate pricing with no commissions taken from your hard-earned revenue, so you always know exactly what you pay.

Salonist provides:

  • Zero marketplace commissions on any booking
  • Transparent flat-rate subscription plans
  • 7-day free trial with full feature access
  • Scalable plans for solo stylists to multi-location chains
Business Analysis Reports

Fresha's reporting is basic — you get surface-level appointment data but lack the depth needed to make strategic decisions. Salonist delivers comprehensive business intelligence across every area of your salon, from staff performance to inventory turnover, so you always know where to focus for maximum growth.

Salonist offers you:

  • Staff performance and commission reports
  • Detailed inventory and product sales reports
  • Marketing campaign performance reports
  • Daily, weekly, and monthly revenue dashboards
WhatsApp Marketing

Fresha lacks WhatsApp integration, limiting your marketing to basic email and SMS reminders. Salonist's built-in WhatsApp marketing lets you reach clients on the world's most popular messaging app — sending promotions, appointment confirmations, and personalized campaigns that drive real bookings.

Salonist helps you:

  • Send WhatsApp campaigns to targeted client segments
  • Automate WhatsApp appointment reminders and follow-ups
  • Share promotions, offers, and seasonal deals via WhatsApp
Staff and Payroll Management

Fresha does not offer payroll management, forcing salon owners to rely on external tools to pay and track their team. Salonist brings staff scheduling, commission tracking, and payroll processing under one roof, so you can manage your entire team without juggling multiple platforms.

With Salonist you get:

  • Automated staff payroll and commission calculations
  • Individual staff performance tracking and reports
  • Flexible shift scheduling and attendance management
Inventory Management

Fresha's inventory tools are minimal and lack the depth needed to track stock accurately across a busy salon. Salonist gives you complete control over your product inventory with low-stock alerts, supplier management, and usage tracking, so you never run out of essential supplies or overstock slow-moving products.

Salonist provides:

  • Real-time stock tracking and low-stock alerts
  • Product usage reports tied to services delivered
  • Supplier and purchase order management
Customer Review and Feedback

With Fresha, your client reviews are tied to their marketplace — you do not fully own the feedback data, and your reputation is dependent on their platform. Salonist's automated feedback system collects reviews directly for your business, building your reputation on your own terms and giving you actionable insights to improve your services.

  • Automated post-service review requests via SMS or email
  • Full ownership of your client feedback data
  • Actionable insights to improve service quality and retention

Salonist is the smarter, commission-free alternative to Fresha. With powerful analytics, WhatsApp marketing, full payroll management, and inventory control — all without taking a cut of your revenue — Salonist gives you everything you need to grow a thriving salon business on your own terms, in over 60 countries worldwide.

Unlimited Staff — No Per-Seat Pricing

Unlike most competitors who charge per staff member, Salonist pricing is completely independent of your team size. Choose any plan and add unlimited staff members at no extra cost. Whether you have 2 stylists or 50, your subscription price stays the same. Scale your team without ever worrying about rising software bills.

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Switching from Fresha to Salonist was the best decision I made for my salon. I was losing a noticeable portion of my income to marketplace commissions. With Salonist, I keep all my revenue, my clients are truly mine, and the reporting tools have completely changed how I run my business!. - Sarah M. — Salon Owner Director

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Integrations

Keep the tools you already pay for.

More than 40 integrations, live today — including the payment rails most salon software skips: Tap, Tabby, Tamara, Ziina, Network Payments and UPayments.

See all 40+ integrations
Stripe Payments PayPal Payments Razorpay Payments Stripe Reader Terminal Clover Terminal Pine Labs Terminal Tap Payment Gulf Ziina Gulf Network Payments Gulf UPayments KNET Tabby Pay later Tamara Pay later Authorize.Net Payments QuickBooks Accounts Qoyod Accounts EFRIS e-Invoicing
WhatsApp Messaging WhatsApp Web Messaging Twilio WhatsApp Messaging Interakt WhatsApp AiSensy WhatsApp Zoko WhatsApp Botat WhatsApp PayPerWA WhatsApp Aspai WPBox WhatsApp SMS API SMS Mailchimp Email GetResponse Email SMTP Email WordPress Website WooCommerce Store Shopify Store Wix Website Weebly Website Reserve with Google Booking Google Calendar Calendar Google Analytics Analytics Meta & TikTok Pixel Ads

Free trial

Try it on a real week of bookings.

Seven days with your own clients, your own services and your own team in it. If it doesn’t fit the way your salon runs, walk away and take your data with you.

  • No card required. Nothing is charged when the trial ends.
  • Unlimited staff on every plan, including the free one.
  • We move your data in. Clients, services and history from your old system.
  • Cancel by email. No notice period, no retention call.

Client booking app

Your clients book from their phone, not your front desk.

Rebooking, cancellations and reminders happen in the app, so your team stops fielding calls mid-blow-dry. On Expert, it ships under your own salon’s name and icon.

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Salonist client booking app on a phone
Your team works in their own language Salonist runs in 12 languages, switchable per user.
English العربيةArabic FrançaisFrench EspañolSpanish PortuguêsPortuguese 中文Chinese 日本語Japanese ไทยThai Bahasa Indonesia NorskNorwegian DanskDanish MagyarHungarian
Right-to-left ready — Arabic runs properly across the calendar, POS and receipts.