Compare salon booking software for UK hair salons, beauty salons and barber shops. We look at online booking, reminders, client management, payments, pricing and independent customer reviews.
Looking for other tools? See our Software for Hair & Beauty Businesses guide.
Quick answer
Top pick: Fresha — 94/100
Fresha combines booking, client management, payments, marketing and salon-specific tools in one system. It works for solo professionals as well as larger teams.
Best value: Square Appointments — 92/100
Square has a strong free plan and is particularly useful if you already use, or want to use, Square for card payments.
Best for marketplace visibility: Booksy — 90/100
Booksy combines booking software with a large consumer marketplace and built-in marketing tools.
Salon booking software comparison
| Tool | Best for | Viaqo score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresha | Overall | 94/100 | From £14.95/mo* |
| Square | Value | 92/100 | From £0/mo |
| Booksy | Marketplace | 90/100 | £40/mo + VAT** |
*Fresha’s current UK pricing is £14.95 per month for one bookable professional, or £9.95 per bookable team member on the Team plan. Marketplace, payment and optional feature charges can apply. Recent UK pricing checks confirm these rates.
**Booksy charges £40 per month plus VAT and £5 per month plus VAT for each additional user.
Prices checked October 2026.
Why this ranking?
Fresha takes first place because it is built specifically for beauty and wellness businesses and combines a wide range of salon tools with excellent independent customer feedback. It currently has 4.8/5 from 1,448 Capterra reviews.
Booksy is particularly strong for businesses that want clients to discover them through a booking marketplace. It has 4.4/5 from 482 Capterra reviews, although its standard monthly price is higher than Fresha or Square.
Review scores cover the products as a whole and are not limited to UK hair and beauty businesses.
Fresha — Best overall
Viaqo score: 94/100
Fresha is booking and business management software designed specifically for salons, barber shops, nail businesses and other beauty and wellness professionals.
It includes appointments, waitlists, client records, consultation forms, POS, inventory, gift cards, memberships, marketing and reporting. Businesses can also take bookings through direct links, Instagram, Facebook and Google.
Why we like it
- Built specifically for hair, beauty and wellness businesses
- Online booking and client management
- Appointment reminders and waitlists
- POS and payments
- Stock and retail product management
- Marketing tools
- Marketplace for attracting new clients
- Strong independent customer reviews
Fresha has 4.8/5 from 1,448 Capterra reviews. Ease of use and customer service both score 4.8/5.
What to watch
Fresha is no longer free in the UK.
The monthly subscription is only part of the cost. If a new customer discovers your business through the Fresha marketplace, Fresha can charge a one-off fee based on that customer’s first appointment. Current UK pricing sources show this at 20% with a £4 minimum. Payment processing, extra messages and optional add-ons can also cost more.
This means a salon that gets many new customers through the marketplace should compare the total cost rather than looking only at the monthly subscription.
Pricing
- Independent: £14.95/month for one bookable professional
- Team: £9.95/month per bookable team member
- Enterprise: custom pricing for larger businesses
- Trial: 7 days
Fresha does not require a long-term contract.
Best for: Hair and beauty businesses that want a complete booking and salon management system.
Square Appointments — Best value
Viaqo score: 92/100
Square Appointments combines an online diary with Square’s payment system.
Clients can book online, staff can manage their calendars and businesses can send automatic appointment reminders. Payments, deposits and cancellation charges can also be handled through Square.
Why we like it
- Free plan available
- Online booking page
- Unlimited staff calendars
- Automatic email and text reminders
- Integrated Square payments
- Deposits and cancellation tools
- Simple pricing
- Useful if you already use Square
Square Appointments has 4.5/5 from 263 Capterra reviews. Reviewers frequently praise its ease of use and straightforward booking process.
What to watch
Square is not as specialised for salons as Fresha or Booksy.
Businesses wanting more advanced salon features such as detailed client consultation records, industry-specific marketing or a beauty marketplace may prefer specialist software.
The free plan is also designed for simpler needs. Features such as waitlists, appointment reports and more advanced cancellation tools require a paid plan.
Pricing
- Free: £0/month for one location
- Plus: £29/month per location
- Premium: £69/month per location
Card processing costs extra. Current standard in-person rates are 1.75% on Free and 1.6% on Plus and Premium.
Best for: Small salons, barbers and beauty professionals that want affordable booking software with integrated payments.
Booksy — Best for marketplace visibility
Viaqo score: 90/100
Booksy is designed for barbers, stylists, salons and other appointment-based beauty businesses.
The subscription includes calendar management, online booking, automated reminders, client records, marketing tools, payments and a listing on the Booksy marketplace. Clients can also book through Google, Instagram, Facebook or a website widget.
Why we like it
- Built specifically for appointment-based businesses
- Large consumer booking marketplace
- Unlimited bookings
- Client and calendar management
- Appointment reminders
- Waitlist
- Built-in marketing
- Deposits and cancellation fees
- Payments and Tap to Pay
- Clear UK subscription price
Booksy Biz currently has 4.4/5 from 482 Capterra reviews. Reviewers often praise the booking process and ease of managing appointments.
What to watch
Booksy costs considerably more per month than Fresha for a solo professional and Square’s free plan.
Booksy also offers an optional Boost feature that promotes businesses in its marketplace and charges for customers it brings in. Its UK pricing page currently states a one-off fee of 30% of a Boost customer’s first visit, with a £5 minimum.
Businesses should therefore decide whether they need the extra marketplace promotion before switching Boost on.
Pricing
- Main subscription: £40/month + VAT
- Additional users: £5/month each + VAT
- Trial: 7 days
- No long-term commitment
The standard subscription includes the marketplace listing, booking tools and built-in marketing features.
Best for: Salons and barbers that want booking software with strong marketplace and marketing tools.
Also considered: Phorest
Phorest is one of the strongest salon management systems for established businesses.
It includes online booking, deposits, reminders, client records, staff management, POS, stock control, marketing and reporting. Phorest says its plans are particularly aimed at salons and clinics with three or more staff.
It is a serious option for larger salons, but UK pricing is not published and businesses need to request a quote. That makes it harder for a small salon to compare costs before speaking to sales.
Also considered: Treatwell
Treatwell combines salon software with a large beauty marketplace.
It can be attractive for businesses that want help finding new customers, and there is 0% commission on repeat marketplace bookings. However, Treatwell currently charges 35% plus VAT on the first booking from a new marketplace customer, plus a 2.5% processing fee on online prepayments.
For businesses that already have a strong client base, that acquisition cost can make other booking systems better value.
What to look for in salon booking software
Good salon booking software should make appointments easier to manage, not add extra admin. Start with the diary. Clients should be able to book, change or cancel appointments without calling you, while the system prevents double bookings.
Automatic reminders are also important. Missed appointments directly cost a salon money, so look for deposits, cancellation rules and reminders by email or text.
If you have several staff members, check that each person can have their own availability, services and working hours.
Also look at how the software handles:
- client records and notes;
- consultation forms;
- deposits and no-show charges;
- payments and card fees;
- stock and retail products;
- marketing messages;
- staff access and commissions;
- reports;
- data export.
Finally, compare the real cost, not just the monthly fee. Marketplace commissions, card processing, SMS charges and optional add-ons can make a low headline price much more expensive.
Do you need specialist salon software?
Not always.
A solo hairdresser or beautician with simple needs may be perfectly happy with a general appointment tool such as Square Appointments.
Specialist salon software becomes more useful when you need detailed client records, consultation forms, stock management, several staff diaries, commission tracking or tools designed specifically for hair and beauty businesses.
How Viaqo compares salon booking software
We compare booking and diary tools, client management, reminders, no-show protection, payments, salon-specific features, pricing and independent customer reviews.
We give more weight to software that works well for small UK businesses and has clear pricing.
Large and recent independent review samples also carry more weight than a high score based on only a handful of reviews.
Information from software companies helps us check features and prices, but it is not treated as independent customer feedback. Affiliate commissions never affect Viaqo scores or rankings.
Sources — checked October 2026
- Fresha — official features and pricing information.
- Fresha — Capterra customer reviews.
- Square Appointments — official UK pricing and features.
- Square Appointments — Capterra customer reviews.
- Booksy — official UK pricing and features.
- Booksy Biz — Capterra customer reviews.
- Phorest — official UK product and pricing information.
- Treatwell — official UK pricing information.
Looking for payment or accounting tools too? See our Software for Hair & Beauty Businesses guide.
Looking for other tools? Compare our Card Readers & POS and Accounting Software guides for hair and beauty businesses.