No-Commission Booking Apps for Salons and Barbers (UK, 2026)
Most booking apps for salons and barbers make money in one of two ways: a monthly subscription, or a cut of the bookings their marketplace sends you. Many do both. A no-commission booking app charges only the subscription, so the price of every appointment stays with you.
Figures checked 27 September 2026 on each provider’s UK pricing page. Prices and terms change, so check the linked pages before you decide.
Which Booking Apps Charge Commission?
The big three consumer marketplaces in the UK each charge a one-off fee when their marketplace introduces a new client:
- Treatwell: 35% of the first booking from a new marketplace client, and all Treatwell commissions and fees are subject to VAT. Repeat bookings are 0%.
- Booksy: commission only applies if you switch on Boost, its marketplace promotion. Boost charges a one-time 30% fee on a new client’s first booking, with a £5 minimum. With Boost off there is no commission; the subscription is £40 a month plus VAT.
- Fresha: a one-time 20% fee, minimum £4, when a brand-new client finds you on the Fresha marketplace. Its prices exclude VAT.
None of them charge commission on clients who book through your own link, website or social profiles, or on returning clients. The fee is for clients their marketplace finds for you.
What Commission Costs on a Real Booking
Take a new client booking a £120 balayage through each marketplace:
- Treatwell: 35% is £42, or £50.40 with VAT at 20%.
- Booksy with Boost on: 30% is £36, plus VAT.
- Fresha: 20% is £24, plus VAT.
- A no-commission app: £0. You pay the monthly subscription and, if the client pays online, the card processing fee.
On cheaper services the minimum fees matter. For a £15 beard trim, Treatwell’s 35% is £5.25, but Booksy Boost charges its £5 minimum rather than 30% (£4.50) and Fresha its £4 minimum rather than 20% (£3), all before VAT.
Whether that is worth paying depends on how many of those clients come back. A marketplace client who returns every six weeks for two years is cheap at £42. One who never returns is expensive.
When Paying Commission Makes Sense
Commission is a fee for finding you customers. It is worth it when the marketplace genuinely brings people who would never have found you, and enough of them become regulars. Newly opened salons and businesses in busy city centres often get real value from a listing.
It makes less sense once most of your clients come from word of mouth, Instagram, Google or your own website. Those clients were going to find you anyway, and every marketplace booking from them is a fee you didn’t need to pay.
How to Take Bookings With No Commission
- Give clients one booking link that is yours. Put it in your Instagram bio, your Google Business Profile and your website.
- Take deposits online. A deposit at booking protects you from no-shows without needing a marketplace’s payment system.
- Send reminders automatically so clients booking directly get the same reminders they would from an app.
- Keep a marketplace listing only if it pays for itself. Check every few months how many new regulars it actually brings.
Slotivo: A Booking App With No Commission
Slotivo gives you your own booking page, deposits, reminders and a diary you can run from your phone. It is free for one or two staff and £10 a month flat for larger teams. There is no marketplace, and no commission on any booking. Online payments go through Stripe at Stripe’s standard rates.
Because there is no marketplace, Slotivo won’t find you new clients the way Treatwell, Booksy or Fresha can. It is built for businesses whose clients already know where to find them.
Compare the details in Fresha vs Treatwell vs Booksy, read the Booksy fees guide, or start free.