1 · The friction
Sound familiar?
What salon owners tell us about their booking fees.
“I got charged for a client I found myself”
One reviewer was charged 20% because the client searched their name on the marketplace.
Source: Capterra review, Jan 2026
“They booked through my own link”
The fee can apply when a client views your marketplace profile, then books through your link.
Source: Hackceleration; Whito, 2026
“The free plan disappeared”
Cost complaints include the 2025 removal of the free plan.
Source: Pabau Fresha pricing review
“Half our ‘new’ clients already knew us”
Fees on clients who found you elsewhere make the marketplace feel like a tax.
Source: Pattern we check for in audits
2 · The numbers
Fresha, by the numbers
20%
One-time fee on each new marketplace client (minimum $6)
Pabau Fresha review
$14.95
Per team member a month on the Team plan (US list price)
Pabau Fresha review
2.29%
Plus 20 cents per in-person card payment
Pabau Fresha review
$300
Example monthly marketplace fees: 15 new clients at $100
Pabau Fresha pricing
The marketplace can pay for itself if it brings clients you'd never reach. The question is how many of your “new” clients were really new.
3 · What to do
5 things to do before you switch
Work out your real monthly cost
Subscription, plus marketplace fees, plus card fees. Three numbers from last month.
Check who was really “new”
Go through last month's new-client fees and mark the ones who found you through Instagram, Google or a friend.
Price the marketplace as advertising
If it brings genuinely new clients at a cost you'd happily pay for ads, it's working.
Compare flat-fee systems
Some booking systems charge a subscription and take no cut of new clients.
Plan your client list before moving
Export clients, notes and future bookings, and agree a quiet week to switch.
4 · The decision
Stay on Fresha, or switch?
Stay if
The marketplace brings you genuinely new clients.
Your team likes using it.
Fees are a small share of revenue.
Switch if
Most new clients find you on Instagram or Google.
You're paying fees on clients you already know.
You want one predictable monthly bill.
Before you switch
Export your client list and notes.
Move future bookings carefully.
Tell regulars about the new booking link.
5 · In practice
What working out the real cost usually looks like
Challenge
Monthly booking costs keep rising and nobody's sure why.
Action
Add up subscription, marketplace and card fees for one month, and check which new clients really came from the marketplace.
Result
1 hour
An hour with last month's statement shows whether the marketplace is paying its way.
6 · Quick answers
Questions salon owners ask us
How much is the Fresha new client fee?
20% of the new client's first booking from the marketplace, with a $6 minimum.
Do I pay it for returning clients?
No. Returning clients don't trigger the fee.
Do other systems charge the same?
Some marketplaces, like Vagaro and Booksy, charge a new-client fee too. Flat-fee systems don't.