Honest comparison · UK
Booksy, Fresha, Treatwell or your own booking website?
Apps charge monthly fees and a cut of some bookings; a website costs money once. Here's what each charges, from their own pages, and when your own site isn't worth it.
- Official sources only
- Reviewed on 3 November 2026
- No commission on your own site
Unconfirmed rates are marked below. We build booking websites; every platform figure links to its official source.
What each option charges
Booksy
- Monthly
- £40 a month, plus £5 a month for each extra staff member. VAT is added.
- New clients from the marketplace
- Boost (optional): a one-off 30% fee on a Boost client's first visit, minimum £5. Clients who find you yourself aren't charged this.
- Online payments
- Mobile payments 1.29% + 20p + VAT; Tap to Pay 0.99% + 20p + VAT.
Treatwell
- Monthly
- Treatwell lists Connect subscription plans. We couldn't directly verify the current UK plan prices during this review; follow the official pricing link for your quote.
- New clients from the marketplace
- The official pricing listing describes a first-booking commission for new marketplace clients, with no commission on repeats or bookings through your own channels. Confirm the current percentage and terms with Treatwell.
- Online payments
- Treatwell Pay lists online payments at 2.5%, excluding VAT. Subscription and marketplace fees are separate; confirm which apply to your business.
Fresha
- Monthly
- The en-GB pricing page displayed €14.95 a month for Independent and €9.95 per bookable team member a month for Team during our check. These are displayed euro prices, not confirmed UK-pound quotes; confirm your local plan with Fresha.
- New clients from the marketplace
- Rate unconfirmed: the pricing table displayed ‘Free’, while Fresha's official help describes a one-time new-client fee with a minimum and cap. We haven't quoted a percentage because those sources conflict; ask Fresha which UK terms apply.
- Online payments
- The pricing table displayed 1% + €0.20 per online transaction. This is a euro-denominated display, not a verified UK payment rate.
Your own site (Stratford Digital)
- Monthly
- Nothing required. Optional Care plan from £59 a month; cancel any time.
- New clients
- No commission. One-off build from £1,049, fixed in writing.
- Online payments
- Your payment provider's standard card fees, if you take payments online.
Platforms change prices and offer different terms to different businesses, so confirm before deciding. Fresha's official sources gave conflicting new-client fee information during our review; its percentage and UK-pound charges remain unconfirmed. Don't treat a regional currency display as your UK quote.
When your own site isn't worth it
- Most of your new clients come from the app. If people find you by browsing the marketplace, keep the listing; a website won't replace that on day one.
- You're just starting out with an empty diary. A marketplace puts you in front of people quickly; a website helps most once people search for you by name.
- You rarely pay new-client fees. If almost all your bookings are regulars, the saving may be small; check your last few months of statements first.
- You won't share the link. A booking site only works if your Google profile, social bios and reminder messages point to it.
When it usually pays off
- People already find you on Google or by word of mouth, then book through an app that charges you.
- You want your brand, your prices and your reviews on a page that isn't next to competitors.
- You want to own the client relationship and the booking data.
- You'd rather pay once than pay a share of new bookings indefinitely.
You don't have to choose one. Many businesses keep a marketplace for discovery and move returning clients to their own site.
Questions
Is my own website always cheaper than Booksy, Fresha or Treatwell?
No: a website is a one-off cost, while marketplace fees depend on how many new clients the app sends you. If the app brings clients you wouldn't find otherwise its fee may be worth paying; your own site mainly saves on clients who would have found you anyway.
Can I use my own site and a marketplace at the same time?
Yes, and many businesses do. A common set-up is keeping a marketplace listing for discovery and sending returning clients, and anyone who finds you on Google, to your own site.
Where do these figures come from?
From official pricing and help sources, reviewed on 3 November 2026. Where a live price could not be verified or official sources differed, we say so rather than infer a UK rate. Confirm your plan, currency and fees with the platform before deciding.
Do I pay card fees on my own website too?
If you take payments online, yes: your payment provider charges its standard card fees. What you don't pay is a commission to a marketplace on clients who booked with you directly.