Booking Commission Fees: The Hidden Cost of Marketplace Apps

Booking commission fees are the easiest cost in your business to miss. It is the last day of the month. Your app says you took £2,400 in bookings. A solid number, so you close it feeling good. Then the platform statement lands. Ten of those bookings were new clients the marketplace found for you. At 20% of each £80 first visit, £160 is gone.

That fee is charged once per new client, not on every booking. Even so, it arrives again next month, with the next batch of new faces.

The big names all run a version of the same model. Fresha, Booksy and Treatwell list you alongside other salons and drive discovery. Then they take a percentage of each new client's first visit. On Booksy, that only applies if you switch on Boost. Returning clients carry no fee on any of the three. Fresha's help centre says the fee "does not apply to returning clients". Fresha publishes its rates by country, so you can check yours.

Booking commission fees never feel expensive at first, because there is no upfront charge. You barely notice the deduction either. It simply arrives as a smaller payout. But run the numbers over a few years and the total is larger than most owners expect.

The booking commission fees maths nobody runs

So let us do it together.

Say you charge £80 for a treatment. Reviews of Fresha report a one-off 20% fee on a new client's first appointment. So each new marketplace client costs you £16, once. After that, their visits carry no fee. Fresha's help centre also says a cap applies to higher-value services. However, it gives no amount, so check yours.

Now assume the marketplace sends you 10 new clients a month. That is our assumption, not a platform figure, so swap in your own number.

Ten new clients at £16 each comes to £160 a month. Over three years, that is 360 first visits, or £5,760 in fees.

A flat-fee platform at £59 a month costs £2,124 over the same three years. So the gap is £3,636. However, that gap is the price of discovery. If the marketplace found clients you would never have met, it may be money well spent.

On that first visit, Fresha's reported rate is the lowest of the three. Booksy's optional Boost takes 30% of a new client's first visit, with a £5 minimum. Meanwhile Treatwell's partner pricing lists 35% on first bookings from new marketplace clients, plus VAT. At 35%, the same 10 clients cost £280 a month before VAT. Some platforms add separate card or prepayment fees as well. Commission is a business cost, so it can usually be claimed as an allowable expense.

Booking commission fees side by side

Booking commission fees differ by platform, and VAT changes the real figure. This table compares the published UK rates for a new client's first visit.

Platform	New-client fee	Minimum	Returning clients	Monthly fee
Fresha	20% of the first visit	£4	No fee	From £14.95 plus VAT
Booksy, with Boost on	30% of the first visit	£5	No fee	£40 plus VAT
Treatwell	35% of the first booking	None listed	No fee	Not published
Aasure	None, as there is no marketplace	None	No fee	£29, £59 or £89 including VAT

The Fresha figures come from BarberInsights' UK cost calculator, which models them ex VAT. Fresha's help centre adds a cap for higher-value services, without stating the amount. Booksy's UK pricing adds £5 a month for each extra user. Aasure's plans are on our pricing page.

VAT sits on top of the commission, too. So if you are not VAT-registered, you cannot claim it back. In that case, Treatwell's 35% really costs you 42% of the first booking. Likewise, Fresha's 20% becomes 24%, and Booksy's 30% becomes 36%.

On a £50 first visit, that means £12 to Fresha, £18 to Booksy and £21 to Treatwell. For head-to-head detail, see Booksy vs Fresha and Fresha vs Treatwell.

Whose client is it, really?

The commission is the visible cost. However, the bigger one is structural.

When a client books on a marketplace, the platform sits inside the relationship.

• The booking arrives in the platform's app rather than your inbox.
• The booking flow and reminders run on the platform's templates, not your own.
• Reviews live on the marketplace instead of your own page.
• Platform terms can limit how you contact marketplace clients outside the app, so read yours.
• If you leave, check which client data you can export first. The ICO explains how to tell who controls which records.

The client does not think they booked you. Instead they think they booked an app. Meanwhile that app already has the next salon ready to suggest.

The brand cost behind booking commission fees

This one resists measurement. Yet unlike the new-client fee, it never stops.

On a marketplace you appear beside your competitors. Your prices sit against theirs at the exact moment of booking. Confirmations follow the platform's template, like every other salon listed nearby. So your tone and aesthetic struggle to come through.

You spent years building a brand people walk past three salons to reach. Then you handed the most important moment to a platform. That platform treats you as one listing among many.

What independent booking actually looks like

The alternative is not difficult. It is simply less normalised.

• Your URL. A link for your Instagram bio, so it lands on a page with your name.
• Your branded confirmation. So the client sees your logo, your tone and your colours.
• Your client list. Names, numbers and history sitting in your account, not the platform's. HMRC also expects sole traders to keep business records for at least five years after the filing deadline.
• A flat fee. The same monthly price however many bookings arrive. Aasure's plans are £29, £59 or £89 including VAT. Note the £90,000 VAT threshold once turnover climbs.
• No commission on any client. Marketplaces already let returning clients rebook free. The change is that new clients cost nothing either, because there is no marketplace. The trade-off is that you find them yourself.

The break-even is simple to work out. At an £80 first visit and a 20% fee, each new marketplace client costs £16. So four a month (£64) already costs more than a £59 plan. On the other hand, if the marketplace sends you fewer than that, it may be the cheaper channel. The National Hair & Beauty Federation offers members further business guidance.

How to cut booking commission fees before you switch

You can lower booking commission fees without leaving a marketplace today. Three moves do most of the work.

• Import your existing clients first. Fresha's help centre says clients already on your list carry no new-client fee. That includes imported ones, so upload your list before you go live.
• Send regulars your own link. Treatwell's partner pricing charges no commission on bookings through your own Book Now button. Similarly, Booksy charges 0% on your own channels, such as your booking link or QR code.
• Treat Boost as a dial. Booksy's Boost is optional. So switch it on when the diary has gaps, and off again when it fills.

Then measure what the marketplace actually sends you. Count new marketplace clients for three months, and run the figures through the free Real Bill Calculator. If the number is small, our Fresha alternative and Treatwell alternative pages show what a switch involves.

How to switch without losing clients

Many owners stay because they fear the bookings will dry up. However, you can lower that risk by working in order.

For the week-by-week version, see how to switch booking software without losing a single client. Salon owners can also see how Aasure works for salons.

After three months, compare your bookings and margin with the months before. If your qualifying income is over £50,000, Making Tax Digital has applied since April 2026.

You spent years getting good at your craft. The platform taking a cut of every new client does not pay you for that. You do.

It's time to stop letting it be.

Common questions

Is Aasure an alternative to marketplace booking apps like Fresha or Booksy?

Yes. Aasure suits independent salons and beauty pros who want their own booking page and client list. A flat monthly fee replaces marketplace commission, with no fee on new or returning clients.

Will I lose my regular clients if I move off a marketplace?

You may lose a few, so lower the risk. Send one warm message and offer a small thank-you for their first booking on your own page. Expect new-client discovery to slow while you rebuild it on your own channels.

How much do independent booking platforms usually cost?

Flat-fee platforms charge the same each month, however many bookings come through. Booksy is £40 a month plus VAT in the UK, and Aasure is £29, £59 or £89 including VAT. Whether that beats a marketplace depends on how many new clients it sends you. At an £80 first visit and a 20% fee, four new marketplace clients a month already cost £64.

How much commission does Treatwell charge?

Treatwell's partner pricing lists 35% on the first booking from a new marketplace client, plus VAT. Repeat bookings carry no commission. Neither do bookings through your own Book Now button.