An honest side-by-side for UK salons and beauty pros weighing marketplace reach against an independent client list.
Treatwell is the largest beauty marketplace in the UK, and for a salon that has just opened its doors that's real distribution. Its commission applies only to the clients it introduces, and repeat bookings are free. The question is whether you still need the introduction.
| How they compare | Treatwell | Aasure |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Software subscription, plus commission on marketplace-introduced new clients | Flat monthly fee. No commission |
| Commission | Charged on a new client's first booking through the marketplace; repeat bookings are free | None — there is no marketplace |
| New-client discovery | One of the largest beauty marketplaces in the UK | You drive traffic from Instagram, Google and referrals |
| Client ownership | The client arrives as a Treatwell customer | The client arrives as yours |
| Branding | Your listing, inside the Treatwell brand | Your booking page, your URL, your name |
| Prepayments | Online prepayments carry a processing fee | Deposits taken on your own booking page |
| Best fit | Salons that want UK marketplace reach | Independent salons with an established client base |
Treatwell does something Aasure deliberately does not, and for some salons that is decisive:
Aasure fits the salon that has already done the introductions:
There's a version of this that isn't a choice at all. Keep a Treatwell listing pointed at new clients, and run your regulars through your own booking page. Treatwell doesn't charge you for repeat bookings, so the listing costs you nothing on the clients you already have. Used that way, the marketplace is an acquisition channel rather than a landlord.
The moment to reconsider is when you look at a month of bookings and realise the marketplace introduced almost none of them. At that point the listing isn't buying you discovery — it's just where your clients happen to click. Read the full breakdown of marketplace economics.
Yes, for UK salons and beauty pros who want their own booking page, their own client list, and a flat monthly fee. Treatwell is built around marketplace discovery; Aasure is built around running an independent practice. Some salons run both.
No. Treatwell's commission applies to the first booking of a new client it introduces through the marketplace. Repeat bookings from that client, and bookings that come through your own website or social channels, are not charged commission.
Yes, and for many salons it's the sensible answer. Keep the Treatwell listing working as a new-client channel, and move your regulars onto your own branded booking page so the relationship and the record sit with you.
The free Client Lifetime Value Calculator shows what one retained client is worth across the years they stay — the number that decides whether marketplace commission is cheap or expensive.
Open the calculator → Or read: The Hidden Cost of Marketplace Booking Apps →See how Aasure stacks up against Fresha or Booksy (both marketplaces). Or browse all comparisons.