Fresha is a large international salon platform with its own marketplace, client app and card terminals. Since 2025 it is no longer free: you pay a subscription for every bookable team member, plus a fee for new clients who find you on the Fresha marketplace. SmartBook is online booking and a CRM with a fixed price per team and every feature included in every plan. Here is how the two compare in the UK.
In short
- Fresha suits you if you want a marketplace and client app, retail and stock control, and card terminals in one system.
- SmartBook suits you if you want booking, a client database, packages, loyalty points and staff payroll for a fixed price that doesn't grow with every new team member, with no paid add-ons and no commission.
Monthly cost (UK)
| Staff | SmartBook | Fresha |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | £5 | £14.95 + VAT |
| 3 people | £5 | £29.85 + VAT |
| 5 people | £5 | £49.75 + VAT |
| 10 people | £15 | £99.50 + VAT |
Fresha: Independent plan £14.95 per month for one team member, Team plan £9.95 per bookable team member per month, plus VAT (Fresha's published UK pricing as of 26.09.2026, see fresha.com/pricing). SmartBook: monthly plan for up to 5 or up to 10 staff, up to 40% cheaper when you pay for six months or a year, see pricing.
Commission and extras
| SmartBook | Fresha | |
|---|---|---|
| New client fee | None | One-time 20% (minimum £4) for a new client from the Fresha marketplace |
| Loyalty programme | Included | Paid add-on per location |
| Review requests | Included | Google rating boost is a paid add-on per location |
| Messages | Email free, WhatsApp via your own WhatsApp Business account, SMS charged separately | A small monthly allowance of free messages, then pay per message |
| Free trial | 21 days, up to 10 staff, no card | 7 days, no card |
Features
| SmartBook | Fresha | |
|---|---|---|
| 24/7 online booking | Your own booking page, link and QR code | Booking link and a profile on the Fresha marketplace |
| Client marketplace and app | No, clients book through your link | Yes |
| Point of sale, retail and stock | No | Yes |
| Gift cards and packages | ||
| Group classes | ||
| Loyalty points | In every plan | Paid add-on |
Everything else in SmartBook is included in every plan too: staff payroll and commission, multiple locations, client segments, deposits for online bookings, no-show tracking and automatic review requests.
When Fresha is the better choice
- You want new clients to find you on the Fresha marketplace and app.
- You sell retail products and need stock control.
- You want card payments through a terminal in the same system.
When SmartBook is the better choice
- You have several staff: the SmartBook plan for up to 5 people costs less than Fresha charges for one.
- You want loyalty, review requests and client analytics without paid add-ons.
- You pay staff a percentage of their services and want payroll worked out in the system.
How to switch from Fresha to SmartBook
- Sign up for SmartBook: 21 days of full access for free, no card needed.
- Export your client list from Fresha to a file, or ask Fresha support for an export.
- Upload the file to SmartBook: Clients section, import from CSV or Excel.
- Add your services, staff and working hours, then put your booking link on Instagram, Google and your website.
- Let your regular clients know the new booking link.