SalonForge vs Fresha

Fresha is a marketplace with software attached; SalonForge is software with no marketplace. That single difference drives most of the others, including who owns the client relationship and what a new client costs you.

Written by SalonForge. Every Fresha fact below is sourced and dated — checked 2026-07-24. We have tried to be fair; if anything here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.

Fresha suits you if

You want new clients delivered to you and are happy to pay a commission for them, or you want the lowest possible monthly figure to start with.

SalonForge suits you if

You already have the clients, and the money is leaking through colour waste, an unanswered phone, or pay arguments — not through a shortage of bookings.

Side by side

Superscripts link to the source at the foot of the page.

	SalonForge	Fresha
Software only, no marketplace clients	£250 a month	£59.70 a month inc VAT
With the phone answered by AI	£250 a month — the phone is in the price	£139.65 a month
Plus 10 new marketplace clients a month	£250 a month	£329.65 a month
Plus 20 new marketplace clients a month	£250 a month	£519.65 a month

What Fresha does better

They bring you new clients — Their marketplace puts you in front of people who have never heard of you. We do not do that. If your problem is an empty column rather than a leaky one, that is a real difference.
A lower entry price for a stylist on their own — £14.95 a month for a single user is below where we begin, and we do not have an answer for a one-chair business. If that is you, they are the better fit.

What it actually costs a five-chair salon

The £14.95 headline is the price for one person on their own. From two people up it is £9.95 per team member, so a five-stylist salon is £49.75 plus VAT — £59.70 a month before anything else. That is the number to compare, not £14.95.

Then there are two things a headline price does not include: the phone, which is a separate £79.95 per location a month, and commission on new clients who come through the marketplace. Below, a five-chair salon on a £95 average colour.

	SalonForge	Fresha
Software only, no marketplace clients	£250 a month	£59.70 a month inc VAT
With the phone answered by AI	£250 a month — the phone is in the price	£139.65 a month
Plus 10 new marketplace clients a month	£250 a month	£329.65 a month
Plus 20 new marketplace clients a month	£250 a month	£519.65 a month

If you get few marketplace clients and do not need the phone answered, they are genuinely cheaper than us and this table says so. The crossover is somewhere around five new marketplace clients a month once the phone is included.
Commission is 20% of a new marketplace client's FIRST booking only, minimum £4. Repeat visits are not charged again, and bookings you bring in yourself are never charged. We have assumed a £95 average colour.
Their figures are from their own published pricing page. Ours, £250, is the top of our range — all six products for a salon this size. Take fewer products and it comes down; the diary on its own starts at £50. Both sides move, so check before deciding.

Where SalonForge is different

One record, not several — Our six products read and write the same diary. The colour that gets weighed lands on the same client the till charges and the commission run pays on.
Colour costed to the gram, natively — This is the thing we were built around. It is not a note field and not a third-party add-on — the bowl sits on a scale and the cost follows the client.
Nobody markets your clients — There is no marketplace, so there is no version of us that shows your client a different salon. Your list is yours and you can export it.

Questions about Fresha and SalonForge

Is Fresha still free?

No. Fresha published paid subscription tiers, starting at £14.95 a month for a solo user and £9.95 per team member for two or more, plus VAT. It was free historically, which is why the belief persists. Check fresha.com/pricing for today’s figure before deciding — their terms allow changes on 30 days’ notice.

What does a new client actually cost on Fresha?

20% of that client’s first appointment, with a £4 minimum, when the client came through the marketplace. Repeat visits from that client are not charged again. Bookings you generate yourself are not charged. SalonForge takes no commission at all, but equally brings you no new clients.

Can I use both?

Some salons do run a marketplace listing for discovery alongside their own system. It means two diaries, which is the one thing we would talk you out of — two diaries is how the same slot gets sold twice.

See it on your own numbers

Thirty minutes, your diary and your colour spend. We will tell you if it is not a fit — a salon that signs up for the wrong reasons leaves within a year.

Book a demo

Sources

Fresha — Pricing — checked 2026-07-24
Fresha — features for hair salons — checked 2026-07-24
Fresha — Partner terms of service — checked 2026-07-24

Fresha is a trademark of its owner. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or partnered with them. This page reflects publicly available information on the date shown; Fresha may since have changed what it offers, so check with them directly before deciding.