What is the best salon software in the UK?
There is no single best salon software. The right one depends on whether you want new clients from a marketplace app, how big your team is, and what you will pay for over a year. Fresha, Treatwell and Booksy bring marketplace clients for a fee. Timely is the cheapest to start without a marketplace. Phorest and SalonIQ are established UK systems for larger salons. Daviana suits salons that also want colour costing and an AI receptionist on the same record.
The short answer
- Decide first whether you want a marketplace. Fresha, Treatwell and Booksy can bring new clients, and charge a fee on each one; the rest do not.
- Compare a year of total cost, not the headline price: subscription, card fees, paid texts and any new-client commission.
- Read the contract. Most are monthly, but Phorest's UK terms are a one-year contract that renews automatically.
- Hair, nail and beauty salons need the same basics: a diary per staff member, online booking with deposits, and treatment lengths that are right. Test your longest and most awkward service on the demo.
- Ask how your clients and history come across, and how you would take them out again if you left.
Salon software is the diary, the till and the client record your whole day runs on, so switching is a big decision and a bad fit is expensive. Search for the best salon software and most of the lists you find are written by one of the companies on them. This one is too. We make Daviana. So every fact about another company below comes from its own UK pricing or terms page, checked on 26 September 2026 and listed at the end, and we have said plainly where each one is the better choice.
How do the main UK salon booking systems compare on price?
Prices are as each company publishes them for the UK. Superscripts link to the sources at the end.
| Published price | Contract and new-client fees | |
|---|---|---|
| Fresha | £14.95 a month on your own; £9.95 a month per bookable team member on Team1 | No contract. 20% one-time commission on new marketplace clients, minimum £41 |
| Treatwell | Monthly fee not stated on its pricing page2 | 30 days' notice3. 35% on a new marketplace client's first booking, 0% on repeat bookings, 2.5% on online prepayments, all plus VAT2 |
| Booksy | £40 a month plus £5 a month per extra team member, plus VAT4 | No commitment. New-client fee only with Boost on: 30% of the first visit, minimum £54 |
| Timely | From £4, £7 or £9 a week by plan, adjusting with bookings; unlimited team members5 | No contract, 14 days' notice. No new client fees5 |
| SalonIQ | From £47 a month for a solo stylist; setup from £175 plus VAT6 | Contract not stated on its pricing page. No marketplace6 |
| Phorest | Quote only; no free trial7 | One year, renewing automatically unless you give two months' notice8. No marketplace |
| Daviana | £80 a month including VAT for the diary and till; first month free | No minimum term; cancel any month. No marketplace, no commission on bookings |
Which salon software suits which salon?
- You want new clients from an app. Fresha, Treatwell and Booksy all run consumer marketplaces. Fresha has the lowest software price and a 20% one-time fee per new marketplace client. Treatwell takes 35% of a new client's first booking, and nothing on repeats. Booksy charges a flat monthly fee and only takes a new-client fee when you switch Boost on. See Fresha alternatives if you are weighing these up.
- You want the lowest price with no marketplace. Timely starts from £4 a week with unlimited team members and no new client fees, though the weekly price rises with bookings. See Daviana vs Timely.
- You are a larger salon or a group that wants an established UK system. Phorest and SalonIQ both fit. Phorest is priced by quote on a one-year contract; SalonIQ publishes a starting price and a setup fee. See Daviana vs Phorest.
- You want the diary, colour costing and the phone in one system. Daviana's salon booking system is £80 a month including VAT with no marketplace and no minimum term. Its ColorLab weighs and costs colour to the gram, and its AI receptionist books calls into the same diary. It costs more than Fresha or Timely for a small team.
What should nail and beauty salons look for?
Nail and beauty salons need the same core as hair salons, but the diary gets harder faster. Check these on any demo:
- Treatment lengths that are right. A full set and an infill, or a facial and an add-on, should book the time they really take, including any processing gap.
- Who can do what. Online booking should only offer a treatment with the people who actually do it.
- Two services in one visit. Book a manicure and pedicure together, or two therapists at once, and see whether it creates one visit.
- Deposits and no-show rules. Longer treatments cost more when a client does not turn up. Our salon no-show policy template covers the rules to set.
What does salon software really cost over a year? A worked example
Take a team of four on Fresha's Team plan: 4 × £9.95 is £39.80 a month for the software. Now say the marketplace sends you 10 new clients a month with a first visit of £60. At 20%, that is £120 a month in commission, so £159.80 a month, or about £1,920 a year, before card fees and paid texts.
These are example figures. Run the same sum with your own numbers for each system on your shortlist: subscription, card processing on your monthly takings, paid texts, any new-client fee, and any setup fee spread over the year. The cheapest headline price is often not the cheapest year.
What should you ask before you switch?
- How long is the contract, and what does it cost to leave early?
- How are my clients, history, notes and colour formulas moved across, and who does it?
- Can I export everything if I leave, in a format another system can read?
- What are the card processing fees, and do I have to use your payments?
- Who answers the phone when it goes wrong on a Saturday?
We keep a fuller list in 12 questions to ask before switching salon software.
Questions salon owners ask
What is the cheapest salon software in the UK?
On published prices, Timely starts lowest at £4 a week with unlimited team members, and Fresha is £14.95 a month on your own. Both have extra costs to check: Timely's price rises with bookings, and Fresha charges 20% on each new marketplace client.
Which salon software has no commission?
Timely says it has no new client fees, and SalonIQ, Phorest and Daviana have no marketplace, so there is no commission. Booksy only charges on new clients when Boost is switched on. Fresha and Treatwell charge on new marketplace clients.
Which salon booking systems tie you into a contract?
Phorest's UK terms are a one-year contract that renews automatically unless you give two months' notice. Fresha, Booksy, Timely (14 days' notice), Treatwell (30 days' notice) and Daviana are monthly. SalonIQ does not state its terms on its pricing page.
What is the best booking system for a nail salon in the UK?
The one that books your treatments at the right length with the right technician, and handles two services in one visit. If you want marketplace clients, look at Fresha, Treatwell and Booksy; if you do not, Timely, SalonIQ, Phorest and Daviana. Test your longest and most awkward treatment on a demo before you decide.
Can I move my clients from my current salon software?
Usually yes, but what moves depends on what your current system lets you export. Ask any new supplier to look at a real export before you sign. The Daviana team moves your clients and prices across for you.
Sources
- Fresha: UK pricing — checked 2026-09-26
- Treatwell: partner pricing — checked 2026-09-26
- Treatwell: partner terms (notice period) — checked 2026-09-26
- Booksy Biz: UK pricing — checked 2026-09-26
- Timely: UK pricing — checked 2026-09-26
- SalonIQ: pricing — checked 2026-09-26
- Phorest: UK pricing — checked 2026-09-26
- Phorest: UK terms and conditions, clause 13.1 — checked 2026-09-26
Fresha, Treatwell, Booksy, Timely, SalonIQ and Phorest are trademarks of their owners. We are not affiliated with any of them. Prices and terms change, so check with each company before deciding.
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