Best salon software UK (2026): prices and contracts

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, product or terms page, last checked between 6 and 20 October 2026 and listed at the end with the date of each check, 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
Vagaro	£20 a month for one bookable calendar, plus £10 a month for each extra calendar up to seven licences, then more staff at no extra charge¹⁶	No contract; cancel any time¹⁵. Since 14 July 2026, a one-time 20% fee when a brand-new client books through the Vagaro Marketplace or partner network (Yelp, Google, Apple Maps)¹⁷
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	Its pricing page says no long-term contracts, cancel with 60 days' notice⁶; its terms set a 12-month initial term, then 90 days' written notice, so ask which applies to you. No marketplace⁶
Phorest	Quote only; no free trial⁷	One year, renewing automatically unless you give two months' notice⁸. No marketplace
Daviana	Diary and till free for any team size; extras are paid (texts 6p each, AI receptionist £60 a month, ColorLab £80 a month, including VAT)	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, Booksy and Vagaro 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. Vagaro starts at £20 a month for one calendar and takes a one-time 20% on brand-new clients from its marketplace or partner network; see Daviana vs Vagaro.
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 and Daviana vs SalonIQ.
You want the diary, colour costing and the phone in one system. Daviana's salon booking system has a free diary and till for any team size, 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. Texts, ColorLab and the AI receptionist are paid extras.

Which salon software can answer the phone with AI?

Most of the big UK systems now offer an AI front desk of some kind. Each one books only into its own diary, so the receptionist follows the booking system you choose, not the other way round. They are paid add-ons, so put them in the year's total too.

	AI on the phone or messages	Published price
Treatwell	AI Receptionist, launched 7 September 2026. Answers calls and manages appointments in the Treatwell calendar⁹	From £69 a month⁹
Fresha	AI Concierge. Books, moves and cancels in the Fresha calendar on the call, and answers messages¹⁰	£79.95 a location a month plus VAT, with 200 minutes and 500 messages included, then 48p a minute and 3p a message¹
Booksy	AI Receptionist, in beta. Books into Booksy in English or Spanish, but not yet appointments protected by a deposit¹¹	Free for at least 12 months for the first 500 providers to sign up. The beta page is written for the US, so ask Booksy about UK access¹¹
Vagaro	Vera Receptionist is a chatbot for messages from its listing page and, with a text plan, SMS. Over SMS it sends a booking link rather than booking. No voice receptionist found¹⁸	Free in the UK for a limited time¹⁸
SalonIQ	IQ Connect, powered by Callpad.ai. Answers calls, checks the live SalonIQ diary and books there and then¹²	Not published¹²
Phorest	Front Desk AI answers SMS and WhatsApp messages, not voice calls¹³	An add-on to any plan, priced on quote⁷
Timely	No voice receptionist of its own found. Its AI tool, Textie Bestie, helps write SMS messages to clients¹⁴	None listed⁵
Daviana	Aria answers calls and books single services or whole multi-service visits into the diary the front desk uses	£60 a month including VAT

The difference that matters is whether the AI takes the call and books it there and then, or only handles messages. If the phone is your main problem, our guide to AI receptionists for salons compares them in more detail, including tools that work with other booking systems. To see what unanswered calls cost you first, use the free missed call calculator.

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. Our guide to how much salon software costs in the UK runs the full sum, card fees included.

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. Vagaro is £20 a month for one calendar and also takes 20% on brand-new clients who book through its marketplace.

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, Treatwell and Vagaro 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, Vagaro, Timely (14 days' notice), Treatwell (30 days' notice) and Daviana are monthly. SalonIQ's pricing page says no long-term contracts with 60 days' notice, while its terms set a 12-month initial term, then 90 days' written notice, so ask which applies.

Which salon software has an AI receptionist?

Treatwell, Fresha and SalonIQ each sell an AI receptionist that answers calls and books into their own diary, and Booksy has one in beta. Phorest's Front Desk AI answers texts and WhatsApp messages rather than calls. Vagaro's Vera is a chatbot for messages and texts, and we found no voice receptionist of Timely's own. Daviana's Aria answers calls and books into the Daviana diary for £60 a month including VAT.

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, Booksy and Vagaro; 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.

What is the best salon software in the UK?

The short answer