Is there a free alternative to Booksy?

Square Appointments has a free plan for a single location, with card processing fees when you take payments and no text-message marketing. Fresha, which was long known as the free option, now lists monthly plans on its pricing page in the countries we checked. Ignix is not free either — bookings are included from its $39 plan — but that plan also covers the scheduler, the inbox and the DM automations, so it replaces more than one subscription.

Does Booksy charge a commission on bookings?

Not on your own clients. As published on its pricing page, Booksy charges $29.99 a month plus $20 per extra team member, with unlimited bookings. The commission only exists if you turn on Boost, its marketplace promotion: then a brand-new client who finds you through Booksy costs a one-time 30% of their first visit.

Can clients book from Instagram without Booksy or Fresha?

Yes, in three ways. A link in your bio to any booking page. A keyword under a post that triggers a DM with a booking link. Or a booking that happens inside the DM itself, with the service, day and time offered as tappable buttons — which is what Ignix does. The one thing that stays reserved for Instagram’s partner apps is the “Book now” button on the profile.

Calendly is built for meetings — a consultant’s discovery call, a demo — not for a service business with chairs, rooms and walk-ins. It has no marketplace, it prices per seat for whoever hosts the meetings, and its whole vocabulary is meetings. Fine for a coach; the wrong shape for a salon.

If I leave Booksy, do I keep my reviews and clients?

Your client list is your data — take it with you before you close the account. Reviews written on Booksy’s marketplace stay on Booksy’s marketplace, which is one reason to ask happy clients for Google reviews instead: those stay with your business whatever software you use.

What does Ignix not do that salon software does?

It does not take card payments or deposits, it has no marketplace to bring in strangers, it has no client app, and reminders go by email and in the chat rather than by SMS. It books inside Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, your website chat and a public booking page, on the Google Calendar you already use, and the client and their answers land in your contacts.

Appointments

Booksy, Fresha or a booking link in your bio: what a small business actually needs (2026)

Salon software sells you a marketplace, a card reader and a client app. Most small businesses are paying for that to get one thing: a way for clients to book without calling. Here is when the whole package is worth it, and when it is not.

Every barber, nail tech, physio and dog groomer eventually has the same conversation: clients want to book without calling, and the phone is ringing while there is someone in the chair. The usual answer is to sign up for Booksy or Fresha — and for a lot of businesses that is the right answer.

But it is worth being clear about what you are buying. Salon software is a bundle: a booking page, a calendar, a client database, card payments, a marketplace that brings in strangers, SMS reminders, and a mobile app your clients have to install. The bundle is priced as a bundle. If you use one piece of it, you are paying for the rest.

This page compares the two names everyone asks about, the free option people forget, and a third route that most guides skip: taking the booking inside the Instagram or WhatsApp conversation your client already started. Every price below was read from the vendor’s own pricing page on 13 September 2026, and each card says what the tool is genuinely better at.

Where do your clients come from? That decides everything

The question that separates these tools is not features. It is whether you need somebody else to send you clients. Booksy and Fresha run marketplaces: people open the app, search “barber near me” and book a stranger. If a meaningful share of your week comes from that search, the marketplace is the product and the software is the packaging — and paying for it is obvious.

If your clients already come from Instagram, WhatsApp, Google Maps and people telling each other, the marketplace is a feature you are paying for and not using. What you actually need is smaller: a calendar that stops double bookings, a way to book without a phone call, a reminder that cuts no-shows, and the client’s details saved somewhere. That can live inside the tools you already run.

Marketplace, or your own clients: A directory brings strangers and charges for them, one way or another. Your own channels bring people who already chose you. Be honest about which one fills your calendar today.
A flat fee, or a fee per team member: Booksy charges a base plus a fixed amount per extra user; Fresha charges per bookable team member; Square charges per location. A solo operator and a six-chair salon land in very different places on each.
How the reminder reaches them: SMS is the gold standard for no-shows, and it is either free (Booksy), capped (Fresha) or paid per message. Email and a message in the same chat they booked from cost nothing and work well for clients who booked from that chat.
Where the booking actually happens: On their page and in their app, or inside the conversation your client already opened with you. The second one has no app to install and no account to create.

Booksy
Salon software + marketplace
Full salon software plus a marketplace, on one flat subscription.
$29.99 a month plus $20 per extra team member. Boost — optional — takes a one-time 30% of a new marketplace client’s first visit. US pricing, as published on 13 September 2026.
If people in your city open Booksy to find a barber or a nail tech, this is the one to be on, and the subscription buys a lot: unlimited bookings, free SMS confirmations and reminders, no-show protection, waitlists, gift cards, memberships and card readers, with every feature in the one plan. The trade is that your business lives on their page and in their app, your clients book through Booksy rather than through you, and new clients from the marketplace cost 30% of the first visit if you switch Boost on.
See the pricing page
Fresha
Salon software + marketplace
Salon software, POS and marketplace, priced per team member.
In Spain: €19.95 a month for one calendar, or €12.95 per bookable team member. Prices vary by country. A one-time fee applies to brand-new clients from its marketplace; payment processing on top.
Fresha built its name as the free salon software, and its pricing page now lists monthly plans in the countries we looked at — so check yours before assuming. What you get is broad: calendar, POS, consultation forms, client reviews, a client app, free booking links for Facebook, Instagram and Google, and 150 automated SMS or WhatsApp reminders a month before they are charged per message. The add-ons are where it grows: an AI receptionist, loyalty, Google-review requests and a website each carry their own monthly fee.
See the pricing page
Square Appointments
Payments-first booking
Booking built on Square’s payments; free for one location.
Free for a single location; Plus is $49 and Premium $149 a month per location. No text-message marketing on the free plan. US pricing, 13 September 2026.
The obvious choice if you already ring up sales on Square: the booking, the checkout and the client record are the same system, and the free plan is genuinely free for one location. There is no marketplace, so it brings you no strangers — which is fine if you did not want to pay for them. It only exists where Square does, so check your country first.
See the pricing page
Ignix
Booking inside the conversation
Bookings inside DMs, web chat and a booking page, on Google Calendar.
Included from the $39 plan, together with the social scheduler, the unified inbox and the automations. No marketplace, no card payments, no client app; reminders by email and in the chat.
For the business whose clients already write to it. A keyword under a reel or a message in WhatsApp turns into a booking without leaving the chat: services, days and times as buttons, the details you ask for, and a confirmation with the appointment attached. Google Calendar stays the agenda — one calendar per person or room, and whatever you write there blocks the slot. The confirmation, the reminder and any change go out under your own name, colour and logo, and the client lands in your contacts with their answers. What it will not do is bring in strangers or take a deposit.
See the pricing page

The four options, side by side

What each one is for, in a line. The links go to each vendor’s own pricing page, which is where every number on this page came from.

#	Tool	What it does	Pricing
1	Booksy	Full salon software plus a marketplace, on one flat subscription.	biz.booksy.com/pricing
2	Fresha	Salon software, POS and marketplace, priced per team member.	fresha.com/pricing
3	Square Appointments	Booking built on Square’s payments; free for one location.	squareup.com/us/en/appointments/pricing
4	Ignix	Bookings inside DMs, web chat and a booking page, on Google Calendar.	ignix.social/appointment-booking

Questions people ask before choosing

Is there a free alternative to Booksy?: Square Appointments has a free plan for a single location, with card processing fees when you take payments and no text-message marketing. Fresha, which was long known as the free option, now lists monthly plans on its pricing page in the countries we checked. Ignix is not free either — bookings are included from its $39 plan — but that plan also covers the scheduler, the inbox and the DM automations, so it replaces more than one subscription.
Does Booksy charge a commission on bookings?: Not on your own clients. As published on its pricing page, Booksy charges $29.99 a month plus $20 per extra team member, with unlimited bookings. The commission only exists if you turn on Boost, its marketplace promotion: then a brand-new client who finds you through Booksy costs a one-time 30% of their first visit.
Can clients book from Instagram without Booksy or Fresha?: Yes, in three ways. A link in your bio to any booking page. A keyword under a post that triggers a DM with a booking link. Or a booking that happens inside the DM itself, with the service, day and time offered as tappable buttons — which is what Ignix does. The one thing that stays reserved for Instagram’s partner apps is the “Book now” button on the profile.
What about Calendly?: Calendly is built for meetings — a consultant’s discovery call, a demo — not for a service business with chairs, rooms and walk-ins. It has no marketplace, it prices per seat for whoever hosts the meetings, and its whole vocabulary is meetings. Fine for a coach; the wrong shape for a salon.
If I leave Booksy, do I keep my reviews and clients?: Your client list is your data — take it with you before you close the account. Reviews written on Booksy’s marketplace stay on Booksy’s marketplace, which is one reason to ask happy clients for Google reviews instead: those stay with your business whatever software you use.
What does Ignix not do that salon software does?: It does not take card payments or deposits, it has no marketplace to bring in strangers, it has no client app, and reminders go by email and in the chat rather than by SMS. It books inside Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, your website chat and a public booking page, on the Google Calendar you already use, and the client and their answers land in your contacts.

Keep reading

The third route

Take the booking where the conversation already is

If your calendar fills from Instagram, WhatsApp and word of mouth, you do not need a directory. You need the booking to happen in the chat your client already opened — and for the appointment to land in the calendar you already use.

That is what Ignix does, and it does it as part of the tool you would run your social media with anyway.

Booked inside the DM

Services, days and times as tappable buttons on Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram. Hang it off a keyword, a comment or a plain conversation with the AI agent.

Google Calendar is the agenda

One calendar per person or room, created for you. Whatever your team writes there blocks the slot; whatever the bot books appears there.

Emails under your brand

Confirmation with the appointment attached, reminders at the hours you choose, and a notice when something changes — with your name, colour and logo.

A booking page and a client record

A public page for the bio, the QR and the Google Business button, and every client saved in your contacts with the answers they gave.

Appointments are included from Blaze at $39 a month, alongside the scheduler for 14 networks, the unified inbox, comment-to-DM automations and the website chat — the things a salon software subscription never covered.

Included from $39 a month. No marketplace commission, no per-booking fee, cancel in two clicks.

Get started See how bookings work

Add a service and a person, connect Google Calendar, switch it on. The first booking can arrive the same afternoon.