Slick salon software alternatives: the honest UK guide for 2026
Slick is one of the easier UK salon systems to respect: it publishes its prices, it charges no commission and no new-client fees, and it includes unlimited SMS appointment reminders on every plan. If you are reading this anyway, something specific is pushing you to look elsewhere, usually the way the bill grows with every extra column, or the absence of a free tier to start on.
This guide is published on the blog of ViteUneCoupe, a hair salon booking system that is free and takes no commission, so we are not neutral and we will not pretend to be. What we can promise is method: every price below was checked in October 2026 on each provider's own pricing page, with the page cited, and we open each profile with what that tool does worse than Slick, ours included.
What Slick actually costs, checked at the source
Slick prices by column, meaning each bookable diary in your salon. Checked in October 2026 on Slick's pricing page, all prices excluding VAT:
| Plan | First column | Each extra column | SMS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | £22/month | £14/month | Unlimited appointment reminders + 50 marketing SMS credits |
| Advanced | £37/month | £21/month | Unlimited reminders and confirmations + 500 marketing SMS credits |
| Supercharged | £250/month | Unlimited columns | Unlimited reminders and confirmations + 2,000 marketing SMS credits |
The subscription is monthly rolling with no locked-in contract, no setup fees and no new-client fees, and the pricing page states that data import and setup are free. You may also see "from £20", "£35" and "£219" in Slick's marketing; the per-column figures above are what the pricing page itself displayed when we checked. One more framing note: Slick positions itself for the wider hairdressing sector, not only for hair salons like the ones this blog writes for.
Said plainly, that is a transparent and fairly priced product. The unlimited SMS appointment reminders on every plan, including the cheapest, are a genuine strength that most competitors meter or charge extra for.
Why hair salons look for a Slick alternative anyway
Three reasons come up, and they are about fit rather than flaws:
- Per-column cost growth. The entry price is for one diary. A clearly hypothetical example: a hair salon with four columns on Essential pays £22 + 3 × £14 = £64 per month excluding VAT; on Advanced, £37 + 3 × £21 = £100. Add two more stylists and Essential reaches £92, Advanced £142. None of that is hidden, but owners comparing against flat-rate or free tools notice the slope.
- No free tier. Slick has no permanent free plan. A stylist going solo, or a salon that only wants an online booking page and a client list, starts paying from day one. Our guide to booking software for solo hairdressers looks at that situation in depth.
- Paying for an SMS and marketing suite you may not use. If your clients book online and read email, part of what the subscription funds sits idle. Some salons genuinely need SMS to keep chairs full; others get the same result from email reminders and a firm cancellation policy, a trade-off we unpack in our guide to reducing no-shows in a hair salon.
If none of those applies to you, staying with Slick is a defensible decision. If one does, here is what the alternatives cost, on the same October 2026 basis.
Slick alternatives compared for UK hair salons
| Software | Subscription | Commission | SMS reminders | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ViteUneCoupe | Full free plan; Standard from 29 € excl. VAT/month (billed in euros) | 0 %, always | No, email only | No commitment |
| Booksy | £40/month + VAT, extra users £5/month each | 0 % normally; optional Boost: 30 % of a new client's first visit | 500 marketing SMS/month included, then 5p each | Cancel anytime |
| Square Appointments | Free £0; Plus £29; Premium £69 per month per location | None; card fees 1.6 to 1.75 % in person, 1.4 % + 25p online (UK cards) | Email and SMS included | No long-term commitment |
| SalonIQ | From £47/month + setup from £175 + VAT | None advertised | Two-way SMS as paid add-on | 60 days' notice |
| Fresha | Displayed in euros: 14.95 €/month solo, 9.95 €/month per team member | No booking fees stated | 20 free texts/WhatsApp a month, then metered | No minimum commitment |
| Phorest | Not published, quote only | None advertised | Charged per message | Not published |
For the full market picture beyond the Slick question, our UK hair salon booking software comparison profiles all of these plus Treatwell, Timely and Shortcuts.
ViteUneCoupe: free and 0 % commission, without the SMS
Start with what Slick does better than us, because it is real: ViteUneCoupe sends no SMS reminders, on any plan. Reminders go by email. We also handle no payments, no deposits and no till, and the subscription is billed in euros, not pounds; UK cards pay euro invoices without fuss, but there is no GBP invoice.
What you get in exchange: a genuinely free plan with unlimited online bookings and 0 % commission, permanently. A personalised booking page for your hair salon, your service catalogue with photos, staff schedules, a client database that handles +44 numbers normally, your calendar and opening hours. No card details to start, no trial countdown, and appointments follow your salon's local time.
The Standard plan, from 29 € excluding VAT per month with no commitment, adds automatic emails (booking confirmation, a reminder before the appointment, a thank-you afterwards) and ICS calendar sync with Apple, Google or Outlook. Anti no-show protection by bank card hold is coming soon in a Standard + Anti No-Show plan at 49 € excluding VAT per month; it is announced, not available yet, so do not count on it today.
Who it suits: the solo stylist or small hair salon that wants 24/7 online booking at zero fixed cost, keeps clients informed by email, and would rather own a free diary than fund an SMS suite.
Booksy: the closest like-for-like, flat price instead of columns
Booksy is the most natural head-to-head: UK pricing published plainly, no commission on ordinary bookings, SMS in the box. Checked in October 2026 on Booksy's UK pricing page: £40 per month plus VAT, extra team members at £5 per month each, 500 marketing SMS messages a month included (then 5p each), cancel anytime. The optional Boost marketplace tool charges a one-time 30 % of a new client's first visit when you switch it on.
Against Slick the maths flips with team size. One column on Slick Essential (£22) undercuts Booksy comfortably; a five-person hair salon pays £78 on Slick Essential versus £60 on Booksy before VAT, in a clearly hypothetical like-for-like. Compare the plan you would actually need, not the headline. We go deeper in our Booksy alternative guide for hair salons.
Who it suits: the team salon that wants Slick-style SMS and UK billing at a flat base price, plus a marketplace it can switch on and off.
Square Appointments: a real free plan, funded by card fees
Square answers the "no free tier" objection directly. Checked in October 2026 on Square's UK pricing page: a free plan at £0 for a single location, then Plus at £29 and Premium at £69 per month per location, with email and SMS reminders included. Square earns on payments: 1.75 % in person on the free plan (1.6 % on paid plans) and 1.4 % + 25p online for UK cards.
The trade-off is depth. Square schedules every kind of appointment business, so hair-specific touches (colour notes, salon-style client histories) are thinner than in a salon specialist like Slick. And if your clients pay through Square, the processing fees are the real price of "free".
Who it suits: the salon or solo stylist that wants booking and card payments from one supplier, with a free plan to start on.
SalonIQ: UK specialist, watch the setup fee and notice period
SalonIQ is a British salon software company with open entry pricing: from £47 per month for a solo stylist plus a one-time setup fee from £175 + VAT including training and data migration, checked in October 2026 on SalonIQ's pricing page. There are no long-term contracts, but cancellation takes 60 days' notice, and two-way SMS is a paid add-on rather than included.
Against Slick that is a heavier entry: Slick charges no setup fee and includes SMS reminders at £22. SalonIQ's case is the breadth of the system and UK-based onboarding. Get the add-on prices in writing before comparing totals.
Who it suits: the established salon that wants a UK supplier with hands-on setup and accepts a setup fee and notice period.
Fresha and Phorest: the other names on the shortlist
Fresha displayed euro pricing when we checked its pricing page in October 2026: 14.95 € per month for an independent professional, 9.95 € per team member, no booking fees stated, online payments at 1.29 % + 0.15 € per transaction and 20 free texts or WhatsApp messages a month before metering starts. Polished software with a big marketplace, but reminders and payments are metered where Slick's reminders are unlimited; confirm your actual GBP billing before signing. More in our Fresha alternatives guide for UK hair salons.
Phorest is the heavyweight salon specialist, strong on retention and marketing, but its pricing page showed no subscription prices when we checked in October 2026: four plans, quote only, SMS charged per message. You cannot compare it from your sofa; arrive at the demo with your exact team size and exit terms written down.
How to choose, and how to leave cleanly
A short decision path:
- You want to stop paying per column but keep SMS: Booksy (flat £40 + VAT base) or Square's paid plans.
- You want a free plan and your clients read email: ViteUneCoupe, 0 % commission forever, accepting euro billing and no SMS.
- You want free plus card payments in one place: Square Appointments, counting the processing fees as the real cost.
- You want a UK specialist with onboarding done for you: SalonIQ, with the setup fee and 60-day notice in the contract.
Whichever way you go, check the exit before the entrance: ask for a full client export (contacts, history, notes) in writing before you commit. Our guide to switching salon booking software covers how to time the move without losing bookings.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Slick salon software cost in the UK?
Checked in October 2026 on Slick's own pricing page: Essential at £22 per month for one column plus £14 per additional column, Advanced at £37 plus £21 per column, and Supercharged at £250 per month with unlimited columns, all excluding VAT, on monthly rolling terms with no setup fees.
Does Slick charge commission on bookings?
No. Slick's pricing page states there are no new-client fees and no hidden fees; you pay the subscription based on your plan and number of columns. The reasons salons switch are cost growth with team size, the lack of a free tier, or not needing the SMS and marketing suite, not commission.
What is the cheapest alternative to Slick for a hair salon?
The genuinely free options checked in October 2026: ViteUneCoupe's free plan (unlimited online bookings, 0 % commission, email reminders on the paid Standard plan from 29 € excluding VAT per month) and Square Appointments' free single-location plan, which is funded by card processing fees of 1.75 % in person.
Do Slick alternatives include SMS reminders?
It varies, and Slick's unlimited SMS reminders on every plan are hard to match. Booksy includes 500 marketing SMS a month in its £40 + VAT plan, Square includes SMS reminders even on its free plan, SalonIQ sells SMS as an add-on, Fresha meters messages after 20 free ones, and ViteUneCoupe sends email reminders only, with no SMS on any plan.
