Treatwell alternatives for UK hair salons: the honest 2026 comparison

Type "Treatwell alternative" into Google and most of what you find is written by software companies quoting each other's prices, often in dollars, rarely with a date. This article is different in two ways. First, every figure below was checked in October 2026 on each provider's own website, and we tell you plainly when a price is not published. Second, we are not neutral: this is the blog of ViteUneCoupe, a free booking system for hair salons with no commission, so we start by being honest about what Treatwell genuinely does well, and about what ViteUneCoupe does not do.

One thing this article is not: a demolition of Treatwell. For some UK hair salons, especially a new salon in a big city that needs clients fast, Treatwell's marketplace is a real asset. The question is whether you should keep paying for client acquisition once your chairs are full, and what it costs to run your whole diary on a marketplace's software. Let's take it step by step.

What Treatwell actually charges a UK hair salon

Everything in this section comes from Treatwell's UK partner pricing page and its FAQ, checked in October 2026.

• 35% commission plus VAT on the first booking of each new client the marketplace brings you. In Treatwell's own words: "we only charge a 35% commission on first bookings made by new clients we bring you from the marketplace." The pricing page adds that new client commission is "subject to location", so confirm the exact rate for your postcode before signing.
• 0% commission on repeat bookings. Once a client has found you, their later bookings through Treatwell carry no commission.
• No commission on direct bookings: clients who call, text, WhatsApp, or use the "Book Now" button on your own social media or website are commission-free.
• A monthly fee that is not published. The FAQ mentions "your monthly fee", but neither the Freelancer plan nor the Advanced plan (unlimited team members) shows a price on the pricing page. You find out the number in a sales conversation.
• 2.5% plus VAT processing fee whenever a client prepays online.
• All commissions and fees are subject to VAT. If your salon is VAT-registered you can usually reclaim that VAT through your return; if you are below the registration threshold, it is simply part of the cost.

A clearly hypothetical example, because the percentages feel abstract until you put pounds on them. Say a new client books a £120 cut and colour through the marketplace. The commission is £42, plus £8.40 VAT on the commission, so £50.40 comes off that first visit before you have mixed a single bowl of colour (less painful if you reclaim the VAT, but the £42 is gone either way). If she prepaid online, add the 2.5% plus VAT processing fee. Treatwell's answer is that she was a client you would never have met otherwise, and that every visit after the first is commission-free. That answer is fair. Whether the deal makes sense depends entirely on how many of your marketplace "new clients" would actually have found you anyway through Google or a recommendation.

Three more contractual points worth knowing before you sign, all from the same page:

• The software does not sync with other systems. Treatwell's FAQ says it plainly: "we do not sync with any other existing management systems. As your exclusive partner we empower you to be as successful as possible." Your diary lives inside Treatwell.
• Your client data remains yours. The FAQ states the data "is and remains the property of your establishment", even if you cancel. That is better than many salon owners fear, and worth holding them to: ask in writing how you export your client list before you ever need to.
• Reminders are email only on the published feature list: "unlimited client email notifications" and "unlimited client email reminders". SMS reminders are not mentioned on the pricing page; ask if you rely on them.

What Treatwell genuinely does well

Honesty cuts both ways, so here is the case for staying. Treatwell claims over 150,000 partner salons across Europe and its consumer marketplace is one of the first places many British clients look for an appointment, particularly in London, Manchester, Birmingham and other large cities. If your chairs are half empty and you have no online presence, the marketplace can fill slots this month, not next year. The software itself covers the essentials: calendar, online bookings, POS for checkout, product sales, sales reports, review management and daily payouts. And charging 0% on repeat bookings is a fairer model than platforms that take a cut of every single appointment.

Who should stay: a salon that still needs a steady flow of brand-new clients and accepts paying 35% plus VAT of each first visit as a marketing cost. Who should look at the alternatives below: a salon whose diary is mostly regulars, where the marketplace now mainly "acquires" people who already knew the salon. We wrote a whole article on exactly that trap, direct bookings versus marketplaces for a hair salon, because it is the single most important question in this decision.

The alternatives at a glance

All prices checked in October 2026 on each provider's own website. "Not published" means exactly that: we could not verify it, which is not the same as it not existing.

Now the detail, starting with our own product so you know exactly where we stand.

ViteUneCoupe: free and commission-free, with honest limits

ViteUneCoupe replaces the booking half of Treatwell, not the marketplace half. The free plan includes unlimited online bookings with 0% commission, permanently: your own booking page to link from Instagram, your website and your Google Business Profile, a services catalogue with photos, staff schedules, a client database (UK numbers in +44 format work fine) and your calendar. It is a real free plan, not a trial: no card details, no booking caps.

The Standard plan, from 29 € excl. VAT per month with no commitment, adds automatic emails (confirmation, reminder before the appointment, thank-you after it) and ICS calendar sync with Apple, Google or Outlook calendars. Bank-card no-show protection is also coming soon, in a Standard + Anti No-Show plan at 49 € excl. VAT per month; until it ships, reminder emails and a clear cancellation policy remain the tools that work today.

And the limits, because every provider above has some and most hide them:

• The subscription is billed in euros, not pounds. At 29 € a month the exchange difference is small and UK cards pay euro invoices without drama, but if you want a sterling invoice from a UK entity, this is not it.
• No SMS reminders, on any plan. Reminders are email only. Several competitors include SMS allowances, and that is a genuine advantage of theirs.
• No POS, no payments, no deposits. ViteUneCoupe manages appointments, not money. Treatwell includes checkout and daily payouts; if you want booking and till in one tool, look at Square or Fresha instead.
• No marketplace. Nobody discovers you through ViteUneCoupe. You bring the audience; we make booking with you effortless and take nothing from it.

Best for: the UK salon whose diary is mostly regulars and referrals, and which wants online booking 24/7 without a commission line or a monthly fee eating the margin.

Fresha: per-team-member pricing and a one-time new-client fee

Fresha is probably Treatwell's best-known rival, and its model changed: it is no longer the completely free tool many salon owners remember. Checked on fresha.com in October 2026, the subscription is 14.95 a month for an independent with a single calendar, or 9.95 per bookable team member for a team (the site shows prices in your local currency, so confirm the sterling figure on your own screen). On top of that sit payment processing fees per transaction and a one-time marketplace fee for brand-new clients who discover you through the Fresha marketplace; returning clients are never charged. The structure is Treatwell-like, with a smaller first-visit bite and a subscription on top.

For the full breakdown, fee by fee, see our dedicated guide to Fresha alternatives for UK hair salons.

Best for: a salon that wants marketplace exposure plus integrated payments and accepts per-team-member pricing.

Booksy: flat UK pricing and optional Boost commission

Booksy publishes its UK price plainly, which we respect: £40 per month, plus £5 per month for each additional team member, plus VAT, with a 7-day free trial and no commitment (checked on booksy.com in October 2026). Bookings are unlimited and carry no commission, including new clients from the Booksy marketplace, with one exception: if you switch on the optional Boost marketing feature, a one-time 30% commission (minimum £5) applies to a Boost client's first visit. Boost off, no commission; Boost on, Treatwell-style acquisition pricing you control month by month. SMS and payment processing are subject to their own fees, so read the pricing page carefully.

Best for: a salon with several stylists that wants predictable sterling pricing and the option, not the obligation, of paid marketplace exposure.

Timely: per-stylist plans with SMS included

Timely, popular with UK hair salons at the premium end, prices per bookable staff member across three plans (Build, Elevate and Innovate), each including an SMS allowance of 100 to 350 messages a month and, in Timely's own words, "no new client fees" (checked on gettimely.com in October 2026; the site localises currency, so check the sterling figures on their pricing page). There is no marketplace: like ViteUneCoupe, Timely assumes the clients are yours. The trade-off is cost at scale, since every bookable stylist adds a full per-seat fee.

Best for: an established salon that wants polished client-experience features and SMS reminders, and is happy paying per stylist for them.

Square Appointments: free tier plus familiar card fees

Square Appointments publishes clear UK prices: free for a single location, Plus at £29 per month per location, Premium at £69 per month per location, with card processing at 1.75% in person on the free plan, 1.6% on paid plans, and 1.4% + 25p for online payments with UK cards (checked on squareup.com/gb in October 2026). No booking commission, no marketplace. The free tier is genuinely useful for an independent stylist, and if you already take payments with Square the integration argument is strong. It is a generalist tool, though: it serves every industry from cafés to repair shops, so salon-specific depth (colour formulas, patch-test tracking) is thinner than in hair-first software.

Best for: an independent stylist or small salon already in the Square ecosystem who wants booking and payments from one familiar provider.

Phorest: quote-based software for growing teams

Phorest is a heavyweight in UK and Irish salons, with marketing automation, loyalty and reporting that the budget tools cannot match. Its prices, however, are not published: the pricing page offers a quote and a demo, and positions the product for growing salons, with unlimited staff and devices on all plans (checked on phorest.com in October 2026). No public figure means no price comparison here, and we will not invent one. Budget for a sales conversation, and ask directly about contract length, onboarding fees and data export.

Best for: a salon group or ambitious multi-chair salon that wants an all-in-one platform and accepts negotiating the price.

How to choose: replace the software, the marketplace, or both

Treatwell bundles two different products, and the right alternative depends on which one you are actually trying to replace.

1. Count your real new-client rate. Look at three months of Treatwell statements: how many bookings paid the 35% commission, and how many of those clients might have found you anyway? That number, not the software, decides whether the marketplace earns its keep.
2. Separate acquisition from booking. You can run a free, commission-free booking page for your regulars and direct traffic, and treat any marketplace purely as a paid acquisition channel you can switch off. Nothing forces the two into one contract.
3. Check the exit before the entrance. Whatever you pick, confirm in writing how you export clients, appointment history and notes. Our guide to switching salon booking software has a full migration checklist.
4. Compare like with like. A £40 subscription plus VAT, a 35% first-visit commission plus VAT, per-stylist seats and card processing fees are four different kinds of cost. Put your own numbers in a spreadsheet for one typical month; for the wider market view, our UK hair salon booking software comparison lines up every major provider the same way.

Frequently asked questions

How much commission does Treatwell take from a UK hair salon?

35% plus VAT on the first booking of each new client its marketplace brings you, with the rate described as "subject to location" (treatwell.co.uk, checked in October 2026). Repeat bookings and direct bookings carry 0% commission. A 2.5% plus VAT processing fee applies when a client prepays online, and there is also a monthly fee that Treatwell does not publish on its pricing page.

Does Treatwell charge for my existing clients?

No. Clients who book directly (phone, WhatsApp, your website's "Book Now" button) and repeat bookings from marketplace clients are commission-free. The commission applies once per new client the marketplace introduces, on their first booking.

Can I take my client list with me if I leave Treatwell?

Treatwell's own FAQ states that client data "is and remains the property of your establishment", even after cancelling. Before you depend on that, ask their support in writing for the export procedure and check what the file includes: contact details, appointment history and notes are not always exported together, whatever the provider.

Is there a free Treatwell alternative for hair salons?

Yes, with different trade-offs. ViteUneCoupe's free plan offers unlimited commission-free online bookings but no marketplace, no SMS and no payments. Square Appointments is free for a single location with card fees per transaction. Fresha now charges a subscription in the UK, so treat "Fresha is free" claims as out of date.

Should a new salon leave Treatwell straight away?

Not necessarily. If you genuinely need client acquisition, the marketplace can be worth 35% of a first visit. The sensible setup for many salons is both: a commission-free booking link for everyone who already knows you, and the marketplace kept strictly for filling gaps, reviewed every quarter against what it actually brings in.