Setout vs Fresha: your own booking site, with no commission from Setout.
£39 a month including VAT for your whole team, however many of you there are. Setout takes no commission on any booking, and you pay nothing until your site is live.
Fresha's free plan for UK salons ended in November 2025. Since then, every salon on Fresha pays a monthly fee for each person on the team, on top of the fee on marketplace clients. If you're weighing that bill up, this page sets out the facts, including where Fresha is still the better choice.
Setout works differently. You get your own website, on your own web address, designed for salons, with online booking for your whole team built in. Clients choose a service, a time and who they'd like to see. You get the booking by email, they get a confirmation and an email reminder and each of your team can log in to see their own bookings. It costs £39 a month including VAT, whether there's one of you or ten, and Setout takes nothing from any booking.
Setout and Fresha side by side
| Setout | Fresha | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | £39 a month including VAT, for the whole team | £14.95 for one person, or £9.95 for each team member |
| A team of three | £39 a month | £29.85 a month (3 × £9.95) |
| A team of six | £39 a month | £59.70 a month (6 × £9.95) |
| Commission | None, on any booking | 20% on new clients from Fresha's marketplace |
| Your own website | Included: a site designed for salons, on your own web address | A booking page on Fresha, plus a Smart Website add-on (price not published) |
| New clients from a marketplace | None. Setout doesn't send you new clients | Yes, through Fresha's marketplace |
| Card deposits | Not yet. Clients pay by bank transfer, PayPal, a payment link or in person | Yes |
| Who sets it up | Built for you, or do it yourself in about ten minutes, for the same price | You set it up yourself |
When Fresha is the better choice
Being fair about it, there are good reasons to stay with Fresha.
- New clients find you through Fresha. Fresha's marketplace puts you in front of people looking for a salon nearby. Setout has no marketplace and doesn't send you new clients.
- You need card deposits today. Fresha takes card payments and deposits now. Setout doesn't yet: clients pay by bank transfer, PayPal, a payment link or in person, and you mark the booking as paid.
- You work alone and only need a diary. Fresha's plan for one person is £14.95 a month, less than Setout's £39. If you don't want a website of your own, it's the cheaper choice.
When Setout is the better choice
- Your team is growing. From four people, Fresha's per-person fees come to more than Setout's £39, and Setout's price stays the same when you add a fifth stylist or a tenth.
- Most of your bookings are regulars. They book on your own site and Setout takes nothing. A 20% fee only makes sense for a client you'd never have met.
- You want your own website. A real site on your web address, designed for salons, with your services and prices, your team, your photos, your reviews, gift cards and a shop.
- You want your client list to be yours. Everyone who books or enquires goes into one client list that belongs to you.
- You'd rather not set it up yourself. We build it for you, with your services, prices, team and hours, and you see it before you pay.
Moving from Fresha: keep every booking as you switch
Tell us about your salon.
Your services and prices, your team, your hours and a few photos. We build your site from that.
See it before you pay.
We send you a private link. Try booking an appointment on your own phone. Nothing to pay until it's live.
Switch over gradually.
Leave your existing Fresha appointments where they are, and send clients to your new booking link for anything new. Once the old bookings have passed, the move is done.
Decide whether the marketplace earns its keep.
If Fresha's marketplace brings you new faces, weigh what it brings against what it costs: the fee for each team member plus 20% of each new client. Some salons keep it for new faces and send regulars to their own site.
Tell your regulars.
Put your new booking link in your Instagram bio, on your Google Business Profile and on a card at the desk.
Questions about moving from Fresha
Does Setout take commission on bookings?
No, on any booking. If a client pays through PayPal or a payment link, that provider's usual fee applies, but Setout takes nothing.
Can clients pay a deposit by card?
Not yet. Today clients pay by bank transfer, PayPal, a payment link or in person, and you mark bookings as paid.
Can clients choose who they see?
Yes. They pick a service, a time and a member of your team. Each of your team can log in to see their own bookings.
Do clients get reminders?
Yes. Clients get a confirmation when they book and an email reminder before their appointment.
Can I bring my client list from Fresha?
Not in one click yet. Your client list builds up on Setout as clients book or enquire on your own site.
Is there a contract?
No. It's free until you publish, then £39 a month including VAT. Cancel any time, and if it isn't right for you, tell us within 30 days of your first payment and we'll refund it in full.
Tell us about your salon. We'll build your booking site and send you the link to see it before you pay.
We'll call you the same working day, weekdays, if you ask before 3pm. Ask after 3pm or at the weekend and we'll call you the next working day. There's nothing to pay until your site is live.