Salon Booking Software Without Commission: 2026 Guide

Salon booking software without commission charges you a flat monthly price and never takes a percentage of your appointments. As of November 2026, Square Appointments, Vagaro and GlossGenius don’t take a cut of bookings you bring in yourself. Booksy, StyleSeat and Fresha also sell subscriptions, but each one charges a one-time fee when a new client finds you through its marketplace. And any app that processes cards charges a processing rate on every payment. So “no commission” depends on how you set things up, not just which app you pick. This guide shows how each platform charges, where the hidden costs are, and how to switch without losing clients.

What does “no commission” actually mean for salon software?

Booking platforms charge salons in five different ways. Knowing these terms makes any pricing page easier to read.

• Subscription: A flat monthly fee for the software, sometimes per location.
• Per-staff (or per-calendar) fee: An extra monthly charge for each stylist or barber with a bookable calendar.
• Marketplace or new-client fee: A one-time cut, usually a percentage of the first visit, when a client finds you through the platform’s consumer app and books.
• Payment processing: A percentage plus a few cents on every card payment you take through the platform.
• Client-side booking fee: A fee the client pays when they book. Your price stays the same, but your client pays more.

“No commission” usually means no marketplace fee and no percentage cut of bookings. Processing fees still apply wherever you take cards, because every processor charges them.

How do Booksy, Vagaro, Fresha, Square, GlossGenius and StyleSeat charge?

Here’s how each platform charges according to its official pricing or help pages, checked as of November 2026. Prices change often, so confirm before you sign up.

Platform	Subscription	Per staff	New-client / marketplace fee	Card processing (in person)
Booksy	$29.99/mo	+$20/mo each additional staff	Boost: 30% of first visit, capped at $100 (optional)	2.49% + $0.10 (card reader)
Vagaro	$30/mo (intro $23.99 for first 6 months)	+$10 per calendar, up to 7 paid	Free marketplace listing; no fee listed	2.6% + 10¢ under $4,000/mo volume
Fresha	Solo plan or per team member	Per bookable team member on Team plan	One-time fee on brand-new marketplace clients	Not listed on pricing page
Square Appointments	$0 / $49 / $149 per location	Unlimited staff calendars on free plan	None	2.6% / 2.5% / 2.4% + 15¢ by plan
GlossGenius	$28 / $56 / $168	Tiered by plan	None listed	2.4% + 15¢
StyleSeat	$35/mo Premium Plan	Not listed	New Client Connection: 30% of first appointment, capped at $50 (optional)	2.5% + $0.30 (Tap to Pay)

Booksy

Booksy charges $29.99 per month plus $20 for each additional staff member. Its marketplace feature, Boost, is free to turn on but takes 30% of a Boost client’s first visit, capped at $100. Booksy says confirmations and reminders are always free and that plans include 2,000 marketing text messages per month. Processing ranges from 2.49% + $0.10 with its card reader to 2.69% + $0.30 for mobile and keyed-in payments. There’s no contract, and the trial is 14 days.

Vagaro

Vagaro lists $30 per month for one location, with an introductory $23.99 rate for the first six months. Each additional bookable calendar costs $10, up to seven paid licenses. Employees beyond seven are free. A Marketplace listing is included. Card processing is 2.6% + 10¢ for dip and tap under $4,000 in monthly card volume, or 2.29% + 19¢ with a $10 monthly fee above that. Keyed-in payments are 3.5% + 19¢. Vagaro’s support site lists its MySite website add-on at $20 per month in the US.

Fresha

Fresha offers a solo plan for one calendar and a Team plan priced per bookable team member. It charges a one-time fee on brand-new clients who find you through the Fresha marketplace. Returning clients don’t trigger it, and Fresha says bookings through your direct link, Facebook and Instagram are free. Automated text and WhatsApp messages come with a small free monthly allowance, then cost per message. Fresha’s Smart Website is a paid add-on. Exact prices depend on your country, so check the pricing page for your market.

Square Appointments

As of November 2026, Square’s US pricing page lists $0, $49 and $149 per month per location for the Free, Plus and Premium plans. There’s no booking commission. In-person card rates drop as you move up a plan: 2.6% + 15¢ on Free, 2.5% + 15¢ on Plus, 2.4% + 15¢ on Premium. Online payments are 3.3% + 30¢ on Free and 2.9% + 30¢ on the paid plans, and manual entry or card on file is 3.5% + 15¢. Square gives you a booking site, but it’s Square’s page, not a full website on your own domain.

GlossGenius

GlossGenius has three Beauty & Wellness plans: Standard at $28, Gold at $56 and Platinum at $168 per month, or less if you pay annually. Its FAQ lists a 2.4% + 15¢ rate for in-person payments, and online invoices are 2.9% + $0.30. The Standard plan includes a custom booking website. The pricing page doesn’t list any booking or marketplace commission.

StyleSeat

StyleSeat’s help center lists a $35 monthly Premium Plan. Its New Client Connection feature takes 30% of a new client’s first appointment, capped at $50. Its Smart Pricing feature, which raises prices at busy times, takes 5.5% capped at $16.50. Both are optional. Clients pay a $2.35 booking fee. Processing is 2.5% + $0.30 for Tap to Pay and 2.6% + $0.30 for card on file.

What hidden costs should salon owners watch for?

The monthly price is rarely the whole bill. These are the extra costs that most often catch owners off guard.

1. Per-staff fees that grow with your team. A low base price can climb fast once every chair has its own calendar.
2. Marketplace fees on clients you’d have gotten anyway. If a regular finds you in the app instead of using your link, the platform’s rules decide whether they count as new. Read the definition of “new client” carefully.
3. Text message limits. Reminders by text cut no-shows, but many platforms cap free texts and charge after the limit.
4. A website sold separately. A booking page isn’t the same as a website on your own domain. Several platforms charge extra for a site, and you might pay for a site builder on top.
5. Processing tiers and keyed-in rates. Typing in a card number or charging a card on file almost always costs more than tapping.
6. Hardware and payouts. Card readers cost money up front, and instant payouts often add a percentage.
7. Client-side fees. A booking fee charged to your client doesn’t show up on your bill, but your client still pays it.

What does a four-chair salon actually pay?

Here’s a simple illustration using the published list prices above, before processing, texts or add-ons:

• Booksy: $29.99 + 3 × $20 = $89.99 per month
• Vagaro: $30 + 3 × $10 = $60 per month, or $80 with the MySite website
• Square Appointments Plus: $49 per month for one location

Now add marketplace fees. If Booksy Boost brings you one new client for an $80 color service, that first visit costs $24. Five Boost clients in a month at that price adds $120, more than the subscription itself. That can still be worth it if those clients keep coming back. Just make it a conscious choice, not a surprise on your statement.

Marketplace profile vs. your own website: which is better?

Marketplace apps and your own website do different jobs, and it’s worth being honest about both.

What a marketplace profile does well:

• Puts you in front of people searching the app for a barber or stylist nearby
• Collects reviews inside an app people already trust
• Is quick to set up, with no design work

Where a marketplace profile falls short:

• Your page sits on the platform’s domain, often next to competing salons
• The platform sets the rules and fees and can change them
• A client who books there may feel like a platform customer, not yours
• If you leave, the profile, its reviews and its search ranking stay behind

What your own website and domain give you:

• One permanent link for Google, Instagram, texts and business cards
• Search ranking that builds up for your business name, not a platform’s
• Freedom to change booking providers later without changing your link
• No marketplace fee on clients who book through it

The catch: a website on its own doesn’t bring in strangers the way a busy marketplace can. You’ll need to put your link to work through your Google Business Profile, social media and word of mouth.

For many salons the practical answer is both: keep a marketplace listing for discovery if the math works, but send existing clients and all your own marketing to booking on your own site.

What should you look for in commission-free booking software?

Use this checklist when you compare options:

• Online booking by service and by staff member, with each person’s own hours
• Automatic confirmations and reminders, by email at least, with clear text message limits
• A client list with notes and visit history you can export whenever you want
• Your own domain, or at least a clear way to connect one
• Deposits or no-show protection if late cancellations hurt your income
• No contract and clear cancellation terms
• Processing rates you’ve compared, or the option to take payments however you want
• Real support you can reach when something breaks on a Saturday morning

How do you switch booking software without losing clients?

Switching feels risky because your calendar is your income. A careful handoff keeps it boring:

1. Export everything first. Download your client list, service menu and future appointments from the old platform. Check that phone numbers, emails and notes came through.
2. Set up the new system before you announce it. Rebuild services, prices, durations and each staff member’s hours.
3. Import your clients so returning clients are recognized and their history isn’t lost.
4. Move future appointments into the new calendar, so no booking exists in only one place.
5. Update every link the same day. That means your Google Business Profile booking link, Instagram bio, Facebook page, website buttons and any saved text replies.
6. Tell your clients directly. A short text or email works: “We have a new booking link. Your upcoming appointments are already moved.”
7. Run both systems for a short overlap. Watch the old platform for stray bookings and move them over by hand.
8. Turn off marketplace features, then cancel. Disable new-client promotions on the old app first, then cancel once no future bookings remain there.

When does a marketplace app still make sense?

Commission-free isn’t automatically the right choice. A marketplace fee can be a fair deal if:

• You just opened and have no client base yet
• You’re in a busy area where lots of people search the app
• Your average new client turns into a regular, so one first-visit fee pays off over many visits
• You have open chairs that would otherwise sit empty

The fee becomes a problem when your calendar is mostly regulars and word-of-mouth referrals, but you keep paying as if the app found them. Check your platform’s reports every few months to see where your new clients really come from.

Where does a flat-fee website plus booking fit?

If most of your clients already know you, a flat-fee setup on your own domain is often the simplest way to stop paying per booking. One Site System is built for exactly this. Starter is $49 per month and includes a website on your own domain (the domain comes with it), online booking by service and staff, email confirmations and reminders, and a client list with notes and history. Pro is $99 per month and adds text reminders to US numbers, review requests after each visit, and deposits and gift cards through PayPal.

One Site System has no commissions, no per-booking fees, no setup fee and no contract. To be fair, it isn’t a marketplace, so it won’t send you strangers from an app. It works best for salons and barbershops that already have clients and want to own their link, their site and their client list. You can browse live demo sites to see how booking looks on a phone.

Want to see your own salon on it before you pay anything? Request a free personalized demo site, or compare the plans on the pricing page.