“Free” isn't free.
Fresha's marketplace takes 20% of every new client, and now there's a monthly fee too. ApptOnly is the Fresha alternative that never takes a cut.
Keep every new client
Fresha takes 20% of the first booking from every new marketplace client ($6 minimum). On ApptOnly you keep 100% of every booking, from every source, forever.
Your brand, not a marketplace listing
On Fresha you're one tile in a directory beside every competitor in town. ApptOnly is white-label by default, so your booking page is your business, with no marketplace steering clients elsewhere.
Competitor pricing verified October 2026.
What Fresha does well
Fresha grew fast for a reason: a genuinely strong free starting point and a huge consumer marketplace.
Massive marketplace reach
Fresha's consumer app and directory are enormous. For a business that wants to be discovered by new clients browsing for appointments, that reach is hard to match.
Polished, modern product
The booking experience, calendar, and mobile apps are well designed and pleasant to use. Fresha clearly invests in product craft.
Low subscription cost
At $19.95 a month for an individual, Fresha's subscription is genuinely inexpensive, cheaper than ApptOnly's monthly price on the sticker alone.
Why solo businesses look for a Fresha alternative
Fresha makes its money on the back end, and the friendliest-looking pricing hides a cut that grows with your success.
20% of every new marketplace client
Win a new client through Fresha's marketplace and Fresha keeps 20% of their first booking, with a $6 minimum. The better you do at attracting new clients, the more that cut costs you.
The free era is over
Fresha built its base on a free plan and then introduced a monthly subscription. The deal you signed up for may not be the deal today, and a pricing model that changes once can change again.
You're a listing, not a brand
On Fresha you're one tile in a directory, sitting beside every competitor in your area. Little stops a client who came for you from booking someone else next time.
What “free” actually costs
Fresha's subscription is cheap, but its 20% cut on new marketplace clients is where the real cost lives. Here is what two new clients can cost you.
- New client, $90 first visit20% of the first booking, $6 minimum
- $18
- New client, $150 first visit
- $30
Fresha also charges $19.95 a month now, where it used to be free. ApptOnly is $39 to $49 a month all-in and never takes a percentage of a booking, from the marketplace or anywhere else.
How ApptOnly is different
Three reasons solo providers switch to ApptOnly. They're built in, not bolted on.
Bilingual EN/ES, end to end
Your booking page, intake forms, reminders, and receipts all speak your client's language. English or Spanish, switchable per client, with no add-on and no separate site.
Your brand, not ours
ApptOnly is white-label by default. Clients see your name, your colors, and your booking page. They never see a marketplace or a platform logo competing for their attention.
One price, no commissions
Forms, website, reminders, payments, and CRM are all included for one flat monthly price. We never take a percentage of a booking, from any source, ever.
Who should switch from Fresha, and who should not
Fresha pairs booking software with a consumer marketplace. Here is who that suits, and who is better served by a booking page of their own. Each case rests on a figure from Fresha's own pricing page.
Switch to ApptOnly if
You win new clients and want the first visit whole
Fresha's pricing lists a 20% one-time commission on brand new clients who discover you through its marketplace, with a $6 minimum per client. ApptOnly takes no commission on any booking, from any source.
You would rather not pay extra for a website
Fresha's Smart Website is a $15.95 a month add-on to the $19.95 Independent plan. Fresha already includes consultation forms, so the difference is the website. ApptOnly Pro includes a website and intake forms in its price of $49 a month, or $39 a month on the annual plan.
Your clients would rather book in Spanish
ApptOnly keeps a language for each client, and the booking page, intake forms and client emails run in English or Spanish. Clients who speak Spanish at home can book in it, one client at a time.
Stay with Fresha if
You send marketing texts
Fresha sells marketing texts at $0.08 each, and its automated text and WhatsApp notifications include 100 free a month, then $0.02 per text. ApptOnly campaigns are email only. If text promotions are how you bring clients back, Fresha does something ApptOnly does not.
The marketplace keeps your calendar full
Fresha charges no fee on returning marketplace clients, only the one-time fee on brand new ones. ApptOnly has no marketplace. If most of your new clients find you there, its reach may be worth the commission.
You are building a team
Fresha's Team plan is $14.95 per team member each month, with multiple calendar columns where the Independent plan has one, and Fresha offers enterprise rates to businesses with over 20 team members. A growing team is the business that pricing is made for.
Moving from Fresha to ApptOnly
Your client list comes with you. The rest is a short setup you do yourself. Each step below comes from Fresha's own help center and from ApptOnly's client import.
Export your client list from Fresha
On the web, go to Clients, then Clients list, open Options and export your list. Fresha offers Excel or CSV: choose CSV, the format ApptOnly reads. Fresha limits who can do this with a permission called Can download clients, and its Clients list report can filter clients by location before you export.
Know what stays behind
Fresha's help center says client card details are encrypted and cannot be exported or transferred, so plan to collect cards again. A client's appointments can be exported separately from the Appointments list as CSV or Excel. Keep that file as your record, because ApptOnly does not import appointments.
Import your clients into ApptOnly
Open Clients in ApptOnly and start the CSV import. It matches columns for first name, last name or full name, email, phone or landline, date of birth, notes and tags, and it recognizes headers in English or Spanish. You check the column mapping and a preview before anything is saved. Each import takes up to 500 clients, and a client whose email is already in ApptOnly is skipped, not duplicated.
Decide on marketing consent
Imported clients are left out of your marketing emails unless you opt the whole batch in, and opting in asks you to confirm that you have their consent. If you are unsure, leave it off and invite clients to join your list later.
Set up the rest by hand
Add your services and prices, set your hours, build your intake forms, connect payments and choose your booking page colors. Then share your ApptOnly booking link in the places your clients book you today.
Point your booking links to ApptOnly
Fresha's pricing lists bookings from Instagram and Facebook among its free features. If your profiles there send clients to Fresha today, replace those links with your ApptOnly booking link, and do the same on your website and in your email signature.
ApptOnly does not move your data for you, and it does not import appointment history, card details or vouchers. What it does import, it shows you before anything is saved.
Switching questions, answered
Keep what's yours.
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