When clinic, spa, and salon owners ask us “Fresha or Timely or custom?” — they're really asking three different questions. Each platform fits a specific stage of business. Picking the wrong one for your stage is the most expensive mistake in this category.
Here's the honest breakdown — including where each option still makes sense, even when we'd rather build you a custom one.
Fresha — built for marketplace discovery
Fresha launched as a free tool to let solo nail technicians take bookings, then layered on a marketplace where customers can discover new clinics and spas. The 20% commission on new-client bookings funds the marketplace traffic.
Where Fresha works: solo operators or small salons just starting out, doing under 50 bookings a month. The marketplace genuinely brings new clients you wouldn't otherwise find. Free tier means no fixed monthly cost. The commission only kicks in on bookings you wouldn't have otherwise gotten.
Where Fresha breaks down: the moment you have steady demand of your own. Once 80%+ of your bookings come from existing clients, repeat appointments, and word-of-mouth referrals — you're paying a 2–5% growth tax on revenue you would have gotten anyway. Plus the 20% on any clients who happen to find you via the marketplace, even if they were going to find you anyway.
Real owner quote: “I was on Fresha and just accepted the 20% new-client fee as part of running the business. Then I sat down and worked it out. $500 gone every month. $6,000 a year.” — clinic owner, Sydney
Timely — subscription, no commission
Timely’s pitch is the inverse of Fresha’s: pay a flat monthly subscription and skip the commission entirely. Starter plans run around $30/month, Pro plans up to $120+ per month per location.
Where Timely works: mid-size salons and clinics that have predictable booking volume, don’t need the marketplace, and prefer a fixed monthly fee. The math is cleaner — you know what you’ll pay every month, even when business grows.
Where Timely breaks down: innovation has slowed. Owners we talk to use words like “feels like 2018” — no AI features, slow support response (UK-based, mixed reviews), and price hikes after signup are common complaints. For multi-location operators, the per-location subscription scales linearly with growth.
Custom build — one-time fee, you own it
A custom booking engine is a one-time build ($8,000–$18,000 in Australia) that lives on your domain, runs on infrastructure you control, and charges no per-booking fee or monthly subscription. You own the code, the data, and the booking flow.
Where custom works: multi-practitioner businesses doing 200+ bookings a month, where the SaaS commission or subscription is already $300+/month and the platform doesn’t fit how your clinic actually runs. Treatment-room logic, package balances, deposit rules, gift vouchers, Medicare integration — the things SaaS forces you to dumb down.
Where custom breaks down: at low volume. A $12,000 build doesn’t make sense if you’re paying Fresha $0/month. Wait until your SaaS bill crosses $300/month or you’re past 200 bookings, then the math flips.
3-year cost at three volumes
Over 3 years: Fresha at 250 bookings/month costs ~$25,200. Timely at the same volume costs ~$2,520. A custom build costs $12,000 once. Above 250 bookings/month with a marketplace-heavy mix, custom always wins. Below that threshold, Timely’s subscription model is genuinely the cheapest option.
How to decide
- Pick Fresha if you’re solo, doing fewer than 50 bookings/month, and you’ll genuinely use marketplace discovery to find new clients.
- Pick Timely if you’re mid-size, want predictable monthly cost, don’t need anything custom, and don’t mind the platform feeling dated.
- Pick custom if you’re at 200+ bookings/month, paying $300+/month in fees, multi-practitioner, or you have a website you’d like booking integrated into properly.
Most clinic owners we audit have already grown past their original choice and just haven’t reconsidered. Five minutes with the cost calculator usually surfaces the answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fresha really free?
The base subscription is free, but Fresha takes 20% commission on new-client bookings sourced via its marketplace and 2–5% on returning client bookings depending on plan. Reminders and intake forms are paid add-ons. Most clinics doing 200+ bookings/month pay $300–$1,200 a month all-in.
Is Timely's no-commission model better?
At low volume, yes — Timely's $30–$70/month subscription is cheaper than Fresha's commission-heavy model for solo and small operators. The trade-off: post-signup support is reportedly slow, the platform feels stagnant, and per-location scaling adds up for multi-site businesses.
When does a custom build make sense?
Once a clinic crosses 200 bookings/month, has 2+ practitioners, or pays $300+/month all-in across subscription + commission. At that scale a $12,000 build typically pays back in 8–17 months and runs fee-free for years after.
Can I migrate from Fresha or Timely without losing data?
Yes. Both platforms allow client and booking-history export — though Fresha makes it deliberately painful. Migrations run with zero downtime: the old system stays live until the new one is tested and the team is trained.
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