The "subscription-free" platform now runs $19.95/mo for a solo pro — announced at $60, cut 66.8% within weeks — plus a 20% new-client fee ($6 minimum) on marketplace introductions. Here's what that costs in practice, including where Fresha's card rate still beats ours.
Fresha prices checked October 2026 against fresha.com/pricing (price history: CostBench changelog). Spot an update? hello@takingclients.com.
| Fresha | TakingClients | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $19.95 solo / $14.95 per team member — add-ons run to $295/mo. Free until the 2025 rollout; announced at $60, then cut 66.8% to $19.95 in Feb 2026 | $0 — Pro is $12/mo (free for your first year if you sign up by Dec 31, 2026) |
| New-client fee | 20% of the first appointment, $6 minimum, when Fresha counts the client as a marketplace introduction — users report it landing on clients "introduced" via the salon's own Google listing (review roundup) | None, ever. No marketplace — your link is your front door, and clients you bring are yours free |
| Online card processing | 2.79% + 20¢ (lower than ours — see the calculator) | ~2.9% + 30¢ + our 1% platform fee |
| When something breaks | Email support with ~2-business-day responses on the entry plan; Trustpilot reviewers also report held payouts (example review) | You email hello@takingclients.com and a human who built the thing answers. Payouts ride Stripe's rails |
| If a client disputes a kept deposit | You assemble your own case | One-tap evidence packet: the policy they agreed to, timestamp, booking IP |
| Built for | Every salon vertical worldwide, marketplace-first — your profile sits in their catalog | Ink and hair only: ten looks made for the craft, deposits as the default, a page clients actually want in a bio |
Two places. If the marketplace genuinely feeds you — steady, truly-new clients every month — a 20% first-visit bounty can beat any ad you'd buy, and the fee is fair. And their card rate is better than ours: 2.79% + 20¢ against our all-in ~3.9% + 30¢, so at high volume with no marketplace fees, Fresha processes cheaper — the calculator below will tell you so to your face. TakingClients sends you zero clients. It's built for the artist whose book already fills from Instagram and word of mouth, where every marketplace fee is a tax on demand you created yourself.
Assumptions, in the open: Fresha at the published solo subscription ($19.95), online processing 2.79% + 20¢, and a new-client fee of 20% of your average ticket ($6 minimum) per marketplace introduction. TakingClients at ~2.9% + 30¢ card processing + 1% platform fee; subscription $0 (the free year covers Pro through Dec 31, 2026 signups; $12/mo after if you keep it). In-person money and add-ons count for neither side.
Imported contacts are never texted automatically — SMS consent belongs to the client and the exact number they opted in with, and starts fresh when they book. Your sender reputation (and the law) stay clean.
No. The free-for-pros era ended with the subscription rollout: published US pricing is $19.95/mo solo ($14.95 per member for teams) — first announced at $60/mo, then cut 66.8% in February 2026 after the backlash. The 20% new-client fee ($6 minimum) is separate and stays.
Fresha charges it when a client counts as a marketplace introduction. The sore spot in user reports: clients who found the salon through its own Google listing can route through Fresha's profile and get counted. Here that category doesn't exist — there's no marketplace to introduce anyone.
Yes — CSV import, or we'll do the move for you from whatever you can pull. Texting consent starts fresh, on purpose.
The deposit is paid before the slot confirms, on the $0 plan. A no-show forfeits money you already hold, and a bank dispute meets a one-tap evidence packet: the policy they agreed to, the timestamp, the booking IP.
Free to start, live in ten minutes — and Pro is free for your first year through Dec 31, 2026.
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