Fresha is the biggest marketplace in beauty and wellness — their site talks about 25 million customers looking to book — and at $19.95 a month it's also the cheapest subscription on this list. Both of those things are real, and if discovery is what your practice needs most, take them seriously. The honest catch is the model underneath: Fresha grows by sitting between you and your clients. A brand-new client who finds you on their marketplace costs a one-time 20% commission with a $6 minimum, your included texts run out at 100 a month and then meter at 2 cents each, and phone support is a $14.95 add-on. Stillbook is $39 flat with no marketplace, no commissions, and no meters — your clients are yours, and so is your booking link.
At a glance
| Stillbook | Fresha |
|---|---|
| Price for a working solo | |
| $39/mo flat (free during early access) | $19.95/mo (Independent) |
| New-client commission | |
| None — no marketplace | Marketplace clients: 20% one-time, $6 minimum |
| Text reminders | |
| Included, uncounted | 100 free/mo, then 2¢ per text |
| Marketing texts | |
| Not offered | 8¢ per text |
| Charting / SOAP notes | |
| Included, built for massage | Consultation forms; no charting listed |
| Deposits & no-show fees | |
| Included | Included |
| Support | |
| Direct from the founder | Email/chat; phone support $14.95/mo |
| Gift cards, memberships, retail | |
| Not yet | Included |
| Client loyalty program | |
| Not offered | Add-on, $59.95/mo per location |
Competitor pricing checked 2026-08-25; see their site for current rates.
The honest part
Where Fresha genuinely wins
The marketplace is real distribution, and nothing else on this list matches it. Fresha's consumer app and site put your services in front of people already searching for massage nearby, and their fee structure is more honest than its reputation: the 20% commission is one-time, only for brand-new clients who discovered you on the marketplace, and returning visits are free forever. For a practice that's new in town and needs strangers to become regulars, that can be a fair trade. Stillbook has no marketplace at all — we can't send you a single new client.
The software is broad, too. Gift cards, packages, memberships, retail and inventory, a point of sale, deals and promotions, group bookings — included at $19.95, which is genuinely impressive. Deposits and no-show fees are in the base plan, and their in-person processing rate is competitive. If you're building toward a team, per-member pricing at $14.95 scales smoothly. And $19.95 a month is simply less than $39: if the meters never bite you and the marketplace fee reads as marketing spend, Fresha is the cheaper bill.
Where Stillbook wins
Start with whose client your client is. Fresha's price is low because the marketplace is the business: discovery routes through their app, new clients arrive with a commission attached, and your regulars live in an ecosystem built to keep them browsing. None of that is hidden — it's the deal on the label — but it is a deal, and a practice built on ten years of Tuesday regulars may not want a middleman in it. Stillbook's model is the opposite and costs more precisely because of it: your booking link, your client list, no commission on any client, ever, no matter where they found you.
Then, the meters. A working solo sending a confirmation and a reminder per appointment clears 100 texts by mid-month, and from there every message is 2 cents — small, countable, and yours to watch. Marketing texts are 8 cents each; the loyalty program is $59.95 a month; answering your phone with their AI is $99.95. Stillbook has one meter: none. Reminders, confirmations, and the rest of the working set are in the $39, uncounted.
And the records: Fresha's feature list has consultation forms, but no charting — there's no SOAP note in it, no treatment history designed to be written between clients and carried session to session. For a salon that's nothing; for a massage practice it's the half of the work you're professionally on the hook for. Stillbook's charting is built for exactly that, two minutes at the end of each session, attached to the same record as the intake and the calendar.
What switching actually involves
Most of the fear around switching is bigger than the reality — and the honest catch is worth planning for. Export your client history and any consultation forms from Fresha before you cancel anything, since records rarely move between systems as living documents. Your client list and upcoming appointments move in minutes. One habit changes: new clients will find you through your own link, your Google profile, and word of mouth — not a marketplace feed. The fuller checklist is in what actually moves with you.
Who shouldn't switch
Fresha is the right call in a few specific situations, worth naming plainly:
Stay with Fresha if…
Marketplace discovery is filling your book.
If new faces genuinely find you on Fresha every month, that’s revenue Stillbook can’t replace — a one-time 20% commission on a client who stays for years is cheap marketing.
Gift cards, memberships, packages, or retail carry your revenue.
Fresha includes all of them; Stillbook doesn’t do any of them yet.
You need the lowest possible subscription.
If the meters stay quiet in your practice, $19.95 beats $39, and it’s fair to say so.
Switch to Stillbook if…
No commission on any client, ever.
Your booking link, your client list, no commission on any client, ever, no matter where they found you.
Stillbook has one meter: none.
Reminders, confirmations, and the rest of the working set are in the $39, uncounted.
You’re professionally on the hook for records.
Stillbook’s charting is built for exactly that, two minutes at the end of each session, attached to the same record as the intake and the calendar.
If instead your book is already full of people who found you the old way — and what you want is the charting, the reminders, and the deposits working from one quiet place that never takes a cut — the move is mechanical: export your records, bring your list, send your regulars a link that belongs to you. The marketplace was Fresha's asset. The client list is yours.
A calmer way to run your practice.
Free during early access. No credit card, cancel anytime, export your data whenever you like.