Is there free salon software? What you really get for free and where the limits are
When you are starting a beauty or hair salon, the last thing you want is to spend hundreds of euros a year on software before your first client walks through the door. So the question comes up quickly: is there such a thing as free salon software, or is "free" always a trick - a trial that slams shut after two weeks? The short answer: yes, genuinely free salon software exists. Salonnare offers a free plan of €0 per month that stays free permanently - no ticking trial, no credit card up front. But "free" does not mean "unlimited", and that gap is exactly where salons get caught out. Below we explain honestly what you get for free, where the limits sit, when a paid plan starts to make sense, and what to watch for so that free software does not end up costing you later.
Does genuinely free salon software really exist?
Yes, but it pays to separate two very different meanings of "free". The first is the classic trial: fourteen or thirty days of access, then pay up or lose everything. That is not free software, it is a deferred invoice.
The second is a genuinely free plan, often called "freemium": a version you can use for as long as you like, capped on size rather than on time. You only start paying once your salon grows beyond what the free plan can handle.
Salonnare follows the second model. The free plan costs €0 per month and stays that way, no matter how long you use it. You do not have to enter any payment details to get started, and no clock counts down to a moment where you must choose between paying or stopping.
For a sole trader just starting out, a self-employed beauty therapist renting a cabin, or a hairdresser who has just gone independent, that is the difference between going digital or not. Where some providers use "free" purely as bait, at Salonnare it is a fully functional entry point that runs a real salon.
What do you actually get with a free salon plan?
A free plan is only useful if it can run the core of your salon. With Salonnare, that entire core sits inside the free plan - no watered-down version of the features that matter. Here is what €0 per month gets you.
An online calendar. All your appointments in one place, per staff member and per treatment, on your computer, tablet or phone. No more paper appointment book that stays behind the desk while you are at home.
24/7 online booking. You get your own booking page that you link to your website, Instagram bio or Google profile. Clients pick a treatment and a time themselves, even when your salon is closed. The appointment lands straight in your calendar and the system only shows the slots you are actually free, so double bookings are impossible.
Client records. For each client you keep contact details, appointment history and notes. You can see at a glance when someone last visited and what was done - the foundation for personal service and well-targeted marketing.
A point of sale (POS) with local payment methods. You settle treatments and products with iDEAL and card payments. Crucially, the money lands in your own bank account through Mollie or Stripe, rather than passing through the provider's account first.
Automatic email reminders. Clients receive a confirmation and a reminder automatically. That brings down no-shows without you having to message anyone yourself.
On top of that, the full software is available in five languages (Dutch, English, German, French and Spanish), and your data is stored on servers within the EU. These are not premium add-ons: they are part of the free plan too.
Who is free enough for, and who is it not?
Being honest about the limits matters more than dressing a free plan up as something it is not. Salonnare's free plan has two hard limits: one staff member and fifty bookings per month. From those two numbers it follows fairly precisely who it is enough for.
Free is enough if you:
- work on your own (sole trader, cabin renter, mobile therapist or solo hairdresser); - have at most around fifty appointments a month, roughly two or three clients per working day; - mainly need your calendar, online booking, client records and a simple till; - are just starting and want to see whether working digitally suits you before spending anything.
For that group, the free plan is not a stripped-back demo but a complete, working system that can carry you for years.
Free gets too tight if you:
- work with more than one person and want to manage each person's calendar separately; - consistently run more than fifty appointments a month; - want to use loyalty cards, gift vouchers or email marketing campaigns; - want to set permissions per staff member so that not everyone sees everything.
As soon as one of those applies, you outgrow the free plan. That is not a problem the software invents to make you pay - it is simply the point at which your salon has become bigger than a one-person operation.
Where is the line: when Starter (€29) or Pro (€59)?
Once you outgrow the free plan, you move up to a paid one. Salonnare works with a fixed monthly price and takes no commission on your bookings or revenue. So you know exactly what you pay in advance, whether you have a quiet month or a busy one.
Starter - €29 per month. The logical step as soon as you take on a small team or start going over fifty appointments. Starter makes room for three staff members and unlimited bookings, plus features that help grow your revenue: a loyalty programme, gift vouchers and email marketing campaigns. For a growing salon with a few chairs, this is usually the right fit.
Pro - €59 per month. Aimed at larger salons and teams. Pro removes the staff limit entirely (unlimited) and adds more advanced features: marketing automation, memberships and subscriptions for clients, white-label branding (your own look with no Salonnare mention) and priority support.
So the difference is not "the basics only work if you pay". The basics - calendar, online booking, till, client management - work on every plan, including the free one. What you buy extra with Starter and Pro is scale (more staff and bookings) and marketing and growth features.
You can find an up-to-date feature comparison per plan on the pricing page.
For full transparency: on online and card payments through Mollie or Stripe, Salonnare charges a platform fee of 1.5% (minimum €0.50) per transaction, separate from your subscription. That is a payment-processing cost, not a commission on every appointment booked in the way that marketplaces charge.
Free without holding your data hostage
A free plan is only truly free if you can also leave it again without losing your client base. That is exactly where many "free" providers pinch: getting started for free is easy, but exporting your data or switching away is made difficult or impossible. That is called lock-in, and it only reveals the real price of "free" the moment you want to leave.
Your data stays yours. You can export your client details, appointment history and product list. If you ever want to leave, you take your data with you rather than being stuck because switching is too much hassle.
Data within the EU. Salonnare keeps your data on servers inside the European Union, under the GDPR. For a salon that processes personal data - and sometimes sensitive health information such as allergies - that is not a detail but a legal requirement.
No hidden commission. Because the subscription has a fixed price and no percentage of every booking is skimmed off, the bill does not quietly change as you get busier. Your success is yours, not the platform's.
Import when you start. Coming from a notebook, a spreadsheet or another package? There is a CSV import for your client data, so moving to the free plan is not days of work.
Free should never mean locking yourself in. A good free plan lets you leave just as easily as you started.
Free plan versus a 14-day trial
A lot of salon software advertises a "free trial" of fourteen days. It sounds appealing, but it is something fundamentally different from a free plan, and the difference hits your wallet.
With a trial, a clock is ticking. You set up your entire salon in two weeks - services, staff, working hours, maybe your client base - and just as everything is running, you have to choose: pay or lose it all. The pressure is built in. On top of that, many trials ask for a credit card up front, after which the subscription rolls on automatically if you do not cancel in time.
With a free plan, nothing is counting down. You set up your salon at your own pace and simply keep working. No deadline, no payment details needed. You upgrade only when your salon actually asks for it - for example when you take on a second staff member - and not because a timer runs out.
The practical difference: with a trial you test software under time pressure. With a free plan you use software the way it is meant to be used, day in and day out, and you decide about paying only once you know exactly what it delivers for you. Salonnare deliberately chooses the free plan over the ticking trial, precisely so that you can make an honest decision.
What to watch for with free salon software
Not every "free" offer is equally honest. Run through these six points before you build your salon on a free plan.
1 - Time limit or size limit? A size limit (number of staff or bookings) is fair; a ticking trial dressed up as a free plan is not.
2 - Payment details up front? If you have to enter a credit card to start "for free", something will be charged automatically. A genuinely free plan does not ask for that.
3 - Does the core disappear behind a paywall? Check whether the daily essentials - online booking, till, reminders - work without paying straight away, or whether the free plan is so stripped back that it is unusable.
4 - Commission per booking. Watch out for platforms that are "free" but withhold a percentage of every booking; for a busy salon that is often more expensive than a fixed monthly price. Salonnare charges no commission on your bookings.
5 - Where is your data and can you take it with you? Ask where the servers are (EU = within the GDPR) and whether you can export. Without export, you are stuck.
6 - What does the next step cost? A transparent, fixed price (Starter €29, Pro €59) is predictable; an opaque model with separate modules is not.
A provider that scores honestly on all six earns your trust; one that stays vague costs you more later than you save now.
Conclusion: is free salon software enough for your salon?
Free salon software genuinely exists, and for a large share of starting and solo salons it is more than enough. With Salonnare's free plan you manage your calendar, let clients book online 24/7, keep client records and take payment with iDEAL and card - permanently free, with no ticking trial and no payment details up front.
The honest limit: the free plan is built for one staff member and around fifty bookings per month. If you work on your own, this can carry you for years. As your salon grows - more staff, more appointments, a need for loyalty and marketing - you move up to Starter (€29) or Pro (€59), with a fixed price and no commission on your revenue.
And because your data stays yours and you can export it, you are never tied down.
The best thing about a genuinely free plan is that you can simply get started and discover for yourself whether it fits, with no risk. Create a free account today and get your salon online this week - you only pay for anything once your salon asks for it.
Frequently asked questions
Is free salon software really free, or does a bill turn up later?
Salonnare's free plan is genuinely free: €0 per month, permanent, with no ticking trial and no payment details up front. There is no surprise invoice. You only pay anything if you choose to upgrade to Starter (€29) or Pro (€59) yourself. With other providers, watch the difference between a permanently free plan and a trial that expires after fourteen days.
What is the limit on Salonnare's free plan?
The free plan is limited to one staff member and fifty bookings per month. Within those limits you get the full core: an online calendar, your own booking page, client management, a till with iDEAL and card payments, and automatic email reminders. So the limit is on size, not on time. For a starting sole trader or solo salon, that is usually more than enough.
Do I need a credit card to start for free?
No. You create a free account at salonnare.com/en/free without entering any payment details. Nothing is charged and no trial counts down. Only when you later choose to upgrade to a paid plan do you provide a payment method. That is a deliberate contrast with trials that ask for a credit card up front and then roll on automatically.
Can I take my data with me if I ever want to switch?
Yes. You can export your client details, appointment history and product list, so you are never trapped by lock-in. When you start, you can also import existing client data from a CSV file. Your data sits on servers within the EU under the GDPR. Starting for free should never mean locking yourself in - a good free plan lets you leave just as easily as you joined.
When should I move from free to a paid plan?
As soon as you grow out of the limits: when you take on a second staff member, consistently run more than fifty bookings a month, or want features such as loyalty cards, gift vouchers and email marketing. Then Starter (€29, up to three staff members and unlimited bookings) is the logical step; larger teams choose Pro (€59, unlimited staff plus advanced marketing and membership features). You upgrade when it suits you, not because a timer forces you.