Salon Software Pricing Comparison 2026: Three Models, One Smart Choice

Three Pricing Models for Salon Software

The salon software market is built around three dominant models. Understanding how each one works is the essential first step to a fair comparison.

Model 1: Flat-fee subscription

You pay a fixed monthly or annual amount and get access to all features. No commission is deducted from bookings, and costs are largely predictable. Salonnare works this way: a fixed monthly fee, no surprises on the invoice - only a fixed, visible platform fee applies: 0.5% (min. €0.30) per payment.

This model is the most transparent and - for most salons with a stable appointment calendar - the most cost-effective over time.

Model 2: Commission-based (marketplace platform)

Marketplace platforms combine a monthly software subscription with a commission on new clients. Treatwell, for example, charges around €35 per month plus a 35% commission on the first booking of each new client introduced through its marketplace; repeat bookings carry 0% commission, and online prepayments add a 2% processing fee.^[1] On paper this looks attractive for new salons without an established client base: you mainly pay when the marketplace brings you someone new. In practice, salons that lean heavily on marketplace acquisition find the commission on new clients adds up quickly - although that fee does buy real exposure to clients you might not reach yourself.

Model 3: Freemium

Some tools are free on a basic tier, with paid upgrades for additional features or extra staff. Freemium can make sense for solo stylists who are just starting out, but the free tier typically has limits on bookings, staff members or features you will eventually want to unlock. Watch out for payment processing fees too: freemium platforms sometimes generate their revenue through a percentage of every payment transaction processed in their system.

Salonnare also offers a free plan - 1 staff member, 50 bookings per month, for unlimited time - designed for sole traders who are just getting started or who want to stay small. For salons that grow, the Pro subscription becomes better value.

Hidden Costs That Distort Every Comparison

The monthly price on the website is rarely the full picture. These are the costs you only discover after you have already switched.

Transaction fees

Many software platforms partner with a single payment provider and take a margin on top. When clients pay online via the booking page, a percentage automatically flows to the software provider in addition to the normal payment processing costs. Sometimes that is 1%, sometimes 2%, sometimes more. On a turnover of €5,000 per month, an extra 1% is €50 per month - €600 per year - with no mention anywhere on the pricing page.

With Salonnare you connect your own Mollie or Stripe account directly. Salonnare does not add a hidden markup on top of your payment provider: you pay the standard fees of Mollie or Stripe (Mollie iDEAL: €0.32 per transaction)^[2] plus Salonnare's own platform fee, always the same and visible: 0.5% (min. €0.30) per payment.

Setup and onboarding fees

Some providers charge one-off installation costs or mandatory onboarding sessions. This can range from a few hundred euros to over a thousand for larger packages. Always ask about this explicitly before signing.

Per-staff-member pricing

A common revenue model is per-seat pricing: you pay more as you add more staff. A package that costs €20/month for a solo stylist may already be €80-€100/month for a salon with five stylists. Always check how pricing scales.

Annual contract cancellation penalties

Cheaper packages sometimes require paying a full year upfront. If you want to switch after four months, you lose the remaining months. Prefer a monthly-cancellable subscription until you are confident the system fits your salon.

Payment feature costs

Deposits, no-show fees, gift card payments via iDEAL - these features are separately priced or locked behind higher tiers at some providers. Check per feature whether it is included.

Which Features Are Included in the Base Price?

Beyond the monthly fee, it matters which features are included in the standard rate. A low subscription covering only the calendar, with everything else sold separately, may ultimately be more expensive than a comprehensive package.

Here are the features every professional salon owner eventually needs - and what to check in any comparison:

Online booking for clients

The booking page where clients schedule appointments themselves without having to call you. Essential for salons that want to receive bookings outside opening hours. With Salonnare, the public booking page is included in all plans; the option to require online deposits is available from the Starter plan.

Point-of-sale system

The till for processing payments, issuing receipts, redeeming gift cards and recording sales. Included in Salonnare, with integrated Mollie and Stripe support for iDEAL, credit card and Bancontact.

Inventory management

Tracking products, low-stock alerts and sales recording from the till. Useful for salons that sell retail products. Not all packages include this as standard.

Loyalty programme

A points system for returning clients - earn points per visit, redeem for a discount or free treatment. This increases client retention without needing a separate programme.

Accounting export

An export of your revenue and VAT data for your accountant or accounting package. Some providers offer only a raw data dump; others generate a correct VAT split by rate.

Check for each candidate package which of these features are included in the standard price and which require an upgrade or add-on.

The Calculation: What Does Salon Software Really Cost Per Year?

Here is a concrete calculation for a salon with 80 bookings per month and an average transaction value of €45. Monthly turnover: €3,600.

Commission-based model - Treatwell example

Subscription: around €35/month. Suppose the marketplace brings you 15 new clients a month at €45 average: commission = 15 × €45 × 35% = €236. Repeat bookings carry 0% commission. Monthly total: €271. Annual total: ≈ €3,250.^[1]

The bill scales with marketplace acquisition: at 25 new clients per month it rises to €35 + €394 = €429/month, around €5,150 per year. The clients you bring in yourself cost nothing extra.

Flat-fee model - Salonnare Pro

Subscription: €59/month. Payments via your own Mollie account (Mollie iDEAL: €0.32 per transaction)^[2] plus Salonnare's platform fee (0.5%, min. €0.30, i.e. €0.30 on a €45 booking): (€0.32 + €0.30) × 80 = €49.60. Monthly total: €108.60. Annual total: ≈ €1,305.

At 15 new marketplace clients per month the flat-fee model is around €1,950 per year cheaper on software cost. But remember: Treatwell's commission buys marketplace exposure that brings those new clients - Salonnare does not acquire clients for you. Many salons run their own software for direct and returning clients and use a marketplace purely as a paid acquisition channel.

Break-even point

The more of your clients arrive (and rebook) through your own channels rather than a marketplace, the more a flat fee wins. Work it out yourself: estimate how many new clients a marketplace brings you each month, multiply by the commission per new client (around 35% of the average first booking), add the platform subscription, and compare with a flat-fee package. For most salons that already have a returning client base, flat-fee is structurally cheaper.

Freemium threshold

If your free plan has a limit of 50 bookings/month and you consistently exceed that, it is time to upgrade. At that point, calculate what the paid tier costs and compare it with alternatives.

What Salonnare Offers: Complete Package, Fixed Price

Salonnare uses a flat-fee model with no marketplace commission on your bookings. There are three tiers: a free plan (1 staff member, 50 bookings per month), Starter at €29/month (3 staff, unlimited bookings, loyalty programme, gift cards, email marketing) and Pro at €59/month, which includes everything named in this article: point-of-sale, online booking, inventory management, deposits, accounting export, marketing automation, memberships, CSV client import, white-label branding and GDPR-compliant data management.

There is no separate surcharge for additional features and no commission on any booking - whether the client is new or returning; only a 0.5% platform fee (min. €0.30) applies to each online or card payment. You connect your own Mollie or Stripe account once via a one-minute OAuth flow, after which payments land directly in your bank account. Salonnare is built as a European solution: data is processed on EU servers, the interface is available in five languages (Dutch, English, German, French, Spanish), staff can sign in via SSO (Google, Microsoft, Apple or Facebook), and per-staff permissions let you control exactly which parts of the system each team member can access.

The free plan for sole traders (1 staff member, 50 bookings per month, for unlimited time) is ideal for testing whether the system fits before upgrading.

For salons that currently acquire many clients through a marketplace, the commissions saved can add up to more than a full year of subscription fees - provided you can reach those clients through your own booking page, website and social channels instead.

Frequently asked questions