Salon software without commission: what does a marketplace booking really cost?

Two revenue models: commission versus a flat price

There are broadly two ways salon software makes money from your salon.

The marketplace model. A platform like Treatwell, Fresha or Booksy places your salon in a consumer app or website where thousands of clients search by city and treatment. If they find you there and book, the platform earns from that booking - usually through a commission on new clients, sometimes through paid "boost" placements and almost always through a fee on online payments. The entry point feels free, but you pay in proportion to your revenue.

The flat-price model (SaaS). With salon software without commission you pay a fixed amount per month for the system itself: calendar, point of sale, client management, online booking. Whatever a client spends with you is entirely yours. Whether you process 40 or 400 bookings a month, the software price stays the same.

The fundamental difference is not in the features - both offer online booking and a calendar - but in who benefits when things go well for you. Under a commission model your costs rise with your revenue. With a flat subscription the marginal cost of an extra booking is zero.

How a marketplace model costs you money

A marketplace rarely earns from a single line item. The cost sits in three layers that add up.

1. Commission per (new) booking. The biggest item is usually a percentage of the value of a booking that comes in via the marketplace. Often this only applies to brand-new clients who discover you through the platform (a kind of finder's fee), while repeat bookings are commission-free. That model is fairer than a charge on every appointment, but it adds up: the more new clients book through the app, the higher your payout.

2. Boost and advertising costs. To appear at the top of the app's search results you can often pay extra - through a boost programme or ads. That is a second expense you make just to be found inside the platform where you are already paying commission.

3. Transaction and payment fees. On top of the commission there is often a fee on online payments (a percentage plus a fixed amount per transaction). You pay that fee even on bookings you brought in yourself, as soon as the client prepays online.

The tricky part is that these costs only become visible on your statement, not on the marketing page. "Free" refers to the listing, not the transaction.

The real rates of the well-known marketplaces

To compare apples with apples, here is what the well-known platforms charge according to their own public pricing pages (checked July 2026). Rates differ per country and change over time; always check the provider's current pricing page.

Treatwell. According to the partner pricing page, Treatwell charges around 35% commission on the first booking of a genuinely new client who discovers your salon via the marketplace (depending on the region). Repeat bookings from that same client are commission-free, and online prepaid bookings carry an additional transaction fee (around 2.5% + VAT). Bookings you bring in yourself via phone, WhatsApp or your own site fall outside the commission. More detail in the Salonnare vs Treatwell comparison.

Fresha. Fresha emphasises that it charges no commission per appointment. It does, according to the pricing page, apply a one-time fee for brand-new clients who discover your business via the Fresha marketplace (the exact amount is not stated on the pricing page), plus a subscription (Independent around €14.95/month, Team around €9.95 per team member) and a transaction fee on online payments of roughly 1% + €0.20. See the Salonnare vs Fresha comparison.

Booksy. Booksy runs freemium with paid tiers and a marketplace in which you can pay extra through the Boost programme to reach new clients via the app. The precise rates differ per market and are not always transparently listed on a single public page; check your own Booksy dashboard, the Salonnare vs Booksy comparison or the Booksy alternatives for the full picture.

The common thread: every marketplace model earns most when your calendar is full. That is precisely the moment a flat price becomes cheaper.

Worked example: commission versus €59 flat

Numbers make it concrete. The scenario below is illustrative - commission percentages differ per platform, country and period, so always calculate with your own rates and volumes.

Illustrative scenario. Suppose a marketplace charges 25% commission on the first booking of a new client. You get 15 new clients per month via the app, with an average first booking of €50.

- Commission: 15 × €50 × 25% = €187.50 per month, in new-client commission alone. - Per year: roughly €2,250, and it grows as you get more new clients via the app. - On top of that come any subscription, boost and transaction fees.

Salonnare, flat. Salonnare Pro costs €59 per month, or €708 per year - regardless of whether you get 5 or 50 new clients a month. Starter costs €29 per month (€348 per year), and the Free plan is €0 per month (1 team member, 50 bookings per month).

In this scenario you would pay the marketplace well over €1,500 per year more than a flat Pro subscription - money you could otherwise put into marketing, equipment or staff. The break-even point is low: as soon as your monthly new-client commission exceeds the price of a flat plan, salon software without commission is cheaper. And unlike commission, your software costs stay stable as you grow.

To stay honest: if you barely acquire new clients through the marketplace, that commission is small. The benefit of a flat model then lies less in the euros and more in ownership - your reviews, your brand and your payment flow. Run your own numbers on the pricing page.

What "without commission" concretely means at Salonnare

At Salonnare, zero commission is not a marketing trick but how the model is built. You pay a flat monthly price and nothing further per booking. Concretely:

Your own payment account. You connect your own Stripe or Mollie account, so iDEAL and card payments land directly in your bank account. There is no platform in between taking a percentage - you only pay the standard provider fee (for example around €0.29 per iDEAL transaction via Mollie), which you agree with your provider yourself.

Online booking on your own channel. Clients reserve through a booking widget on your own website and via your Google profile, not through a shared catalogue that lists you next to the salon down the street. The booking, the client data and the confirmation email carry your name and branding.

Everything included, no extra costs. A calendar per team member and treatment room, a point of sale with Dutch VAT (21% on services, 9% on retail) and Audit File export for the tax authority, client management, deposits and no-show fees, email marketing and loyalty are all in the flat price.

Secure and compliant. Your data lives GDPR-compliant on EU servers, with a separate encrypted vault for sensitive health notes (GDPR Art. 9). Role-based permissions (RBAC) let you decide who sees which calendar and which data, and SSO lets your team sign in via Google, Microsoft, Apple or Facebook.

Available everywhere. The interface comes in five languages, and the app works as a PWA and native app on your phone alongside the web app on your reception tablet. Want to see everything it includes? Have a look at the pricing plans.

When a marketplace is worth it after all

To be fair: a marketplace model has real advantages, and not every salon is better off without one. A few situations where the commission model can pay off.

You have just started or you are in a saturated city. Large marketplaces attract millions of consumer visits per month and rank high in Google for "hairdresser near me". If you do not yet have your own website, reviews or local SEO, the app can bring you new clients you cannot reach organically yet. That 35% on a first booking is then an acquisition cost, not a penalty.

Your calendar is not full yet. As long as you have empty slots, a paid new client beats an empty chair. Only once you run largely on loyal, returning clients do you pay for acquisition you may no longer need.

The hybrid approach. Many salons do not choose either-or. They run salon software without commission as their main system for all direct clients, walk-ins and bookings via their own site, and keep a marketplace as a paid acquisition channel. New clients come in via the app, and on their second visit you move them to your own booking link. That way you gradually shift the client relationship to your own channel and only pay commission while it genuinely delivers. You start for free with a free Salonnare account alongside your existing marketplace.

Conclusion: run your own numbers

The difference between a marketplace and salon software without commission comes down to one question: who benefits when your salon does well? Under a commission model your costs rise with your revenue - through commission on new clients, boost ads and transaction fees. With a flat subscription you pay the same whether you have a quiet month or a record one, and you keep every euro a client spends.

Salonnare is that flat model: a permanently free plan (€0 per month, 1 team member, 50 bookings), Starter (€29) and Pro (€59) per month - with no commission per booking. Payments run through your own Stripe or Mollie with iDEAL straight to your own account, your data lives GDPR-compliant in the EU, the interface comes in five languages and there is a native app alongside the web app.

If you currently hand over a sizeable slice of your revenue to marketplace commission, a flat price will likely save you money - and either way you get your brand, your reviews and your payment flow back in your own hands. Run your own numbers on the pricing page and create a free account to test Salonnare alongside or instead of your marketplace.

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