Salonnare vs Booksy — zero commission or marketplace reach?

Commission cost analysis

The big difference sits in the revenue model. Booksy's base plan is free, but the Booksy Boost marketplace charges commission on every new client booking through the app — typically 20-30% of the first appointment value. On top of that you pay ~$29.99/month for Biz Lite, more for Pro. Run the numbers with 80 bookings per month: assume 15 of them are new clients via Booksy Boost with an average value of €50. That is 15 × €50 × 25% = €187.50 in commission alone, plus ~€28/month subscription = ~€215/month total. Salonnare Pro is a flat €59/month regardless of new client volume. At any volume above ~12 new clients per month, Salonnare is demonstrably cheaper. See the pricing plans for details.

Who owns the client data?

With Booksy the client books through the Booksy app, receives Booksy-branded confirmations and sees competing salons nearby during the booking flow. The client is technically a Booksy user who happens to book with you. Confirmation emails, reminders and reviews all run through Booksy infrastructure. If you leave Booksy, Booksy keeps the communication channel with those clients — you can no longer reach them through the platform. With Salonnare every client is your client: the confirmation email comes from your salon name, the widget lives on your own website or booking page, and client data sits in your own database. You can export whenever you want, no strings attached. This difference is fundamental: Booksy builds a marketplace with your clients as their asset, Salonnare lets you build your own client relationship. Read more about our approach.

NL payments and compliance

Booksy is built for the US market. iDEAL — by far the most popular payment method in the Netherlands — is not natively supported. You can enable iDEAL via a Stripe connection, but that requires extra setup and higher transaction costs than direct NL providers. Dutch VAT handling must be configured manually and the Belastingdienst audit trail is not standard. Salonnare has iDEAL immediately available via both Mollie and Stripe Connect, with correct VAT rates (21% for services, 9% for retail), GDPR compliance via EU servers, and a Belastingdienst-ready POS with audit trail. For a Dutch salon this means less manual work around tax filing and more payment options clients expect. See all features.

Freemium vs flat-fee: the hidden costs

Booksy's freemium model sounds attractive — start free without fixed costs. In practice costs stack up: Booksy Boost commission on new clients, possible transaction fees on card payments, upgrade to Biz Lite ($29.99/month) for SMS reminders, Pro for no-show protection and inventory. For a salon with 100 bookings/month of which 20 come via marketplace, total cost can climb to €250+/month. Salonnare uses flat-fee transparency: €0 Free (1 staff, 50 bookings), €29 Starter (3 staff), €59 Pro (unlimited). No per-booking commission, no extra SMS fees, no hidden marketplace costs. What you see on pricing is what you pay — even at scale.

Migrating from Booksy to Salonnare

Booksy offers CSV export of clients and appointments via the dashboard under Settings > Data Export. Step-by-step migration: (1) Export clients, appointments and service list from Booksy. (2) Create a Salonnare account on the free plan. (3) Import the CSVs via self-service onboarding. (4) Configure opening hours, staff and inventory (allow 2-3 hours). (5) Place the Salonnare booking widget on your own website or share the direct booking link. (6) Update your Google Business booking link — crucial, since many clients will search via Google. (7) Send loyal clients a short email explaining they can now book directly without the Booksy app. (8) Optional: run a month in parallel to verify all edge cases. Most salons complete migration within one working day. For large datasets we help for free via the contact form — no migration fee.

Where Booksy is stronger

Honest: Booksy has advantages we will not ignore. Their mobile app is extremely polished — used by 13 million+ consumers and one of the best-rated salon apps on the App Store and Play Store. Marketplace reach is substantial: in large cities (especially US, UK, Poland) you can reach new clients organically via the Booksy app with zero own marketing. Booksy Pay offers seamless in-app payments with tip functionality that is popular in barbershops. And the free entry plan has a low barrier. If you are a brand new salon in a market where Booksy has consumer traction and you do not yet have an existing client base, Booksy's marketplace can be useful as an acquisition channel. For salons with an existing client base, or that want to focus on Dutch clients, Salonnare's zero commission weighs heavier. A hybrid approach also works: Salonnare as main back office, Booksy purely as an additional marketplace channel.

Which platform when?

Choose Booksy if: you are a brand new salon without an existing client base in a large city where Booksy has consumer traction, you value marketplace reach over commission costs, you primarily serve US/UK/PL markets, or you want the polished mobile app for your clients. Choose Salonnare if: you run a Dutch salon and iDEAL + Belastingdienst compliance matter, you have an existing client base you want to reach directly, you want predictable flat-fee costs without commission on new clients, you want all-in-one (calendar + POS + inventory + marketing automation) without separate tools, or you want 100% ownership of your client data. For the typical Dutch salon, Salonnare is usually the better fit. Start with the free plan.

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