Salonnare vs Treatwell - marketplace or your own software?

The revenue model

Alongside a subscription of €35 per month, Treatwell charges commission on new clients who book through the marketplace (per Treatwell 35% on the first booking^[1]) plus 2% transaction fees on prepaid online bookings; repeat bookings and direct bookings are commission-free.

Salonnare costs a flat €0 to €59 per month regardless of your booking volume. For salons with their own client base, a flat subscription with no marketplace commission is often the cheaper option.

Who owns the client relationship?

A client who books via the Treatwell marketplace does so on Treatwell's platform and app. Salonnare sends communication from your own salon name with your logo - clients remember you, not Treatwell. You own the client relationship 100%.

Can you combine both?

Yes. Many salons use Salonnare as their main back-office for direct clients and keep Treatwell as an acquisition channel for new clients. You can use Salonnare as your "home base" while Treatwell only delivers new traffic.

The booking experience compared: Treatwell vs Salonnare

With Treatwell a client searches the Treatwell app or website, sees multiple salons nearby and books via Treatwell. Your salon is one of many. With Salonnare the client books via your own widget on your website or via a direct link.

The entire experience - from booking form to confirmation email and reminder - carries your salon name and logo. An automated review request to your Google Business profile (not to an external platform) is already live. The difference: with Treatwell you build Treatwell's reputation; with Salonnare you build your own brand. See all the features that make this possible.

How to switch from Treatwell to your own software

Start by setting up Salonnare alongside Treatwell - you do not need to cancel immediately. Step 1: create a free Salonnare account and import your client base. Step 2: place the Salonnare booking widget on your own website and share the booking link on social media.

Step 3: tell your regular clients they can now book directly with you without Treatwell. Step 4: after 1-2 months monitor how many bookings come through your own channel. Once the majority of your clients book directly, you can scale down Treatwell or keep it purely as an acquisition channel. This way you build your own client relationship without risk. Get started with the free plan.

Commission calculation: when does your own software pay off?

Treatwell charges commission on new clients who book via the marketplace (per Treatwell 35% on the first booking^[1], repeat bookings commission-free). An illustrative example: if you get 20 new marketplace clients per month with an average first booking of €40, that is around €280/month in commission, on top of the €35 monthly subscription. Salonnare Pro costs €59/month flat - the saving depends on how much new-client commission you pay.

On top of that you keep 100% of the client data and can run your own marketing campaigns at no extra cost. Check the pricing plans for a full overview of what you get per tier.

Marketplace model vs ERP model: the fundamental difference

Treatwell and Salonnare both appear to offer "online booking", but behind the widget sits a completely different business model. Treatwell is fundamentally a marketplace - a consumer platform that aggregates salons and earns commission on every transaction.

The product is built for the consumer: the Treatwell app with thousands of salons, filters on city and treatment, reviews, client accounts with booking history across multiple salons. As a salon you are a listing in that catalogue. Salonnare is a salon ERP: you run your own system that is fully yours, with a booking widget you embed on your own website or share via a direct link.

A listing in the Salonnare salon directory is optional, with no commission on bookings, and there is no "clients who booked this also booked" cross-sell to your neighbour salon. That distinction is fundamental to how your brand and client data evolve long-term. With Treatwell you contribute to Treatwell's reputation and data position; with Salonnare you build your own brand as an asset.

Data ownership under the hood: widget vs marketplace

The Salonnare embeddable widget technically runs on your own domain (or a white-label subdomain) and stores client data directly in your salon account on EU servers, strictly separated from other salons. When a client books, her name, email, phone number, appointment history and payment preferences sit in your system - exportable whenever you want, without restrictions.

You can use this data for marketing automation, loyalty programmes, birthday campaigns or rebook nudges without third-party intermediation. With Treatwell the client books via the Treatwell platform. Technically she is a Treatwell user with a Treatwell account who happened to reserve with you; how you may contact that client outside Treatwell is determined by Treatwell's terms and the client's consent.

If Treatwell decides tomorrow to adjust their algorithm, raise commissions or show your listing less prominently, you have little recourse - the client relationship does not sit with you. Read more about our approach to data ownership.

Commission cost calculator: an illustrative scenario

Marketplace marketing hides how quickly commission costs add up as you grow. Alongside a €35 monthly subscription, Treatwell charges commission on new clients who book via the marketplace (per Treatwell 35% on the first booking^[1]) plus 2% on prepaid online bookings; repeat bookings are commission-free. An illustrative picture: 20 new marketplace clients per month × €40 average first booking × 35% comes to around €280/month = around €3,360/year in new-client commission alone (plus €420/year subscription).

Salonnare Starter costs €290/year and Pro €590/year - flat, regardless of your volume. At every scale it applies: the more new marketplace clients, the more you pay Treatwell; with Salonnare the price stays flat. Always calculate with your own number of new marketplace clients and average booking value. Check the pricing plans.

Where Treatwell is genuinely stronger: honest look

Objectively: Treatwell has advantages we will not brush away. First, consumer reach. Treatwell is a large beauty booking platform with its own audience of consumers actively looking for treatments; if your salon is new, sits in a saturated city centre or has not built an SEO base yet, Treatwell can reach new clients you cannot organically attract yet.

Second, brand exposure: your salon page on Treatwell is findable for everyone searching on the platform, without you having to work on SEO yourself. Calendar, POS, product sales and email marketing are also included in their subscription. Third, no own website required: for a starting salon without a website, Treatwell offers a ready-made booking profile.

Fourth, review aggregation: Treatwell centralises reviews on their platform, handy for social proof within their ecosystem. For a salon purely relying on marketplace acquisition without own brand marketing, Treatwell can be a valid choice - albeit with commission costs as a structural downside as you grow.

Hybrid use: Salonnare as main ERP, Treatwell as acquisition channel

Many Dutch salons do not choose between Salonnare or Treatwell, but use both complementarily. The most common setup: Salonnare runs as main back-office for all direct clients, walk-ins, phone bookings and appointments via your own website widget.

All client data, POS transactions, inventory and marketing automation live there. Treatwell stays put as "acquisition channel" - new clients from the Treatwell marketplace book their first appointment via Treatwell (where you accept the commission), but on their second visit they receive a personal confirmation email from your salon with your direct booking link.

That way you gradually shift the client relationship to your own system. After 6-12 months you can evaluate: if most clients book directly, minimise or end Treatwell; if not, it remains a paid acquisition channel with transparent ROI. This hybrid strategy minimises risk during a transition. Start with the free plan to set up Salonnare alongside Treatwell.

Frequently asked questions