Sway vs Fresha for UK salons and wellness

Why UK owners compare Sway and Fresha

Fresha is one of the most visible booking apps in the UK salon and wellness space, with a large marketplace and mandatory subscription pricing. Sway offers marketplace discovery as the platform grows, with no marketplace commission, plus your own branded booking page.

If you are weighing Fresha against Sway, the decision usually comes down to how you acquire clients and whether you want to pay a cut on new bookings from a marketplace.

Who Fresha vs Sway is best for

Fresha is strongest when you want new clients through its established consumer marketplace and you accept subscription plus marketplace economics. Sway is strongest when you want discovery without commission — on your own URL, embed, or through Sway as more businesses join.

Many UK businesses use both: Fresha for discovery, Sway for repeat bookings and direct links to avoid repeat commission.

Marketplace commission vs your own page

Fresha can bring discovery through its marketplace, but new clients acquired that way may incur a one-time marketplace fee of up to around 20% (minimum roughly £4 in the UK). Repeat clients who book through your own link avoid that fee, but many owners find the model unpredictable as they grow.

Sway is building UK marketplace discovery as more businesses join — but unlike Fresha, Booksy, or Treatwell, we never charge marketplace commission on those bookings. You also get your own branded booking page and own the client relationship.

Pricing and total cost

• Fresha UK: from £14.95/mo solo or £9.95/mo per bookable staff; 7-day trial; marketplace fee on some new-client bookings; card processing fees apply.
• Sway: free tier available; paid plans from £14.99/mo; no marketplace commission; platform fee on online card payments only.
• If most clients come from Instagram, referrals, or your own site, Sway's predictable monthly cost often works out lower than commission-heavy models.

Worked example: monthly cost

Imagine a solo stylist with 80 bookings per month at £35 average, 10 of which are new clients from Fresha's marketplace. Fresha subscription might be around £15/mo, plus roughly £35–50 in marketplace fees on those new clients, plus card processing. Sway on Individual at £14.99/mo has no marketplace cut — you pay subscription plus platform fee on online card payments only.

Your real numbers depend on ticket size, how many clients are classified as new, and how much revenue goes through cards. Build a simple spreadsheet before you switch.

Features that matter day to day

Both tools cover core salon needs: services, staff calendars, online payments, and group sessions. Check specifics for website embed, calendar sync (Google, Apple, Outlook), and how far ahead clients can book.

Sway includes group sessions on all plans, embeddable booking from Individual, and calendar subscription feeds from Individual. Customers browse without an account and only sign in at checkout.

Switching from Fresha to Sway

You do not have to cancel Fresha on day one. Many owners run Sway in parallel for two weeks: keep Fresha for discovery while pushing repeat clients and social links to their Sway page. Export your client list from Fresha before going live so existing clients are not misclassified as new marketplace bookings.

See our switching guide for a practical checklist, or request migration help from our team.

Side-by-side summary

The table below compares Sway and Fresha alongside Booksy and Treatwell. Use it as a starting point, then trial both tools with your real services and staff setup.