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Scheduling & Booking · head to head

Fresha vs GlossGenius

Fresha logo

Fresha

Scheduling & Booking

Free salon and spa software

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
GlossGenius logo

GlossGenius

Scheduling & Booking

Beautiful booking for beauty pros

From
$24/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Fresha has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Fresha fresha charges a 50 percent one time commission on each new client booked through its marketplace, subject to a minimum fee per client; GlossGenius card payments are charged at a flat 2.6 percent, and instant payouts cost a further 1.8 percent
  • They diverge on capability: Fresha covers Online booking, GlossGenius covers Custom booking pages.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fresha and GlossGenius actually diverge.

Attributes where Fresha and GlossGenius differ
AttributeFreshaGlossGenius
Starting priceFree$24/month
Pricing modelfreesubscription
Free tierYesNo
Founded20152016

Identical on both: platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Scheduling & Booking).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Fresha

  • Online booking
  • Appointment management
  • Client database
  • Point of sale
  • Inventory management
  • Staff scheduling
  • Reports & analytics
  • Apple Calendar

Only in GlossGenius

  • Custom booking pages
  • Payment processing
  • Client management
  • Automated reminders
  • Website builder
  • Reports & insights
  • Gift cards
  • Apple Pay

Both cover

  • Marketing tools
  • Google Calendar
  • Instagram
  • Stripe
  • PCI DSS
  • SSL encryption
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Fresha

  • Running appointment booking and point of sale for salons and spasnot GlossGenius
  • Attracting new clients through the Fresha consumer marketplacenot GlossGenius
  • Sending appointment reminders and marketing campaigns to clientsnot GlossGenius

GlossGenius

  • Appointment booking and calendar management for salonsnot Fresha
  • Card payments and tipping at the chairnot Fresha
  • Client records, forms and waiversnot Fresha
  • Memberships and prepaid packagesnot Fresha
  • Medspa charting and photo markup on the clinical plansnot Fresha

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Fresha

  • Fresha charges a 50 percent one time commission on each new client booked through its marketplace, subject to a minimum fee per client
  • Online card payments carry a 4.90 percent plus fixed fee per transaction charge on top of the subscription
  • Only 20 SMS or WhatsApp notifications and 50 marketing emails are free each month; everything beyond that is billed per message
  • Team and Enterprise plans are quoted as custom rates with no published figure
  • Add ons such as Team Connect and Insights are billed per team member per month on top of the plan
  • Enterprise pricing applies to businesses with 20 or more team members

GlossGenius

  • Card payments are charged at a flat 2.6 percent, and instant payouts cost a further 1.8 percent
  • Forms and waivers, waitlists and Google booking need the Gold plan at $56 a month
  • Team analytics, custom commissions and unlimited team members require Platinum at $168 a month
  • The medspa plans start where the beauty Platinum plan does, at $168 a month, rising to $298 for the full clinical suite
  • Payroll is a separate add-on at $40 a month plus $6 per staff member

Pricing, plan by plan

Fresha

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited appointments
    • Unlimited staff
    • Online booking
  • Payments (Add-on)$2.19/transaction
    • Card payments
    • Contactless payments
    • Online payments
  • Marketing (Add-on)$0.01/message
    • Email campaigns
    • SMS marketing
    • Automated messages

GlossGenius

$24/month
  • Standard$24/month
    • Custom booking site
    • Unlimited appointments
    • Client management
  • Gold$48/month
    • Everything in Standard
    • Marketing suite
    • Advanced analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Fresha if

  • You need online booking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want appointment management.
Fresha review

Choose GlossGenius if

  • You need custom booking pages.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want payment processing.
GlossGenius review

Questions people ask

Is Fresha or GlossGenius better?
Neither clearly leads. Fresha starts at Free and GlossGenius at $24/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fresha or GlossGenius?
Fresha has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Fresha and $24/month for GlossGenius.
Does Fresha or GlossGenius run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Ios, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Fresha for free?
Yes. Fresha has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. GlossGenius starts at $24/month.
What is Fresha best used for?
Fresha is most often used for running appointment booking and point of sale for salons and spas, attracting new clients through the fresha consumer marketplace, sending appointment reminders and marketing campaigns to clients. Of those, running appointment booking and point of sale for salons and spas and attracting new clients through the fresha consumer marketplace are not what GlossGenius is typically brought in for.
What can Fresha do that GlossGenius cannot?
Fresha covers Online booking, Appointment management, Client database, Point of sale. GlossGenius covers Custom booking pages, Payment processing, Client management, Automated reminders. Both handle Marketing tools, Google Calendar, Instagram, Stripe.
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