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Scheduling & Booking · head to head

Fresha vs Insight Salon Software

Fresha logo

Fresha

Scheduling & Booking

Free salon and spa software

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Insight Salon Software logo

Insight Salon Software

Beauty & Salon

Intelligent salon management with deep analytics

From
$40/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; Insight Salon Software cloud plans are login limited even at the top tier: Enterprise Premium Cloud is $250 a month for up to 8,000 SMS messages and only 5 logins
  • They diverge on capability: Fresha covers Online booking, Insight Salon Software covers Appointment booking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fresha and Insight Salon Software actually diverge.

Attributes where Fresha and Insight Salon Software differ
AttributeFreshaInsight Salon Software
Starting priceFree$40/month
Pricing modelfreesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Ios, Android, Api
CategoryScheduling & BookingBeauty & Salon
Founded20152012

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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
  • Inventory management
  • Marketing tools
  • Reports & analytics
  • Apple Calendar
  • Google Maps

Only in Insight Salon Software

  • Appointment booking
  • Client management
  • Advanced analytics
  • Revenue tracking
  • Performance metrics
  • Marketing automation
  • Square
  • PayPal

Both cover

  • Point of sale
  • Staff scheduling
  • Google Calendar
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Stripe
  • SSL encryption
  • GDPR compliant
  • Cloud deployment

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 Insight Salon Software
  • Attracting new clients through the Fresha consumer marketplacenot Insight Salon Software
  • Sending appointment reminders and marketing campaigns to clientsnot Insight Salon Software

Insight Salon Software

  • Running point of sale and scheduling for a salon or spanot Fresha
  • Sending automated two way SMS appointment reminders to clientsnot 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

Insight Salon Software

  • Cloud plans are login limited even at the top tier: Enterprise Premium Cloud is $250 a month for up to 8,000 SMS messages and only 5 logins
  • Premium Cloud's two way SMS is capped per tier, from 500 messages a month on Solo up to 8,000 on Enterprise
  • The installed one time purchase version only includes free software upgrades for 1 year, after which upgrades are not covered
  • Multi-year pre-purchase discounts of 10, 15 and 20 percent require paying 1, 2 or 3 years upfront

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

Insight Salon Software

$40/month
  • Starter$40/month
    • Appointment scheduling
    • Client management
    • Basic analytics
  • Professional$70/month
    • Everything in Starter
    • Advanced analytics
    • Staff performance tracking
  • Enterprise$120/month
    • Everything in Professional
    • Multi-location analytics
    • Custom reports

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 Insight Salon Software if

  • You need appointment booking.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want client management.
Insight Salon Software review

Questions people ask

Is Fresha or Insight Salon Software better?
Neither clearly leads. Fresha starts at Free and Insight Salon Software at $40/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fresha or Insight Salon Software?
Fresha has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Fresha and $40/month for Insight Salon Software.
Does Fresha or Insight Salon Software run on more platforms?
Fresha runs on Web, Ios, Android. Insight Salon Software runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
Can I use Fresha for free?
Yes. Fresha has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Insight Salon Software starts at $40/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 Insight Salon Software is typically brought in for.
What can Fresha do that Insight Salon Software cannot?
Fresha covers Online booking, Appointment management, Client database, Inventory management. Insight Salon Software covers Appointment booking, Client management, Advanced analytics, Revenue tracking. Both handle Point of sale, Staff scheduling, Google Calendar, Instagram.
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