Quick comparison
Fresha vs Booq at a glance
| Compare | Fresha | Booq |
|---|---|---|
| Primary audience | FreshaBeauty, wellness and healthcare businesses of many types and sizes. | BooqMobile barbers and other travelling service businesses. |
| Client booking | FreshaMarketplace app, direct booking link, Google booking and social integrations. | BooqA direct browser booking page with no client app required. |
| Location and travel | FreshaPublic product pages emphasise calendar, location and salon operations; test home-visit travel behaviour directly. | BooqThe proposed client location influences working-area checks, travel-aware times and travel pricing. |
| Discovery | FreshaA large marketplace with a one-time fee for qualifying new clients discovered there. | BooqNo marketplace or new-client commission. |
Start with the business model
Who each product suits
Choose Fresha when
You want a broader beauty platform
A beauty or wellness business that values a consumer marketplace, payments, retail, marketing and multi-person operations.
Choose Booq when
Travel shapes your working day
A mobile barber who wants a focused booking experience built around client locations, service areas and the cost of travel.
The useful comparison is not which product has the longest feature list. It is whether the software models the constraint that shapes your day. A fixed barbershop organises availability around staff and chairs. A mobile barber also has to account for the distance between one client and the next.
Side by side
The differences that matter for mobile work
| Compare | Fresha | Booq |
|---|---|---|
| Primary audience | Beauty, wellness and healthcare businesses of many types and sizes. | Mobile barbers and other travelling service businesses. |
| Client booking | Marketplace app, direct booking link, Google booking and social integrations. | A direct browser booking page with no client app required. |
| Location and travel | Public product pages emphasise calendar, location and salon operations; test home-visit travel behaviour directly. | The proposed client location influences working-area checks, travel-aware times and travel pricing. |
| Discovery | A large marketplace with a one-time fee for qualifying new clients discovered there. | No marketplace or new-client commission. |
| Business tools | Payments, point of sale, inventory, marketing, reporting, forms, packages and memberships. | A focused mobile booking and diary workflow. |
| Pricing model | Subscription per bookable team member, usage-based communications and optional add-ons. | One published monthly plan at £29. |
This table compares the public products as reviewed on 3 August 2026. Features and prices can change.
A fair comparison
Where Fresha is stronger
A broad beauty and wellness platform used by more than 120,000 businesses, according to Fresha.
Marketplace discovery plus direct booking links, social bookings and Google bookings.
Point of sale, inventory, marketing, memberships, packages, forms and reporting.
Those strengths are valuable when they solve problems you actually have. A marketplace, point of sale or multi-chair reporting may be a reason to choose a broader platform. They do not automatically solve the travel constraint in a mobile diary.
Published pricing
Compare the model, not only the headline
£29 per month with a seven-day free trial, according to Booq’s current public pricing. Fresha charges a subscription per bookable team member and applies a one-time marketplace fee when a genuinely new client discovers the business through Fresha.
Fresha’s UK pricing page displayed US-dollar subscription figures when this comparison was reviewed. Confirm the price and currency offered during UK signup rather than relying on a converted estimate.
Use a real working day
What to check before you switch
Run a home-visit test booking and confirm exactly how the client address affects available times.
Estimate marketplace acquisition fees separately from bookings generated by your own links.
Check the currency and current regional pricing shown to your account before subscribing.
Create a test service and two appointments at different addresses. Check the client journey, the time protected before and after each booking, the total the client sees and what happens after a cancellation. That reveals more than a marketing checklist.
Verify the details
Official sources used
Common questions
Fresha and Booq FAQs
Is Booq a Fresha alternative for mobile barbers?
Yes. Booq is a narrower Fresha alternative for mobile barbers who want client locations to shape availability and travel pricing. Fresha is the broader option for marketplace discovery, point of sale, inventory and team operations.
Does Fresha charge commission on every booking?
No. Fresha says its marketplace fee is a one-time charge for a genuinely new client discovered through the marketplace. Direct bookings and returning marketplace clients are treated differently under its published pricing.
Is Fresha designed for mobile barbers?
Fresha supports a wide range of beauty and wellness businesses. Mobile barbers should test client-address collection and the effect of travel on availability, because those are the constraints that make a home-visit diary different from a salon calendar.
Which product is simpler for a solo mobile barber?
Booq is the narrower product and is designed around a mobile barber’s booking and travel workflow. Fresha offers substantially more salon, marketplace and retail functionality.
Keep comparing