Fresha changed the economics of salon booking software by removing the subscription entirely. There is no monthly fee for the core platform, and there is a large consumer marketplace attached that can genuinely put new clients in your chair. For a new salon with no client list, that combination is powerful and no honest comparison should pretend otherwise. Mako takes a different position: a flat monthly fee for the operational platform, no marketplace, no commission on your bookings — with a free retention layer underneath it. Which model is better depends almost entirely on whether you need demand or you need margin.
Fresha: Free to subscribe for the core platform. Revenue comes from card processing fees and a commission on new clients booked through the Fresha marketplace, plus optional paid add-ons. The subscription really is zero — the cost sits in transaction economics rather than a monthly invoice. Check the current processing and new-client commission rates directly with Fresha before you model this, because they vary by market.
Mako: Pulse is free. Paid plans are Mako Basic at $139/month, Mako Team at $249/month, and Enterprise at $999/month — roughly 20% less on annual billing at $1,334, $2,390, and $9,588 per year. Basic includes 3 team members, Team includes 15, Enterprise is unlimited. No commission on bookings, no marketplace fee, no contract.
A salon doing modest volume will pay Fresha less in total. A busy salon acquiring a meaningful share of clients through the marketplace can pay considerably more in aggregate than a flat $139 or $249 — the fee scales with your success rather than sitting still. Run your own numbers on real booking volume and real processing spend, not on the headline.
This is the actual decision. The Fresha marketplace is a genuine acquisition channel — real consumers browse it and book. If you are opening, or you have empty columns on a Tuesday, that channel has clear value.
The trade is that a marketplace trains clients to be marketplace clients. They discovered a service near them, not your salon specifically, and the same interface will show them a competitor next time. Owning the relationship — your own retention programme, your own rebooking cadence, your own client list — is slower to build and much harder to lose. Neither answer is wrong. They are different businesses.
Fresha: Zero subscription for a full booking and payments platform.
Mako: Pulse is free but measures retention rather than running the salon; the operational platform starts at $139.
Edge: Fresha, unambiguously, on running the business for free.
Fresha: A real consumer marketplace with genuine booking volume.
Mako: No marketplace. You bring your own demand.
Edge: Fresha, decisively.
Fresha: New-client marketplace bookings carry a commission. Your cost rises with volume.
Mako: Flat fee. A busy month and a quiet month cost the same.
Edge: Mako for predictability.
Fresha: Solid sales and appointment reporting for a free product.
Mako: P&L, cash flow, service-level profitability, LTV, and forecasting as native dashboards, plus free market retention benchmarking.
Edge: Mako, significantly.
Fresha: Staff management and commission tracking are present and workable.
Mako: Tiered commissions, tips, timesheets, and payouts built for multi-stylist teams, with 15 members included at Team.
Edge: Mako for complex splits.
Fresha: Focused on beauty and wellness, and strong there.
Mako: One platform across salons, studios, gyms, wellness, and trades, with estimates, inventory, and job management.
Edge: Mako for mixed or multi-vertical operations.
Pick Fresha if:
Pick Mako if:
Your salon is a business. Not a hobby, not a side project, not a calendar with a cash register. It deserves software that treats it accordingly. If your platform cannot tell you whether you are financially healthy, it is not doing its job. And in 2026, you have better options.
See Mako in action — no sales call required
Mako is built for independent salon and studio owners who would rather spend their time on clients than on demo calls. Open the live demo, poke around, and see exactly how scheduling, billing, and financial intelligence come together in one place.
Try the demo: https://app.makocrm.so/demo
Self-serve. Instant access. No forms, no calendars, no "talk to sales."
