Free booking systems: what "free" really costs

"Free" is the most-searched word in booking software, and fair enough: when you're starting out, every monthly bill counts. But software costs money to run, so every free booking system pays for itself somehow. Knowing how tells you whether it'll still be cheap when you're busy.

How free booking systems make money

• Commission on bookings. A percentage of every booking, or of the ones it says it found for you. Cheap when you're quiet, expensive when you're full.
• Marketplace fees. Your profile sits in an app full of other shops, and a new client who finds you there carries a one-off fee, often a large share of that first visit.
• A cap that leads to a paid plan. Free up to a number of bookings, staff or locations, then a monthly price.
• Paid add-ons. Text reminders, card payments, a second staff member or taking your branding off can each cost extra.
• Card processing. If payments go through the booking system, it may earn on each one.

The catches to check

• Is commission on every booking, or only new clients? A fee on clients you already had is the expensive kind.
• Whose booking page is it? Your own link that you share is yours. A listing inside a marketplace app puts other shops one tap away from your customers.
• What happens at the cap? Find the price of the next plan now, not the week you hit the limit.
• Are reminders included? Reminders are what stop no-shows. Check whether emails, texts or both are free, and how many.
• Can you take a deposit, and does the money go to your own account?
• Can you get your data out? Your customer list and booking history should export, so you're never stuck.
• Is "free" a trial? A seven or fourteen day trial isn't a free plan.

What a good free plan includes

• Your own booking page and a link to share
• A diary that updates the moment someone books
• Reminder emails, so people turn up
• A way to take a deposit, paid to you
• No card details to sign up, and no end date

When paying makes sense

Once you're busy, a flat monthly price is usually cheaper than commission, because it doesn't grow with every booking. Work out what you pay now in fees on a normal month and compare it with the paid plans. Our guide to what booking apps cost works through it with real prices.

What booking apps really cost a salon in 2026

Checklist

• Commission: none, on new clients only, or on every booking?
• Your own booking page and link?
• Booking, staff and location limits on the free plan?
• Price of the next plan up?
• Reminder emails and texts included?
• Deposits paid to your own account?
• Card fees, and who sets them?
• Can you export your customers?
• Card needed to sign up? Does the free plan end?

FullDiary's free plan

• A plan, not a trial: 20 bookings a month for one person at one store, with no card and no end date.
• Included: your booking page and link, the live diary, reminder emails, deposits and payment in full through your own Stripe account, forms, and classes.
• No commission, on any booking, ever.
• Your data: import customers from a spreadsheet or another booking system, and they stay yours.
• A small "Booking by FullDiary" line sits at the foot of your booking page, on every plan.
• When you outgrow it, Pro is 9.99 GBP a month for each person, never more than 39.99 GBP however big the team, with unlimited bookings.

Start free, with no card.

FullDiary pricing: Free and Pro

Sources

Named apps' prices, each with a link to its own pricing page and the date it was checked, are in our booking app fees guide.

What booking apps really cost a salon in 2026

Written by

Matt Suckling

Director, FullDiary

Matt runs Cynical Software Ltd, the Perthshire company that makes FullDiary, and builds it.

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