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How Fresha actually makes money from your salon

Fresha earns from card processing, metered messages, paid add-ons and, since the free plan ended, a per-seat subscription, and its UK accounts show the company is still being funded to get to break-even.

By Thinking Desk 5 min read

Key takeaways

  • Fresha is no longer free software. The published plans are 14,95 euro a month for one bookable team member and 9,95 euro per bookable team member on the Team plan.
  • The money is in payments: 0.89 percent plus 10 cents in person, 1 percent plus 20 cents online, 0.79 percent plus 10 cents on Bancontact, with daily payouts.
  • The UK entity Fresha.com SV Limited reported turnover of 35.1 million pounds for 2025 against 18.1 million in 2024, a loss after tax of 729,222 pounds against 22.5 million, and net liabilities of 83.8 million pounds.
  • The same accounts disclose that after the year end the parent and group raised a further 80 million dollars from KKR, and General Atlantic lists Fresha as a 2021 investment.
  • The marketplace new client fee currently reads as free on the euro pricing page, but Fresha itself says the rate and minimum live on that page, which means it is a price the vendor sets and can move.
On this page
  1. Short answer
  2. Who owns Fresha?
  3. Is Fresha growing or shrinking?
  4. What does Fresha cost a salon in practice?
  5. What does the marketplace do to a salon's margin?
  6. What is the trade-off a salon owner is really accepting?

Short answer

Fresha makes its money on the payment, not on the booking, and lately also on the seat. The published euro rates are 0.89 percent plus 10 cents for a card taken in the salon and 1 percent plus 20 cents online, and on top of that sit a per team member subscription, metered text messages and a long add-on list. The reason the model keeps moving is visible in the filings: the UK company behind the brand reported net liabilities of 83.8 million pounds at the end of 2025 and raised a further 80 million dollars from KKR after the year end. Fresha is a payments business being funded towards break-even, and a salon signing today should price it on that basis.

Who owns Fresha?

The UK operating company is Fresha.com SV Limited, registered number 11326509, incorporated on 24 April 2018 at 71-75 Shelton Street, London. Its directors are N G Miller, W Zeqiri and P Iwanow. The accounts filed at Companies House on 29 May 2026 name Fresha.com Holding Inc. as the parent and state that the group depends on that parent for financial support.

On the investor side, General Atlantic's own portfolio page lists Fresha as a 2021 investment without naming an amount. The post balance sheet note in the 2025 accounts is more specific: "Subsequent to the year end, the parent and group successfully raised an additional $80 million funding from KKR." The same report records a working capital loan from JPMorgan Bank, London Branch.

Scale, as Fresha states it on its own business page, is 130,000 or more partner businesses, 450,000 or more professionals, more than a billion appointments booked and more than 120 countries. Those are the vendor's numbers, not audited ones.

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Is Fresha growing or shrinking?

Growing fast on revenue and very close to break-even, at least in the entity that files. For the year ended 31 December 2025 the UK group reported turnover of 35.1 million pounds against 18.1 million pounds in 2024. Operating loss before tax fell from 23.4 million pounds to 2.4 million, and the loss after tax fell from 22,526,837 pounds to 729,222 pounds. Average headcount rose from 144 to 161. The directors write that the company plans "to increase sales, maintain operating expenses and through that break even by the end of 2026".

Two honest caveats before anyone quotes that turnover as Fresha's global revenue. First, these are the accounts of the UK sub-group, not of the worldwide business. Second, the revenue policy note says that under intra-group service agreements the company charges fellow group companies "fees that exceed standard transfer pricing margins to reflect the commercial value of the licensed products", so part of that 35.1 million pounds is money moving inside the group rather than money taken from salons.

The number that is unambiguous is net liabilities of 83.8 million pounds, against 86.9 million a year earlier. That is a balance sheet that only works while a parent keeps writing cheques.

What does Fresha cost a salon in practice?

Add up the parts rather than the headline. The published euro figures are:

Item Published price
Independent plan 14,95 euro per month, one bookable team member
Team plan 9,95 euro per bookable team member per month
In-person card 0.89 percent plus 10 cents, plus 10 cents per Tap to Pay authorisation
Online card 1 percent plus 20 cents
Bancontact 0.79 percent plus 10 cents
Klarna 3.49 percent plus 50 cents
Terminal from 119 euro per device
Text message 20 free a month, then 18 cents, marketing texts 23 cents
Marketing email 50 free a month, then 2 cents
Client Loyalty add-on 59,95 euro per location per month
Insights add-on 9,95 euro per bookable team member per month

Take a six-chair salon doing 30,000 euro a month on card with an average ticket of 50 euro. That is 600 transactions: 267 euro at 0.89 percent plus 60 euro of fixed fees, so about 327 euro of processing. Six Team seats add 59,70 euro. Loyalty adds 59,95 euro and Insights another 59,70 euro if you want them. The monthly bill lands somewhere between 390 and 510 euro depending on how many add-ons you switch on.

The same salon on a two percent processing rate elsewhere would pay 600 euro in card fees alone. That is the real argument for Fresha, and it is a strong one. The comparison by feature is at /en/software/fresha and the head to head against the French incumbent is at /en/compare/fresha-vs-planity.

What does the marketplace do to a salon's margin?

Right now, in the euro area, nothing. The pricing page shows the marketplace new client fee as free, and Fresha's help centre is clear that the fee never applies to returning clients: once a marketplace client has completed a first appointment, "they become one of your existing clients" and the label disappears. It also does not apply to extra services added at checkout, or to memberships, gift cards and products bought online.

The exposure is not the fee, it is the dependency. The help centre says the rate and the minimum fee are published on the pricing page, which is the vendor saying plainly that those numbers are settings. A business that has let a consumer marketplace become its main source of first appointments has handed over the one lever it cannot rebuild quickly. The marketplace also lists the salon three streets away.

The defensible position is to use the marketplace for discovery and then move the relationship: own the client record, own the rebooking, send the reminder yourself. Our guide on that is /en/guides/how-to-cut-no-shows-in-a-salon.

What is the trade-off a salon owner is really accepting?

Cheap processing today in exchange for pricing power held by somebody else.

Fresha's card rates are roughly a third of what most salon platforms charge, and that is not a trick, it is a deliberate acquisition price paid for by investors. General Atlantic came in during 2021. KKR put in 80 million dollars after the end of 2025. The UK group has net liabilities of 83.8 million pounds and has told Companies House it intends to break even during 2026. Businesses in that position raise take rate. The free software tier already ended, and the pricing page now carries nine paid add-ons.

None of this makes Fresha a bad choice. It makes it a choice with a dated assumption. If you sign, do three things. Export your client list and your appointment history on day one and keep doing it monthly. Price the alternative at today's rates so you know what a move would cost. And read the rate card again at every renewal, because the only part of this business model that has stayed still is the part you can leave behind. A wider view of the category, including per-location pricing which suits large teams better, is at /en/best/best-salon-software-2026.

Questions and answers

Is Fresha still free?
No. The pricing page lists Independent at 14,95 euro a month for one bookable team member and Team at 9,95 euro per bookable team member, with a 7 day trial. The 2025 annual report of the UK entity, signed on 28 May 2026, still describes the product as a free-to-use platform, so the change is recent.
What does Fresha charge to take a card payment?
The published euro rates are 0.89 percent plus 10 cents for in-person payments, with a further 10 cents per Tap to Pay authorisation, 1 percent plus 20 cents online, 0.79 percent plus 10 cents for Bancontact and 3.49 percent plus 50 cents for Klarna. Terminals start at 119 euro.
Does Fresha take a commission on marketplace bookings?
On the euro pricing page the marketplace new client fee currently shows as free, and Fresha confirms the fee never applies to returning clients. Its help centre points you to the pricing page for the rate and the minimum fee, which is the vendor saying the number is a setting rather than a promise.
Who owns Fresha?
The UK operating company is Fresha.com SV Limited, number 11326509, incorporated on 24 April 2018 and registered at 71-75 Shelton Street in London. Its filed accounts name Fresha.com Holding Inc. as the parent. General Atlantic lists Fresha as a 2021 portfolio investment and the 2025 accounts disclose 80 million dollars of new funding from KKR after the year end.

Sources

Every price and fact above was checked against these pages on the date shown.

  1. [1] Fresha pricing page: Independent 14,95 EUR, Team 9,95 EUR per team member, card rates, add-ons and marketplace new client fee accessed 2026-11-11
  2. [2] Fresha for business: 130,000+ partner businesses, 450,000+ professionals, 1 billion+ appointments, 120+ countries, daily payouts accessed 2026-11-11
  3. [3] Fresha help centre, how the marketplace new client fee works accessed 2026-11-11
  4. [4] Companies House, FRESHA.COM SV LTD, company number 11326509, incorporated 24 April 2018 accessed 2026-11-11
  5. [5] Companies House, Fresha.com SV Limited, annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025, filed 29 May 2026 accessed 2026-11-11
  6. [6] Companies House, filing history for Fresha.com SV Ltd accessed 2026-11-11
  7. [7] General Atlantic portfolio page for Fresha, investment year 2021 accessed 2026-11-11
  8. [8] Fresha careers, office locations by country accessed 2026-11-11
Topics freshasalonpaymentsmarketplacecompany-analysis