Better Bookings vs Booksy - The Honest Comparison for Barbers and Salons

Pricing

Booksy charges between £20-30 per staff member per month, depending on your plan and region. For a solo barber, that is £20-30. Manageable. But barbershops rarely stay solo. With 3 chairs, you are paying £60-90 per month. With 5, you are at £100-150. With 8 barbers (a busy high street shop), your booking software alone costs £160-240 per month. That is a significant overhead for software that fundamentally does the same thing regardless of how many people use it. Better Bookings charges £40/month for the Team plan, which covers up to 10 staff members. Two barbers or ten barbers, the price is the same. For a 5-chair shop, that is a saving of £60-110 per month compared to Booksy. Over a year, that is £720-1,320 back in your pocket. The difference gets more dramatic as you grow. If you open a second location with 6 more chairs, Booksy adds another £120-180/month. Better Bookings adds another £40.

The app requirement

This is a practical issue that affects conversion. When a potential client clicks your booking link from Instagram or Google, Booksy often directs them to download the Booksy app first. This adds a significant friction step. The client has to go to the App Store, download the app, create a Booksy account, and then find your business within the app to complete their booking. Some clients will do this. Many will not. They wanted a quick haircut, not another app on their phone. Better Bookings uses a web-based booking page. The client clicks your link and lands directly on your booking page in their browser. They see your services, pick a time, enter their name and phone number, and book. No app download, no account creation, no friction. The entire process takes under 60 seconds. This matters especially for new clients who found you on Instagram or Google and are making a snap decision about where to get their hair cut. Every additional step between 'this looks good' and 'I am booked' loses a percentage of potential clients.

Boost commissions

Booksy offers a feature called Boost that promotes your listing higher in their marketplace search results. It can drive additional bookings, but the cost is significant: up to 30% commission on every booking that comes through Boost. On a £25 haircut, that is £7.50 to Booksy. If Boost brings you 20 extra bookings in a month, you are paying £150 in commissions on top of your per-seat subscription. For some barbershops, Boost delivers genuine value in the form of new clients. For others, it ends up being an expensive way to acquire clients you could reach for free through Google Business Profile, Instagram, and walk-in traffic. Better Bookings does not operate a marketplace. There are no commissions on any booking, regardless of how the client found you. You bring clients through your own channels and you keep 100% of the revenue.

Features

Both platforms handle booking, scheduling, and reminders well. Better Bookings additionally includes deposits, no-show fees, waitlists, gift cards, loyalty programs, session packs, intake forms, and embeddable booking widgets. Booksy covers the basics but some advanced features require higher-tier plans.

Who should choose which

If you're a solo barber who wants marketplace visibility and doesn't mind the app requirement, Booksy can work. If you have a team, want flat pricing, need deposits, or prefer clients booking without downloading an app, Better Bookings is the stronger choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do my clients need to download an app to book with Better Bookings?

No. Your booking page works in any web browser - no app download or account creation required.

Is Booksy good for salons?

Booksy works for small salons, but the per-stylist pricing adds up quickly for teams. A salon with 8 stylists could pay £160-240/month on Booksy vs £40/month on Better Bookings.