Newbi vs Booksy and Fresha: why a cut of every new client is the wrong model for a salon or barber

If you cut hair, do nails, lashes or massage in South Africa, someone has told you to get on Booksy or Fresha. They are not wrong. Both are proper salon systems with a marketplace attached, which is why people recommend them: strangers searching for a barber nearby can find and book you without having heard your name.

This article is about the price of that. I built Newbi, so keep that in mind. Figures come from each company's own South African pricing page, checked on 29 October 2026.

What Booksy charges

As published on Booksy's South African pricing page, the subscription is R399 a month plus tax, with each additional staff member at R89 a month. There is a 14-day free trial with no card needed.

The marketplace side is called Boost. Turning it on has no monthly fee. Instead, Booksy charges a one-time 40% fee on the total cost of a Boost client's first visit, up to a maximum of R1,500. Boost is optional, and Booksy says clients who find you through your own marketing are not charged.

What Fresha charges

As published on Fresha's pricing page in rand, the Independent plan is R134.95 a month, Team is R89.95 per team member a month, and Enterprise is custom for businesses with more than 20 team members. Rates exclude 15% sales tax.

Fresha's marketplace works the same way in principle: a one-time new client fee on a brand-new client's first completed appointment, with a minimum fee and a maximum cap, according to its help centre. Returning clients are not charged. The South African pricing page did not state the percentage, so confirm the rand terms with Fresha directly. The same help article says the fee can also apply to someone who books through your own website or social media if they first viewed your Fresha marketplace profile.

What the marketplace is really worth

Be fair to both. A marketplace puts you in front of people who do not know you. For a new shop in a new area, that can be the difference between an empty chair and a full one. You pay nothing until a client arrives, and only once per client. Neither company hides this.

If you are starting from zero, with no regulars and no referrals, a marketplace fee is a reasonable cost of finding people.

Why it is the wrong model once you are established

Many salons and barbers do not run on strangers. They run on regulars, and regulars come from referrals. Your Friday regular brings a colleague. A happy client sends their sister. They found you through you, not through an app.

Once your clients book through a marketplace app, the app is where they go to rebook. It is also where they see the shop down the road, with a vacancy this afternoon. You pay a subscription to be listed next to your competitors.

The fee also makes new clients the costliest ones you have. On Booksy's published terms, a R400 colour from a Boost client costs R160 in fees before product and time. For an established business whose new clients mostly arrive by word of mouth, that is money paid for introductions you might have had anyway.

What Newbi does instead

Newbi is not a marketplace. Nobody searches it for a salon. It gives you a single link holding your card, your services and price list, your booking button and your WhatsApp, so the person your regular refers can book you directly.

• Bookings are built into the card on the Pro plan. A client picks a free slot instead of sending three messages. Each service has its own duration and buffer time, clients get a confirmation with a calendar invite and a link to cancel or reschedule, and you both get a reminder in the 24 hours before.
• There is no cut of a new client. Newbi charges a monthly plan, not a fee per client, and WhatsApp orders and enquiries carry no commission.
• The link is yours to put everywhere: your Google Business Profile, Instagram bio, WhatsApp Business profile, a QR code on the mirror, an NFC card on the counter, or an Apple or Google Wallet pass you show in person.
• A lead form catches the visitor who is not ready to book, and their details land in your dashboard, not on someone else's platform.
• A custom domain, on the Professional plan, means the link carries your name.

Pro, with bookings, the mini-store and wallet passes, is R189 a month, charged in rand, and you can try it free for 14 days with no payment details. For more on booking tools and deposits, read online booking for salons, barbers and trainers.

Where Booksy and Fresha are still the right call

• You have several staff with separate calendars and need stock, payroll and point of sale in one system. Both are built for that. Newbi is a card with bookings, not a salon suite.
• You are new and need discovery more than you need margin. A marketplace is a quick way to a first client.
• Your clients already live in one of those apps and like it. Moving them costs too.

The practical answer

Many businesses end up with both. Use a marketplace while you build a base, and be clear-eyed about what each new client costs. Put your own link, the one with no cut, everywhere a referral might find you, so the people who already know you book directly.

The goal is simple: pay for strangers if you must, but never pay a cut on your own regulars.

Booksy's and Fresha's prices and fees were taken from their own South African pricing pages and Fresha's help centre on 29 October 2026 and may have changed since.