Own your customers instead of renting them from a marketplace.
Fresha is a huge beauty marketplace — 25M+ shoppers, built-in payments, POS — but your shop is listed alongside the competition, and new marketplace clients carry a 20% commission. HotSeat gives you a branded booking link that is yours alone, guest checkout, and one flat monthly bill with 0% commission.
Choose HotSeat to keep your clients — and your revenue — yours.
Fresha genuinely earns its place if you want a consumer marketplace to find you new clients and an all-in-one commerce suite with card payments, deposits, and no-show protection. The trade-off: brand-new clients discovered through the marketplace carry a 20% one-time commission (CA$6 minimum), messaging is metered beyond a small free tier, and your shop shares that marketplace with nearby competitors. HotSeat makes the opposite bet — a private, branded booking link, customers who are yours from the first visit, and one flat subscription with no commission and no per-booking cut.
HotSeat is best for
Independent barbershops, salons, and nail studios that want to own their customer list, keep 100% of their booking revenue, and get a branded booking link live fast — not run a marketplace listing or configure a full commerce suite.
Fresha is best for
Beauty and wellness businesses that want marketplace discovery from 25M+ shoppers and an all-in-one commerce suite — card payments, deposits, no-show protection, POS, and inventory — in one place.
HotSeat keeps the booking path closer to your brand.
Your booking link is yours alone — HotSeat never lists your shop in a marketplace next to the competition, and never charges a commission on the clients you bring.
Keep 100% of your booking revenue — a flat monthly subscription with 0% commission, no per-booking fee, and no cut of your sales.
Customers book on your own branded link with guest checkout — name and phone, no app or account to download.
What changes in day-to-day use.
| Feature | HotSeat | Fresha |
|---|---|---|
| Customer path | HotSeatCustomers book on your own branded HotSeat link with guest checkout — just name and phone, no app or account — and the relationship stays yours. | FreshaFresha gives you a booking link, but your shop also lives in the Fresha Marketplace (25M+ shoppers) alongside other businesses; new clients who discover you there carry a 20% one-time commission (CA$6 minimum). |
| Who owns the client | HotSeatEvery customer who books is yours from the first visit — your list, your relationship, no fee to reach them again. | FreshaReturning clients are free, but the marketplace that brings you a new client can just as easily show your clients a competitor — discovery cuts both ways. |
| Setup motion | HotSeatAdd your services, staff, and hours and share a live booking link the same afternoon — no implementation project. | FreshaFresha is a broader platform — payments, POS, inventory, marketing, and add-ons — so there is more to configure before you are live. |
| Pricing shape | HotSeatOne flat monthly subscription by team size. HotSeat takes 0% — no marketplace commission, no per-booking fee, and no cut of your sales. | FreshaIndependent CA$29.95/month and Team CA$19.95 per team member/month, plus card processing (2.29% in-person or 2.79% online + CA$0.20) and messaging metered beyond a small free tier. |
| Best-fit operator | HotSeatAn independent barbershop, salon, or nail studio that wants to own its customers, keep its revenue, and start taking bookings fast. | FreshaA beauty or wellness business that wants marketplace discovery and a full commerce suite in one ecosystem. |
You want to own the customer relationship and keep 100% of your booking revenue — no commission, no per-booking fee, no cut.
You want a branded booking link live fast and a focused tool, not Fresha's broader platform to learn and configure.
Guest checkout matters: your customers book in seconds with name and phone, no account or app to download.
Fresha's marketplace genuinely puts you in front of 25M+ shoppers actively looking to book — real new-customer discovery HotSeat does not offer.
Fresha handles card payments, deposits, and no-show protection inside the tool; HotSeat leaves payments to you (in person or your own processor).
If you want POS, inventory, and commerce alongside booking, Fresha is the broader all-in-one suite.
Source-backed, not savings math.
Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's official site before switching tools.
In Canada, Fresha lists an Independent plan at CA$29.95 per month and a Team plan at CA$19.95 per bookable team member monthly (US pricing is US$19.95 and US$14.95).
Brand-new clients discovered through the Fresha Marketplace carry a 20% one-time commission with a CA$6 minimum; Fresha says no fee applies to returning clients.
Fresha card processing is listed at 2.29% + CA$0.20 in person and 2.79% + CA$0.20 online, and messaging is metered beyond a free allowance (about CA$0.03 per text, CA$0.02 per marketing email).
Competitor prices are as of July 10, 2026 and shown in the currency each vendor lists (US$ unless marked CA$). Vendors localize and change pricing often — confirm current pricing, in your own currency, on the vendor's page before switching.
Common switching questions.
Is HotSeat a Fresha alternative?
Yes — HotSeat is the direct-booking alternative. It is built around your own branded link and your customer relationship, while Fresha adds a consumer marketplace and a full commerce suite. If marketplace discovery is not the goal, HotSeat keeps every customer, and 100% of the revenue, yours.
Does HotSeat charge a marketplace commission or take a cut of my sales?
No. HotSeat charges a flat monthly subscription and takes 0% — no marketplace commission and no per-booking cut, so you keep 100% of your booking revenue. HotSeat does not process payments between you and your customers, so there are no HotSeat processor fees; you collect payment in person or with your own processor.
When is Fresha the better choice?
When you actively want new-customer discovery from Fresha's 25M+ marketplace, or you want built-in card payments, deposits, no-show protection, and POS in one platform.
Will I lose my clients if I leave Fresha for HotSeat?
Your returning clients are yours either way. On HotSeat they book on your own branded link with guest checkout, so you keep the relationship directly instead of through a marketplace profile. Confirm your data-export options with Fresha before you switch.