The short answer
Fresha, Timely and Phorest can all send automatic booking confirmations, reminders and take a deposit or card details at the time of booking, so on the no-show basics, the three are closer than the marketing suggests. The real differences are in pricing structure (Fresha charges per team member plus a commission on new marketplace clients, Timely and Phorest are subscription-based without a marketplace cut), how much the business side costs to run at your size, and how painful switching would be if you're already on one. For most salons, the honest verdict is to configure what you already have properly before considering a switch.
Quick verdict by business type
A solo or newly opened business, with little to lose from the marketplace exposure, often does well on Fresha, the free listing and marketplace can bring in new clients while you're building a reputation, and the per-team-member pricing stays cheap at one or two people. An established, multi-chair salon with a loyal client base typically gets less value from the marketplace (most bookings are already direct) and more value from a flat, predictable subscription, which tends to favour Timely or Phorest once team size grows. A clinic handling health information or regulated treatments tends to lean toward whichever tool's reminder wording and record-keeping fit UK GDPR most comfortably, which is more a configuration question than a hard product difference between the three.
Reminders and deposits: how each actually handles a no-show
All three support automatic booking confirmations the moment someone books, a reminder a day or two beforehand, and a deposit or saved card at booking that can be charged automatically on a no-show or late cancellation, configured through each platform's own cancellation policy settings. None of them require buying a separate app to get this, it's a configuration task inside the tool you already have, which is worth checking before assuming you need to switch platforms just to reduce no-shows. Where they differ slightly is in flexibility of the rules, for example how granular you can get about which services require a deposit and the exact cancellation window, which is worth testing against your own actual service list rather than taking a feature list at face value.
Pricing compared, including Fresha's marketplace cut
| Fresha | Timely | Phorest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per team member, monthly | Tiered subscription, scales with team size | Tiered subscription, quote-based |
| Marketplace commission | Yes, a one-time commission on new clients booked via Fresha's own marketplace, minimum fee per client | No marketplace, no commission | No marketplace, no commission |
| Where to check current pricing | fresha.com | gettimely.com | phorest.com (quote on request) |
Fresha's marketplace commission is worth understanding properly before relying on it as a client-acquisition channel: it's genuinely useful for bringing in new clients, but it's a cost specifically on clients who found you through Fresha's own marketplace, not on your existing or directly-booked clients. Timely and Phorest don't run a public marketplace in the same way, so their pricing is a flatter subscription without that variable. Always check each vendor's own current pricing page rather than a number quoted anywhere else, these change.
Switching cost if you're already on one
Moving between Fresha, Timely and Phorest means migrating your client list, appointment history, and often retraining staff on a different interface, which is real but rarely fatal admin, most platforms support exporting client data and offer migration help when you sign up. The bigger cost is usually continuity risk during the changeover: double-booking risk while two systems briefly overlap, and reminders or deposits not being configured correctly on day one of the new system. If your current tool already supports proper reminders and deposits and the main complaint is cost or a specific missing feature, it's often cheaper and lower-risk to configure what you have properly first, rather than migrating for a feature you might not actually need.
Where we'd still build something extra on top
None of the three fully solves the walk-in, phone call or Instagram DM that never goes through the booking system in the first place, which is often where a chunk of no-shows and double-bookings genuinely originate. An online booking page that captures every enquiry channel into the same calendar, alongside properly configured reminders and deposits in whichever platform you're on, closes that gap without needing to switch platforms at all. Where a marketplace booking (Fresha's own, or Treatwell) needs to sync reliably with your own calendar to avoid a double-booking, that's usually a small extra piece of setup work on top of the platform itself.
When to get help, and what we'd do
If no-shows are a regular cost and you're not confident your current reminders and deposit settings are configured properly, we'd start there before recommending a switch, it's usually the fastest, cheapest fix. We'd set up booking confirmations, reminders and deposits properly in whichever of Fresha, Timely or Phorest you're already using, add an online booking page if phone and DM bookings are still slipping outside the system, and only scope a full platform migration if there's a genuine feature gap none of the three closes for your business.
See the wider picture on no-shows and booking chaos for health and beauty businesses, and the related example of a hair salon with online booking and an end to no-shows.
Frequently asked questions
Is Fresha's marketplace commission worth it?
For a new or growing business, it can be, the marketplace brings genuinely new clients you wouldn't otherwise have reached, and the commission only applies to those new marketplace clients, not your existing book. For an established salon with a full client list from direct bookings, it matters less.
Do I need to switch booking systems to reduce no-shows?
Usually not. Fresha, Timely and Phorest all support reminders and deposits already, so the first step is checking those settings are actually configured properly on your current platform before considering a switch.
Which is cheapest for a small, single-chair business?
Fresha's per-team-member pricing tends to suit a solo operator well at low team sizes, but always check current pricing on each vendor's own site, since plans and rates change and differ by region.
How painful is switching platforms once you've built up client history?
Most platforms support exporting or migrating client and appointment data, so it's rarely impossible, but it takes planning to avoid a gap where reminders or deposits aren't properly set up on the new system from day one.
Does any of the three handle clinic-specific needs like treatment records?
Features vary and change over time, so it's worth checking each vendor's current clinic or aesthetics-specific offering directly rather than assuming general salon features cover a clinic's record-keeping needs fully.