Mintbook vs Fresha: which suits your business?
Fresha is booking software with a large consumer marketplace, from £14.95 a month plus a 20% fee on new marketplace clients. Mintbook is a booking website built and run for you, from £149 a month with no commission and no marketplace. Fresha is usually cheaper for new and solo businesses; Mintbook suits established ones that want their own site.
Fresha details checked on 15 September 2026 against Fresha’s own pages. We make Mintbook.
The short answer
Choose Fresha if
- You are starting out and want new clients from a marketplace.
- You want the lowest monthly cost and are happy to set things up yourself.
- Few of your bookings come through the Fresha marketplace, so the new-client fee stays small.
- You want paid add-ons such as loyalty or an AI receptionist from one supplier.
Choose Mintbook if
- Most clients already know you, so you do not need a marketplace to find them.
- You want a proper website in your own name, built and looked after for you.
- Fresha’s new-client fees have become a real monthly cost.
- You want every booking link to send clients to you, not to a page beside other businesses.
Mintbook vs Fresha, side by side
Monthly price
- Mintbook
- £149, £249 or £349 a month including VAT, no setup fee
- Fresha
- £14.95 for one person, or £9.95 per bookable team member, excluding VAT
Commission
- Mintbook
- 0% on every booking
- Fresha
- 20% one-time on brand new clients from the Fresha marketplace, minimum £4. Returning clients free
Website
- Mintbook
- A branded booking website built for you, on your own domain or a subdomain of it
- Fresha
- A marketplace profile, plus an optional Smart website you design from templates for £12.95 a month, with custom domain support
Setup
- Mintbook
- Done for you: we set up your services, team and hours
- Fresha
- Self-service, with a 7-day trial
Marketplace
- Mintbook
- None. Clients book with you, not on a listing next to other businesses
- Fresha
- Yes, Fresha’s consumer marketplace, which it says reaches millions of monthly users
Card fees
- Mintbook
- Your own Stripe account at Stripe’s standard rates, with no Mintbook fee added
- Fresha
- 1.4% + 25p online, 1.19% + 20p in person
Texts
- Mintbook
- Email confirmations and reminders
- Fresha
- 20 free a month, then 6p each
Client data
- Mintbook
- Your client list, with export and erasure tools built in
- Fresha
- Client list exports to Excel or CSV. Card details cannot be exported
Contract
- Mintbook
- No lock-in
- Fresha
- Pricing page: cancel any time. Partner terms: 30 days’ written notice for paid services
What each costs at your size
The biggest variable is how many new clients the Fresha marketplace sends you, because that is where the 20% fee applies. These examples use Fresha’s published rates and Stripe’s standard UK card fees on Mintbook’s side. Try your own numbers in the Fresha fee calculator.
Solo nail technician
- Assumptions
- 80 appointments at £35, 6 marketplace clients
- Fresha
- £115 a month
- Mintbook with card fees
- £193 a month (Solo)
- Difference
- Mintbook costs £947 more a year
- Fresha overtakes Mintbook at
- 16 marketplace clients a month
Three-chair barbershop
- Assumptions
- 450 appointments at £22, 30 marketplace clients
- Fresha
- £364 a month
- Mintbook with card fees
- £400 a month (Team)
- Difference
- Mintbook costs £436 more a year
- Fresha overtakes Mintbook at
- 37 marketplace clients a month
Two-room aesthetics clinic
- Assumptions
- 120 appointments at £180, 12 marketplace clients
- Fresha
- £854 a month
- Mintbook with card fees
- £573 a month (Team)
- Difference
- Fresha costs £3,369 more a year
- Fresha overtakes Mintbook at
- 6 marketplace clients a month
The website question
Fresha does offer a website. Its Smart website add-on costs £12.95 a month, you design it yourself from templates on a desktop, and you can buy a domain through Fresha or connect one you own. Your business also keeps its Fresha marketplace profile.
With Mintbook, the website is the product. We build it around your services and branding, host and maintain it, and bookings happen on it directly. There is no marketplace profile, which means no new-client fee, and no new clients from a marketplace either.
Leaving either one
Fresha lets you export your client list and appointments, but saved cards cannot be exported. Mintbook includes client export tools and has no lock-in. If you are moving from Fresha, the step-by-step guide to leaving Fresha covers exports, notice and booking links.
See your own site before you decide
We build a free demo in your name, with your services and branding, so you can judge Mintbook on the real thing.
Questions answered
Is Mintbook cheaper than Fresha?
Not always. In our solo example, Fresha costs less than Mintbook. Mintbook’s flat fee becomes the cheaper option as Fresha’s 20% new-client fees grow. The fee calculator shows where that line falls for your numbers.
Does Mintbook have a marketplace like Fresha?
No. Mintbook does not list you alongside other businesses. Clients reach your booking site through your Google profile, social media, word of mouth and search. If Fresha brings you many new clients, weigh that before switching.
Can I use my own domain with Fresha?
Yes, through Fresha’s Smart website add-on at £12.95 a month, which you design yourself from templates. Fresha lets you buy a new domain through it or connect one you already own.
Can I move from Fresha to Mintbook without losing clients?
Yes. You export your client list from Fresha and we import names, emails and phone numbers into your Mintbook site. Saved cards cannot move, so clients add one the first time they book with you.
How we checked this
Competitor details on this page were last checked on 15 September 2026against each company's own published pages. Prices and terms change, so confirm anything important with the provider before you decide.
Where to next
- Fresha fee calculatorWork out what Fresha costs you each month from its published UK rates.
- How to leave FreshaA step-by-step checklist: exports, notice, booking links and telling clients.
- Switching to MintbookWhat moves across from Fresha, what does not, and the five steps to go live.
- Mintbook vs BooksyA £40 flat fee and optional Boost, against your own branded website.
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