For most tanning salons, Fresha is the one to look at first, because it’s the only one of the three we found talking about tanning beds and booths. Treatwell has the lowest monthly fee for a small team and the highest new-client charge. Booksy has the simplest price list, and its new-client fee is one you switch on.
We run three tanning salons, and we build websites and salon apps. We don’t resell any of these three platforms and we don’t earn anything from them. Our booking systems guide helps you work out what sort of system you need, and your own website vs Fresha covers the website question. This page sets the three platforms against each other.
What each one costs
Every figure below comes from the company’s own pricing page, checked on 31 October 2026. They change, so read the current page before you commit. All are shown before VAT.
| Fresha | Treatwell | Booksy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| On your own | Independent, £14.95 a month | Connect Freelancer, £9.99 a month | £40 a month |
| With a team | Team, £9.95 per team member a month | Connect Advanced, £24.99 a month, unlimited team | £40 a month, plus £5 per extra user |
| Team of three | £29.85 a month | £24.99 a month | £50 a month |
| Fuller plan | Enterprise, custom rates above 20 team members | Expert, £59 a month, unlimited team | None listed |
| New-client charge | One-off 20%, £4 minimum | One-off 35% on the first marketplace booking, no minimum | One-off 30% on Boost clients, £5 minimum. Boost is optional |
| Card payments | Online 1.40% + 25p, in person 1.19% + 20p | Online pre-payments 2.5% | Mobile payments 1.29% + 20p, Tap to Pay 0.99% + 20p |
| Free trial | 7 days | 14 days on Expert | 7 days |
The “team of three” row is our own sum from those list prices. Fresha’s page says its rates exclude 20% sales tax, Treatwell’s exclude VAT and Booksy says VAT is added.
What a new customer really costs
This is where tanning differs from hair. Percentages sound fair on a £60 colour. A sunbed session is a much smaller sale, so the minimum fees start to matter.
Here’s what each platform’s one-off fee comes to on three made-up first visits. These prices are illustrative and aren’t anybody’s real price list. Fees are before VAT.
| First booking | Fresha | Treatwell | Booksy Boost |
|---|---|---|---|
| £10 session | £4.00 | £3.50 | £5.00 |
| £20 spray tan | £4.00 | £7.00 | £6.00 |
| £39 course | £7.80 | £13.65 | £11.70 |
On the £10 session, Fresha’s minimum takes 40% of the sale and Booksy’s takes 50%. Treatwell has no minimum, so it’s the cheapest of the three on that one line and the dearest on the other two.
So the sums turn on what a new customer buys first. A salon that leads with low-priced single sessions has a different answer from one that sells a course on day one. Run your own three best sellers through the table before you pick.
Two definitions are worth knowing. Treatwell counts someone as new again if they haven’t had a Treatwell booking with you in the last 365 days. Fresha’s fee applies to brand new clients who find you on its marketplace, and it says bookings from your own website, Instagram and Facebook carry no such charge. Treatwell says the same of bookings through your own widget, and Booksy lists marketplace bookings as free while Boost is off.
How each copes with tanning
This table covers what each company says on the pages we read. If a cell says not stated, the feature may still exist, so ask.
| What a tanning salon needs | Fresha | Treatwell | Booksy |
|---|---|---|---|
| A page for tanning | Yes | None found | None found |
| Beds, booths or rooms as bookable things | Stand-up and lay-down beds, booth and room scheduling | Syncs calendars across rooms. Bed booking not stated | Resources for rooms or equipment |
| Minute balances | Not stated. Mentions timed packages and session limits | Not stated | Not stated |
| Packages and courses | Tanning packages and session limits | Packages and bundles on Connect | Memberships and packages |
| Memberships | Unlimited memberships are mentioned | Not stated | Yes |
| Deposits | Deposits at booking | Deposits on Expert | No-show protection |
| Booking from your own website | Direct booking links | Website widget | Not stated on the pricing page |
None of the three replaces what runs your beds. If you’ve got a bed controller or tanning software on the desk, read our tanning software guide first, because you may only need booking for part of the business.
Whichever you choose, keep sunbed bookings 18 and over. The rule applies in England and Wales under the Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010, and a marketplace listing doesn’t change that. We go through how to set that out in the booking systems guide.
Which suits which
- Sunbeds and spray tans under one roof: start with Fresha. It’s the only one of the three we found with a tanning page, though you should still test it on your own price list.
- A small team, mostly appointments, and a good flow of your own customers: Treatwell Connect Advanced has the lowest monthly fee of the three, so long as you’re happy with 35% on the new clients it sends.
- A solo spray tanner: compare Treatwell Freelancer at £9.99 with Fresha Independent at £14.95. Booksy at £40 a month is harder to justify on your own, unless you value having it all on one price.
- You want a say in when you pay for new customers: Booksy’s Boost is a switch you choose to turn on, and marketplace bookings are free while it’s off. Check how it works in your area before you count on it.
- Mostly walk-in sunbeds: you may not need any of them. See websites for walk-in salons.
Before you sign
Ask each one the same five questions, and get the answers in writing:
- Show me a customer booking a specific bed, on my price list.
- How do you handle someone with 40 minutes left on a course?
- What does my first month cost with my real number of team members?
- Which new-client bookings carry a fee, and how would I see that on a statement?
- If I leave, can I take my customer records and balances with me?
That last one matters more than the fee. In a sample of 303 trading UK tanning salons, about 1 in 9 let customers book online from a site of their own. We sell salon websites, so read our study with that in mind. A platform is a good place to take bookings, and it helps to have a page of your own sending people there.
Sources
Checked on 31 October 2026.
- Fresha pricing and Fresha for tanning studios
- Treatwell partner pricing, salon software and Connect features
- Booksy UK pricing, resources help and memberships help
- Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010
Questions owners ask
Which is cheapest for a tanning salon?
For a team of three on the lists we checked, Treatwell Connect Advanced has the lowest monthly fee at £24.99, then Fresha at £29.85 and Booksy at £50, all before VAT. The monthly fee is only half the sum, because each one charges differently for new clients it brings you.
Do I pay commission on customers I already have?
On the pages we read, no. Fresha charges for brand new clients who find you on its marketplace, Treatwell charges on a new client's first marketplace booking, and Booksy's fee applies to Boost clients. Returning clients don't carry those fees on any of the three, and Fresha and Treatwell both say bookings through your own website links are free of them.
Can any of them track sunbed minutes?
None of the three pages we read mentions minute balances. Fresha talks about timed packages and session limits. If your salon sells minutes, ask for a demo using your real price list, and get the answer in writing.
Do I still need a website if I use one of these?
Each one gives you a listing or a booking page. Your own website does a different job, covering your town, your beds and your prices in your own words, then linking to the booking system you pick.