For barbers · Guide
Best booking apps for barbers in 2026 (UK and US)
Nine apps, real 2026 prices, and a straight answer on which one a barber should run the diary on.
Prices checked 23 September 2026
TrimCheck is not a booking app. We connect barbers to every channel on top of whichever app they run, so we have no favourite here. Every number is from the platforms’ own pricing pages on the date shown, and we say plainly which one wins.
The field at a glance
| App | Monthly, solo | New-client fee | Marketplace | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Booksy | £40 · $29.99 | 30% with Boost on, else 0% | Yes, barber-heavy | Barbers who want the app to fill the chair |
| Fresha | £14.95 · $19.95 | 20% of first visit | Yes, salon-first | Cost-conscious barbers with their own clients |
| Squire | $30, $50 per shop | None | No | US barbershops with two or more chairs |
| Treatwell | None stated (UK) | 35% + VAT of first booking | Yes, UK consumer | Extra UK reach, not a main diary |
| Square Appointments | Free · $49 · $149 per location | None | No | Free diary with payments built in |
| Vagaro | $23.99 for six months, then Vagaro’s standard rate | None | Listing only | US salons and shops that want payroll and forms in one place |
| GlossGenius | $24 · $48 · $148 billed yearly | None | No | Solo barbers who want a slick client-facing site and flat card fees |
| Acuity | $16 to $49 | None | No | Custom intake forms, packages |
| Setmore | Free to 4 users, Pro from $5 per user | None | No | Small teams on a budget |
Prices checked on 23 September 2026. Vagaro and GlossGenius do not publish UK pricing in sterling; GlossGenius is US-only. Vagaro’s $23.99 applies for the first six months, then its standard price; each extra calendar is $10 up to seven.
Each one in a paragraph
Booksy
The barber app. Clients search the Booksy marketplace by area and book straight in; reminders, no-show protection and a card reader come in the £40 plan. The catch is Boost: turn it on and each new marketplace client costs 30% of their first visit. Leave it off and you are paying for a diary with a listing that ranks below the shops that pay. Booksy against Fresha in detail, or what to run instead.
Fresha
Salon software that barbers use because it is cheap and clean: £14.95 a month solo, 20% on new marketplace clients, two-way Google Calendar sync. The marketplace is salon and spa-first, so expect fewer walk-up barber clients than Booksy in most UK cities, and more in Dubai and Riyadh where Fresha is everywhere. Add-ons for loyalty, insights and an AI concierge are priced per location and add up fast. Fresha fees explained, or the alternatives.
Squire
Built for barbershops with chairs and a front desk: $30 a month for an independent barber, $50 for a shop with several barbers, $150 and $250 per shop for marketing, rent collection, multi-location and a branded app. No marketplace and no commission; it assumes you already have the clients. US-focused, with waitlists and shop-level reporting that the others lack. Booksy vs Squire and Fresha vs Squire.
Treatwell
The UK’s largest beauty booking marketplace. Listing is free, repeat bookings are 0%, but every new client the marketplace brings costs 35% of the first booking plus VAT, and online prepayments carry 2.5%. Worth it for a barber with empty afternoons in a city where Treatwell is popular; not a system to run your whole week on. Booksy vs Treatwell and Fresha vs Treatwell.
Square Appointments
Free for a single location, with Square’s card processing (2.6% + 15¢ in person, 3.3% + 30¢ online on the free plan). Paid plans at $49 and $149 per location add staff tools. No marketplace, solid Google Calendar sync, and the best answer to “I just want a free diary that takes payments.”
Vagaro
A salon suite that many US barbershops run: booking, POS, payroll, forms, memberships and a customer listing on Vagaro’s own site. $23.99 a month for the first six months (a multi-location business starts at $30), $10 for each extra calendar up to seven, 30-day trial. The listing is not a marketplace that pushes clients to you the way Booksy does, so treat it as a diary with extras.
GlossGenius
Solo-first, US-only, and the nicest client-facing booking site of the lot. $24, $48 or $148 a month billed yearly, with a flat 2.6% card rate on every transaction and no per-transaction pennies, which suits a barber taking a lot of small payments. No marketplace, so every client is one you brought.
Acuity and Setmore
Schedulers, not marketplaces. Acuity runs $16 to $49 a month with strong intake forms and packages. Setmore is free for up to four users and cheap after that. Both sync calendars both ways and both need you to bring every client yourself.
Where TrimCheck fits
TrimCheck is not a ninth booking app and we are not asking you to move your diary. Pick the app that suits you from the table, then connect it. Your profile goes out to every channel that can send you clients, one calendar stays true across all of them, and the home-visit requests from our city pages land on your WhatsApp. Google Calendar is the first bridge, which is why two-way sync is a column in every comparison here; Booksy and the rest follow, one channel at a time. No monthly fee, no commission. Connect your app.
How to choose in five minutes
- Count where last month’s new clients came from. Mostly Instagram, referrals and walk-ins: you need a cheap diary (Fresha, Square). Mostly the app: pay for the marketplace (Booksy, or Treatwell as a UK add-on).
- Check the commission maths. 30% of a £30 first visit is £9; if that client comes back six times you paid £1.50 a visit. Fine. If they never come back, you paid £9 for a £30 job.
- Decide who owns the client. Every app lets you export your list; only your own WhatsApp and Instagram let you reach them without the app in between.
- Test the calendar sync before you commit. Book a fake appointment and see whether it blocks the slot in your other apps.
- Then connect the rest. One calendar across every channel is what TrimCheck does.
Keep your app. Add every channel.
Whichever app you pick, TrimCheck sits on top of it: your profile goes out to every channel, one calendar stays true, and every request lands on your WhatsApp. No monthly fee, no commission.
Questions barbers ask
What is the best free booking app for barbers?
Square Appointments has a free plan for one location and charges card fees only. Setmore is free for up to four users. Fresha and Booksy are no longer free at any level, and Vagaro’s $23.99 is an introductory price for the first six months.
Which booking app brings barbers the most new clients?
In the UK and US, Booksy’s marketplace, because it is barber-heavy. In the UK, Treatwell has the biggest consumer audience but is salon-first and takes 35% of a new client’s first booking. Fresha is strongest in the Gulf and for salons. A Google Business Profile with a booking link still beats all three for most independent barbers.
Do I have to pay commission?
Only on clients the app’s marketplace sends you, and only on the first visit: 30% on Booksy with Boost, 20% on Fresha, 35% on Treatwell. Your own regulars carry no commission anywhere. Squire, Square, Vagaro, GlossGenius, Acuity and Setmore charge no commission at all because they have no marketplace.
Which app works best for a mobile barber?
Any app that takes a client address at booking and syncs with your phone calendar works. Fresha and Square do both. Home-visit requests from TrimCheck’s city pages carry the address, the day and the time and arrive on your WhatsApp, whichever app runs your diary.
Can I use more than one booking app?
Yes, as long as one calendar is the source of truth. Fresha, Square, Acuity and Setmore all sync with Google Calendar in both directions, so a booking in one blocks the slot in the others. Booksy imports outside calendars one way. Keeping several channels honest without double bookings is exactly what a channel manager like TrimCheck does on top of your app.