For barbers · Compare
Booksy vs Treatwell for barbers (UK, 2026)
A barber-first diary with a marketplace against the UK’s biggest beauty marketplace with no monthly fee. The break-even is about eleven new clients a month.
Prices checked 23 September 2026 · UK prices
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.
Prices side by side
| Booksy | Treatwell | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | £40, plus £5 per extra user | None stated (Freelancer plan); Advanced plan adds unlimited team members |
| New client from the marketplace | 30% of the first visit with Boost on, minimum £5; 0% with Boost off | 35% + VAT of the first booking |
| Repeat bookings | 0% | 0% |
| Online prepayments | 1.29% + 20p plus VAT card fee | 2.5% + VAT processing fee |
| In-person card | Tap to Pay 0.99% + 20p plus VAT | Your own reader, or Treatwell’s POS |
| Marketplace | Barber-heavy, strong in UK cities | Largest UK beauty marketplace, salon and spa-first |
| Diary | Full: reminders, no-show protection, marketing, card reader | Basic calendar, client list, promotions, reports |
| Calendar sync | Imports outside calendars one way | Partner integrations only |
| Trial | 7 days | Free to list |
Booksy against Treatwell for your month
Boost is assumed on for Booksy. Treatwell’s 2.5% is applied to the card takings you enter as if every client prepaid online; if they pay you in person, drop it.
Subscription plus new-client commission plus card fees at the platform’s published online rate. Marketplace clients are counted once, at their first visit, as each platform’s fee rules state. Tax not included. Your own regulars never carry a commission on any of these platforms.
Three barbers, three answers
| Barber | Booksy: plan + Boost | Treatwell: commission | Better pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quiet marketplace: 3 new clients at £30 | £40 + £27 = £67 | 3 × £12.60 = £38 | Treatwell on cost; Booksy if you need the diary anyway |
| Typical: 8 new clients at £30 | £40 + £72 = £112 | 8 × £12.60 = £101 | Level. Pick the marketplace that is stronger in your postcode |
| Busy: 20 new clients at £28 | £40 + £168 = £208 | 20 × £11.76 = £235 | Booksy |
Boost is 30% of the first visit; Treatwell is 35% plus VAT, so £12.60 on a £30 booking. Card fees are extra on both and depend on how clients pay: Booksy’s payments are 1.29% + 20p plus VAT (about £47 on £2,400 at £30 a cut), Treatwell charges 2.5% plus VAT only on online prepayments (£60 on £2,400) and nothing when clients pay you in person on your own reader. Rounded.
Where each one wins
Booksy
- Barber clients search Booksy by name; on Treatwell they search for a salon.
- A complete diary with reminders, no-show protection and a card reader in the plan.
- 30% with no VAT on the commission beats 35% plus VAT.
- Boost off means zero commission on a full-price diary.
Treatwell
- No monthly fee stated, so a quiet month costs nothing.
- The biggest consumer audience of any UK beauty marketplace.
- 0% on repeats means a client who returns is free from the second visit.
- Fills weekday afternoons in salon-heavy cities.
Running both
Booksy as the main diary and Treatwell as a second channel is a sensible set-up for a UK barber with spare capacity. The one thing that breaks it is a slot sold on both, because Booksy’s calendar only imports one way and Treatwell has no native sync with it. TrimCheck does not replace any of them. It sits on top of the app you run, pushes your profile to every channel and keeps one calendar true.
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
Does Treatwell charge a monthly fee?
Treatwell’s UK partner pricing states no monthly fee for its Freelancer plan; the Advanced plan adds unlimited team members. What you pay is 35% commission plus VAT on the first booking of each new client the marketplace brings, 0% on repeat bookings, and 2.5% plus VAT on online prepayments.
Which takes the bigger cut of a new client?
Treatwell. 35% plus VAT is 42% of a first booking; Booksy’s Boost is 30% with a £5 minimum and no VAT on the commission itself. On a £30 first visit that is £12.60 against £9.
Which is cheaper for a barber?
Treatwell when the marketplace sends you few clients, because there is no monthly fee. Booksy from about eleven new marketplace clients a month at £30, because its £40 plus 30% overtakes 42% with no fixed cost. Below that, Treatwell’s bill is smaller; above it, Booksy’s is.
Is Treatwell any good for barbers?
It is a salon and spa marketplace with a big UK consumer audience, and a barber in a city where Treatwell is popular can fill quiet afternoons from it. It is not barber-first the way Booksy is, and its diary is thinner. Most barbers who use it run it as a second channel, not the main system.
Can I run both?
Yes. Booksy for the diary and its marketplace, Treatwell for extra reach. The risk is the same slot sold twice, because Booksy only imports outside calendars one way. A channel manager fixes that: TrimCheck keeps one calendar true across Booksy, Treatwell, Google and home-visit requests, with no fee.