Key takeaways
- Booking and payments software has three cost layers: subscription ($0-$200+/mo), payment processing (~2.2%-2.6% + per-txn fee), and marketplace or add-on fees.
- Processing fees usually dwarf the subscription: at $40k/mo card volume, GlossGenius's flat 2.6% costs ~$1,040/mo - far more than its $48/mo plan.
- Fresha charges $0 for software but takes a 20% commission on new marketplace clients - great if it sends real new demand, costly if you already own your bookings.
- Free and low tiers (Fresha, Setmore, SimplyBook.me, Acuity) anchor the cheap end; GlossGenius, Square, Timely, vcita and DaySmart fill the mid-band; Booker is quote-based from ~$139/mo.
- Budget for hidden costs: hardware, per-message SMS, extra staff seats, Booksy's $49.99 Boost, no-show deposit fees, and chargebacks.
- All prices are directional list figures - always confirm live subscription and processing rates with the vendor.
Booking and payments software looks cheap on the surface. Several tools advertise free or sub-$30/mo plans, and a few charge nothing for the software at all. But the sticker price is only one of three cost layers, and for most med spas it's the least important one.
Here are the three layers to budget for:
- Subscription - the monthly or per-user plan fee. This ranges from $0 to ~$200+/mo.
- Payment processing - a percentage of every card transaction, typically ~2.2% to ~2.6% + a per-transaction fee. On real med spa volume this is usually the largest line item by far.
- Marketplace and add-on fees - new-client commissions (Fresha), promotion boosts (Booksy), extra staff seats, SMS, hardware, and no-show deposit handling.
The key insight for this category: processing fees and marketplace fees often matter more than the subscription. A "free" platform that charges a higher card rate can easily cost more per year than a $48/mo plan with a lower rate. The numbers below are directional list prices from public vendor information; plans and rates change often, so always confirm live pricing with the vendor. For how we evaluate tools, see our methodology.
Subscription price bands
It helps to group the market into three bands by monthly subscription cost. The table below shows representative starting prices for the tools we review.
| Band | Tool | Representative subscription |
|---|---|---|
| Free / low ($) | Fresha | $0/mo core software (you pay on processing + marketplace) |
| Free / low ($) | Setmore | Free; Pro ~$12/user/mo |
| Free / low ($) | SimplyBook.me | Free; $9.90 / $29.90 / $59.90/mo; Enterprise custom |
| Free / low ($) | Acuity Scheduling | $20 / $34 / $61/mo (HIPAA on $61 Powerhouse) |
| Mid ($$) | GlossGenius | $24 / $48/mo; Platinum custom |
| Mid ($$) | Square Appointments | Free / $49 / $149/mo |
| Mid ($$) | Timely | ~$30 / ~$45 / ~$60/mo |
| Mid ($$) | vcita | ~$24 / ~$55 / ~$93/mo |
| Mid ($$) | DaySmart Salon & Spa | $29 / $69 / $149 / $199/mo |
| Mid ($$) | Booksy | ~$29.99/mo + $20/extra staff (+$49.99 Boost) |
| Mid ($$) | Tippy | ~$29.99/mo per location (tipping + payouts) |
| Quote / premium ($$$) | Booker | Quote-based, from ~$139/mo |
Free and low-cost tools like Fresha, Setmore, SimplyBook.me, and Acuity are the cheapest entry points. Fresha charges nothing for the core software - it makes money on processing and marketplace fees instead. Acuity is the pick if you need flexible self-scheduling with deposits, and its $61 Powerhouse tier adds HIPAA support.
Mid-band tools - GlossGenius, Square Appointments, Timely, vcita, and DaySmart - are where most growing med spas land, typically $24 to $199/mo. Booksy and Tippy sit here too but charge differently: Booksy adds $20/mo per extra staff member and a $49.99/mo Boost marketplace add-on.
Quote/premium is mostly Booker, a spa-style platform with mature POS and memberships, quoted from roughly $139/mo.
Payment processing fees: the layer that actually moves your bill
For any med spa doing meaningful card volume, the processing rate is the number to obsess over. Compare the headline rates:
- Fresha: ~2.19%-2.29% + $0.20 per transaction
- GlossGenius: a flat 2.6% (no per-transaction fee)
- Square Appointments: ~2.6% + 10¢ per transaction
These gaps look tiny until you multiply them by real volume. Here's a worked example at $40,000/mo in card volume (say 400 transactions averaging $100):
| Provider | Rate | Percentage cost | Per-txn cost | Monthly total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fresha | 2.24% + $0.20 | $896 | $80 | ~$976 |
| GlossGenius | 2.6% flat | $1,040 | $0 | ~$1,040 |
| Square | 2.6% + 10¢ | $1,040 | $40 | ~$1,080 |
At this volume the spread between providers is roughly $100/mo - more than an entire GlossGenius Gold subscription. Over a year that's $1,200+ in difference, driven entirely by the processing rate. This is why the subscription is often a rounding error: GlossGenius's $48/mo plan is trivial next to its ~$1,040/mo in processing on $40k of volume. When you scale to $80k or $100k/mo, the gap between a 2.2% and a 2.6% rate can fund a staff salary.
The takeaway: when comparing tools, always model the effective processing cost at your real monthly volume, not the advertised plan price.
Fresha's marketplace fee model
Fresha deserves its own section because it prices unlike anyone else. The software is $0/mo, but Fresha charges a 20% commission on new clients who discover and book you through the Fresha marketplace. (Existing clients you bring yourself are not charged this fee.)
When the marketplace fee helps: If Fresha's marketplace genuinely sends you new paying clients you wouldn't have reached, a one-time 20% cut on their first booking can be cheaper than paid ads. It functions like a pay-per-acquisition channel with no upfront cost.
When it hurts: If most of your bookings come from clients you already own - repeat patients, referrals, your own website - you may be paying a marketplace fee on traffic you generated yourself. Watch how Fresha attributes "new" clients, and confirm exactly which bookings trigger the 20% before you rely on it as your primary channel.
Hidden and add-on costs
The subscription and processing rate still aren't the whole bill. Budget for these common extras:
- Hardware. Card readers, terminals, and tablets are usually separate purchases. Tippy bundles tipping hardware per location into its ~$29.99/mo fee.
- SMS and text reminders. Automated appointment reminders and campaigns are frequently billed per message on top of your plan.
- Extra staff seats. Per-user tools add up fast: Setmore Pro is ~$12/user/mo, and Booksy adds $20/mo per additional staff member.
- Marketplace boosts. Booksy's $49.99/mo Boost promotes your listing - optional, but easy to forget when budgeting.
- No-show deposits. Taking deposits to curb no-shows is valuable, but each deposit is still a card transaction that incurs processing fees.
- Chargebacks. Disputed transactions often carry a per-incident fee (commonly $15-$25) on top of the lost revenue - a real risk on high-ticket aesthetic services.
Budgeting by size
- Solo provider. Start free or low. Fresha ($0 software), Acuity ($20-$61/mo), or GlossGenius ($24/mo) cover booking and payments. Your real cost is processing on whatever you actually run - so model that, not the plan.
- Single location, small team. A flat mid-band plan usually wins. GlossGenius ($48/mo), Square Plus ($49/mo), Timely (
$45/mo), or vcita ($55/mo) plus processing typically lands you at $50-$150/mo in subscription before card fees. - Busy or multi-chair practice. Watch per-seat and per-location math. Booksy's per-staff fees and Booker's ~$139+/mo quote add up; at high volume the processing rate dominates everything, so negotiate that first.
How to lower your costs
- Negotiate the processing rate. At volume, shaving even 0.2% off your card rate saves more than any subscription discount. Ask for a custom rate once you can show monthly volume.
- Match the model to your client mix. Use Fresha's marketplace only if it brings genuinely new clients; if you own your demand, a flat-rate processor may be cheaper.
- Right-size seats. Don't pay per-user or Boost fees for staff or features you don't use.
- Reduce no-shows smartly. Deposits cut lost revenue, but batch and price them so processing fees don't eat the benefit.
- Pay annually where offered. Many vendors discount annual billing once you've committed.
Ready to choose? Walk through our buying guide to match features to your needs, then explore every option on the booking and payments pillar. And always confirm current subscription and processing rates directly with each vendor - the figures here are directional and change often.
Frequently asked questions
What's the cheapest med spa booking and payments software?
On subscription alone, Fresha is the cheapest because its core software is $0/mo - you pay only on payment processing (~2.19%-2.29% + $0.20/txn) and a 20% commission on new marketplace clients. Setmore and SimplyBook.me also offer free tiers, and Acuity starts at $20/mo. But the true cost depends on your card volume, since processing fees usually exceed the subscription. Confirm live rates with each vendor.
Why do processing fees matter more than the subscription?
Because they scale with your revenue. A subscription is fixed - $48/mo is $48/mo - but processing is a percentage of every card sale. At $40,000/mo in card volume, a 2.6% rate costs about $1,040/mo, which dwarfs almost any plan fee. A small difference between, say, 2.2% and 2.6% can be worth hundreds of dollars a month, so model the effective processing cost at your real volume before comparing plans.
How does Fresha's 20% marketplace fee work?
Fresha's core software is free, but it charges a 20% commission on new clients who discover and book you through the Fresha marketplace. Clients you bring yourself - repeat patients, referrals, your own website - are not charged this fee. It helps when the marketplace sends you genuinely new demand you'd otherwise miss, and it hurts if most of your bookings already come from clients you own. Confirm exactly which bookings trigger the fee.
What hidden costs should I budget for?
Beyond subscription and processing, budget for hardware (card readers, terminals, tablets), per-message SMS reminders, extra staff seats (Setmore ~$12/user, Booksy +$20/staff), marketplace boosts (Booksy's $49.99/mo Boost), no-show deposit handling (still a card transaction), and chargeback fees (commonly $15-$25 per disputed transaction) on high-ticket services.
How much should a single-location med spa budget?
Most single-location med spas with a small team land at roughly $50-$150/mo in subscription - options include GlossGenius ($48/mo), Square Plus ($49/mo), Timely (~$45/mo), or vcita (~$55/mo) - plus payment processing on their card volume. At meaningful volume the processing fees become the dominant line item, so model them carefully and negotiate the rate.
