Keep the online booking, lose the marketplace fee. Clients book on a page with your name on it, and every first visit is paid to you in full.
Avana, by Sweeber Technologies, is salon booking software for the UK that charges no fee on new clients. Avana Business costs £15.99 a month with VAT included. Fresha charges £14.95 a month per calendar, plus VAT, plus 20% (at least £4) of the first booking from each new marketplace client.
| At a glance | Avana | Fresha |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price, solo | £15.99, VAT included | £14.95, plus VAT |
| Fee on a new client | None | 20%, at least £4 |
| Marketplace | No | Yes |
Avana, by Sweeber Technologies, charges no fee when a new client books and includes VAT in its plan price. Fresha charges 20% of a new marketplace client's first booking (checked October 2026).
On Fresha, a client who finds you through the marketplace costs you 20% of their first booking. With Avana there is no such fee, whether they found you on Google, Instagram or a friend's recommendation.
Fresha charges per bookable calendar and adds VAT on top. Avana is one plan price with VAT already in it, and Business Plus covers you and one other person.
Your booking page shows your treatments, photos and reviews. No list of other salons nearby underneath.
Fresha is a marketplace with salon software attached. Avana is your own booking system with a fixed price. Here is where they differ.
| Fresha | Avana | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Salon software plus a marketplace app where clients compare salons | Your own booking system and page |
| Monthly price, solo | £14.95 a month for one calendar, plus VAT | £15.99 for Business, VAT included |
| With one colleague | £9.95 per team member a month, plus VAT | £28.99 for Business Plus, VAT included |
| Fee on a new marketplace client | 20% of the first booking, at least £4 | None |
| Card payments | 1.19% + 20p per card payment in person, 1.40% + 25p online | The client pays a small service fee shown in the price from the start; your price stays whole |
| Where clients book | In the Fresha app or on your Fresha page | On your own page, from your link, QR code or Instagram |
| Finding new clients | Yes, that is what the marketplace is for | No marketplace; your page can be found on Google |
| Contract | Monthly | Monthly, cancel whenever you like |
Fresha figures from their UK pricing page, checked in October 2026. Prices of other systems change, so always check with the provider.
Most salons run both for a few weeks. You set Avana up, send regulars the new link, and let the last Fresha bookings run out.
In Fresha you can export your client list as a CSV file from the client screen. That file is all Avana needs.
Sophie W.07 · note
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Avana reads the columns itself: names, phone numbers, emails and notes. Anything it does not recognise, you point to the right field.
Clients248
Phone and email
Notes
Put your link in your Instagram bio and send it to your regulars. The next booking comes straight to you.
Your booking page shows your treatments, your prices and your free times. You put the link in your Instagram bio, send it in a message and print a QR code for the front desk.
Paying at the desk works the way it always has. For a long treatment you can ask for a deposit when they book, so the slot you keep free is paid for. You decide per treatment.
Switch on Avana Connect once on your Instagram account. From then on it answers clients with your own prices and free times, and lets them book inside the chat.
A confirmation goes out the moment someone books, and a reminder the day before with the time and your address. For clients who never open their email, you can send the reminder by text as well.
You already explain your technique to every junior who joins. Record that once in the Avana Academy and sell it as a course. The hands-on practice day sits in your calendar between your appointments.
Facials and treatment courses, each with the right length, booked straight into your calendar.
Gel polish, new sets and maintenance, with a deposit that keeps the chair from sitting empty.
Clients pick their own stylist and book themselves, evenings included.
Full sets and maintenance appointments, in a calendar that never double-books.
A calm calendar with reminders, so clients arrive on time.
Avana's booking page, deposits, reminders, Avana Connect and the Avana Academy work together in one account. Turn two on together and they win you appointments you would otherwise have missed.
Someone asks at eleven at night what balayage costs. Connect replies, they book Saturday at ten and the deposit is paid there and then. In the morning it is in your calendar.
How much is balayage?
£120. Saturday 10:00 is free.
The client picks a time and gets a confirmation straight away. The reminder follows the day before. If it no longer suits, they move it themselves and the slot opens up again.
Record your know-how once as a course and sell it to people who want to learn your craft. The practice day goes between your appointments and you keep the whole course price.
Every Avana plan includes a booking page, a calendar, deposits, email reminders and client records from day one. Where something starts at Business Plus, it says so on the tile.
Avana has three plans: Business at £15.99, Business Plus at £28.99 and Business Max at £55.99 a month, all with VAT included. There is no commission on your takings and no contract, and every plan starts with 7 days free without card details.
£0.53 a day, and no commission on your revenue.
Start free£0.97 a day. One extra appointment a month covers it.
Start free£1.87 a day, with Avana Academy included.
Start freeAll prices include VAT. If you change plan, you only pay the difference.
Avana Connect costs £9.99 a month, the Avana Academy £8.99 a month with a plan, and text messages come in packs from £4.99. They go on the same bill as your plan, and you can stop any month.
Switch it on once for your Instagram. It answers clients with your own prices and free times and lets them book inside the conversation.
Sell your own courses to people who want to learn your craft. Lessons are set up once, the practice day sits in your calendar and certificates go out on their own.
Text reminders for clients who skip their email. You buy texts in packs, the credits never expire and there is no subscription.
For a salon that mostly sees regulars, a booking system without a marketplace fee usually works out cheaper and keeps clients booking with you directly. Avana gives you your own booking page, calendar, reminders and deposits for £15.99 a month with VAT included, and charges nothing when a new client books.
At the time of writing (October 2026), Fresha's UK pricing page lists £14.95 a month for one bookable calendar and £9.95 a month for each team member, plus VAT. On top of that, a client who finds you through the Fresha marketplace costs 20% of their first booking, with a minimum of £4. Check Fresha's own pricing page for the latest figures.
No. Avana has no new-client fee and no commission on any booking. You pay your monthly plan and that is it. If a client pays online, they pay a small service fee that is shown in the price from the first screen, and your treatment price reaches you in full.
Yes. Export your client list from Fresha as a CSV file and upload it in Avana's import screen. Avana recognises the usual columns, such as name, phone, email and notes, and asks you about anything it is unsure of. Upcoming appointments are not part of that export, so most salons let them run out in Fresha while new bookings come in through Avana.
You lose the marketplace, so be honest with yourself about how many new clients it brings. Many established salons find most of their bookings already come from Instagram, Google and recommendations. Avana makes those easier to convert with a booking link, a QR code and Avana Connect for Instagram messages.
Yes, and many salons do for a few weeks. There is no link between the two systems, so a Fresha booking does not appear in Avana automatically. Block the time in Avana when a Fresha booking comes in, or connect your Google Calendar so busy times close automatically.
No. Avana is free for 7 days with no card details upfront, then monthly. You can cancel any month without a notice period, and if you change plan you only pay the difference. All prices include VAT.
Question not here? The help centre walks through every part of Avana step by step.
Avana, by Sweeber Technologies, is a Fresha alternative for salons that want their own booking page and no fee on new clients. At the time of writing (October 2026), Fresha charges £14.95 a month for one calendar and £9.95 per team member, plus VAT, and takes 20% (at least £4) of the first booking from each new client who finds you through its marketplace. Avana costs £15.99 a month with VAT included and never charges per new client. What Avana does not have is a marketplace that sends you strangers, so if you rely on Fresha for most of your new clients, keep that in mind.
Most salons looking for a Fresha alternative have the same two questions: how much does Fresha really cost now, and will clients still find me without it? Fresha used to be free. Today it charges £14.95 a month for a single calendar and £9.95 for each extra team member, plus VAT, and a one-off fee of 20% on the first booking from a new marketplace client, with a minimum of £4.
Avana works differently. You pay £15.99 a month for Business with VAT included, and clients book on your own booking page. There is no fee when someone books for the first time, and no other salons listed next to yours. Your calendar, client records, reminders and deposits are all included.
Fresha's marketplace is real, and for a brand-new salon it can fill gaps. Once you have regulars, though, most bookings come from people who already know you, from your Instagram, Google or word of mouth. Avana makes those bookings easy with a link in your bio, a QR code at the desk and Avana Connect answering your Instagram messages. Your reviews collect on your own page, under your own name.
Ready to look at the move itself? Our guide to switching from Fresha covers the export, the import and the weeks in between. To compare more systems, see all alternatives or go straight to pricing.
Create your booking page, set your hours and share your link. Avana is free for the first 7 days.
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