Compare booking platforms for Australian salons

Every figure on these pages comes from the provider’s own published pricing, with the page it came from and the date we read it. Where a provider publishes nothing — and one of these four publishes no Australian pricing at all — we say so instead of filling the gap.

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Bookka vs BooksyYou are paying per chair and giving Booksy 30% of every new client Boost sends you, and you would rather not be billed in US dollars.Compare and calculate
Bookka vs FreshaYou are paying Fresha per team member and handing over a fifth of every new client the marketplace sends you.Compare and calculate
Bookka vs Square AppointmentsYou are stacking Square Loyalty and Square Marketing on top of Appointments Plus, and paying again for every location.Compare and calculate
Bookka vs TimelyYour Timely bill goes up every time you hire, and you are on Elevate or Innovate mainly to get marketing and loyalty.Compare and calculate

All four, side by side

The last row is the one worth reading: what a five-person shop running marketing, loyalty, gift cards and an online shop actually pays each month on each platform.

Pricing and features: Booksy compared with Bookka
Booksy	Bookka
What it costs
Base subscription
US$29.99/moBooksy · covers one team member, plus tax	IncludedFree · A$39.00 · A$69.00 — flat, whatever the team size
Each extra staff member
+US$20.00/moevery additional person	Includedup to 5 (Business) or 20 (Executive), then A$14.95/mo
Each extra location
Not publishedBooksy does not describe multi-location pricing on its pricing page.	Included2 on Executive, then A$19.95/mo
New-client marketplace fee
30%Boost — of a new client's first visit · capped at US$100.00	Includedno commission, ever — the marketplace is included
Card processing (online)
2.69% + US$0.30mobile payments and keyed entry	1.7% + A$0.30 + 1.3%Stripe plus the Bookka fee — about 3% all in, paid into your own Stripe account
Card processing (in person)
2.49% + US$0.10Booksy Card Reader; Tap to Pay is + $0.20	0% Bookka feeonly Stripe's terminal rate, 1.7% + A$0.10
What is an extra
Your own booking website
IncludedBooksy Profile, part of the single plan	IncludedBooking page and marketplace profile included — not a custom-domain website
Email and SMS marketing
IncludedEmail and text marketing included; the US page publishes no message allowance	IncludedQuota included, then $10 per 100 texts
Social media scheduling
Not offeredNo social scheduler in the included feature list	IncludedIncluded, with AI-written content
Loyalty program
IncludedLoyalty Cards	IncludedBookka Rewards, included
Gift cards
IncludedOnline Gift Cards	IncludedIncluded on every plan
Online shop with shipping
Not offeredNo retail or online shop in the included feature list	IncludedIncluded, on your booking page
Xero accounting sync
Not offered	IncludedNative, included on Executive
Business analytics and reports
IncludedStats and reports	IncludedIncluded
Google and Meta ads manager
Not offered	IncludedIncluded on Executive
AI booking assistant
Not offered	IncludedIncluded on Executive, with $10 a month of credit
Monthly software costWhat each provider bills for a five-person business at one location, running marketing, loyalty, gift cards and an online shop, on Bookka Business: subscription, add-ons and any message top-ups. Card processing and commission are counted separately, because they scale with takings rather than with the software.
US$109.99+Booksy publishes no per-message price for texts.	A$59.00/moBookka Business A$39.00 + text top-ups A$20.00 · no commission, ever · card processing 1.7% + A$0.30 + 1.3%

Pricing and feature comparison: Booksy, Fresha, Square Appointments, Timely versus Bookka
	Booksy	Fresha	Square Appointments	Timely	Bookka
What it costs
Base subscription	US$29.99/moBooksy · covers one team member, plus tax	A$29.95/moTeam · per bookable team member	A$40.00/moPlus · per location, staff included	A$65.00/moElevate · on your own, then A$53.00 each, or A$436.00 flat from 8 people	IncludedFree · A$39.00 · A$69.00 — flat, whatever the team size
Each extra staff member	+US$20.00/moevery additional person	+A$29.95/moevery additional person	Includedunlimited staff per location	+A$53.00/moevery additional person, up to 19 on Elevate	Includedup to 5 (Business) or 20 (Executive), then A$14.95/mo
Each extra location	Not publishedBooksy does not describe multi-location pricing on its pricing page.	IncludedSupported, but every add-on is billed per location	+A$40.00/moevery location is its own subscription	Not publishedTimely does not publish per-location pricing; its plans are priced by team size.	Included2 on Executive, then A$19.95/mo
New-client marketplace fee	30%Boost — of a new client's first visit · capped at US$100.00	20%New client fee — of a new client's first visit · min A$8.00	Not offeredSquare has no consumer marketplace, so no new-client commission either	Not offeredTimely has no consumer marketplace, so no new-client commission either	Includedno commission, ever — the marketplace is included
Card processing (online)	2.69% + US$0.30mobile payments and keyed entry	1.59% + A$0.28	2.2%also the manually-entered rate	1.85% + A$0.30international cards 3.00% + 30c	1.7% + A$0.30 + 1.3%Stripe plus the Bookka fee — about 3% all in, paid into your own Stripe account
Card processing (in person)	2.49% + US$0.10Booksy Card Reader; Tap to Pay is + $0.20	1.29% + A$0.26plus A$0.12 per Tap to Pay authorisation	1.6%	1.59% + A$0.05Tap to Pay or a Timely terminal	0% Bookka feeonly Stripe's terminal rate, 1.7% + A$0.10
What is an extra
Your own booking website	IncludedBooksy Profile, part of the single plan	A$39.95/moSmart Website · A booking profile is included; a website of your own is A$39.95 a month	IncludedSquare Online has a free tier, so a basic site costs nothing	IncludedMini website and social booking links, from Build up	IncludedBooking page and marketplace profile included — not a custom-domain website
Email and SMS marketing	IncludedEmail and text marketing included; the US page publishes no message allowance	Beyond 20 texts and 50 emails per team member: A$0.06 a text, A$0.03 an email, A$0.15 a marketing text	A$20.00/moSquare Marketing · Priced by contact count, from A$20 to A$50 a month and then quoted · Email marketing; the Marketing page publishes no SMS pricing	A$0.08Targeted SMS campaigns (Elevate and above) · per use · Reminders are included per person; campaigns need Elevate, then A$0.08 a text	IncludedQuota included, then $10 per 100 texts
Social media scheduling	Not offeredNo social scheduler in the included feature list	Not offeredNo social scheduler on the features page	Not offeredNo social post scheduler in Appointments	Social media booking links and a mini website, but no post scheduler	IncludedIncluded, with AI-written content
Loyalty program	IncludedLoyalty Cards	A$89.95/moClient Loyalty · per location	A$49.00/moSquare Loyalty · per location · Climbs to A$99 and then A$149 a month as loyalty visits grow	IncludedClient loyalty is a listed feature	IncludedBookka Rewards, included
Gift cards	IncludedOnline Gift Cards	Included	IncludedDigital gift cards; physical cards from A$1.30 each	Not publishedNot named on the pricing page or in the per-plan feature lists.	IncludedIncluded on every plan
Online shop with shipping	Not offeredNo retail or online shop in the included feature list	IncludedOnline store for retail products	Square Online is a separate product: free tier, then A$36 or A$99 a month	Stock management from Build up, but no customer-facing online shop	IncludedIncluded, on your booking page
Xero accounting sync	Not offered	A$19.95/moXero Accounting · per location	Through third-party apps rather than natively	Not publishedTimely lists accounting integrations outside its pricing page and publishes no price for them.	IncludedNative, included on Executive
Business analytics and reports	IncludedStats and reports	A$15.95/moInsights · per bookable person · Standard reports are included; Insights is the paid tier, priced per bookable member	IncludedReporting included; the deeper reports sit on Plus and Premium	IncludedReporting on every plan	IncludedIncluded
Google and Meta ads manager	Not offered	Not offeredMeta Pixel and Google Analytics tracking only, no ad manager	Not offered	Not offered	IncludedIncluded on Executive
AI booking assistant	Not offered	A$229.95/moAI Concierge · per location · Phone concierge, 200 minutes and 500 messages included	Not offered	Not offered	IncludedIncluded on Executive, with $10 a month of credit
The bottom lineWhat each provider bills for a five-person business at one location, running marketing, loyalty, gift cards and an online shop, on Bookka Business: subscription, add-ons and any message top-ups. Card processing and commission are counted separately, because they scale with takings rather than with the software.
Monthly software cost	US$109.99+Booksy publishes no per-message price for texts.	A$372.90/moFresha Team with the add-ons needed to match · plus 20% of every new client · card processing 1.59% + A$0.28	A$109.00/moSquare Appointments Plus with the add-ons needed to match · card processing 2.2%	A$285.08/moTimely Elevate with the add-ons needed to match · card processing 1.85% + A$0.30	A$59.00/moBookka Business A$39.00 + text top-ups A$20.00 · no commission, ever · card processing 1.7% + A$0.30 + 1.3%

Comparison reviewed October 2026 from publicly available information; features and pricing may change. Figures are as published by each provider, excluding taxes and card processing unless noted. Booksy publishes no Australian pricing, so those figures are shown in the currency published and are not converted. Booksy is a trademark of Booksy International sp. z o.o.. Bookka is not affiliated with Booksy. Fresha is a trademark of Fresha.com SV Ltd. Bookka is not affiliated with Fresha. Square and Square Appointments are trademarks of Block, Inc. Square’s Australian services are provided by Square AU Pty Ltd. Bookka is not affiliated with Block, Inc. Timely is a trademark of Timely Limited. Bookka is not affiliated with Timely.

Where these figures came from (8 sources)

biz.booksy.com — read 2026-10-01
squareup.com — read 2026-10-01
squareup.com — read 2026-10-01
squareup.com — read 2026-10-01
squareup.com — read 2026-10-01
fresha.com — read 2026-10-01
gettimely.com — read 2026-10-01
gettimely.com — read 2026-10-01

What Bookka is not for

There are whole categories of booking software Bookka does not replace, and it is cheaper for both of us if you find that out here.

Clinical practice management: Cliniko, Nookal, Power Diary, Dental4Windows and the like. Clinical notes, item numbers, Medicare and health-fund claiming and HICAPS are not things Bookka does at all. If you need them, none of this applies to you.
Trades job management: ServiceM8, Tradify, simPRO, AroFlo. Job costing, timesheets, field scheduling and asset history are a different product from appointment booking, and Bookka has none of them.
Memberships and class packs at scale: Studios running contract billing, class passes and membership tiers — Mindbody's territory — will find Bookka thin. Bookka books appointments; it is not a membership engine.

What Bookka actually costs

A$39 a month for up to five people, A$69 for up to twenty, and the marketplace listing is included with no commission on new clients. See the full pricing page or what you get for it.