TL;DR
The best booking software for barbers charges a flat monthly fee with zero commission per booking. At £22/cut and 20 new clients per month, Treatwell's ~42% effective rate costs £185/month vs. £29/month on Nextro. Annual saving: £1,872 — kept in your shop instead of paid to a platform.
Why commission platforms don't suit barbershops
Barber clients are typically the most loyal in the industry. A client who finds a barber whose lines and fade they like tends to return every 2–4 weeks without being chased. Commission platforms disrupt this: the platform takes a fee for the introduction and then incentivises the client to return to the marketplace rather than book directly with you.
Because individual haircut prices are lower than most other beauty services, the commission per booking may seem small in isolation — but at high volume (20–30 cuts per week is normal for a busy barber), the aggregate cost is significant. At £22 per cut, Treatwell takes £9.24 per new client booking. At 20 new clients a month, that's £185/month for introductions that should be followed by direct repeat bookings that cost you nothing.
Commission cost breakdown for barbers
Scenario: average haircut at £22, 20 new clients per month through a marketplace.
| Platform | Commission | Per cut | Monthly (20 new) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresha | 20% | £4.40 | £88/mo |
| Treatwell | ~42% eff. | £9.24 | £185/mo |
| Nextro | 0% | £0 | £29/mo flat |
Annual saving over Treatwell: £1,872 back in your shop. At £22/cut, that's 85 haircuts per year you'd have worked purely to cover the platform fee.
The Treatwell 42% rate unpacked
Treatwell charges 35% commission on new client bookings from its marketplace. As a VAT-registered business, it then adds 20% UK VAT on that commission charge. The result: 35% × 1.20 = 42% effective commission rate. On a £22 haircut, that's £9.24 taken per new client booking.
At barbershop volume — typically 15–30 clients per day — even Fresha's 20% rate adds up fast. The only model that actually scales with a high-volume barbershop is flat rate.
Online booking for barbershops: what to look for
Barbershop clients want to book fast. The best booking software for barbers should let a client pick a barber, pick a service (cut, cut and beard, fade, etc.), pick a slot, and pay — in under 60 seconds. It should work on mobile, not require account creation, and send a confirmation immediately.
Nextro covers all of this on a flat monthly fee. Solo barbers pay £29/month. Multi-barber shops use the Team plan from £38/month. No commission deducted regardless of booking volume.
Get started with Nextro
Booking and payments for service businesses. £29/month flat fee — keep your booking revenue.