Comparison · NeonO vs Fresha
Looking for a Fresha alternative in Canada?
Fresha is free to use but monetises through its marketplace and per-transaction fees. NeonO is a flat CAD subscription with no marketplace and no booking commissions.
Fresha suits owners who want zero subscription cost and are comfortable with a marketplace sitting between them and new clients.
The subscription is free. The client relationship is the price.
Fresha's model is a marketplace: clients discover salons inside Fresha, and Fresha charges a commission on new-client bookings that come through it, plus payment processing on top. That is a rational trade if you want the discovery. It is a bad trade if those clients were already yours — you pay a percentage on relationships you built. NeonO has no marketplace at all. Your booking page is your booking page, your client list is your client list, and the only recurring cost is a flat monthly subscription in Canadian dollars.
NeonO vs Fresha, side by side.
| NeonO | Fresha | |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Flat monthly fee in CAD, published on our pricing page | No subscription fee for the core product |
| Marketplace | None. We never list your salon next to a competitor | Core to the model — clients browse and book salons inside Fresha |
| New-client booking commission | None on any booking, ever | A commission applies to new clients acquired via the marketplace |
| Payment processing | 2.69% + $0.25 card-present, 2.99% + $0.30 online (CAD, all-in) | Per-transaction processing charged on card payments |
| Currency & taxes | Built in Canada. CAD billing, provincial GST/HST/PST/QST handled | Multi-country product; Canadian tax handling is generic |
| Client data ownership | Yours. Full export any time, and we never market to your clients | Exportable, but clients also exist inside the Fresha consumer app |
| Booth rent & commission payouts | Per-chair rent, commission tiers and hybrids, with statements | Commission supported; booth-rent workflows are lighter |
| Support | Canadian business hours, human support included on every plan | Global support, primarily in-product and email |
Fresha details are summarised from their own publicly published pricing and policy pages, last checked August 10, 2026. Vendors change terms — confirm current details on their site before you decide.
Where Fresha is the better choice.
No platform wins every shop. If these matter more to you than what is above, stay where you are — switching software you do not need to switch is its own kind of expensive.
What NeonO costs, in Canadian dollars.
NeonO
$24.99/mo CAD
per seat, per month, CAD — seats 8 and up are free
- Card-present: 2.69% + $0.25 per card-present transaction (CAD)
- Online: 2.99% + $0.30 per online transaction (CAD)
Moving from Fresha takes about a week.
Step 1
Export your clients, services and appointment history from Fresha.
Step 2
We import and reconcile them, then show you a preview before anything goes live.
Step 3
Set each chair's pay structure — rent, commission, hourly or a hybrid.
Step 4
Switch your booking link over and retire the old subscription.
Everything included
Zero paywalls. The advertised price is the price.
Most platforms advertise a low base plan, then charge again for the booking website, the reminders, the marketing, the reports and every extra chair. By the time the shop actually runs, the bill has doubled or tripled. NeonO puts all of it in the plan.
Industry Benchmark · four common add-ons elsewhere
$75 – $230/mo extra
NeonO, everything in
$24.99/mo, add-ons $0
Ranges are illustrative industry benchmarks for add-ons commonly sold by salon platforms. They are not any named vendor's published price — check your current provider's plan page for their exact figures.
Questions owners ask before switching.
Is Fresha actually free?
The subscription is. Fresha earns from payment processing on your transactions and from commission on new clients who book through its marketplace. Whether that is cheaper than a flat subscription depends entirely on how many of your bookings come through the marketplace.
What is the real difference between NeonO and Fresha?
Business model. Fresha is a marketplace that also gives you software. NeonO is software you pay a flat monthly fee for, with no marketplace and no commission on bookings. Neither is universally right — but if you already have a client base, you are paying a percentage for discovery you do not need.
Can I move my clients and appointment history from Fresha?
Yes. Export your clients, services and appointment history from Fresha, and we import and reconcile them with you before anything goes live. Most shops run both in parallel for a week, then switch the booking link.
Will I lose the new clients Fresha sends me?
Be honest with yourself about the number first — check what share of your bookings actually originate in the marketplace rather than from your own link. If it is meaningful, some owners keep a Fresha listing for discovery while running operations on NeonO.
Try it against your own numbers.
Start a free trial, import your client list, and run a week in parallel before you cancel anything.