Comparison
Fresha for dog groomers: what it costs, what it does, and when to leave
Fresha is the cheapest subscription a groomer can buy and the only one with 25 million marketplace customers. The price is a 20% cut of each new client's first visit, and a booking page that doesn't know a Cockapoo from a Labrador.
By Owen Fleming, founder of GroomRules · Published
Fresha is worth it while the marketplace is sending you clients you could not get any other way. The moment most of your bookings come from people who already know you, you are paying a commission on your own customers and running a diary that treats every dog as the same job.
What Fresha costs, in full
On 10 October 2026, Fresha's UK pricing page showed £14.95 a month for an independent, or £9.95 a month per bookable team member, on a 7-day trial. The marketplace charges 20% of a new client's first visit, with a £4 minimum, plus VAT. Texts are 20 free a month, then 6p each; marketing texts are 8p. Online card payments are 1.40% plus 25p.
Fresha's own help centre sets out when the 20% applies. It applies if the client found you on the marketplace. It applies if they viewed your Fresha profile and then booked through your website or Instagram. It applies if you cancel the appointment. It is not refunded. A UK salon blog reported £400 in new-client fees over seven weeks on appointments the owner believed should not have been charged.
In 2022 Fresha described itself as "100% subscription-free". The paid plans arrived in 2025. If you joined for free, your bill has changed shape since.
What it does for a groomer
Fresha has a pet grooming page and it is a good product: pet profiles with breed, allergies and notes, rebooking nudges, deposits and card on file, review collection, forms, and 24-hour chat support. Its ratings are the best in the category: Trustpilot 4.8 from 7,328 reviews and Capterra UK 4.8 from 1,446.
What the pet profile does not do is change the booking. The breed is a note. A matted Goldendoodle and a tidy Westie get the same slot and the same price unless you step in. There is no recall schedule by breed, so a dog that should be back every four weeks can drift to ten without anyone being told.
Side by side
| Fresha | GroomRules | |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | £14.95 | £29 Starter (£59 Professional) |
| New-client fee | 20% of the first visit, minimum £4 | None |
| Trial | 7 days | 30 days, no card |
| Texts | 20 free, then 6p | 200 included, then 6p |
| Marketplace and app | Yes, 25 million customers | No |
| Pet profiles | Yes, as notes | Yes, and they set the time and price |
| Price and time by breed and coat | No | Yes |
| Recalls when a dog is due | Rebooking nudges | Text and email with follow-ups, by breed |
| Deposits and card on file | Yes | Not yet |
| Income by UK tax quarter | No | Yes |
| Support | 24-hour chat; no phone | Email the founder |
A worked example
Say you do 40 grooms a month at an average of £50, and eight of them are new clients from the marketplace. Fresha's subscription is £14.95 and the fees are 8 × £10 = £80, so £94.95 before VAT. GroomRules is £29 and you keep the clients. The difference is £66 a month, or about £790 a year. The sum only works in Fresha's favour if the marketplace keeps sending you clients you would not otherwise get. For a groomer who is full, it does not.
When to stay on Fresha
- You are new and the marketplace is your main source of clients.
- You need deposits or card on file today. GroomRules does not have them live yet.
- You rely on Reserve with Google or the Fresha app.
How to move
- Export your client list from Fresha.
- Start a GroomRules trial, set your services and hours, load the breed rules, and upload the spreadsheet.
- Share your GroomRules link in the places your Fresha link lived.
- Keep Fresha until its last booked appointment has happened. Then decide whether the listing is worth keeping for new clients, knowing how the fee works.