Fresha is a polished all-in-one platform, and the software really is free — the model is funded by marketplace new-client fees and payment processing. If those fees keep landing on clients you feel you already earned, we take the other road: flat NZD pricing, 0% commission, your clients stay yours, and Sally answering and booking on your own website 24/7. Here's the honest side-by-side.
Fair-play note: Fresha is a well-reviewed, widely used platform. This page compares business models honestly — including where Fresha may be the better fit for you.
The biggest difference isn't a feature — it's how each company makes money. Fresha earns from fees on bookings and payments; we earn only when you choose to stay subscribed. That one difference shapes every row below.
| What matters | Suddenly SortedFlat-priced, NZ-built | Fresha |
|---|---|---|
| How it's funded | Flat subscription only. Free, $29, $69 or $129/mo NZD (+GST). We make money when you subscribe — nothing else. | The core booking software is free; Fresha earns from marketplace new-client fees and payment processing instead of a subscription.as of September 2026. Check fresha.com for current terms. |
| Commission on bookings | Never. A booking from your own client costs you $0 extra, forever. | Bookings from new clients who find you through the Fresha marketplace carry a 20% new-client fee (min ~NZ$6). Card payments also run through Fresha's own processing (around 2.19% + $0.20).as of September 2026, per public pricing summaries; check fresha.com. |
| Who your clients belong to | You. Your website, your client list. We never list you next to competitors. | Marketplace listing places you alongside nearby salons on Fresha's platform — great for discovery, but shared shelf space. |
| AI receptionist | Sally, a booking brain on your own site: answers questions, books, reschedules, group bookings, waitlists, reminders, review requests — included in plans. | Fresha offers an AI concierge for calls and chat as a paid add-on, priced separately.as of September 2026; see fresha.com for current availability and pricing. |
| Website included | Yes. Sally builds you a bookable one-page website — even on the Free plan. | A profile and booking page on the Fresha marketplace, rather than a standalone website you own. |
| Social inbox | Instagram, Messenger & web chat, one inbox. Sally answers DMs with your real prices and genuinely open times, and books right in the thread — you can take over any conversation anytime. | No unified social inbox at the time of writing; Fresha’s AI concierge covers calls and website chat as a paid add-on.as of September 2026; see fresha.com. |
| POS, payments hardware, stock | Deposits via Stripe, yes — optional, owner-controlled. Not our lane for tills, terminals or inventory. | Yes — a genuinely broad all-in-one suite including POS and payments. |
| Built for NZ | Made in NZ. NZD pricing incl. GST handling, NZ hours, NZ support, a founder you can email. | Global platform (UK-headquartered) operating in many countries including NZ. |
| Leaving | Cancel anytime. Flat monthly plans, no lock-in contract. | Free to stop using, with no subscription to cancel — but while you're on it you're tied to Fresha's payment processing, and marketplace-acquired clients live inside Fresha.Check fresha.com for current wallet/payout terms. |
Competitor details reflect publicly available information at the time of writing and may change — figures here reflect Fresha's publicly reported pricing as of September 2026 and may change — always check fresha.com for current pricing and terms.
Marketplace platforms give the software away and monetise the bookings, especially new-client bookings. That's a fine trade when the marketplace genuinely sends you strangers; the frustration owners voice publicly is a fee landing on someone who googled the salon's own name, or a regular the system counted as "new".
We charge a flat subscription and nothing else. When Sally books a client at 9pm, new face or regular, you keep 100% of that appointment. Our incentive: keep the software good enough that you stay subscribed.
A booking engine shouldn't have an opinion about whose client it was.
AI receptionists are fast becoming table stakes — Fresha sells one as a paid add-on. Sally is built on a salon-specific booking brain: services and durations, staff capabilities, processing gaps, group bookings, deposits and waitlists — so she doesn't just chat, she books correctly, without double-booking a chair. And she's included in plans, not an extra line on the bill.
She works your book, not just your inbox: reminders that cut no-shows, review requests after the appointment, a nudge for regulars who are due back. That's the difference between answering the phone and filling the chair.
A global platform means global support: a ticket queue, another timezone, an answer on their Monday. Suddenly Sorted is made in New Zealand for NZ salons, barbers and beauty studios — email hello@suddenly.co.nz and a founder reads it. For a business your size, being reachable is a feature.
The billing matches: NZ dollars, flat, published on the pricing page — Free, then $29, $69 or $129 a month (+GST). No per-booking fees, no surprise line items, start on Free without a card.
It's popular for good reasons, and if these describe you it might genuinely be the better pick:
If being listed where thousands of consumers browse and book is a core part of your growth plan, that's exactly what a marketplace offers — and we don't have one.
POS, payment terminals, stock, staff rostering, marketplace, payments — Fresha bundles a genuinely broad operations suite. We deliberately don't do tills and inventory.
Bigger operations with front-desk staff at every site may value Fresha's enterprise breadth more than an AI front desk.
Our lane is the independent NZ salon, barber or studio that wants its own website doing the answering and booking. If that's you, come see Sally work →
Sally answers every message and fills your diary, day and night. Start free, no card.
Free plan, or from $29/mo NZD · No commission · cancel anytime.
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