Marketplace commission
Fresha charges a 20% one-time commission (minimum NZ$7) on every new client who books through its marketplace. That adds up fast.
NO 20% COMMISSION. EVER.
The Fresha alternative that never takes a commission.
Fresha charges a one-time commission on every new client its marketplace sends you, plus a subscription billed per team member that grows with every hire. Porchlight charges neither - one flat monthly price, no marketplace, and your clients stay 100% yours. Do the maths below with your own numbers.
8 staff
- Fresha, per month
- $239.60 (8 × $29.95)
- Porchlight, per month
- $59 flat (Team)
Fresha prices ex GST; Porchlight prices are the final price - nothing is added.
Savings calculator
Fresha bills a subscription per team member, plus a one-time commission on every new client its marketplace sends you. Put in your own numbers.
NZ$60 is an example - enter your real average.
FRESHA
NZ$210/mo
subscription + commission
PORCHLIGHT
NZ$59/mo
no commission, ever
YOU KEEP
NZ$1,810/yr
every year
Fresha subscription: Independent at NZ$44.95 solo, or NZ$29.95 per team member (ex GST). Commission: 20% of the first visit, minimum NZ$7, on each new marketplace client. Porchlight plan applied: Team NZ$59/mo flat (Solo NZ$29 at 1 staff), commission NZ$0.
Why people look for a Fresha alternative
The free plan is gone
Fresha ended its free plan in early 2025. Plans now start at NZ$44.95/month solo, or NZ$29.95 per team member (ex GST) - the bill grows with every hire.
Add-ons stack up
20 free texts a month (per team member on Team), then NZ$0.18 each.
Side by side
See how we compare on the things that matter most.
| Feature | Fresha | Porchlight |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace commission | 20% on new marketplace clients (min NZ$7) | 0% (Never) |
| Monthly pricing | $44.95 solo or $29.95 per team member (ex GST) + add-ons | $0-$59/month (flat) |
| Free plan | No free plan - paid plans come with a 7-day trial | Yes - own booking page, unlimited bookings |
| Client ownership | Shared via marketplace | 100% yours forever |
| SMS reminders | 20 free a month per team member, then NZ$0.18 each | 100 texts included on Solo, 250 on Team - then 15c or less each |
| Online booking | Included | Included |
| Payment processing | 2.49% + NZ$0.30 online | Stripe standard rates only |
| Data export | Client list and service menu (Excel or CSV) | Clients, bookings and sales - CSV, on every tier, any time |
| NZ-based support | No | Yes |
This comparison reflects Fresha’s published pricing and plan facts as checked October 2026. Fresha is a trademark of its owner - check Fresha’s own site for current pricing and terms. We’ll always tell you the truth about both.
What your team size really costs
Fresha bills $29.95 per team member, every month. Porchlight Team is $59 flat up to 8 staff:
| Team size | Fresha, per month | Porchlight, per month |
|---|---|---|
| Just you | $44.95 (Independent) | $0 (Free) or $29 (Solo) |
| 3 staff | $89.85 (3 × $29.95) | $59 flat (Team) |
| 5 staff | $149.75 (5 × $29.95) | $59 flat (Team) |
| 8 staff | $239.60 (8 × $29.95) | $59 flat (Team) |
At 8 staff that’s $180.60/month - $2,167.20 a year - before a single commission.
Then add the commission
Fresha charges a 20% one-time commission (minimum NZ$7) on every new client who books through its marketplace. Just 10 new marketplace clients in a month at a NZ$60 average first visit = NZ$120 in commissions - on top of the subscription. Porchlight has no marketplace and charges no commission, ever.
With texts: for 8 staff sending about 880 reminders a month, Team’s 250 included texts leave about 630 to buy. Bought as you need them, that is NZ$100 in packs (500 for NZ$70 and two of 100 for NZ$15), so Team plus texts is about NZ$159 that month. At 13c a text on the 2,000 pack (NZ$260 up front, about three months at this rate) that is about NZ$82, so Team plus texts comes to about NZ$141 a month. Fresha includes 20 texts a month for each team member, so its figures above already cover part of that.
Assumptions: monthly billing, subscription only, before add-ons and commissions, checked October 2026 on Fresha’s pricing page. Fresha prices ex GST; Porchlight prices are the final price - nothing is added. SMS costs excluded on both sides - Fresha includes 20 texts a month for each team member, then NZ$0.18 each; Porchlight SMS is prepaid credits.
Who should stay with Fresha
An honest comparison cuts both ways. Fresha makes sense if:
- The marketplace genuinely brings you new clients you wouldn’t reach otherwise, and the 20% one-time fee is a price you’re happy to pay for that discovery. Porchlight has no consumer marketplace - that’s a deliberate trade-off.
- You prefer Fresha’s integrated payment processing (2.49% + NZ$0.30 online) over Stripe’s standard rates.
If most of your bookings already come from your own clients, the commission and per-member fees are paying for a marketplace you don’t need - that’s where Porchlight’s flat pricing changes the math.
THE MOVE
Switching is a CSV, not a saga.
Export your clients and bookings from Fresha and we import them for you. Here is exactly what comes across. We’re upfront about what does and doesn’t come across - and because exports work the other way too, you’re never locked in with us either.
For help with the move, you talk directly to the people who build the product, here in New Zealand.
Step 1
Export your data from Fresha.
Download your client list and service menu from Fresha (Excel or CSV). Check what else Fresha lets you export before you cancel.
Step 2
Set up your Porchlight account.
Start a free trial, or book a free switch and we’ll set up your services, staff and business hours with you.
Step 3
Send us your client list.
Email us the exported client CSV and we’ll import it for you, mapping the columns with you.
Step 4
Update your booking link.
Share your new Porchlight booking page with clients - update your website and social media.
Comes across
- Clients: name, mobile, email, notes, date of birth and address.
- Bookings, past and upcoming: client, service, staff member, date, time and status (where your export has a status).
- Services: name, category, length, price and description.
- Gift vouchers: code, value, balance and expiry.
Set up with you
- Staff members, their hours and logins.
- Deposit and cancellation rules.
Does not come across
- Saved cards. They stay with your old payment provider.
- Consultation forms, signed consents, photos and attached files.
- Packages, memberships and loyalty points.
- Processing time inside a colour service. It becomes time after the service.
Before anything goes live we do a test import and send you the counts: clients, bookings, services and vouchers, plus any rows we could not match and why. You check it, then we switch.
One thing that usually stays behind: saved cards
For security reasons (PCI compliance), your clients’ saved card details are held by Fresha’s payment processor and are not part of your export. Payment processors can move saved cards between them only by special arrangement, so in practice clients enter a card again the next time they pay. Porchlight takes deposits through Stripe. If a card is saved for no-show or late-cancellation fees, it is held on your own Stripe account; Porchlight never holds card details.
Competitor prices change. If one here is out of date, email our team and we’ll re-verify and correct it. Change history: August 2026 - consolidated our separate “Switch from Fresha” page into this one. Fresha facts last verified October 2026.
Stop paying commissions.
Try it free for 14 days, or book a free switch and we’ll help you move across from Fresha.
Free plan available forever. Solo and Team: 14 days free, no card needed.