subba / Compare / Booksy vs subba
Booksy alternative
Booksy vs subba for UK barbers and salons
Booksy is a popular barber and salon app: £40 a month plus £5 for each extra user, with an optional Boost that charges 30% of a new client's first visit. subba starts at £9.99 a month for your whole team, answers your calls and chats with AI, and takes no commission.
The short answer
Stay with Booksy if
- The Booksy app brings you new clients, and Boost pays for itself.
- You want free reminder texts and 500 marketing texts a month included in the price.
- You take card payments in the shop with Tap to Pay.
Switch to subba if
- You have a team, and £40 plus £5 a person adds up.
- Calls ring out while you are cutting, and you want them answered and booked.
- You want clients to book on your own website and Google profile, with the deposit going straight to your own Stripe.
Booksy vs subba at a glance
| Feature | subba | Booksy |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | From £9.99 a month for the whole team (50 AI enquiries). Pro £49.99 (300) | £40, plus £5 for each extra user |
| Free trial | 30 days free | 7 days, no card needed |
| Fee on new clients | None | Only with Boost on: 30% of a Boost client's first visit (minimum £5) |
| Card fee online | Stripe's fee only: 1.5% + 20p on UK cards. subba takes nothing | 1.29% + 20p, plus VAT |
| Marketplace | No. Clients book on your own website, links and Google profile | Yes, the Booksy app |
| AI receptionist | Website chat and contact forms on every plan. Phone add-on from £29.99 a month (100 minutes) | Not on Booksy's UK site. A beta runs in the US |
| Reminders | Email reminders free. Texts from £9.99 for 250 | Confirmations and reminders free, plus 500 marketing texts a month |
| Card payments in the shop | No, payments are taken online | Tap to Pay, 0.99% + 20p, plus VAT |
| Contract | Monthly, cancel anytime | No commitment, cancel anytime |
Prices as each company published them on 29 September 2026, before VAT. subba's plans differ only in how many AI enquiries you get a month; bookings are unlimited on every plan.
Booksy's pricing in plain numbers
Booksy charges £40 a month plus £5 for each extra user, before VAT, so a shop with four people pays £55 a month. Card payments cost 1.29% + 20p plus VAT. Boost is optional: switch it on and Booksy charges a one-off 30% of a new Boost client's first visit, with a £5 minimum. Reminders are free, and 500 marketing texts a month are included (Booksy pricing).
subba is £9.99 a month for the whole team on Starter, which includes 50 AI enquiries a month. A busier shop that wants the AI to handle more conversations moves to Pro at £49.99 for 300. Bookings are unlimited on every plan, and subba takes nothing from your card payments beyond Stripe's own fee.
A receptionist that picks up
Booksy is built around its app: clients find you, pick a time and book. When someone rings or messages instead, answering is still down to you, usually mid cut.
subba's AI answers your website chat and contact forms on every plan, and with the phone add-on (from £29.99 a month) it picks up your calls too. It knows your services and prices, checks your real availability, books the appointment and sends the confirmation. When a call needs you, it can put the caller through while you are open, or take a message when you are not.
Booksy does list an AI receptionist, as a beta on its US site (Booksy US). We could not find it on Booksy's UK site when we checked.
What subba does not do
subba has no marketplace, so it will not put your business in front of people browsing an app for somewhere new. It has no card machine or till for payments in the shop: payments are taken online, when people book or from a payment link. And there is no consumer app for your clients to download. Booksy has an app, Tap to Pay and free reminder texts.
If those matter more to you than having every call and message answered, Booksy may well suit you better, and that is fine.
Moving from Booksy to subba
You can be set up the same day, and run both while your existing appointments play out.
- Start your 30 days free
Pick your trade and subba sets up typical services, prices and opening hours for you to adjust. Add your team, each with their own hours.
- Connect Stripe for deposits
Connect your own Stripe account, or set one up in a few minutes. Deposits and payments land with you, and subba takes nothing from them.
- Put your booking link everywhere
Swap the book button on your website, Instagram bio and Google Business Profile for your subba booking page, or add subba to your site with one line of code or the WordPress plugin.
- Bring your regulars with you
Keep a copy of your client list and add your regulars in subba's Customers tab. Everyone who books through subba is added automatically, with their history in one place.
- Let the booked-ahead appointments finish
Keep Booksy open until the appointments already booked there are done, or add them to your subba diary by hand. The two diaries do not sync, so block out times in both while they overlap.
Frequently asked
How much is Booksy a month in the UK?
£40 a month plus £5 for each extra user, before VAT, according to Booksy's UK pricing page on 29 September 2026. There is a 7-day free trial.
Does Booksy take commission?
Only through Boost, which is optional: a one-off 30% fee (minimum £5) on the first visit of each new client Boost brings you. Without Boost there is no commission, and card payments cost 1.29% + 20p plus VAT.
Does Booksy have an AI receptionist in the UK?
Not when we checked. Booksy lists an AI receptionist beta on its US site, but not on its UK site. subba's AI answers website chat and contact forms on every plan, and phone calls with the add-on from £29.99 a month.
Can clients still book online at any time with subba?
Yes. You get a booking page and a widget for your own website, so clients pick a real free slot and book themselves in, day or night, with a deposit if you want one.
Try subba free for 30 days.
Set it up in an afternoon, run it alongside what you use now, and keep it only if it books you more work. No contract, cancel anytime.
How we compared
We read Booksy's UK pricing page and its US AI receptionist page on 29 September 2026, and compared them with subba's published prices. We are subba, so we have tried hard to be fair: Booksy does things subba does not, like its client app, Tap to Pay and free reminder texts, and we say so.
Spotted something out of date? Email [email protected] and we will check it and correct this page.
Booksy is a trademark of its owner. subba is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Booksy.