Switching
From Fresha to goldenhour.
Fresha's headline price is "free": but the platform takes 20%+ commission on every online booking, which often costs more than a flat subscription would. If you're doing 30+ online bookings a month, you'd save real money switching to a flat-fee model. This guide walks through the migration.
Why artists make the switch
What you'll get here.
Zero commission on bookings
Fresha charges a one-time 20% (min $6) new-client fee when someone finds you through its marketplace; your own-link and repeat bookings are free. On goldenhour there's no marketplace and no acquisition fee: $19.99 or $39.99/mo flat, whoever books and however often.
Stripe Connect: money flows straight to your bank
Fresha holds funds and pays out on a delay (often 1–7 days). We never see the money: Stripe processes the charge and deposits to your Stripe Connect account, usually next business day in the US.
Custom domain (book.yourbrand.com) included
Fresha doesn't offer a custom domain on the free tier. We include CNAME-based custom domains in every account. Customers see your URL, not a marketplace listing.
Mobile-first wedges Fresha lacks
Travel zones with per-zone fees, GPS check-in, masked-number SMS chat, in-home setup checklist for spray-tan / lash mobile work. Fresha is built for salon-floor flow; mobile is a side use case there.
Where they win today
What you'd give up.
Honest list. If any of these are deal-breakers, stay on Fresha: we'd rather you be on the right tool for you than churn from us in 30 days.
Marketplace traffic
Customers can discover you on Fresha's app even if they've never heard of you. That's a real acquisition channel. We don't have a marketplace: you bring your own customers via Instagram, referrals, and your booking link.
How to export from Fresha
Pull your data out.
- Sign into Fresha's web dashboard (partners.fresha.com). The mobile-app side has reduced export surface.
- Left nav → Manage → Clients. Top-right "Export" button → CSV. Email arrives in a minute or two.
- Manage → Appointments. Filter by the last 12 months → "Export" → CSV. (Longer history is rarely useful: the no-show risk classifier weighs recency anyway.)
- Manage → Services. There's no built-in CSV export; screenshot the table or copy/paste the list into a doc. Or we recreate from your public booking page.
- Settings → Forms → your intake forms. Fresha lets you export PDF. Send the PDFs.
- Email all files to support@goldenhourhq.com with subject "Fresha migration": we'll import + walk through customer migration on a 30-min call within the same day.
Stuck on any step? Email support@goldenhourhq.com. We've done Freshaexports before: happy to screen-share through the part that's blocking you.
What we import
Clean ingest.
- Client list: name, phone, email, birthday, notes, VIP flag
- Appointment history: date, service, status, price
- Service catalog (from screenshot or your public booking page)
- Intake form questions
- Booking notes
- Cancellation + no-show history
What needs reconfiguring
Five-minute jobs.
Stuff that can't come over via CSV: usually because each platform structures it differently. We walk through each on the setup call (or via email).
- Stripe Connect: Fresha uses their own processor. Customers will re-enter cards on first booking through goldenhour. Most return customers expect this on a platform switch.
- Booking page slug: claim a new handle on goldenhourhq.com or point a custom domain CNAME at us.
- Marketplace listings: Fresha will keep showing your old listing until you delete it. We recommend keeping both live for 30 days, then deleting Fresha to redirect all traffic.
- Loyalty / rewards: Fresha's loyalty rule structure doesn't export. We recreate equivalent rules in our loyalty engine post-import.
The money side
What you'll save.
- Marketplace fee: Fresha takes a one-time 20% (min $6) cut of a new client's first visit when they arrive through its marketplace; repeat visits and own-channel bookings are free. On goldenhour there's no marketplace fee at all: $19.99 or $39.99/mo flat.
- Subscription: Fresha is free; goldenhour is $19.99 (founding) or $39.99/mo. Trade the small subscription for keeping every cent of your bookings.
- Stripe processing: 2.9% + 30¢ online on both sides: passthrough, not a markup.
- If almost none of your clients come from the Fresha marketplace, its free tier may still pencil out. If you lean on it for discovery, the per-new-client fees add up fast.
See full pricing detail at /pricing.
Ready to start?
Sign up takes a minute. Send the export and we'll handle the import within a business day. Most artists are running their first live booking on goldenhour within 1–2 days.