Fresha alternative for walk-in shops
Looking for a Fresha alternative for a walk-in shop? Here's how NextUp Walk-in compares on price, texts and what's included, and when Fresha might suit you better.
| Feature | NextUp Walk-in | Fresha |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Walk-in: $29/month for your first location, $19 for each additional one. Pro, with appointments: $59 and $39. 3 team members included per location, then $10/month each | $19.95/month (Independent, one bookable team member); Team is $14.95/month per team member |
| Free plan or trial | No free plan: a 14-day free trial with every Pro feature | No: a 7-day free trial |
| Texts | We pay for your first 500 a month, plus 250 for each extra location; then $0.03 each (texting switches on soon) | 100 texts a month free (per team member on Team), then 2¢ each; marketing texts are 8¢ each |
| Online payments | Card payments are coming soon (Early Access). Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ online, plus NextUp Walk-in's 0.5% card fee (at most $1 a payment, never on tips). Your clients pay no booking fee | 2.79% + 20¢ online, 2.29% + 20¢ in person, 3.30% + 20¢ keyed in; card readers from $139 |
| Where clients book | No marketplace: your booking page, link, emails show only your business, with no ads for other shops | New clients can find you in the Fresha marketplace, for a one-time 20% commission (at least $6 per client). Returning clients are free |
| Built for | Shops that take walk-ins and bookings: barbershops, salons, tattoo, auto service, repair, grooming | Salons, barbershops, spas and other appointment-based beauty and wellness businesses |
Fresha figures are from Fresha's pricing page, checked October 2026. Prices change, so check theirs for today's. Fresha is a trademark of its owner; NextUp Walk-in isn't affiliated with it.
What you get with NextUp Walk-in
- Customers join from a QR code or your link on their phone: no app, no account
- Their place and wait, live on their phone (opt-in text alerts coming soon)
- A now-serving TV display for your waiting area
- A door tablet for walk-ins without a phone
- A staff screen to call, start and finish visits
- A best time to come today, each person’s own wait, and family tickets for a parent and kids
- Customer screens in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Portuguese, Haitian Creole and Chinese
- On Pro: online booking and a team calendar, with email reminders and deposits (deposits coming soon)
- Checkout in cash (pay links, saved cards and Stripe card readers coming soon)
- Your services and prices, and who each customer asks for
- Your trade's own words, your logo and colors
- Insights: busiest days and hours, waits, top services
- Coming soon (Early Access). Online tips straight to each person's bank, and on Pro, booth rent and suite rental collected for you
- A read-only link so ChatGPT, Claude and other AI assistants can look up your live wait and hours
- Passkey sign-in: Face ID, fingerprint or device PIN
- Runs in any browser on a phone, tablet, computer or streaming stick, or in the NextUp Walk-in app for Apple TV, Roku and Fire TV
When Fresha might fit better
Honestly: Fresha may suit you better if you want new clients from the Fresha marketplace and don’t mind the commission, or you want the lowest card rates. NextUp Walk-in’s Pro plan has online booking, reminders and deposits (deposits coming soon) too, but no marketplace: your booking page shows only your business.
NextUp Walk-in’s Pro plan runs the walk-in line and the appointment book together, with checkout, your client list and email campaigns, priced per location.
Compare other waitlist appsWhat taking payments really costs
The card rate is one line of the bill. The rest is the subscription, fees for each person on your team, and anything added on top of each payment. NextUp Walk-in is priced per location with 3 team members included at each, then $10 a month for each one after. Card payments are coming soon (Early Access); once they’re live, it takes tips, bills, deposits, no-show fees, packages and memberships through Stripe, with Stripe's own fee and NextUp Walk-in's capped 0.5% card fee on top, never on tips.
A four-person shop pays Fresha $59.80 a month ($14.95 for each team member), against $69 on NextUp Walk-in’s Pro plan ($59, plus $10 for the fourth team member). Once NextUp Walk-in’s card payments switch on (coming soon, Early Access): Fresha’s online rate is 2.79% + 20¢; NextUp Walk-in passes through Stripe’s 2.9% + 30¢ and adds its 0.5% card fee (at most $1 a payment, never on tips), so card payments cost more on NextUp Walk-in. Fresha also charges a one-time commission on new clients who find you in its marketplace; NextUp Walk-in has none.
- Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ for a card payment online or 2.7% + 5¢ on a card reader, 0.8% by bank (at most $5)
- NextUp Walk-in's card fee: 0.5% of a card payment, at most $1, and never on tips or rent
- No booking or convenience fee for your clients: they pay the price on your menu
- Pay your team through NextUp Walk-in for Stripe's own payout fees: $2 a month per person paid, plus 0.25% + 25¢ per deposit, and you choose who pays them
- Instant payouts to a debit card for Stripe's 1%
Questions about Fresha
Is NextUp Walk-in cheaper than Fresha?
On the subscription, Fresha is cheaper for a four-person shop: $14.95 for each team member is $59.80 a month, against $69 on NextUp Walk-in’s Pro plan ($59 with 3 team members included, then $10 each). Card payments are coming soon (Early Access). Card payments cost more on NextUp Walk-in too: Fresha charges 2.79% + 20¢ online and 2.29% + 20¢ in person, against Stripe’s rate plus NextUp Walk-in’s 0.5% card fee (at most $1 a payment, never on tips). What Fresha adds is a 20% commission (at least $6) on each new client who finds you in its marketplace.
Will NextUp Walk-in show my clients other shops?
No. NextUp Walk-in has no marketplace and no new-client commission: your booking page and link show only your business. The one place it lists several businesses together is the optional “wait times near you” page for your town, and a location is on it only if you turn it on.
Does Fresha run a walk-in line?
Fresha is built around booked appointments. NextUp Walk-in is built around the walk-in line: customers join from a QR code or a door tablet, see a live wait, and a TV shows who is up next. On NextUp Walk-in’s Pro plan, appointments sit beside the line in the same app.
Try it on a Saturday
14 days free, with every Pro feature. Set up a location in about two minutes.