Nearcut vs Setora: UK Barbershop Booking Compared

Two UK-built, barber-focused platforms. No commissions on either. So what's actually different?

Full disclosure: we built Setora. We're one of the platforms in this comparison, so we obviously have a horse in this race. What we don't have is a reason to lie to you. Every pricing figure below is sourced and verified. Where Nearcut does something better than us, we'll say so.

The short version

Both Nearcut and Setora are built specifically for barbershops. Neither charges commissions on bookings. Both offer flat monthly pricing with no long-term contracts.

The core differences come down to how pricing scales, what happens to your data, and whether your clients pay a fee to book with you. Nearcut charges per barber (starting at £27.50/month for a solo barber, plus £10 for each additional barber). Setora charges a flat £39/month per location, regardless of how many barbers you have.

If you run a one-chair shop, Nearcut is cheaper. If you have three or more barbers, Setora costs less. If data portability matters to you, there's a meaningful difference in how the two platforms handle exports.

Read on for the detail.

What Nearcut charges

Nearcut uses a sliding calculator rather than named pricing tiers. The base cost for a solo barber at one location is £27.50/month (excluding VAT). Each additional barber adds £10/month, and each additional location adds £10/month. For shops with five or more barbers or multiple locations, Nearcut offers custom pricing through their sales team.

Source: nearcut.com/en-GB/pricing, verified March 2026

Here's what that looks like at different shop sizes:

Shop size	Nearcut monthly cost	Setora monthly cost
1 barber, 1 location	£27.50	£39
2 barbers, 1 location	£37.50	£39
3 barbers, 1 location	£47.50	£39
4 barbers, 1 location	£57.50	£39
5 barbers, 1 location	£67.50	£39

All prices exclude VAT.

The crossover point is two barbers. At three or more, Setora's flat rate works out cheaper, and the gap widens with every additional chair.

Nearcut also offers a set of optional "Business Booster" add-ons. Autofill cancellations costs £5.13/month. Email and SMS marketing is £5.75/month. Google review optimisation is £7.50/month. Product sales and stock management is £7.50/month. Digital loyalty cards run £10/month. A custom branded app published under your shop's name costs £20/month (plus a separate Apple Developer Account at $99/year).

Source: nearcut.com/en-GB/pricing, verified March 2026

Setora includes automated email reminders, customer management, booking analytics, staff scheduling and no-show tracking in the base £39/month price. SMS reminders are available as pay-as-you-go credits or via a monthly SMS plan, charged separately.

The fee your clients might not know about

This is worth its own section.

Nearcut's barbershop-facing pricing page states "0% commission" and "no hidden fees." That's true from the barber's perspective. But there's a separate charge that applies to your clients.

Nearcut's Customer Booking Terms (dated November 2025) describe a "Booking Fee" that is set and retained by Nearcut, charged to consumers on each appointment. The fee is displayed to customers before they confirm, but the amount is not published on Nearcut's public pricing page. If a customer cancels after the cut-off period, the Booking Fee is non-refundable.

Source: Nearcut Customer Booking Terms, Clause 5

This isn't a dealbreaker for everyone. But if you care about your clients' experience at every touchpoint, including the moment they book, it's worth knowing that Nearcut adds a charge you don't control and can't remove.

Setora does not charge clients any fee to book.

What Nearcut does well

We said we'd be fair, so here's where credit is due.

Nearcut's customer support is genuinely excellent. Across 164 Trustpilot reviews (4.9/5 stars), the most consistent theme isn't features or pricing. It's the people. Reviewers name individual team members and describe them as available by phone and WhatsApp at all hours. One reviewer noted they'd been using the platform for 11 years with no downtime. That kind of reliability and personal attention is rare in SaaS, full stop.

Source: Trustpilot, verified March 2026

The consumer app has serious traction. Nearcut's client-facing app has over 42,000 ratings on the Apple App Store and 9,500 on Google Play, both at 4.9 stars. That's a meaningful installed base of consumers who already know how to use the platform. If your clients are already on Nearcut, that's a real switching cost to consider.

Cancellation Watch is clever. When a booking is cancelled, Nearcut automatically notifies clients on a waitlist that the slot is available. It's a simple feature that fills gaps without the barber lifting a finger. Setora offers its own waitlist feature that works similarly, so both platforms have this covered.

The origin story is authentic. Nearcut was literally built in a barbershop in Northwich, Cheshire, when a barber (Matthew Harrison) met a computer science student (William Bell) who happened to be a client. The platform has been live since 2012. That's over a decade of real-world use.

Source: Concept Hair Magazine, April 2019

Where we think Setora is the better fit

Pricing that doesn't punish growth. Setora charges £39/month per location. Add a third barber, a fourth, a fifth: the price doesn't change. With Nearcut, every new team member adds £10/month. A five-barber shop pays £67.50/month on Nearcut versus £39/month on Setora. That's £342/year you're spending on the privilege of having a bigger team.

Your data, actually portable. Setora includes a full customer export built into the platform. Names, emails, phone numbers, visit history. Download it whenever you want, no support ticket required. Nearcut states "you own your data" in their terms, but there's no self-service export. You have to contact their support team and wait for them to send it. Under GDPR they're obligated to provide it, but the friction is real.

No fees charged to your clients. Your customers book with you. They shouldn't pay a third party for the privilege. Setora doesn't add booking fees, service charges, or any client-facing costs.

No app download required. Clients book through your booking page directly in their browser. No app store, no account creation, no friction. Nearcut does offer web booking too, but their consumer app is a core part of the experience, and some features (like the marketplace) are app-only.

No "Powered by" branding. Nearcut's terms require "Powered by Nearcut" on all client-facing booking pages. Your shop's booking experience carries their name. Setora doesn't require this. For a step-by-step migration guide, see our Nearcut to Setora switching guide.

Where Setora falls short (honestly)

We're newer. Nearcut has been operating since 2012. We launched in 2025. That means less track record, a smaller user base, and fewer battle-tested edge cases. If you value a platform that's had a decade to iron out bugs, Nearcut has earned that trust.

We don't have a consumer marketplace app. Nearcut's client app helps people discover new barbershops. Setora doesn't do this. If getting found by new clients through a booking app matters to your acquisition strategy, Nearcut offers something we don't.

We don't have payment terminal integration yet. Nearcut offers in-store card payments through their own Android app. Setora currently supports online payments through Stripe, but physical terminal integration is on the roadmap, not in the product.

We don't have the review volume that builds instant trust. Nearcut has thousands of app store ratings. We're still earning our first reviews.

Feature comparison

Feature	Nearcut	Setora
Online booking	Yes	Yes
Walk-in management	Yes	Yes (kiosk system)
Staff scheduling	Yes	Yes
Automated email reminders	Yes (included)	Yes (included)
SMS reminders	Paid add-on (£5.75/mo bundle)	Pay-as-you-go credits or SMS plan
Deposits and prepayment	Yes	Yes
No-show tracking	Yes	Yes
Customer data export	Contact support	Self-service, anytime
Consumer marketplace app	Yes (42K+ iOS ratings)	No
Waitlist / cancellation backfill	Yes (Cancellation Watch)	Yes
Payment terminal integration	Yes (Android app)	On roadmap
Custom branded app	Yes (£20/mo)	No
Multi-location support	Yes (+ £10/location)	Yes (included in per-location pricing)
Client booking fee	Yes (set by Nearcut)	No
"Powered by" branding required	Yes	No
Public API	Not documented	On roadmap
Mailchimp integration	Not documented	Yes
Role-based staff permissions	Not documented	Yes (30+ permissions)
Free trial	1 month	Yes

Questions that actually matter

"I'm a solo barber. Which one's cheaper?" Nearcut, at £27.50/month versus £39/month. If you're confident you'll stay solo, Nearcut's pricing is hard to beat.

"I have three barbers and might hire a fourth. Which scales better?" Setora. At three barbers you're already saving £8.50/month, and it only gets wider. More importantly, you never have to think about whether adding staff changes your software bill.

"Can I actually leave if I want to?" Both platforms run month-to-month with no long-term contracts. Nearcut requires 30 days' notice to cancel. The practical difference is data: Setora lets you export your full client list yourself. With Nearcut, you'll need to request it from support.

"Do my clients have to download an app?" Neither platform strictly requires it. Both offer web-based booking. But Nearcut's ecosystem is built around its consumer app, and some discovery features are app-only. Setora is browser-first with no app required at any point.

"Which one has better reviews?" Nearcut, and it's not close. 4.9/5 on Trustpilot with 164 reviews, 42,000+ App Store ratings, 9,500+ Google Play ratings. We're a new platform still building that track record. If review volume is your deciding factor, Nearcut wins today.

"What about Fresha or Booksy instead?" Both charge commissions or per-user fees that neither Nearcut nor Setora does. Fresha takes 20% on marketplace-sourced clients. Booksy's Boost feature charges up to 30%. We've written a detailed Fresha comparison and a roundup of the best UK barbershop booking platforms if you want the full picture. If you're choosing between Nearcut and Setora, you've already narrowed to the two UK platforms that respect flat-rate pricing. That's a good place to be.

The bottom line

Nearcut is a solid, proven platform with exceptional support, a large consumer app audience, and over a decade of real-world use. If you're a solo barber or two-person shop, it's well-priced and well-liked.

Setora is the better fit if you have three or more barbers, if you want pricing that doesn't scale with headcount, if data portability matters to you, or if you'd rather your clients didn't pay a booking fee you can't control.

Both platforms are honest about what they charge (give or take a consumer booking fee). Neither locks you into annual contracts. Both are built by people who actually understand barbershops.

The right choice depends on your shop. We'd rather you pick the platform that fits than the one with the better blog post.

Start your free trial. £39/month per location. No commissions. No per-barber charges. No fees for your clients.

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Pricing verified March 2026. Sources linked throughout. If anything changes, we'll update this post.