Treatwell vs Setora: What 35% Commission Costs

Treatwell can bring new customers. The important question is what those customers cost once 35% commission, VAT and online payment fees hit the invoice.

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The short version

Treatwell's UK pricing page says it charges 35% commission on first bookings made by new customers introduced through its marketplace. It also says all commissions and fees are subject to VAT, and that online prepayments carry a 2.5% processing fee. At UK VAT of 20%, that 35% commission becomes 42% of the booking value. If the booking is prepaid online, the payment fee adds another 3%.

For a barbershop receiving 20 new marketplace bookings a month at £25 each, Treatwell commission alone comes to £210/month including VAT. If all of those bookings are prepaid online, the online payment fee adds £15/month. That is before any monthly Treatwell fee shown on your own agreement.

Setora is £14.99/month per location. No commission. No per-staff fees. SMS reminders are charged separately as credits, because burying small costs in a footnote is exactly how this whole mess started.

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A note on bias

Full disclosure: we built Setora. We are one of the platforms in this comparison.

That means we are biased. It does not mean we get to be loose with the numbers. Every Treatwell pricing claim below is linked to public sources. Where Treatwell does something well, we will say so. Where Setora is weaker, we will say that too.

Pricing checked on 6 May 2026.

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What Treatwell charges

Treatwell's current UK pricing page lists Freelancer and Advanced plans. The public copy we could verify does not show a fixed UK monthly subscription amount, but it does refer to "your monthly fee" in the commission FAQ. Use your own invoice for that part.

Treatwell says new customer commission applies to customers introduced via the Treatwell marketplace. Its FAQ states that first bookings from those new customers are charged at 35%. Direct bookings through calls, texts, WhatsApp, customers you add yourself, or the "Book Now" button on your own channels are commission-free.

The same page says repeat bookings are 0% commission, online prepayments carry a 2.5% processing fee, and all commissions and fees are subject to VAT. Treatwell Pay separately lists online prepayments at 2.5%, excluding VAT.

So the clean version is:

Charge	Treatwell public wording	Effective UK cost
First marketplace booking from a new customer	35% commission	42% including 20% VAT
Repeat booking within the qualifying window	0% commission	£0 commission
Online prepayment processing	2.5%	3% including 20% VAT
Setora subscription	Flat monthly subscription	£14.99/month per location

Slick's Treatwell comparison cites 42.5% including VAT. Using Treatwell's current public UK rate of 35% plus 20% VAT, the effective number is 42%. We use 42% below. If your invoice shows a different rate, ask Treatwell to explain it.

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What 35% means on a £25 cut

A £25 haircut does not look expensive until the commission line turns up.

On a first marketplace booking:

Line	Amount
Customer pays	£25.00
Treatwell commission at 35%	£8.75
VAT on commission at 20%	£1.75
Total commission cost	£10.50
Net before your own costs	£14.50

If that same £25 booking is prepaid online, add the 2.5% processing fee plus VAT:

Line	Amount
Online prepayment fee at 2.5%	£0.63
VAT on payment fee	£0.13
Total prepayment fee	£0.75
Total Treatwell commission and prepayment fee	£11.25
Net before your own costs	£13.75

That is 45% of the booking value gone before rent, wages, product, card costs, towels, electricity and the small matter of paying yourself.

The commission is meant to be a finder fee. It can make sense when Treatwell sends you a new customer who becomes a regular. The problem starts when the marketplace becomes a tax on customers who would have found you anyway.

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The three-chair example

Let us use a simple barbershop scenario.

One location. Three chairs. Average booking value of £25. Treatwell sends 20 new marketplace customers a month.

Cost line	Monthly	Annual
Treatwell commission, 20 x £25 x 35%	£175	£2,100
VAT on that commission	£35	£420
Treatwell commission total	£210	£2,520
Online prepayment fee if all 20 prepay	£15	£180
Treatwell monthly software fee	Use your invoice	Use your invoice
Setora subscription	£14.99	£179.88

The commission alone is 14 times Setora's monthly subscription, before the Treatwell monthly fee and any in-salon card processing.

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The 365-day repeat booking rule

The repeat booking promise is one of Treatwell's genuine strengths. Treatwell says it charges 0% commission on repeat bookings.

But the definition matters.

Treatwell's Partner Terms of Business define a new booking by the customer record in Treatwell's software. A customer can count as new if they are not in your customer database, if they were added more than 365 days ago but have not had a successful appointment in the last 365 days, or if they were added less than 365 days ago after a booking that has not yet become a successful appointment.

In plain English: the customer can be commission-free for repeat bookings, but the window depends on the Treatwell record and recent successful booking history.

For a busy shop, this is the bit to watch. Same customer, slightly different name, new phone number, old record, no visit in the last year. Suddenly the maths is not as simple as "we only paid once."

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The cancellation rule

There is another rule that catches owners out.

Treatwell's partner terms say that unless you flag a no-show by midnight on the booking date, Treatwell treats the booking as fulfilled and is entitled to commission. They also say the full commission becomes due if you initiate the cancellation.

Salonized's Treatwell help article says that from 1 April 2025, if a shop cancels a new customer's booking made through the Treatwell Marketplace or Reserve with Google, the new customer commission still applies. It advises rescheduling rather than cancelling where possible.

Where Treatwell wins

Treatwell is not a bad platform. The marketplace reach is real. Treatwell says half a million customers search for bookings every day and that it has partnered with over 150,000 salons across Europe. For a new shop in London, Manchester, Edinburgh or another dense area, that visibility can fill chairs you could not fill on your own yet.

The booking experience is familiar too. Many customers know Treatwell, trust the brand, read reviews and book quickly. Repeat bookings can also be commission-free when the customer stays inside the qualifying window.

If you are a new salon or barbershop with no Google presence, weak social channels and empty chairs, Treatwell can be useful. Paying for demand is not silly when you actually need demand.

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Where Setora wins

Setora is built for a different kind of shop.

We do not have a marketplace. We will not send thousands of strangers to your booking page. If you need discovery above everything else, Treatwell has something we do not.

Setora is for barbershops that already have a customer base and want the booking platform to get out of the way. Customers book through your branded booking page. You pay £14.99/month per location. There is no marketplace commission, no per-staff fee and full customer data export.

We are newer and smaller than Treatwell. They have years of marketplace demand and consumer brand recognition. Setora has predictable pricing, direct customer ownership, barbershop-specific workflows and a much smaller bill.

SMS reminders are charged separately as credits. We say that every time because if we are going to complain about hidden fees, we should probably avoid hiding one.

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Who should stay, and who should leave

Stay on Treatwell if the marketplace is doing a job you cannot easily replace. That usually means a new shop, a shop in a high-search urban area, or a business that needs external demand. If Treatwell sends you customers who would never have found you through Google, Instagram, referrals or your shopfront, the 35% first-booking commission may be a fair price.

Question it if your own customers are using Treatwell as a booking route. That is the established barbershop problem. Your customer already knows you. They found you through word of mouth, Google Business Profile, Instagram, or by walking past the shop for six months. But if they book through the marketplace and qualify as new under Treatwell's rules, the commission still applies.

At that point, Treatwell is not a customer acquisition channel. It is an expensive toll booth between you and someone who was already coming in.

For that kind of shop, a direct booking platform usually makes more sense. Put your booking link in your Instagram bio, Google profile, WhatsApp replies and website. Keep the customer relationship under your own brand.

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How to switch from Treatwell

Start with data.

Treatwell's UK pricing page says the data remains the property of the establishment, even if you cancel your plan. Under UK GDPR, you also have rights around data portability. Ask Treatwell for your customer list and booking data in a structured format. Use our data portability request if you need a template.

Check reviews separately. Treatwell's partner terms say you are not entitled to copies of Treatwell customer reviews and replies after termination. That is normal marketplace lock-in, but it is still worth knowing before you move.

Once you have the data, set up the new platform, import customers, rebuild services and staff schedules, then change your public booking links. We have a dedicated Treatwell to Setora switching page with the practical steps and calculator.

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The bottom line

Treatwell is strongest when it is genuinely finding you new customers. If it fills empty chairs with people you would not otherwise reach, the commission can be a sensible marketing cost.

But 35% plus VAT is not a small fee. On a £25 first booking, it is £10.50 in commission. Add online prepayment and it becomes £11.25. At 20 new marketplace bookings a month, the commission alone is £2,520 a year.

Setora is the boring alternative, in the best way. £14.99/month per location. No commission. No per-staff fees. No marketplace taking credit for customers you already earned.

If Treatwell is bringing you demand, keep measuring it. If it is taking a cut of customers who already know your shop, run the numbers.

Start your free trial or compare the full Treatwell to Setora switch guide.

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Sources: Treatwell UK pricing, Treatwell Pay, Treatwell Partner Terms of Business, Salonized Treatwell cancellation FAQ, Slick Treatwell comparison, Setora AI reference. Pricing verified 6 May 2026. If anything here has changed, email hello@setora.co.uk and we will correct it.