Fresha vs GlossGenius (Genius AI)

Fresha and GlossGenius (Genius AI) both target the independent beauty pro, but their business models are opposites, and that is the whole decision. Fresha's core software is free: no monthly subscription. It earns from card processing, optional paid marketing, and a fee on new clients it sends you from its large consumer marketplace, where people discover and book you directly. GlossGenius, now rebranding to Genius AI, charges a flat subscription from around $24 a month, includes its own payments and card reader, gives you a polished branded booking site, and is leaning hard into AI. It reports around 125,000 businesses on the platform. One trades a subscription for marketplace fees; the other trades fees for a predictable monthly bill and a more owned brand.

The stakes are the same for both: make it effortless for a ready client to book. 71% of clients have abandoned a booking over friction, 46% of booking demand lands outside opening hours, and clients who book online come back far more often, a 78% second-visit rate versus 39% for walk-ins. Where they diverge is discovery versus ownership: Fresha can put you in front of strangers searching its marketplace, while GlossGenius expects you to bring your own traffic to a booking page that looks unmistakably yours. This page lays out the tradeoff plainly.