The Fresha Alternative That Charges 0% Commission on Bookings

Fresha lists your salon in a client-facing marketplace and charges a commission on new-client bookings. Welqo takes 0% commission, never puts rivals next to you, and books clients right inside WhatsApp.

If you run a salon, spa, or barbershop, Fresha is one of the best-known ways to take bookings. It pairs scheduling software with a client-facing marketplace: customers browse listed businesses, discover you alongside other salons in your area, and book. That reach is real. The trade-off is the model behind it. Fresha commonly charges a commission on new clients who find you through its marketplace, layered on top of a subscription and payment-processing fees. The more the marketplace sends you, the more each new client costs, and your listing sits next to the competitors bidding for the same customer.

Welqo starts from the opposite premise. There is no marketplace and no commission on bookings. Your clients reach you where they already are, WhatsApp, and an AI assistant handles the conversation: it books, reschedules, and cancels against a real per-staff calendar, so two stylists are never double-booked. The customer installs nothing and needs no account, no app download, no password. If someone messages in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Arabic, or any of 40+ languages, Welqo auto-detects it and replies in the same language. Every booking gets automatic reminders at 24 hours and 2 hours, which is where most no-shows quietly disappear.

Here is a typical Saturday. A new client messages your salon's WhatsApp at 9pm asking for a balayage the following weekend. Welqo checks your senior colourist's actual calendar, offers the two open slots, confirms the one she picks, takes a deposit that settles straight to your own Razorpay or UPI account, and sends her the reminder the night before. No commission is skimmed off that booking, and no competing salon was shown to her along the way. You wake up to a confirmed, deposit-secured appointment.

Pricing is flat, not per-seat: Booking at ₹999 (about $15) and Front Desk at ₹2,499 (about $39), so adding chairs or staff never inflates the bill. There is a genuine free tier, up to 50 bookings a month with reminders included, so you can run real appointments before paying anything. Call Rescue turns missed calls into WhatsApp bookings instead of lost clients. Welqo runs on Meta's official WhatsApp Business Platform, goes live the same day, and needs no code, so switching costs you an afternoon, not a migration project.

Why businesses choose Welqo

0% commission on bookings. Welqo never takes a cut of a booking and never charges per new client. Deposits and prepaid packs settle directly to your own Razorpay, UPI, or international-card account. What the client pays, you keep.
Books inside WhatsApp, no marketplace. Clients book in the chat they already use, with no app to download and no account to create. There is no shared marketplace, so your listing is never displayed next to a competing salon.
Real per-staff calendar. Welqo books, reschedules, and cancels against each stylist's own calendar and never double-books. Automatic 24-hour and 2-hour reminders cut the no-shows that eat your Saturday.
Flat pricing in 40+ languages. Auto-detects and replies in 40+ languages so every client is served in their own. Flat plans (₹999 / $15 and ₹2,499 / $39), not per-seat, plus a free tier up to 50 bookings a month.

The old way vs the WhatsApp way

	Salon booking marketplaces	Welqo
Commission on bookings	Commonly charges a commission on new-client marketplace bookings	0% commission on every booking
Where clients book	Public marketplace listing shown alongside other salons	Inside WhatsApp, no marketplace, no rivals next to you
Client requirements	Client browses and books via the marketplace platform	No app install and no account needed
Pricing model	Subscription typically priced per seat or team member, plus fees	Flat plans (₹999 / $15, ₹2,499 / $39), not per-seat
Deposits and payouts	Payments processed through the platform with processing fees	Deposits settle directly to your own account

Go live the same day

Sign up and add your services and hours
Connect your WhatsApp number
Customers book — you get the calendar

Frequently asked questions

How is Welqo different from Fresha?

Fresha pairs scheduling with a client-facing marketplace and commonly charges a commission on new clients who book through that marketplace, plus a subscription and payment fees. Welqo has no marketplace and charges 0% commission on bookings. It works inside WhatsApp, and deposits settle to your own account.

Does Welqo really take no commission on bookings?

Yes. Welqo charges a flat subscription (Booking ₹999 / $15, Front Desk ₹2,499 / $39) and takes 0% commission on bookings. Deposits and prepaid packs settle directly to your own Razorpay, UPI, or international-card account, so you keep the full amount your client pays.

Will my clients need to download an app or create an account?

No. Clients book entirely inside WhatsApp with nothing to install and no account or password to set up. Welqo auto-detects their language and replies in it, across 40+ languages.

How long does it take to switch from Fresha?

You can go live the same day. Welqo runs on Meta's official WhatsApp Business Platform and needs no code. There is a free tier of up to 50 bookings a month, reminders included, so you can run real appointments before you pay anything.

How much does it cost?

Free to start — a shareable web booking page plus AI booking. Paid plans from ₹999 / $15 a month unlock unlimited AI WhatsApp booking and reminders, and the Front Desk plan (₹2,499 / $39) adds no-show recovery, deposits, waitlist backfill and broadcasts.

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