Phorest pricing and fees in the UK, compared with Hopaby
Hopaby and Phorest compared for salons, barbers and beauty businesses. Every Phorest figure below links to the page it came from and shows the day we checked it; the oldest was checked on 29 October 2026. Hopaby charges no VAT.
The figures side by side
| Hopaby | Phorest | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | £0 on pay as you go; £29 on Pro. Hopaby charges no VAT. | Not published; quote on request. Phorest’s UK pricing page names the plans (Starter, Grow, Ultimate, Elite) and each one links to “Request a quote”. checked 29 October 2026, source |
| Extra team members | Three team members included, then £5 a month each on pay as you go. Unlimited team members on Pro. | No per-person charge listed. Unlimited staff and devices are included on every plan. checked 29 October 2026, source |
| Card, in person | 3% on pay as you go; 1.75% + 20p on Pro. | Not published; quote on request. Phorest’s UK pricing and card payments pages list no in-person card rate or terminal price. checked 29 October 2026, source |
| Card, online | 3% on pay as you go; 1.75% + 20p on Pro. | Not published; quote on request. The only card fee Phorest lists for the UK is the in-house deposit fee shown under deposits. checked 29 October 2026, source |
| Deposits | A deposit confirms the appointment. You choose the amount, per service if you like. | Deposits fixed or as a percentage, set per service, with separate amounts for new clients and for clients who have missed appointments. Fee on an in-house deposit taken through PhorestPay: £0.80 for a deposit up to £50; 1.2% + £0.20 above £50. Phorest’s terms also say it may charge fees on online deposits, deducted from the deposit before payout; no online deposit rate is listed. + VAT The help article is dated 21 July 2026 and states the in-house deposit fees plus VAT. Deposit options are from Phorest’s custom online deposits article and the fee wording is from clause 5.10 of its UK terms (https://www.phorest.com/gb/termsandconditions/). checked 29 October 2026, source |
| No-show protection | Save a client’s card when they book, and charge a no-show or late-cancellation fee under your own policy. Card fees as above. | A no-show can be charged to the card used for the deposit or saved with a payment link, as a percentage of the appointment cost or a custom amount, with the deposit deducted. Phorest’s help article states no fee for the no-show charge itself. The help article is dated 17 June 2026. It does not say what card processing costs on a no-show charge. checked 29 October 2026, source |
| Texts | 5p a part on pay as you go; 4p a part on Pro. | 9.5p, 8.2p or 7p per text depending on plan; a 500 texts a month allowance is also listed in the plan table. Phorest’s page does not say whether the text rates include VAT, and its table does not label which column each rate and the allowance belong to. Read here in the order of the plans, the three rates fall from Starter to Ultimate. checked 29 October 2026, source |
| Commission on new clients | 0%. Hopaby has no client marketplace, so it sends you no new clients. | No client marketplace or new-client fee is listed on Phorest’s UK pricing page, checked 29 October 2026. Phorest has a staff commission tool, which is about paying your team, not a charge on clients. checked 29 October 2026, source |
| Contract | Monthly. No minimum term. | One-year term that renews each year for a further year. Written notice is needed at least two months before the end of a year, and leaving early means owing the subscription fees for the rest of the term. Clause 13.1 of Phorest’s UK terms and conditions. checked 29 October 2026, source |
| Taking your data with you | Yes, by request. | You can extract customer contact details and transaction history yourself with the reporting and client extraction tools. A full export by Phorest takes up to 15 business days and needs all outstanding fees paid. Clause 13.4 of Phorest’s UK terms and conditions. Phorest may delete customer data 60 days after the contract ends. checked 29 October 2026, source |
Hopaby charges no VAT. Phorest prices are as published on the dates shown; ‘+ VAT’ means their price excludes VAT at 20%.
How we compared: we read Phorest’s public pages, listed below, and recorded each figure with the plan it applies to. We left out introductory offers and trials. Where a page does not give a figure we say so rather than guess. Where prices differ by plan, the plan is named.
- https://www.phorest.com/gb/pricing/
- https://www.phorest.com/gb/features/salon-payment-processing/
- https://support.phorest.com/hc/en-us/articles/4412747334802-What-fees-do-I-pay-when-using-In-House-Deposits-with-PhorestPay
- https://support.phorest.com/hc/en-us/articles/360016298759-How-do-I-charge-a-No-Show-payment-for-a-missed-appointment
- https://www.phorest.com/gb/termsandconditions/
A worked month
Phorest does not publish its monthly price or its card fees, so we cannot work out a month without guessing. Ask Phorest for the figures for your team size and takings and set them against Hopaby’s figures above, or the worked examples on our pricing page.
What Phorest does well
- A much wider product than Hopaby: point of sale, retail, a salon-branded booking app in the app stores, loyalty, marketing campaigns and staff commission tools. Hopaby has none of these.
- Unlimited staff and devices on every plan, with set-up of your software and training for your team included in the plans. Phorest says plans suit salons with three or more staff.
- Stored cards for no-show charges, custom deposits by service, and separate deposit rules for new clients and for clients who have missed appointments.
- Online booking from your website, Facebook and Instagram, and Reserve with Google, in the plan comparison.
- A published text rate that falls as you move up a plan, from 9.5p to 7p per text.
Moving from Phorest to Hopaby
What moves
- Your clients: names, mobile numbers and notes, by CSV or by typing them in.
- Your services and prices.
- Your team and their working days.
- Future appointments, by CSV where Phorest lets you export them, or re-entered by hand.
What stays behind
- Stored card details: these do not move between payment providers, so clients save a card again with Hopaby.
- Retail stock, loyalty points, gift vouchers and your branded Phorest app stay in Phorest. Hopaby has no point of sale for retail, no loyalty scheme and no branded app.
- Your Phorest contract: it runs for a year at a time. Check your renewal date and give written notice at least two months before it, or you owe the rest of the term.
The steps
- Check the date your Phorest year ends, and when your notice is due.
- Set up Hopaby alongside Phorest: your services, prices and team.
- Export your client list from Phorest’s reporting and client tools as a CSV and send it to us, or type in your regulars.
- Run both for a fortnight. Take new bookings on Hopaby, finish the ones already in Phorest, and send a card-save link to the clients you see most.
- When your Phorest term ends and the diary there is empty, close the account.
You do not have to switch in a day. Run both for a fortnight, and close Phorest only when its diary is empty.
See how Hopaby works for hair salons , barbers and nail techs .
How much does Phorest cost in the UK?
Phorest does not publish a monthly price. Its UK pricing page, checked 29 October 2026, lists four plans (Starter, Grow, Ultimate and Elite) and asks you to request a quote for each. It does publish text rates of 9.5p, 8.2p and 7p per text, and a fee on in-house deposits of £0.80 up to £50 and 1.2% + £0.20 above that, plus VAT.
Does Phorest have a free trial?
Phorest’s UK pricing page says it does not offer a trial and offers a full demo instead. Checked 29 October 2026.
Is there a minimum contract with Phorest?
Yes. Phorest’s UK terms set a one-year term that renews each year. Written notice is due at least two months before the end of a year, and leaving early means owing the subscription fees for the rest of the term. Checked 29 October 2026.
Can I export my clients from Phorest?
Yes. Phorest’s UK terms say you can extract customer contact details and transaction history with its reporting and client extraction tools. A full export by Phorest takes up to 15 business days and needs outstanding fees paid. Saved card details do not move to a new system, so clients save a card again.
Is there a Phorest alternative with no minimum term?
Hopaby is monthly with no minimum term. Pay as you go has no monthly fee and takes 3% of each card payment, with three team members included and £5 a month for each further member. Pro is £29 a month and 1.75% + 20p per card payment, with unlimited team members. Texts are 5p a part on pay as you go and 4p on Pro. Hopaby charges no VAT and takes no commission on your clients. It has no point of sale for retail, no loyalty scheme and no marketing campaigns, which Phorest does.
No monthly fee for up to three people. 3% when you get paid. No commission on your clients, ever.
Phorest is a trade mark of its owner. Hopaby is not affiliated with it.