Timely pricing and fees in the UK, compared with Hopaby

Hopaby and Timely compared for salons, barbers and beauty businesses. Every Timely 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 and Timely compared, row by row
	Hopaby	Timely
Monthly price	£0 on pay as you go; £29 on Pro. Hopaby charges no VAT.	Billed weekly, not monthly. Starting from £4 a week on Run, £7 on Boost and £9 on Thrive. The price adjusts with the bookings you take each week, and the price at a given number of bookings is not published. The pricing page does not say whether these prices include VAT. 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.	Unlimited team members on every plan, with no charge for each member. An optional Advanced team management add-on is £8 a week. checked 29 October 2026, source
Card, in person	3% on pay as you go; 1.75% + 20p on Pro.	1.59% + 5p per transaction with Tap to Pay or a Timely terminal; a terminal costs extra. Timely says to ask about a custom rate above 15 bookings a week. checked 29 October 2026, source
Card, online	3% on pay as you go; 1.75% + 20p on Pro.	1.85% + 30p per transaction for online payments such as deposits and cancellation fees; international cards 3.00% + 30p. Billed in GBP. checked 29 October 2026, source
Deposits	A deposit confirms the appointment. You choose the amount, per service if you like.	A deposit as a percentage, a fixed amount or the full amount, set for the business or per service. On Timely’s own payments the feature is included from the Run plan. 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.	Card capture saves a client’s card at booking, and a no-show or cancellation fee, as a fixed amount or a percentage of the service, can be charged to it. Cancellation fees are listed from the Boost plan, not on Run. If a deposit is also taken, the fee is limited to the deposit amount. checked 29 October 2026, source
Texts	5p a part on pay as you go; 4p a part on Pro.	Texts are included and counted per booking: one for each booking on Run, two on Boost, three on Thrive. Extra texts cost 8p on Run, 5p on Boost and 4p on Thrive. checked 29 October 2026, source
Commission on new clients	0%. Hopaby has no client marketplace, so it sends you no new clients.	None. Timely’s pricing page lists "No new client fees". checked 29 October 2026, source
Contract	Monthly. No minimum term.	No contract. To cancel, give 14 days’ notice. checked 29 October 2026, source
Taking your data with you	Yes, by request.	By request to Timely support through a help form, which can take up to 48 hours. Covers clients (including reward points), appointments, services, client notes, products and product purchases. checked 29 October 2026, source

Hopaby charges no VAT. Timely prices are as published on the dates shown; ‘+ VAT’ means their price excludes VAT at 20%.

How we compared: we read Timely’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.

A worked month

Timely does not publish its price at a given number of bookings (it shows only a weekly starting price), so we cannot work out a month without guessing. Ask Timely 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 Timely does well

Unlimited team members on every plan, with no charge for each person you add. Hopaby includes three on pay as you go and then charges £5 a month for each further member, unless you are on Pro.
A lower in-person card rate than Hopaby: 1.59% + 5p per transaction with Tap to Pay or a Timely terminal, against Hopaby’s 3% on pay as you go or 1.75% + 20p on Pro.
No new-client fee, and a weekly bill that rises and falls with the bookings you take, so a quiet week costs less.
A wider product than Hopaby: client rewards, gift vouchers, promos and packages, SMS marketing campaigns, Reserve with Google, accounting integrations and a stock app. Hopaby has no loyalty scheme, no retail point of sale and no marketing campaigns.

Moving from Timely to Hopaby

What moves

Your clients: names, mobile numbers and notes, from the export Timely sends you, or by typing them in.
Your services and prices.
Your team and their working days.
Future appointments, from the export Timely sends you where it covers 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.
Client reward points: Timely includes them in its export, but Hopaby has no loyalty scheme, so they do not carry over.
Anything Timely does that Hopaby does not, such as gift vouchers, marketing texts and stock records, stays on Timely.

The steps

Set up Hopaby alongside Timely: your services, prices and team.
Ask Timely for your data export through its help form and allow up to 48 hours. Send the client list to us, or type in your regulars.
Run both for a fortnight. Take new bookings on Hopaby, finish the ones already in Timely, and send a card-save link to the clients you see most.
When the diary on Timely is empty, give Timely 14 days’ notice to close your account.

You do not have to switch in a day. Run both for a fortnight, and close Timely only when its diary is empty.

See how Hopaby works for hair salons , barbers and nail techs .

How much does Timely cost in the UK?

Timely’s pricing page, checked 29 October 2026, lists three plans billed weekly: Run from £4 a week, Boost from £7 and Thrive from £9, with unlimited team members. The bill adjusts with the bookings you take each week, and the page does not publish the price at a given number of bookings or say whether prices include VAT. So this page does not work out a month for a salon: a figure for your own volume has to come from Timely.

Does Timely charge a new-client fee?

Timely’s pricing page lists "No new client fees" on all three plans, checked 29 October 2026. Card fees still apply to payments taken through Timely.

What card fees does Timely charge in the UK?

Timely’s pricing page lists 1.59% + 5p per transaction for in-person payments by Tap to Pay or a Timely terminal (the terminal costs extra), and 1.85% + 30p for online payments such as deposits and cancellation fees. International cards carry 3.00% + 30p online. Checked 29 October 2026.

Does Timely include text messages?

Yes, texts are part of every plan and are counted per booking: one text for each booking on Run, two on Boost and three on Thrive. Extra texts cost 8p on Run, 5p on Boost and 4p on Thrive. Checked 29 October 2026.

Can I export my clients from Timely?

Timely’s help centre says you request a data export from its support team through a help form, and it can take up to 48 hours. The export covers clients (with reward points), appointments, services, client notes, products and product purchases.

Is there a Timely alternative with no weekly subscription?

Hopaby’s pay as you go plan has no monthly fee. It takes 3% of each card payment, includes three team members and then charges £5 a month for each further member. Pro is £29 a month with 1.75% + 20p on each card payment and unlimited team members. Hopaby charges no VAT and takes no commission on your clients. Timely’s in-person card rate is lower than both Hopaby plans, and Hopaby has no client marketplace.

No monthly fee for up to three people. 3% when you get paid. No commission on your clients, ever.

Timely is a trade mark of its owner. Hopaby is not affiliated with it.