How to choose an online booking system for a barbershop in Saudi Arabia

What to compare before you sign up

The monthly price alone is not enough to compare. Ask about these points before you put your clients and data into any system.

• Fees per booking and on new clients: some systems take a share of the first visit of every new client who comes from their own marketplace, and some charge it even if the client later books from your link. Ask which clients it applies to and whether it can be refunded.
• Your own website and link: do you get a website in your name and a booking link for your Instagram bio, Google Maps and WhatsApp, or is your shop only a page inside someone else's app? Is the website included, or a separate monthly add-on?
• Arabic for staff and clients: the dashboard and the booking page your clients see should both be in Arabic and right-to-left, not a partial translation.
• Local payment and who holds the money: can clients pay with mada and Apple Pay, and does the money reach your account directly or pass through the system's account first?
• Contract length and cancellation: is it monthly, or a yearly term that renews automatically? What do you owe if you leave early?
• Monthly price: is it fixed, or does it grow with every extra barber? Are there fees on bookings or messages?
• Staff calendars and reminders: if each barber keeps their own schedule you need a calendar per barber; with one or two chairs a single schedule may be enough. And check how reminders go out: email, WhatsApp or text message.

How the main options differ

The facts below come from each company's own pages as of 3 November 2026. Prices and terms change, so check them before you subscribe. Some prices depend on the visitor's country and we could not see the Saudi ones, so we give no riyal price unless it is published.

• Fresha: no free plan, with a 7-day trial. It charges a one-time fee on brand-new clients who find you through its marketplace, and its official pages do not publish the rate. The fee also applies if the client views your Fresha profile first and then books through your own website or social media, and it is non-refundable. To take online bookings your profile must be listed on the marketplace, and unlisting switches off all online booking channels. A website of your own is a separate monthly add-on. Arabic is available.
• Booksy: the optional Boost feature takes 30% of a new client's first visit (up to 100 dollars in the US, at least 5 pounds in the UK); with Boost off there is no commission. The US price is 29.99 dollars a month plus 20 dollars for each extra team member. The pricing page mentions no website builder or own domain, and Booksy's business site offers no Arabic version.
• Salonist: 15% of the first visit of a new client from its marketplace, once. Paid plans run from 59 to 179 dollars a month; the mini website is only on the top plan, while the booking widget for your own website is free on all plans. It supports Arabic right-to-left, and unlimited WhatsApp and text notifications come with the 109-dollar plan and above.
• GlowUp (a Saudi barber app): publishes no business price. The subscription runs one year and renews automatically unless you cancel 30 days before it ends; leaving early without cause costs 150 riyals for each remaining month. Each shop gets a page inside the app, and we found nothing showing it also gets its own website. The app is in Arabic and English.

Where Zotview fits and where it does not

It fits if you want your own website for the shop with a commission-free booking link: no commission on any booking and no marketplace in between, so every client who books came through your own link. The AI builds the site in Arabic, right-to-left, in about a minute without an account, and the dashboard is available in Arabic. The price is a flat monthly one, there is a free plan, and a new account gets the Pro plan free for 14 days with no card.

On payment: you can ask for a deposit or the full service price through your own payment provider's link. The client pays on the provider's page, the money reaches you directly, and you mark the booking paid. The money and card details never pass through Zotview. Whether that page accepts mada and Apple Pay depends on the payment provider you choose.

It does not fit if you need a separate calendar for each barber: bookings go into one schedule for the shop. There is no automatic card payment inside the booking and no automatic WhatsApp or text reminders; reminders go out by email. And Zotview is not a marketplace and does not send you new clients: they come from your website, Google profile and social media. If you need any of that, compare other tools.

Sources

The official pages the facts above come from (checked 3 November 2026):

• Fresha: fresha.com/pricing and fresha.com/help-center/knowledge-base/billing-and-fees/101357-marketplace-new-client-fees
• Booksy: biz.booksy.com/en-us/pricing
• Salonist: salonist.io/pricing
• GlowUp: glowup.sa/policy

How to decide in a week

1. 1

   Write down your numbers

   How many barbers and chairs you have, how many bookings you take a week, and how many come from new clients versus regulars.

2. 2

   Ask about fees in writing

   Ask each system to confirm whether a share is taken on new clients, when, and whether it applies if the client books from your own link.

3. 3

   Try the booking page as a client

   Open it on your phone in Arabic, make a test booking, and check the link works in your Instagram bio, Google Maps and WhatsApp.

   See a preview of your shop's site, free
4. 4

   Understand payment and the contract

   Ask who receives a deposit, how long the term is and what you pay if you cancel.

5. 5

   Trial it, then decide

   Run it for two weeks with real bookings before you move all your clients over.

Frequently asked questions