Flowyana Booking vs Fresha for UAE salons and spas
Fresha is a booking platform for salons, spas and wellness businesses with a consumer marketplace; here it is weighed against Flowyana Booking for salons and spas in the UAE.
When Fresha is the right choice
Fresha fits a salon that wants new clients from a marketplace and online self-booking without any build.
When Flowyana Booking is the right choice
For a UAE salon or spa that takes bookings by phone or WhatsApp and wants deposits, retail sales and the accounts in one system, Flowyana Booking is the better choice: no commission, published plans from AED 39 (USD 10) a month billed yearly, and Dictode to build your own booking page when you want one.
What Fresha does well
Fresha lets clients find a salon in its marketplace and book online around the clock, with a calendar, point of sale and marketing tools.
What Flowyana Booking does well
Flowyana Booking ties the money to every booking: deposits as a percentage or a fixed amount, split payments, extra charges with tax and cancellation fees sit on one statement per booking, and charges post to double-entry books on the same platform. Rooms, chairs and staff cannot be double-booked โ a clash is refused and the booking in the way is named, even when two people save at once โ and you never pay a commission on bookings. The workspace runs in Arabic and five other languages with bilingual ArabicโEnglish documents and configurable VAT. Dictode, with a team in Dubai, builds what you add on top, such as an online booking page for your own site, typically in 4โ8 weeks, with code you own.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Flowyana Booking | Fresha | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bookings, accounting and HR on one platform | ✓ | ◐ | Flowyana posts booking charges to double-entry books, with payroll on the same platform; Fresha lists point of sale and inventory, and accounting and HR are not listed on the pages checked. |
| Deposits on each booking | ✓ | ✓ | Flowyana takes deposits as a percentage or a fixed amount, with the balance due shown; Fresha lists deposit and prepayment options for cancellation policies. |
| Point of sale and stock | ✓ | ✓ | Flowyana adds retail POS and inventory on the Business plan; Fresha lists point of sale and inventory management. |
| Calendar | ✓ | ✓ | Flowyana shows a month calendar with status at a glance, filterable by room, chair or staff member; Fresha lists a calendar with unlimited bookings, clients and locations. |
| Online self-booking by clients | ✗ | ✓ | Flowyana staff record each booking; Fresha clients self-book online 24/7. Dictode builds an online booking page on Flowyana, typically in 4โ8 weeks. |
| Business mobile app | ◐ | ✓ | Flowyana runs in the browser, including on a phone; Fresha lists a business app for iOS and Android. Dictode builds a staff app, MVP typically in 4โ8 weeks. |
| ✓ Yes ✗ No ◐ Partial / conditional | |||
Verdict
Fresha is a strong pick when the marketplace is your main source of new clients. Many UAE salons and spas already have their clients and book them by phone and WhatsApp; what they need is every deposit, charge and retail sale on the same records as the books, without a cut of each booking. Flowyana Booking does exactly that from AED 39 a month, and Dictode builds your own booking page or app around it, with a free discovery call and a written proposal in 24 hours. For a UAE salon or spa that wants to keep its margin and its numbers in one place, choose Flowyana Booking.