A client looks in, sees six people waiting, and walks to the shop down the street. The walk-in board keeps them in line — on their phone, from anywhere.
Three barbers deep on a Saturday. Someone opens the door, counts the heads in the chairs, and leaves. There's another shop fifteen minutes away that looks emptier.
You never find out it happened. It doesn't show up in your books, your calendar, or your reports. It's the one loss nobody measures.
One walk-off a week at $35 is $140 a month. The board costs $120.
A live board on any TV in your shop shows who's cutting, who's next, and how long the wait really is. Clients scan the QR on the way in and hold their place from their phone — so they can run an errand instead of standing in your doorway deciding to leave. Two-way texting brings them back when it's their turn.
Runs on the BookAFade TV app, free on Amazon Fire TV. No other booking platform ships an in-shop board.
Board — $120/month CAD, includes texting.
Booking software isn't the hard part of running a barbershop — the busy days are. We believe that strongly enough that we gave the booking software away.
Free means free: your booking page, unlimited barbers, every schedule and service, email confirmations and reminders, and the walk-in queue in your dashboard. No card. No trial that expires. No commission on your bookings, ever. We charge only for the things that cost us money to run — texting, and the board.
| BookAFade | Booksy | Fresha | Squire | Vagaro | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly, 4 barbers | $0 CAD | $29.99 + $20 per additional staff = $89.99 | $14.95 USD per team member ≈ $59.80 USD | plans $30–$250 USD by tier | from $23.99 USD, one calendar |
| Charges per extra barber | No — unlimited | Yes, $20 each | Yes, per team member | Tier-based | Yes, per calendar |
| Commission on new clients | None | Boost charges a fee on a new client's first visit | 20% one-time on new marketplace clients, $6 minimum | None | None |
| Email reminders | Included free | Included on paid plans | Included on paid plans | Free, unlimited | Included on paid plans |
| Text reminders | $15 CAD/mo, 1,000 included | Included on paid plans | 100 free/mo, then $0.02 per text | Free, unlimited | Included; text marketing is a paid add-on |
| Walk-in queue | Included free | Basic | Waitlist | Waitlist from the $50 Pro tier | Waitlist |
| In-shop TV board | Yes — $120 CAD/mo | No | No | No | No |
Competitor figures are list prices published on each company's own pricing page, read 17 August 2026. Booksy's figures are from its Canadian pricing page, which shows no currency code; Fresha, Squire and Vagaro are US pages in USD. BookAFade is billed in CAD. Check each company's pricing page for current figures.
Most booking platforms charge you again every time you hire. We don't.
| Barbers | BookAFade — SMS | Booksy |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | $15 | $69.99 |
| 4 | $15 | $89.99 |
| 6 | $15 | $129.99 |
| 10 | $15 | $209.99 |
Booksy's published rate of $29.99/month plus $20 per additional staff member, as listed at booksy.com/biz/en-ca/pricing on 17 August 2026. The page shows no currency code. Competitor pricing changes; check before you switch.
Start where you are. Move up when you grow. Your price only changes when you choose — never because you hired someone.
Take bookings online today. No card required, no trial clock, no commission on your bookings.
Free forever — unlimited barbers, no card required. Upgrade only when you want texts.
Text confirmations and reminders, from your shop's name.
Flat rate for the whole shop. Cancel anytime.
Your walk-in line, live on the shop TV.
No setup fees. No per-barber charges. Cancel anytime.
Everything in Board, plus an AI that answers the phone — not released yet.
Not yet available. Board is our top live plan. The price above is indicative and may change before launch.
Running more than one location? Let's talk → troy@bookafade.com
Add your shop name, your services, and your hours. Solo barber or full team — you're set up the same way. Takes ten minutes.
Control exactly which days and hours you work. Clients only ever see slots you've opened — no double-books, no surprises. Your time is yours.
Put it in your Instagram bio, your Google profile, a text to your regulars. Bookings come in while you're cutting. And every client who books is yours — names, numbers, history — so if you ever change shops, your book comes with you.
Three things fill a chair: the page never closes, the walk-in line keeps moving, and they remember to show. We built all three.
Your branded page never closes. A client books a Tuesday fade at 11pm from their couch — no call, no DM, no waiting on you. You just wake up to a fuller chair.
Clients join the line from their phone, watch their spot move, and get a text when they're next. Fewer walk-offs, no crowded waiting area — the line runs itself while you cut.
The reminder lands from your shop's name, not a number nobody saved. They remember. They show. The empty seat from a forgotten appointment stops happening.
Three barbers deep and the door keeps opening. The client who counts the heads in the room and walks back out never shows up in your books. BookAFade puts the line on the wall and lets them hold their place from their phone — so they can wait somewhere else instead of walking off.
Your regular meant to call and never did. The walk-in waited twenty minutes, then walked. BookAFade plugs the leaks: a booking page that never closes, a queue your clients watch from their phone, a board on the shop TV so nobody has to ask who's next, and a client list that stays yours — so the day you open your own shop, your people come with you. And your price never climbs because your team grew.
Be the shop that keeps the line moving. Start today — no setup fees, no contracts, cancel any time.