What booking software costs in South Africa

Booking software for a small service business in South Africa is usually priced per person or per location, and the headline price rarely tells the whole story. Compare what you pay in total for the features you will actually use, including set-up, messages and add-ons.

Why prices look so different

• Per person or per location. A price per team member grows with every person you add. A price per location stays the same however many people work there.
• Self-serve or set up for you. A cheap monthly price often means you set everything up yourself, write your own messages and work out what to send.
• Messages and add-ons. Reminders may be free by email but cost per message by text or a messaging app, and extras such as loyalty can be priced separately.
• Commission and marketplace fees. Some platforms charge a fee on new clients they send you, or a share of each booking.
• Currency. Check whether you are billed in rand or in another currency.

A worked comparison with Fresha

Fresha publishes its South African prices, so we can compare them directly. These figures are from Fresha’s pricing page on 21 October 2026, in rand and excl. VAT. Fresha changes its prices, so check its website before you decide.

• R134.95 a month for one person, or R89.95 a month for each bookable team member.
• Loyalty is an add-on at R800 a month per location.
• Email and app notifications are free. Text and messaging-app messages include 20 a month per team member, then cost R0.80 per text or R0.80 to R2.50 per messaging-app message.
• A fee applies to brand-new clients who find you through its marketplace. The amount is not shown on its pricing page.

We assumed 60 bookings a month per team member, two messages per booking (a confirmation and a reminder) and Fresha’s loyalty add-on. The low end of Fresha’s range uses R0.80 a message and the high end R2.50. Forkd’s figures include its monthly allowance of bookings and messages.

So Forkd looks dearer at first glance, but the totals are in the same range in the first year, and lower from the second year for teams of about five or more.

Where Fresha is the better choice

• A one-person business, or a very small team that only needs a diary and email reminders. Fresha costs far less there.
• If you want a till, stock control, payroll and online shop in one system.
• If you want a marketplace that sends you new clients.
• If you want to start today with a free trial and no setup fee.

Where Forkd fits

Forkd is for businesses that want the system built around them, not a template. We set it up for you, around your services, team, brand and rewards, and review it with you after your first week and first month. Bookings, clients, messages and rewards are all managed from one dashboard. It is one price per location, however many people work there, with no commission and no marketplace fee, and your client list stays yours.

What Forkd costs

Forkd is priced per location per month, excl. VAT, with a once-off setup fee: Core is R499 a month with R2,500 setup, Plus is R1,299 a month with R4,500 setup, and Pro is R2,399 a month with R7,500 setup. Larger businesses can talk to us about Enterprise, from about R3,900 a month. Each plan includes a monthly allowance of bookings, and extra bookings packs are available. See the plans.