How Calyx compares to the
other platforms UK aesthetic
clinics consider.

We are not the right fit for every clinic. Here is an honest look at how Calyx compares to Fresha, Pabau, and Phorest - including where each platform has genuine strengths.

Fresha charges per person and takes a cut of every new client.

Fresha is a beauty booking platform used by nail bars, hair salons, and beauty therapists worldwide. It has an aesthetic clinic tier but was not built for medical practice. The platform makes money through per-user charges and marketplace commissions rather than a flat subscription.

Pabau is priced for scale. Calyx delivers the same clinical infrastructure for significantly less.

Pabau is one of the most complete clinic management platforms in the UK market. It serves over 3,500 practices across multiple specialities including aesthetics, primary care, physiotherapy, and dental. For large multi-location groups with complex cross-site reporting it earns its cost. However, Calyx also supports multi-location clinics - the Clinic Pro tier includes up to 3 sites with shared patient records, centralised reporting, and unlimited practitioners. For most UK aesthetic practices with one to three locations, you get the same multi-clinic infrastructure at a fraction of the price.

Phorest is built for salons. Aesthetics is a tier they added.

Phorest is a well-regarded salon management platform used primarily by hair salons, beauty therapists, and spas across the UK and Ireland. They have added an aesthetics tier called Phorest Aesthetics with three packages: Core, Elevate, and Elite. The platform has strong marketing and client retention tools.

Phorest pricing based on user reports and publicly available information as of May 2026. Contact Phorest directly for a current quote.

Full feature comparison

Calyx is built for one type of clinic.

Switching is straightforward.

Simple, flat pricing.

Choose the tier that matches your team size. All clinical features included.

30-day free trial on all plans. No commitment. Cancel anytime.

Choosing aesthetic clinic software in the UK

The UK aesthetic clinic market has grown significantly over the past decade. Alongside that growth, the software market has expanded with platforms ranging from general beauty booking tools to purpose-built clinical management systems. The right choice depends almost entirely on what kind of practice you are running and how you expect it to grow.

Why general salon software falls short for medical aesthetics

Platforms built for hair salons and beauty therapists handle appointment booking, payments, and marketing well. They were not designed for the additional requirements of medical practice. Consent forms in a general salon platform are typically simple digital signatures. In a medical aesthetic clinic, consent documentation needs to capture medical history, contraindications, treatment-specific risk disclosures, and practitioner details. Prescription-only medicines require a separate workflow entirely, linking the treatment to an authorised prescriber and a documented clinical assessment. General salon platforms do not have these workflows because their primary users do not need them.

The true cost of marketplace commission models

Fresha's marketplace model charges a 20% one-time commission on new clients discovered through their platform, with a minimum fee of £6 per booking. For clinics that rely on marketplace discovery for new client acquisition, this cost compounds quickly. A clinic generating 25 new clients per month at £180 average treatment value pays £900 per month in commission alone. Platforms with flat subscription pricing transfer the client acquisition cost to the clinic's own marketing budget, which the clinic controls.

Per-user pricing and the growth penalty

Several clinic management platforms charge per user or per user band. The practical consequence is that every time a clinic hires a new practitioner or admin staff member, the software bill increases. For a growing clinic this creates a predictable but frustrating pattern where operational success directly increases overhead. Flat-rate clinic-level pricing eliminates this dynamic. The software cost becomes a fixed overhead that does not scale with headcount.

What to look for when comparing aesthetic clinic software

When evaluating platforms, consider the total cost of ownership rather than the headline monthly price. Include per-user fees, SMS costs, booking fees, marketplace commissions, setup fees, and the cost of add-on modules you will realistically need. A platform that appears cheaper at the headline price can cost significantly more once variable charges are included.

Clinical features matter as much as operational ones. The ability to record structured clinical notes linked to specific treatments, send compliant consent forms, track medical alerts and contraindications, and manage prescription-only medicines within the same system reduces admin time and reduces compliance risk. These features are not present in general beauty salon platforms.

The case for a 30-day free trial

Most established clinic management platforms require a sales call before you can access the product. Pabau offers guided demos. Phorest requires a quote request. Neither allows you to explore the platform independently at your own pace. A self-serve free trial lets you test the booking flow, enter real patient data, and run a live appointment before committing a penny. For a platform you will use every day, that matters.

Switching clinic management software

Switching is the main reason clinic owners stay on platforms they have outgrown. The fear of data loss and disruption keeps practices on unsuitable software for years longer than they should stay. In practice, most platforms support data export in standard formats. Client records, appointment history, and treatment data can typically be migrated within 48 hours for a single-location clinic. Running both systems in parallel during a trial period reduces the risk further.