Fresha vs Boulevard Compared

Last Updated on March 12, 2026 by Ewen Finser

Fresha is software for salons and spas, with simple, flexible booking options. Boulevard is an all-in-one tool: Scheduling, POS, marketing, inventory, reporting, and more. It is suitable for med spas, salons, nail salons, barbershops, and other scaling businesses.

If you’re trying to choose between them, you might already be knee-deep in feature lists and pricing pages. It can feel overwhelming, and worse, some of the biggest differences don’t really show up until you hit a snag.

Having used both rather extensively, I know there are great things about each one, but I also know that there might be certain pain points that make one of them preferable over the other. So in this Fresha vs. Boulevard comparison, I’m going to break down the differences to help you decide which one makes more sense for your needs.

Fresha vs. Boulevard: Which is Better?

At first glance, these two might seem very similar, but there are clear differences in terms of when each one makes sense.

Most salon/spa owners are creatives, not ops people. That’s why Boulevard is a great option for businesses that want to stay focused on clients and services while making the internal aspects of operations much simpler. Boulevard is a comprehensive, all-in-one software that does away with unnecessary and underutilized features, giving business owners all of the things they need in a simple, easy-to-use layout. The features that are included are designed businesses that are ready to grow.

Fresha is better suited for independent stylists or small businesses that not only want features like client data, booking, and sales, but want to increase bookings with exposure to an online marketplace. 

Calendar/Front Desk

One of the first things you’ll notice is the layout. I much prefer Boulevard’s layout for several reasons, but let’s start with the calendar, since that’s the landing page for Fresha.

As you can see in the image below, the calendar is pretty basic. The free version gives you one calendar for one employee, but once you add more, the text gets blockier with two-column overlays. On the side, all of the menu options are displayed as icons, which can make it somewhat difficult to tell where everything is.

When you compare that to Boulevard, the biggest difference is the landing page. Instead of taking you straight to the calendar, Boulevard takes you to the front desk feature. This is connected to the calendar, but it also shows who has appointments that day, who has checked in, and who has already completed their appointments.

By design, this is intended to help replace some of the administrative tasks that you might have to pay a staff member to handle. Because of that, it works especially for small to medium sized businesses that are growing and want to streamline front desk responsibilities. It can also be helpful in salons or spas with several independent contractors, where multiple people may need to answer calls or set up bookings through the shared front desk platform.

You might also notice that in terms of interface, the colors are relatively similar, with the same type of primarily white and light gray background juxtaposed by a little bit of black and purple for the most important areas.

What I prefer about Boulevard, though, is the way it structures its headers. I like my menu options along the top, instead of the left or right side, because it maximizes the available screen space once I am in a designated area. Boulevard also uses full words instead of icons as designations, so I have no issue figuring out when I am looking at reports versus sales data. 

Pain Points with Fresha vs. Boulevard Calendar/Front Desk:

Fresha calendar layout is fairly underwhelming, and it charges for each additional calendar you add. That means that as your team grows, your costs increase with it.

Boulevard doesn’t work that way; everything is all included, and it gives you the added benefit of a front desk function that is directly tied to the calendar and the messages center to facilitate better customer communication. 

When to Consider Fresha vs. Boulevard for Calendars/Front Desk:

If you need just a simple calendar function with easy online booking that is linked to things like social media pages, Fresha will do the trick. But if you need booking options with things like an incoming phone line to manage appointments as well as a front desk feature to help offload some of the administrative tasks, Boulevard is the stronger option here. 

Marketing

When it comes to marketing features, both platforms offer relatively similar options, including:

1. Blast campaigns
2. Automated campaigns
3. Social media content 
4. Deals and promos
5. Options to get reviews from customers

One of the things I really love about Fresha’s marketing platform is the number of automations they have. You can see in the image below that you are provided with a menu of automation categories, including:

1. Reminders
2. Appointment updates
3. Waitlist up dates
4. Increase bookings
5. Celebrate milestones
6. Client loyalty

There are a lot of templates, and one of my favorites is the one-hour appointment reminder. This can be particularly useful for companies that do a lot of last-minute bookings, like barbershops services or a nail salons, where clients might call in the same day and need a reminder shortly before their appointment.

When you look at the marketing section of Boulevard, you’ll find blast campaigns and automated campaigns very similar to what Fresha offers. However, a lot of the ready-made templates you get from Fresha are missing. So while the potential is there, Boulevard works better if you already know what kind of blast campaigns or automated emails you want to send. 

Pain Points with Fresha vs. Boulevard Marketing:

While Fresha might have a lot of useful templates, it also places limits on how many text messages or emails you can send each month. For example, an independent stylist on the free monthly subscription is limited to 20 text messages every month. So, to take advantage of the marketing templates and to set up all those automations, you will likely face a lot of hidden fees. 

Boulevard doesn’t have that issue. Its marketing tools are included in the monthly fee. 

When to Consider Fresha vs. Boulevard for Marketing:

If you want easy access to templates and a more guided setup, Fresha is a better choice. But if you prefer to customize the blast campaigns or automated messages you send, Boulevard has all the same options for a potentially lower price.

Booking

There is a key difference in how these two platforms handle booking. Fresha has a customer-facing marketplace where you can create a Marketplace Profile in addition to accepting bookings through Facebook, Instagram, and Google. This does come at an extra cost, but once you create your profile, customers can easily find you when searching for your services or your location.

Boulevard manages booking differently. It offers tools like an associated phone line that will ring directly to the front desk page on the software, as well as booking buttons that can be listed on your website without redirecting customers to a third-party marketplace.

Pain Points with Fresha vs. Boulevard Booking:

Fresha’s marketplace is one of its biggest strengths. Customers using the app or searching online can connect with your company through that customer-facing marketplace that is designed to enhance visibility, promos, and sales. The downside is that it costs extra to be shown on that marketplace, but that might be something you are looking for in your service.

Boulevard does not have this type of marketplace.

When to Consider Fresha vs. Boulevard for Booking:

If you want a software that can help you increase your online bookings through a front-facing marketplace, Fresha is the better fit. If you are more interested in software that helps you handle comprehensive business tasks from an internal perspective, Boulevard is the better option. 

Sales/Inventory

One of the things I liked about Fresha was the way it handles inventory and suppliers. It lets you add supplier info, along with the supplies you order from those wholesale suppliers, to the platform so that you can track when you might be running low on a particular product. 

At face value, this seems really useful, and I think if you are a small business or a solo provider, this could be a great way for you to keep track of all that information in one place. The thing it is missing, though, is an ability to link directly with those wholesalers and place your orders. So, in effect, it is a glorified notebook.

Boulevard also gives you an area to set up your services and products, but I think it is much better suited to medium-sized businesses, especially med spas or salons offering services that have to be done in a specific order. 

For example, with Boulevard, you can list all your services and arrange them based on which ones need to come before the others, such as a massage before a facial.

This means when a customer books multiple services online, the software will automatically put those services in the correct order. 

You can see in the image above that the right side column dictates the “scheduling order,” which is a feature Fresha doesn’t have. 

Pain Points with Fresha vs. Boulevard Inventory/Sales:

Fresha’s inventory feature is helpful for tracking products and suppliers, but it doesn’t link with a “buy” function. 

Boulevard, on the other hand, doesn’t have offer a way to process product sales online. 

When to Consider Fresha vs. Boulevard for Inventory/Sales:

Fresha is a good fit if you want a simple way to track inventory and supplier informaion, esepcially as a beginner or a solo provider keeping tabs on products like hair colo or salon supplies.  

Boulevard is the better choice for small to medium-sized businesses that are growing, especially spas that need to ensure appointments are automatically scheduled in the right order. 

Summing Up

I think every feature in your software should show ROI, either by saving time, saving money, or helping you make more money. I also think a lot of features look really cool at first glance, but aren’t things that many spa or salon owners really end up using. So if you are underusing your platform because of it’s packed with unnecessary tools, or not really saving time or money with what you have because the onboarding is too hard or the interface is complicated, then Boulevard is the stronger choice.

For me, one of the smallest yet most frustrating examples of this was constantly having to click on each icon on the left side panel of Fresha’s software before I landed on the page I needed because I couldn’t quite see what those icons were nor did it matter; it wasn’t a clear label. This was no more than 10 seconds of my day, but it happened Every. Time. I. Clicked. 

This time adds up, especially when I have a customer who needs their lightening mixture rinsed and I’m balancing the phone on my shoulder, taking a new booking. 

Still, Boulevard is not going to be the right fit for everyone. If money is tight or you are just starting out as an independent stylist, Fresha gives you the basic tools, without the monthly cost. But if you want a software that feels easier to navigate, more operationally useful, and better suited to a growing business, Boulevard is my pick.