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Believe Websites vs Ovatu: salon booking software priced per employee, or a website with booking built in?
Ovatu is booking software for salons and therapists, from £20 a month for one employee plus £6 for each extra one in the UK, with texts at 7p each and a DIY booking mini-site. Believe Websites is from £49 a month for the whole team, £0 to build, 0% commission, with booking inside a bespoke site on your own domain. Every Ovatu figure read on 7 November 2026.
·8 min read
The short answer
- Ovatu is appointment booking and point-of-sale software for salons, spas and therapists, made in Australia and sold in the UK with prices in pounds.
- On 7 November 2026 Ovatu's UK pricing page listed two plans: Neat at £20 a month for the first employee and £6 for each additional employee, and Loaded at £30 a month for the first employee and £9 for each additional employee.
- Ovatu charges for text messages on top of the plan, at £0.07 per message on its UK pricing page.
- Ovatu's SaaS agreement says its prices exclude applicable taxes unless stated, and its UK pricing page did not say VAT was included.
- Ovatu offers a 30-day free trial, bills monthly in advance, and lets you cancel at any time, with the account closing at the end of the billing cycle.
- Ovatu includes a booking mini-website on a book.app address that you customise yourself, with the option to connect your own domain, plus a booking widget for an existing site and Reserve with Google.
- For a team of five, Ovatu costs £44 a month on Neat or £66 on Loaded before texts and VAT; Believe Websites is from £49 a month for unlimited team members.
- Believe Websites builds a bespoke website with booking inside it on your own domain for £0 upfront, from £49 a month, with 0% commission.
- Believe Websites' text reminders and card payments are built but not switched on, it has no marketplace, and it has a 12-month minimum term; Ovatu takes deposits and sends texts today and has no minimum term.
Ovatu is salon and clinic booking software from Australia that has quietly built up UK customers over the years. It does the things a salon front desk needs: a diary, online booking, reminders, deposits, a till, gift cards and a staff rota. It is priced per employee, in pounds, and it is one of the cheaper ways for a small team to get proper salon software.
Believe Websites does something different. We design and build a bespoke website for your business with booking built into it, on your own domain, and we keep changing it for you. So the question is less which diary is better and more whether you want software to run the salon, or a website that clients find and book through.
We make Believe Websites, so read this with that in mind. Every Ovatu figure below was read from Ovatu's own pages on 7 November 2026, with the UK selected on its pricing page, and those pages are listed at the bottom.
The short answer
- You want a full salon system, with a till, stock, rota, deposits and text reminders, for one or two people at the lowest price: Ovatu.
- You want clients to pay a deposit or get a text reminder today: Ovatu. Ours are built but not switched on yet.
- You have a team of five or more, no website or one you would rather not maintain, and want booking inside a proper site built for you at one price: Believe Websites.
Ovatu's plans
Monthly prices with the United Kingdom selected. Employees here means bookable staff; Ovatu says non-bookable users such as admins and accountants are unlimited. Ovatu's SaaS agreement says prices exclude applicable taxes unless stated, and the pricing page did not say VAT was included. Texts are extra on both plans.
| Plan | First employee | Each additional employee | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neat | £20 a month | £6 a month | Appointments, online booking, point of sale, reminders, waitlist, customer reviews, integrations, staff rota |
| Loaded | £30 a month | £9 a month | Everything in Neat, plus campaigns, passes, gift cards, promo codes, loyalty, consultation forms, stock control, rooms and equipment |
| Text messages | £0.07 per messageon top of either plan | Email reminders are part of both plans |
Ovatu takes card payments and booking deposits through payment providers you connect, which its payments page names as Stripe, Square, PayPal "and more", and it works with card terminals including Square and SumUp. Those providers charge their own fees; Ovatu's pages did not list a rate of their own, and its pricing page did not mention any commission on bookings.
Ovatu and Believe Websites, side by side
| Believe Websites | Ovatu | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A bespoke website with booking built in | Salon booking and point-of-sale software with a booking mini-site |
| Monthly price | From £49 for the business£0 to build | £20 or £30 for the first employeeplus £6 or £9 for each extra one, ex VAT |
| Team size | Unlimited, same price | Pay for every bookable employee |
| Commission per booking | 0% | None statedpayment providers charge their own fees |
| A website on your own domain | Yes, designed, built and changed for you | A book.app mini-site you customise, own domain can be connected |
| Who builds and updates it | We do, unlimited small changes | You do |
| Email confirmations and reminders | Yes | Yes |
| Text reminders | Built, not switched on yet | Yes, £0.07 per text |
| Card payments and deposits | Built, not switched on yet | Yes, through Stripe, Square, PayPal and others |
| Till, stock, gift cards, rota | No | Yes (gift cards and stock in full on Loaded) |
| Reserve with Google | No | Listed on its online booking page |
| Analytics and monthly report | Yes, plus an AI Search Readiness score | Business reporting |
| A new article about your town each month | Yes | No |
| Marketplace sending you new clients | No | No |
| Contract | 12 months, then month to month | Monthly, cancel any time |
| Free option | We build the site free before you decide | 30-day free trial |
What it costs as the team grows
£20 + 4 × £6, ex VAT, texts extra
£30 + 4 × £9, ex VAT, texts extra
any number of staff; includes building and hosting the website
Ovatu prices read from ovatu.com/pricing with the UK selected on 7 November 2026. Texts are £0.07 each on top, so 200 text reminders a month adds £14.
For one person, Ovatu is clearly cheaper: £20 a month on Neat against our £49. The per-employee price is what changes the picture. Loaded passes £49 at the fourth employee (£57), and Neat passes it at the sixth (£50), before VAT and before any texts. Our price stays the same however many people take bookings.
The bigger difference is the website. Ovatu's mini-site is a booking page with your branding, colours and pages that you set up yourself. Ours is a full site we design and write for you, with booking inside it, which we keep changing when you ask. We compared another salon system priced by the week in Believe Websites vs Timely.
Where Ovatu wins
- It is cheaper for small teams. £20 a month for one person on Neat, £32 for three.
- Texts and deposits today. Text reminders at 7p each, and deposits or full payment at booking through Stripe, Square or PayPal. Ours are built but not switched on yet.
- It runs the whole salon. A till, card terminals, gift cards, passes, loyalty, stock, consultation forms and a staff rota. We do none of that.
- Reserve with Google is listed on its online booking page.
- No minimum term. Ovatu bills monthly and says you can cancel at any time. We have a 12-month minimum term, then month to month.
- A 30-day free trial, so you can try the diary with your own services before paying.
Where Believe Websites wins
- You get a real website, built for you. A bespoke site on your own domain (www.yourbusiness.co.uk) for £0 upfront, which we design, write, host and change whenever you ask.
- One price for the whole team. Unlimited team members from £49 a month, with no extra charge for each new stylist or therapist.
- 0% commission on every booking, from anyone.
- Nothing to set up yourself. No theme to customise, no pages to write, no domain settings to change.
- Things that help the site be found. Analytics, a monthly report, an AI Search Readiness score and a new article each month about your town and services.
Where we lose, plainly
So which one?
- Pick Ovatu if you are a small salon or a solo therapist who wants a full system with a till, deposits and text reminders, and you are happy to set up the booking page yourself.
- Pick Believe Websites if you need the website itself, have a team that would cost more per employee on Ovatu, and want one flat price with the site built and kept up to date for you.
Running a hair salon? We compared seven booking platforms in the best booking platforms for hair salons in 2026. The whole Believe Websites offer is on our home page.
Common questions
- How much does Ovatu cost in the UK?
- On 7 November 2026 Ovatu's pricing page, with the UK selected, listed Neat at £20 a month for the first employee plus £6 for each additional employee, and Loaded at £30 a month for the first employee plus £9 for each additional employee. Text messages are £0.07 each on top.
- Does Ovatu's price include VAT?
- Ovatu's SaaS agreement says its prices exclude applicable taxes unless the price says otherwise, and the UK pricing page did not say VAT was included.
- Does Ovatu include a website?
- Ovatu includes a customisable booking mini-site on a book.app address, with custom pages and the option to connect your own domain, plus a widget for an existing site. You set it up yourself. Believe Websites designs and builds a full bespoke site with booking inside it, on your own domain, for £0 upfront.
- Does Ovatu take commission on bookings?
- Ovatu's pricing page did not mention any commission on bookings. Payments go through providers such as Stripe, Square or PayPal, which charge their own fees. Believe Websites charges 0% commission and is from £49 a month.
- Can I cancel Ovatu at any time?
- Ovatu's SaaS agreement says you can terminate your account at any time and it closes at the end of the billing cycle; billing is monthly in advance. Believe Websites has a 12-month minimum term, then runs month to month.
- Which is cheaper for a team of five, Ovatu or Believe Websites?
- Ovatu Neat is £44 a month for five employees and Loaded is £66, both before VAT and texts. Believe Websites is from £49 a month for unlimited team members and includes building and hosting the website.
Sources
- Ovatu plans and pricing (United Kingdom selected) — checked 7 November 2026
- Ovatu payments and POS features — checked 7 November 2026
- Ovatu online booking features (mini-website, Reserve with Google) — checked 7 November 2026
- Ovatu SaaS Agreement (taxes, cancellation) — checked 7 November 2026
- Believe Websites pricing and terms — checked 7 November 2026
Competitors' prices change. Every figure here was read from the company's own public pricing page on the date shown. If something is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.