Something about Fresha, Timely or Kitomba is bugging you.
Maybe it's a cut of bookings from clients you already earned. Maybe the bill climbs every time you hire. Maybe you can't see the price without a sales call. They're all capable platforms, and each may still be your best pick — but if one of those is your itch, Suddenly Sorted was built for it: made in NZ, flat NZD pricing, 0% commission, with Sally answering and booking 24/7.
Which bill are you squinting at?
Each comparison starts from the thing owners actually complain about — commission, per-staff creep, quote-only pricing — and every page includes where the other platform may genuinely suit you better. No fabricated fee tables, no strawmen.
The marketplace question
Free software funded by marketplace and payment fees, or flat pricing with zero commission and your clients staying yours. Two opposite models, honestly compared.
Read the comparison → vs TimelyThe per-staff question
A deep NZ-founded back-office suite priced per staff member, or a flat-priced front desk with a client-facing AI Timely doesn't have. Which job do you need done?
Read the comparison → vs KitombaThe transparency question
Two decades of account-managed depth with quote-based pricing, or published prices, self-serve setup in minutes, and cancel-anytime. Old school meets new school.
Read the comparison →Money surprises are a feature of their model. Not ours.
Read public reviews of the big salon platforms and one pattern repeats, whatever the brand: money surprises. A fee on a client you're sure was already yours. A bill that jumps because you hired someone. A price you only learn on a sales call.
We made billing the least interesting thing about the product: Free, $29, $69 or $129 a month NZD (+GST), published on the pricing page. No per-staff multiplier, no lock-in — cancel from your dashboard, and your data stays yours. Start free, no card.
If you have to squint at an invoice, the model is working against you.
Every platform has an "AI" now. Ask it for a cut and colour, Saturday arvo.
That one message is where call bots fall over — answering it right takes a booking brain, not a chat script. Sally knows your services and durations, who can do what, processing gaps, group bookings, deposits, waitlists, and the guardrails that stop a chair being double-booked. So she answers like your best receptionist — and books it correctly, with a multi-service cart, express in-chat booking, and Stripe deposits where you want them.
And she doesn't only live on your website. Sally answers on your website, Instagram DMs and Facebook Messenger from one inbox — and you can take over any conversation yourself the moment you want to. That's a wedge most salon platforms don't have: the DMs where clients actually ask "got a spot Saturday?" get answered and booked in about five seconds, not left on read.
Then she keeps the book full without you: reminders that cut no-shows, review requests after the appointment, a nudge for regulars who are due back, a referral program that rewards word-of-mouth, and a bookable one-page website with its own vanity link (name.suddenly.co.nz) if you don't have one. That's the product: a client book that fills itself.
And because it's made in NZ for NZ salons — NZD, GST, our public holidays, our support hours — you're not translating someone else's market into yours.
Still weighing it up? Every price and limit is in one table — read the facts page → or book a free demo and put your gnarliest booking to Sally.