Yes, for UK and Irish salons that want published pricing and a proper trial. LABÉAU covers the appointment diary, checkout, tiered staff commission, tip splitting, packages and memberships on every plan, with unlimited WhatsApp reminders, no staff cap and no commission on clients — from RM174.92/month with a 7-day free trial and no card. Phorest’s retention marketing is more mature.
Comparison
A Phorest alternative with open pricing and a free trial
Phorest is one of the best-known salon systems in the UK and Ireland, and its retention marketing is the reason. What it does not do is tell you the price up front: every plan is quoted after a consultation, there is no free trial, and features such as WhatsApp messaging are sold as add-ons.
Quick answer
LABÉAU is a Phorest alternative for UK and Irish salons that want to see the price before the sales call. Phorest quotes each salon individually, offers no free trial and sells WhatsApp as an add-on. LABÉAU publishes three plans from RM174.92/month, with a 7-day free trial and no card, unlimited WhatsApp confirmations and reminders included, no staff cap and no commission on clients. VAT is configurable during onboarding, and data import and one-on-one onboarding are free.
Last updated 29 September 2026 · Written and maintained by the LABÉAU team, Kuala Lumpur
What Phorest does well
Phorest is genuinely strong on the marketing side of a salon: client reactivation, rebooking prompts, review generation and its Treatcard loyalty scheme are core rather than bolted on, and its salon reporting is well thought through. Unlimited staff on every plan, a branded client app from its Ultimate tier and Front Desk AI for enquiries round out a mature product used by more than 12,000 businesses.
Where Phorest can cost you more
Phorest is a capable platform. Not every point below applies to every plan or every business, but these are the ones owners raise most often when they compare — check each against your own team size and clients.
Pricing that grows with the team — per staff member, per calendar or per location — or a quote you only see after a sales call.
Client messaging built around SMS and email, with WhatsApp — the app most clients outside North America actually read — missing, sold as an add-on or charged per message.
On marketplace-led platforms, the platform's brand sits in front of your clients, often with a fee on the new clients it introduces.
A narrower set of interface languages, which leaves multilingual front desks and floor staff working in their second language.
No national e-invoicing filed from checkout for Malaysia (LHDN MyInvois) or Singapore (IRAS InvoiceNow), for groups that trade there.
Payment methods weighted to cards, with limited handling of the QR and e-wallet schemes that dominate across Asia.
What LABÉAU does instead
LABÉAU is an all-in-one beauty business management and POS platform used by salons, spas and clinics internationally, covering appointment booking, checkout and payments, inventory, tiered staff commissions, packages and memberships, WhatsApp marketing, loyalty, multi-branch reporting and tax invoicing in one place. It runs in many languages, and where a country operates a national e-invoicing network we support, submission happens at checkout rather than as a separate monthly chore.
Every plan includes the appointment diary, checkout, tiered staff commission, packages and memberships. The client-facing online booking page starts on the Gold plan, and full brand customisation is on Diamond. There is no cap on staff and no per-seat fee on any plan, so the price does not climb as the team grows. WhatsApp confirmations and reminders are unlimited rather than sold in message packs, and there is no commission on the clients you bring in.
It has been built and supported from Malaysia since 2020 and is rated 4.9/5 by 150+ beauty and wellness businesses using it today, priced transparently from RM174.92/month (US$48.98 outside Malaysia) with no setup fee, a 7-day free trial and hands-on one-on-one onboarding rather than a help-centre link.
When you should still choose Phorest
If retention marketing is the heart of how you grow — automated reactivation, review generation and a mature loyalty scheme — Phorest has had longer to refine it, and its bespoke set-up with a dedicated team suits some larger salons. It also sends SMS, which LABÉAU does not. Phorest is aimed at salons with three or more staff; the sums shift most for smaller teams that would rather not negotiate a quote.
LABÉAU vs Phorest
| Capability | LABÉAU | Phorest |
|---|---|---|
| Available worldwide | Yes | Yes |
| National e-invoicing filed at checkout | MY + SG built in | None |
| WhatsApp marketing | Reminders on every plan; campaigns (Gold+) | Varies |
| Interface languages | 12 | Varies |
| Staff cap or per-seat fee | None — one flat price | Varies by plan |
| WhatsApp messages | Unlimited, included | Varies — often add-on or per message |
| One-on-one onboarding | Included | Varies by plan |
| Published pricing | Yes — three plans on the website | Quote only (Starter, Grow, Ultimate, Elite) |
| Free trial | 7 days, no card | None — bespoke set-up |
| Retention & loyalty | Packages, memberships, WhatsApp reminders | Yes — a core strength (Treatcard) |
| Branded client app | Online booking page (Gold+); brand customisation (Diamond) | Ultimate tier and above |
| Text-message marketing | No — WhatsApp and email | Yes |
| Tiered service commissions | Yes, at checkout | Yes |
| From (flat, any team size) | RM174.92/mo | Varies by region |
Indicative as of September 2026. Vendors change packaging and pricing frequently — confirm current details directly with each vendor.
The bottom line
Phorest and LABÉAU agree that a salon lives or dies on rebooking. They differ on how you buy: Phorest is quote-first with no trial, while LABÉAU publishes its price, lets you run it for 7 days without a card, and includes WhatsApp rather than selling it separately. If Phorest’s retention marketing is what you rely on, stay; if you want to know the cost before you commit, try LABÉAU first.
Also worth comparing
UK and Irish salons comparing Phorest usually also look at Fresha and Timely, at Treatwell for marketplace bookings — at 35% plus VAT on a new client’s first booking — and at Booksy for barbershops.
Frequently asked questions
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Answers link to the page they were published on.
Phorest does not publish prices: its Starter, Grow, Ultimate and Elite plans are quoted after a consultation, and there is no free trial. LABÉAU publishes all three plans — Silver at RM174.92/month, Gold at RM274.92/month and Diamond at RM598.98/month — with no setup fee and a 7-day trial that needs no card.
VAT is configurable during onboarding, so prices, receipts and reports reflect the rates you charge. In Malaysia and Singapore LABÉAU goes further and files LHDN MyInvois and IRAS InvoiceNow e-invoices directly from checkout.
Treatwell’s marketplace takes 35% plus VAT on a new client’s first booking. LABÉAU has no marketplace and no commission on any client, first visit or fiftieth: clients book with you directly, through your outlet’s public storefront page and, from the Gold plan, your online booking page.
Yes. Export your clients, appointment history and service menu, and LABÉAU’s onboarding team imports them free of charge as part of one-on-one onboarding. Move the staff commission rules over first — it is the part everyone notices if it is wrong.
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