Free tanning salon software exists, and for a calendar it does the job: customers book online, get a reminder, and you see your day. What it does not do is what makes a solarium different from a hair salon: start the beds, apply the Belgian rules on age, skin type and intervals, and sell packages and prepaid wallets at a till that takes Bancontact.
This guide is fair to the free tools: what they do, what they leave to you, and when that is enough. We make Solaryx, a paid software for Belgian tanning salons, so read our view as a competitor's and check the tools yourself.
What do free booking tools do well?
A free scheduling tool is built to fill a calendar, and it does. According to its public site, checked in October 2026, Koalendar has a plan that is free forever, takes payments through Stripe and works in more than thirty languages, French, Dutch and German included. Anolla, according to its public site checked the same month, also has a free plan, with online booking, prepaid tanning access and per-minute cards.
One step up, low-cost salon software adds a till and packages. According to its public pricing page (October 2026), Fresha's plan for an independent with one calendar costs 14.95 euros a month excluding VAT, with payment processing fees on top, and its tanning page mentions timed packages, memberships and the skin type on the client profile.
If your salon takes bookings for one or two beds and handles everything else at the desk by hand, one of these tools may be all you need for a while.
What does a free tool not do for a solarium?
It does not start or stop the beds
None of the free or low-cost tools above says it controls the beds. Koalendar is a general scheduler, Anolla mentions access control and lighting, and Fresha's tanning page speaks of tracking session limits. The bed is still started by hand on a timer at the desk, and the minutes added are recorded nowhere.
Bed control is what ties a session sold to a session given. A relay box on the bed's timer input starts it for the time paid and stops it at the end, and the session is recorded with its real duration.
It does not apply the Belgian rules
The royal decree of 20 June 2002 forbids UV sessions under 18 and for skin type 1, limits the first exposure of a session to half the normal dose, and requires at least 48 hours between the first and second exposure, then 24 hours between the next ones. Before the first session, the customer and the reception person sign a document with the skin type and the identity card number.
A general booking tool knows none of this. It will book a second exposure the day after the first, or a 17-year-old, unless someone at the desk catches it, and none of the general-purpose tools we read mentions the Belgian rules. The check then rests on your staff and a paper file.
It does not follow packages and prepaid wallets everywhere
A top-up with a bonus is a common offer in Belgian salons. Some free tools have packages, some have prepaid cards, but the balance has to follow the customer to the till, to the bed and online, and be deducted once per session. When the booking tool and the till keep separate balances, someone reconciles them by hand.
It is not a till with Bancontact at the desk
A booking tool takes online payments. It does not print a receipt, sell a cream, close the cash drawer at night or drive a card terminal at the desk. None of the free tools we read names Bancontact among its payment methods: check it before you count on it.
What does free cost in practice?
Free usually means the software, not the whole setup. Processing fees, text messages, add-ons and hardware come on top. Fresha, for example, lists fees per transaction and a loyalty add-on at 59.95 euros per location per month on its pricing page (October 2026).
The larger cost is the time between tools. A booking in one app, a sale in a till, a package on a card, the skin type in a folder and the bed on a timer make five places to keep in step. Every session not deducted, every minute added on a timer and every check done from memory is margin or risk you do not see.
When is a free tool enough, and when is it not?
- Enough: you want online booking and reminders, your desk is always staffed, and you are happy to keep the legal file, the packages and the timers by hand.
- Not enough: you want the beds to run only for what was paid, the legal checks done before the session rather than after, packages and prepaid wallets deducted on their own, and one place to look when an inspector asks.
In between, the honest answer is to test: a free tool costs nothing to try, and a demo of specialized software costs an hour.
Solaryx is built for the second case: online booking, a till with Bancontact on a CCV terminal, packages, prepaid wallets, gift cards and loyalty, the Belgian checks at booking and at the till, and the beds driven by relay boxes. It is a paid product: from 100 euros a month per site, plus a one-time setup of 4,000 euros, excluding VAT.
See how Solaryx applies the Belgian rules before each session
Compare with the Solaryx prices for your number of beds
Frequently asked questions
Is there free software for tanning salons?
Yes, for booking. Koalendar and Anolla both have a free plan, according to their public sites in October 2026. They handle the calendar; bed control, the Belgian legal checks and a till with Bancontact are not part of what they describe.
Can a free booking tool control my tanning beds?
Not the free tools we read. Bed control needs hardware on the bed, a relay box wired to its timer input, and software that starts and stops it for the time sold.
Does Belgian law require software to run a solarium?
No. The royal decree of 2002 requires the checks, not a particular tool: a trained reception person can make them. An automated centre relies on a control system that starts the beds and identifies the customer. Software makes the checks systematic and keeps the record of each session.
Can I start with a free tool and switch later?
Yes. Keep your customer list exportable and ask the next supplier what it migrates. Solaryx, for example, carries gift card balances and remaining session packages across when you move.