Compared
Session vs Wunderbook
Session and Wunderbook are both free to use, no-contract booking systems for indepedent businesses
They share similar feature lists - memberships, digital waivers, group/multi-seat bookings, gift cards and automated refunds. So the choice really comes down to two things:
Cost: Wunderbook is free to the business but funds itself with a 2% fee on every customer's booking (uncapped) - so it isn't really free, the cost just moves to your customers. Session's total platform fee is a quarter of that (0.5%), capped at £100/month, and adds nothing to your customers' bill.
Quality: Session has prioritised a fantastic experience for both customer and admin. It's also designed specifically for saunas - shared-capacity sessions, part-session windows, per-guest waivers, on-the-day check-in - the list goes on. Wunderbook serves gyms, studios and clubs.
What Session adds for a sauna
Genuinely cheaper — and "free" isn't free. Wunderbook is free to the business but adds a 2% fee to every customer booking, uncapped — so the cost doesn't disappear, it lands on your customers. Session's platform fee is around a quarter of that (0.5%), capped at £100/month, and your customers pay exactly the ticket price.
A product built only for saunas. Because Session does one thing, the admin tools and the customer booking flow are designed around it — the shared-capacity calendar, the part-session window picker, per-guest waivers signed and verified by QR at check-in, and a dedicated staff check-in page. Wunderbook covers saunas well, but its product also has to serve gyms, studios and clubs.
Multiple locations from one account, each with its own location-aware booking page.
UK & Australia native — local currency, Stripe payouts to your own account, region-aware tax. Wunderbook is Ireland-based (EUR).
Where Wunderbook fits
Wunderbook's strengths are real, and it's the closest thing to Session in spirit:
Zero cost to the business — if you'd rather your customers absorb the 2% fee than pay anything yourself, Wunderbook's model wins on your own P&L.
One tool for a mixed independent business — if you run a sauna and a gym, yoga studio or class timetable, Wunderbook is built to cover all of them in one place.
Ireland / EUR operators get a region-native fit.
Both share the same anti-corporate, community-first ethos — this isn't generic-vs-specialist, it's two independent-friendly tools with different fee philosophies and different depth.
The fee difference, plainly
Both are free to start with no contract, and both pass Stripe's card processing straight through. The platform fee is where they diverge: Wunderbook charges the venue nothing and adds 2% to the customer's checkout; Session charges the venue 0.5% (capped at £100/month) and adds nothing to the customer. For a £20 session: on Wunderbook the customer pays £20.40 and the venue keeps the £20 (less Stripe); on Session the customer pays £20 and the venue keeps £19.90 (less Stripe), with the venue's fee capped once it reaches £100 in a month.
So while Wunderbook shows as £0 on your own books, the platform still takes 2% — it's just taken from your customers, it's uncapped, and it grows with every booking. Session takes around a quarter of that (0.5%), caps it at £100 a month, and keeps your checkout price clean. For most saunas — especially busy ones, and community venues that don't want to surcharge their members — that's both cheaper overall and a better experience for the people booking.
FAQ
Is Session or Wunderbook better for a sauna? Both are free, no-contract systems with memberships and waivers, so it's close. Session is sauna-only with part-session pricing, per-guest waivers verified at check-in and multi-location pages, charges the venue 0.5% (capped £100/month) with no customer surcharge, and is UK/Australia native. Wunderbook is free to the business, adds a 2% customer fee, and also serves gyms and studios from Ireland.
Does Session add a booking fee to my customers like Wunderbook does? No. Session's fee is paid by the venue — 0.5% per booking, capped at £100/month — and customers pay exactly the ticket price. Wunderbook is free to the business but adds a 2% booking fee to the customer at checkout. Stripe's card processing applies the same way on both and goes to your own account.
Is Wunderbook free? Wunderbook is free for the business with no contracts — but it funds itself with a 2% fee added to each customer's booking, so your customers pay it instead. Session is also free to set up and takes 0.5% from the venue (capped £100/month) rather than charging customers. Both are free to start; the difference is who pays the ongoing fee, and how much.