Session alternative
Olladay vs Session.
Session (bookasession.org) is booking software built only for saunas, and it takes bookings well. Olladay also runs the parts of the sauna around the booking. With Olladay Pro you get texts to guests, a door code for every booking, heating that follows the bookings, a card reader, Xero and QuickBooks, Viator and GetYourGuide, and busy and quiet pricing. None of those are listed on Session’s site. Session charges you 0.5% of every booking, up to €90 a month; Olladay is free for you, with a flat €0.49 a place shown in your price.
Session facts checked against bookasession.org on 12 October 2026. Sources linked below.
At a glance
| Olladay | Session | |
|---|---|---|
| Texts to guests | With Pro: confirmations, reminders and waitlist offers, 300 a month included | Not listed on their site |
| Your own web address for bookings | Yes, free on every plan | Not listed on their site |
| A door code for every booking | With Pro (Seam, igloohome) | Not listed on their site |
| Heating that follows the bookings | With Pro (HUUM, Shelly), plus wood-fire reminders | Not listed on their site |
| Card reader at the counter | With Pro | Not listed on their site |
| Xero and QuickBooks | With Pro: each day’s takings, fees and refunds | Not listed on their site |
| Viator and GetYourGuide | With Pro, once each partner approves the connection | Not listed on their site |
| Busy and quiet pricing | With Pro | Not listed on their site |
| Close a run of dates | Yes, with a note shown on your booking page | Not listed on their site |
| Monthly fee | €0, or €39 (£35) a month for Pro | €0 (source) |
| What you pay per booking | €0 on Free for you; or 1% if you pay (0.5% for life for founding venues), no cap | 0.5% per paid booking, capped at €90 a month (£100 in the UK) (source) |
| Booking fee for your customer | €0.49 a place on Free for you, inside every price shown; none if you pay | None listed |
| Booking fee on packs, memberships and vouchers | None | None listed |
| Payments go to | Your own Stripe account | Your own Stripe account (source) |
| Built for | Saunas and cold plunges | Saunas and cold plunge studios (source) |
| Shared sessions and private hire | Yes | Yes (source) |
| Memberships, packs and gift vouchers | Yes | Yes (source) |
| Health and safety terms | Yes, with the exact text each customer agreed to | Yes, per-guest waivers (source) |
| Waitlists | Yes, with automatic offers by email | Not listed on their site |
| Discount codes | Yes: percent or euro, limits and end dates | Group discounts listed; codes not listed |
| Newsletters to customers who opted in | Included | Paid add-on, from about $13 a month (source) |
| Retail and add-ons (towels, drinks) | Extras such as towel or robe hire at booking; no shop | Yes (source) |
| Made in | Ireland | Not stated; used in the UK, Ireland, US, Australia and New Zealand |
“Not listed on their site” means we couldn’t find it on Session’s public pages, not that it doesn’t exist. If anything here is out of date, email hello@olladay.com and we’ll fix it.
What a sauna pays on each
Neither has a monthly subscription for taking bookings. On Olladay’s Free for you plan you pay nothing and your customers pay €0.49 a place, inside the price they see. If you pay the fee yourself, Session costs the same or less: its 0.5% is capped at €90 a month, and our rate is 1% with no cap, or 0.5% with no cap for our first 50 founding venues.
| Paid bookings a month | Olladay, Free for you | Olladay, you pay 1% | Olladay, founding venue paying 0.5% | Session (0.5%, capped at €90) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €2,000 | €0 | €20 | €10 | €10 |
| €5,000 | €0 | €50 | €25 | €25 |
| €10,000 | €0 | €100 | €50 | €50 |
| €20,000 | €0 | €200 | €100 | €90 |
| €30,000 | €0 | €300 | €150 | €90 |
Stripe card processing comes on top on both. If you want your customers to pay exactly your price and you pay the fee yourself, Session costs the same or less.
Where Olladay fits better
- Unstaffed mornings. With Pro, each booking gets its own door code and the heater is warm before the first guest arrives, so a 7am session doesn’t need you there.
- Texts. With Pro, guests get their confirmation, reminder and waitlist offers by text as well as email.
- The till and the books. With Pro, take card payments at the counter and send each day’s takings to Xero or QuickBooks.
- Visitors. With Pro, sell the same timetable on Viator and GetYourGuide once each partner approves the connection, and price busy and quiet times differently.
- Your own web address. Take bookings at an address like book.yoursauna.ie, free on every plan.
- Nothing to pay for bookings. On Free for you the booking platform costs you nothing, and the fee your customers pay is shown in your price, with none on packs, memberships or vouchers.
Where Session may suit you better
- You sell retail and add-ons like towels, hats and drinks alongside bookings.
- You pay the fee yourself and take a lot. Session’s €90 cap beats our 1%, and beats the founding 0.5% above €18,000 a month.
- You value reviews. Session shows a 5.0 rating on Capterra. Olladay is newer.
Moving from Session
- Export your customers and upcoming bookings from Session.
- Sign in to Olladay and set up your sessions, prices and terms, or send us your timetable link and we’ll do it.
- Import customers, pack balances, memberships and bookings from a CSV, check the preview, and undo it if anything looks wrong.
- Run both side by side, then swap the booking link in your Instagram bio, website and Google profile.
Read the full switching checklist.
Questions
Session or Olladay: questions.
What does Session cost?
Session says it is free to set up with no subscription, and takes 0.5% of each paid booking, capped each month (€90 in Europe). Stripe card fees are separate (Session pricing, checked 12 October 2026).
Is Session cheaper than Olladay?
If you pay the fee yourself, yes. Session’s 0.5% capped at €90 a month is less than Olladay’s 1%, and less than the founding venues’ 0.5% above €18,000 a month. On Olladay’s default plan, Free for you, you pay nothing and your customers pay a €0.49 booking fee a place, shown in the price.
Why choose Olladay over Session?
For what Pro does that Session doesn’t list: texts to guests, a door code for every booking, heating that follows the bookings, a card reader at the counter, Xero and QuickBooks, Viator and GetYourGuide, and busy and quiet pricing. Your own web address and closing a run of dates are free on every plan. And on Free for you, taking bookings costs you nothing.
Can I move from Session to Olladay?
Yes. Import customers, pack balances, memberships and upcoming bookings from a CSV, check them before they go live, and run both systems side by side until you swap your booking link.
Get started
Paste your Session link and see your week on Olladay.
Sign in with Google, add your sessions and prices, and preview your booking page in minutes. Connect Stripe when you’re ready to take payments.
Start freeTry the demo sauna as a customerBook a 15-minute call
Setting up is free and needs no card. Switching from another system? Email us and we’ll move you over.