Dubsado vs HoneyBook

Dubsado

• Photographers, planners, designers, coaches and similar service providers
• Solo operators and small teams who want detailed, customizable automation
• Owners running more than one brand from a single account

HoneyBook

• Photographers, event planners and other independents who book clients
• Solo businesses that want contracts, invoices and payments in one tool
• Small studios that prefer a flat account price to per-user pricing

Dubsado

• There is no free plan: after the 21-day trial, Starter costs $335 a year or $35 a month.
• Scheduling, Flows automation, public proposals, Zapier and the QuickBooks and Xero integrations are only on Premier.
• The vendor describes it as client management for service businesses, not a CRM for B2B sales pipelines or prospecting.
• Teams with more than 3 additional users pay $25 to $60 a month extra, depending on size.

HoneyBook

• Available only to businesses in the U.S., Canada, the UK and Australia.
• Starter has no automations or team members, includes 1 scheduler session, and integrates only with email, calendar and Pic-Time.
• Team members are capped at 2 on Essentials; unlimited members, multiple companies and priority support need Premium at $109 a month.
• Payment processing costs extra: the pricing page quotes card fees from 2.7% + 10 cents in one place and 2.9% + 25 cents in another, plus 1.5% for ACH.

Dubsado

Proposal, contract and invoice in one

A single proposal can carry the contract and the invoice, so a client picks a package, signs with a legally binding e-signature and pays from one link.

Invoicing and payment plans

Invoices support packages, discounts, payment plans, recurring billing and autopay, with automatic reminders. Payments run through Dubsado Payments (powered by Stripe), PayPal or Square.

Flows automation

Multi-step workflows start on events such as a submitted form, signed contract, payment or booked appointment, then send emails, forms and invoices. Premier plan only.

Scheduler

Scheduling templates offer bookable times from custom availability windows, with two-way calendar sync and reminder emails. The scheduler is part of the Premier plan.

Lead capture forms and client portals

Embeddable lead capture forms bring in new inquiries, and each client gets a branded, password-protected portal. Starter allows 1 active lead capture form.

Multiple brands and team members

One account can run several businesses with separate branding at $10 a month per extra brand. Three additional users are free; larger teams pay from $25 a month.

HoneyBook

Project pipeline and client records

Leads and projects move through a customizable pipeline, and each client record holds contacts, conversations, files, notes and payments. Clients and projects are unlimited on every plan.

Proposals, contracts and invoices

Interactive files let a client choose services, sign a contract by eSignature and pay from a single document. A gallery of professionally designed file templates is included.

Online payments

Accepts cards, ACH bank transfers, Apple Pay and Google Pay, with payment plans, autopay, reminders and late fees. Processing fees are charged on each transaction.

Scheduler and lead forms

Clients book sessions from shared availability and can pay while booking. Starter includes 1 session and 2 live lead forms; Essentials has unlimited sessions and 10 forms.

Automations

Workflows send messages, follow-ups, files and tasks on triggers, and an AI builder drafts a workflow from a description of your process. Both start on Essentials.

HoneyBook AI

AI drafts email replies, recaps projects before meetings, takes meeting notes and flags high-value leads. HoneyBook AI is listed on all three plans.

Dubsado

• Starter$335

  per year ($35 billed monthly)

  Unlimited projects and clients, invoicing and payment plans, form and email templates, client portals, 1 active lead capture form and 3 extra users.

• Premier$525

  per year ($55 billed monthly)

  Adds the scheduler, automated workflows (Flows), public proposals, unlimited lead capture forms, QuickBooks and Xero sync and Zapier.

HoneyBook

• Starter$29

  per month, billed yearly ($36 billed monthly)

  Unlimited clients and projects, invoices, payments, proposals, contracts, client portal, basic reports, 1 scheduler session and up to 2 live lead forms.

• Essentials$49

  per month, billed yearly ($59 billed monthly)

  Adds unlimited scheduler sessions, automations, QuickBooks Online and Zapier integrations, up to 2 team members, 10 lead forms and SMS reminders.

• Premium$109

  per month, billed yearly ($129 billed monthly)

  Unlimited team members and lead forms, multiple companies under one account, advanced reports and priority support.

Dubsado

• Annual discount

  About 2 months free with annual billing

  The pricing page says annual billing gives 2 months' worth of savings: Starter is $335 a year against $35 a month, and Premier is $525 a year against $55 a month.

HoneyBook

• Annual discount

  Save up to 18% with yearly billing

  The pricing page states a saving of up to 18% for yearly billing: Starter is $29 a month billed yearly against $36 monthly, Essentials $49 against $59 and Premium $109 against $129.