Dubsado vs HoneyBook
Dubsado is $335 a year on Starter or $525 on Premier, with three extra users included free, and it does not take a percentage of your invoices. HoneyBook is $29 a month on Starter, $49 on Essentials and $109 on Premium, all billed yearly, with card processing that starts at 2.7% plus 10 cents. On a small book of business HoneyBook is easier and comparable in cost. Once you are invoicing serious money, the 2.7% is the number that decides it.
Every price below was checked on 20 August 2026 against dubsado.com/pricing and honeybook.com/pricing.
Head to head
| Dubsado | HoneyBook | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $28/mo | From $29/mo |
| Pricing model | Yearly subscription | Monthly subscription, billed yearly |
| Entry price | Starter $335/yr (about $28/mo) | Starter $29/mo billed yearly |
| Higher tier | Premier $525/yr (about $44/mo) | Essentials $49/mo, Premium $109/mo |
| Payment cut | None taken by Dubsado | Card fees start at 2.7% + 10c |
| Extra users | 3 free, then $25/mo for 4-10 | Included on Essentials and Premium |
| Multiple brands | $10/mo per extra brand | Multiple companies on Premium |
| Lead forms | Custom forms, unlimited | 2 on Starter, 10 on Essentials, unlimited on Premium |
The 2.7% is bigger than the subscription
HoneyBook's card fees start at 2.7% plus 10 cents. Put that against a realistic year. A designer invoicing $50,000 through the platform pays about $1,350 in card fees, on top of $348 a year for the Starter plan.
Dubsado Premier is $525 for the same year and takes nothing from your invoices. You still pay your own payment processor, but you choose it, and you are not paying a platform margin on top.
This is not an argument that HoneyBook is overpriced. Processing has to be paid for by somebody, and HoneyBook is bundling it. It is an argument that the sticker prices, $29 against $28 a month, tell you nothing useful. The number that moves is the one attached to your revenue.
HoneyBook does note that firms transacting over $500,000 a year on the Premium plan may qualify for discounted card fees, which is a fair signal about where the model is aimed.
What a team costs on each
Dubsado includes three additional users free on both plans. After that it is $25 a month for 4 to 10 users, $45 for 11 to 20, and $60 for 21 to 30. For a two or three person studio, that means the team costs nothing extra.
HoneyBook puts team members behind the plan tier instead. Starter at $29 is built for one person. Essentials at $49 adds team members and Premium at $109 makes them unlimited.
So a three-person studio is roughly $335 to $525 a year on Dubsado, against $588 a year on HoneyBook Essentials before any card fees. Add a $50,000 book of business and HoneyBook is close to $1,900 while Dubsado stays at $525 plus whatever your own processor charges.
Setup time is the hidden price of Dubsado
Dubsado's reputation is earned in both directions. It is genuinely more configurable: forms, workflows, canned emails and scheduling can be bent into almost any client process you already run. It also expects you to do that bending, and the weekend you spend on it is real.
HoneyBook arrives opinionated. Templates, a client portal, scheduling and basic reports are there on the Starter plan, and the client-facing side looks finished from day one. On Starter you get up to 2 live lead forms, which rises to 10 on Essentials and unlimited on Premium.
If your process is unusual, Dubsado will fit it and HoneyBook will fight it. If your process is ordinary, HoneyBook will have you live in an afternoon and Dubsado will have you reading documentation.
Running more than one business
Dubsado handles multiple brands directly: $10 a month per additional brand, each with its own look, and you swap between them with a click. For a photographer who also runs an education arm, or a designer with a separate agency name, that is the cleanest answer either platform gives.
HoneyBook puts multiple companies on the Premium plan at $109 a month billed yearly. It works, but you are buying the top tier to get it.
Annual billing is worth noting on both. Dubsado prices only in years and describes it as two months of savings against monthly. HoneyBook's advertised $29, $49 and $109 are all the billed-yearly rates, with Essentials shown as reduced from $59 and Premium from $129. Compare like with like or the gap looks wider than it is.
Which should you choose?
Choose Dubsado if…
- You invoice a lot and want the platform out of your payment flow
- You run more than one brand and want them separated
- You want deep form and workflow customisation and will spend the setup time
- You prefer one yearly bill to a monthly one
Choose HoneyBook if…
- You want to be running this week, not after a setup weekend
- You want scheduling, contracts, invoicing and payments in one place
- Your invoicing volume is modest enough that the percentage stays small
- You value a polished client-facing experience over configurability
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If money moves through your business in real amounts, take Dubsado. The yearly fee is fixed, three extra users are free, and nothing skims your invoices. Budget a weekend for setup and treat it as part of the price.
If you are starting out, working alone, or you would rather have a finished client experience today than a perfect one next month, take HoneyBook and accept the 2.7% as the cost of not building anything. The moment your annual invoicing passes roughly $30,000, run the two numbers again with your real figures. That is where the comfortable choice quietly becomes the expensive one.
Frequently asked
Which is cheaper, Dubsado or HoneyBook?
On the sticker price they are close: Dubsado Starter is $335 a year, HoneyBook Starter is $29 a month billed yearly. The difference is HoneyBook's card fees, which start at 2.7% plus 10 cents. On $50,000 invoiced a year that is about $1,350, which the subscription comparison never shows.
Does Dubsado take a cut of my payments?
No. Dubsado charges a yearly subscription and does not take a percentage of your invoices. You still pay whatever your own payment processor charges.
How much does Dubsado cost for a team?
Both plans include three additional users free. Beyond that it is $25 a month for 4 to 10 users, $45 for 11 to 20 and $60 for 21 to 30. For most small studios the team costs nothing extra.
Can I run two businesses on one account?
On Dubsado, yes, at $10 a month per additional brand, each with its own branding. On HoneyBook, multiple companies are a Premium plan feature at $109 a month billed yearly.
Is HoneyBook easier to set up?
Yes, noticeably. HoneyBook ships with templates, a client portal and scheduling ready to use. Dubsado is more configurable and expects you to configure it, which is a real time cost that should count in the comparison.
How many lead forms do I get?
HoneyBook allows up to 2 live lead forms on Starter, 10 on Essentials and unlimited on Premium. Dubsado's forms are part of its customisable form builder and are not capped this way.