File No. 101 against No. 102
HoneyBook vs Dubsado: what each one really costs
Two client management tools that look close on headline price and are not close at all once a team is involved. Both sets of figures were read off the vendors' own pricing pages and are shown with the dates.
The short answer. For one person the annual outlay is almost identical: $348 for HoneyBook Starter against $335 for Dubsado Starter. The gap opens the moment a second person needs access, because HoneyBook's cheapest plan includes no team members and Dubsado's includes three additional users at no extra cost.
What each one costs
Every figure below is read from the two price files at the moment this page loads, so this page cannot drift away from them. Each row links to the vendor page the price came from.
| Plan | Price | Billed | Checked | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HoneyBook From $29/mo | ||||
| Starter | $29/mo | billed yearly | Vendor page | |
| Essentials | $49/mo | billed yearly | Vendor page | |
| Premium | $109/mo | billed yearly | Vendor page | |
| Dubsado From $335/yr | ||||
| Starter | $335/yr | billed yearly | Vendor page | |
| Premier | $525/yr | billed yearly | Vendor page | |
Which one is for you
You work alone and expect to keep working alone. At $29 a month billed yearly, HoneyBook Starter covers unlimited clients and projects, invoices, contracts and a client portal, and for a single operator it costs $13 a year more than Dubsado. Choose it on the product, not on the price, because at one seat there is almost nothing between them.
Anyone else needs access. Dubsado includes three additional users on its cheapest plan at no extra charge, so a four person studio pays $335 a year. The nearest HoneyBook plan that admits team members at all is Essentials, at $588 a year for up to two of them. Also pick Dubsado if you run more than one brand, which it charges $10 a month to add rather than moving you up a tier.
What HoneyBook's pricing page does not say
- Every headline price on the pricing page is the annual billing price. The monthly billing rate was not confirmed on this check, so it is not published here.
- Starter includes no team members at all. A second person on the account means Essentials, so the real entry price for any two person operation is $49 a month, not $29.
- Two regular prices are displayed next to the discounted ones, $59 against Essentials and $129 against Premium. Whether those are the monthly billing rates or a list price was not confirmed, so no monthly figure is stated on this file.
What Dubsado's pricing page does not say
- Monthly-billed prices are not shown up front; annual is the lead offer.
- Extra brands cost $10 a month each, on top of the plan.
- Only three extra team users are free; bigger teams pay $25 to $60 a month by size.
- The $335 and $525 figures are billed as lump sums once a year.
The headline figures are quoted in different units
HoneyBook prices per month and bills yearly. Dubsado prices per year. That single difference is why these two look closer or further apart than they are, depending on which page a buyer reads first.
Put on the same footing, for one person:
| Cheapest plan, one person | |
|---|---|
| HoneyBook Starter | $29 a month billed yearly, so $348 a year |
| Dubsado Starter | $335 a year |
Thirteen dollars a year apart. For a solo operator the price is not the deciding factor, and any comparison that presents one as the budget option is reading the units wrong.
Where the real difference is
Team access, and it is not close.
| Users included on the cheapest plan | |
|---|---|
| HoneyBook Starter | none |
| Dubsado Starter | three additional users |
HoneyBook's own pricing page lists "no team members" against Starter. Adding anyone means Essentials at $49 a month billed yearly, which is $588 a year, and that plan admits up to two team members. Dubsado's cheapest plan includes three additional users and then charges $25 a month for four to ten.
So a four person studio pays $335 a year on Dubsado and $588 a year on HoneyBook, for the smaller team allowance of the two.
What neither page makes obvious
HoneyBook shows a monthly billing option behind a toggle and states a saving of up to 18% for paying annually, so every headline figure on its page is the annual rate. The monthly rate was not read on this check and is not published here.
Dubsado charges $10 a month for each additional brand. On HoneyBook, multiple companies is a Premium feature, which is $109 a month billed yearly, or $1,308 a year.
The trials differ in length and in what they cover
HoneyBook offers 30 days with no card required. Dubsado offers 21 days with full access to Premier, its upper plan, also with no card. Neither is a free tier, and neither continues.
The evidence
Both vendors' pricing pages, as they looked when the figures were read.
Figures on this page come from the two files named above, each read off the vendor's own pricing page on the date shown. Prices change without notice; check before buying.