HoneyBook vs Dubsado 2026: Pricing, Automations & Teams Compared (+ Our #1 Pick)

Both raised prices. Dubsado Starter went from $20 to $35 a month. Here's who each one fits, the real prices, and our number one pick. Both are built for the same job: booking a client, the paperwork, the retainer, and delivery weeks later. HoneyBook's template gallery and community are bigger than most tools have.

Dubsado is known for deep workflow and form building. So photographers, planners, designers and coaches shortlist both. The real question is which plan you would actually need. HoneyBook Starter already includes contracts, a client portal, HoneyBook AI, and a scheduler for one session type. Dubsado Starter has client portals, but one lead form, and no scheduling.

HoneyBook Essentials then adds automations, QuickBooks, text reminders, and ten lead forms. Entry price is close: HoneyBook $36, Dubsado $35 a month. Billed yearly, it is $29 against about $28. The entry plan goes to HoneyBook. You get more on day one.

HoneyBook includes contracts, even on Starter. On Dubsado, public proposals are a Premier feature. If you send proposal links, budget for Premier from day one. Run two brands? Dubsado charges $10 a month per extra brand.

HoneyBook Premium includes multiple companies. HoneyBook's Starter scheduler handles one session type, with email reminders. Essentials, at $59, adds the full scheduler and text reminders. On Dubsado, scheduling starts on Premier, at $55. Scheduling goes to HoneyBook.

Automations cost $59 on HoneyBook Essentials, and $55 on Dubsado Premier. Premier also adds unlimited lead forms, public proposals, and Zapier. HoneyBook gives two lead forms on Starter and ten on Essentials. Automations go to Dubsado: more workflow power, for $4 less. Lead forms go to Dubsado too.

Premier makes them unlimited. Dubsado includes three extra users for free. HoneyBook: Starter lists no team members, Essentials allows two, Premium is unlimited. So you plus three people costs $55 on Dubsado Premier, and $129 on HoneyBook Premium. Past three extra users, Dubsado adds $25 a month for four to ten users, and $45 for eleven to twenty.

Team price goes to Dubsado, and it is not close. For photographers: HoneyBook's Starter scheduler books sessions from day one. Dubsado suits studios that script every client email into a workflow. A second shooter on the account? HoneyBook needs Essentials.

Dubsado includes three extra users. Dubsado, monthly: Starter went from $20 to $35, Premier from $40 to $55. HoneyBook, billed yearly: Starter $16 to $29, Essentials $32 to $49, Premium $66 to $109. HoneyBook gives a 30-day trial and a 60-day money-back policy. Dubsado gives 21 days of Premier.

The head-to-head: Dubsado wins three rounds to two. Use each trial like this: rebuild one real booking, load ten real clients, and send one real proposal. Dubsado Premier hands you more to configure: more power, and more setup time. But for most creative businesses, there's a better fit. Our number one pick is neither: it's Workspace369, from $29.

Automations come on every plan: an overdue invoice sends its own reminder, from $29. Automations cost $29 on Workspace369, $55 on Dubsado, and $59 on HoneyBook. On Voyager, email and texts land in one client thread, with an AI summary on top. On Voyager, a lead calls while you are shooting, you miss it, and they get a text back. The proposal goes out, the client opens it, signs, and on Specialist, pays the deposit.

Payment schedules come on every plan: the client pays by card, and it is marked paid. Bill by the hour? On Voyager, run a timer, stop it, and bill it to an invoice. Every booking runs as a project, with a budget, a task board, and progress that updates. And you can just ask.

Who still owes you a deposit? Workspace AI answers from your data. Being newer shows in the design: one clean interface, the same on desktop, tablet and phone. The plans: Cadet, $29 for one seat. Voyager, $74 for two, with texting.

Specialist, $149 for ten. For you plus three, that is $94 on Voyager with two extra seats. The ranking. Our number one pick: Workspace369. Small teams who love workflows: Dubsado.

Solo creatives who want the most on day one: HoneyBook. By business type: a solo photographer who wants it all on day one, HoneyBook. A planner with a small team, Dubsado. Anyone billing hours or texting clients, Workspace369. Before you switch: export your clients, save signed contracts, and settle open payment schedules.

Moving to Workspace369? Upload the CSV, AI maps the columns, and your clients are in. Price the plan you would actually need, then run one real booking in each trial.