HoneyBook vs Dubsado for web designers: which one fits how you work

The short answer

Pick HoneyBook if you work alone or with one helper, your business is based in the US, Canada, the UK or Australia, and you want to send a polished proposal this week without building much first. Its templates and all-in-one client files get you booking clients quickly.

Pick Dubsado if you sell tiered packages, run more than one brand, have three colleagues who need logins, or your business is based somewhere HoneyBook does not serve yet. It takes longer to set up, and in return you get more control and cheaper team pricing.

Both are built around proposals, contracts and getting paid. If what you really need is a CRM for leads, bookings and invoices that sits next to the websites you build and sell, that is a different kind of tool, covered towards the end.

Prices at the time of writing (October 2026)

These are the US dollar prices on each vendor's own pricing page. Payment processing fees are extra on both and are covered further down.

A few details change the maths:

• Team members. Both Dubsado plans include up to three extra users at no cost. Beyond that it adds $25 a month for up to ten users. HoneyBook Essentials allows up to two team members, so a bigger team lands on Premium.
• A second brand. Dubsado charges $10 a month per extra brand, each with its own branding, email settings and templates. On HoneyBook, running multiple companies is a Premium feature.
• Old prices in reviews. Dubsado raised its prices on 1 December 2025 with its 3.0 rebuild (Starter was $20 a month, Premier $40). Existing subscribers kept the old rate, so many reviews still quote $20.
• Trials. Dubsado gives 21 days of full Premier access with no card. HoneyBook offers a free trial with no card and a 60-day money-back guarantee.

Setup time and learning curve

This is the biggest day-to-day difference between the two.

HoneyBook is quick to get going. It offers hundreds of ready-made proposal templates, and one client file can hold your service options, the contract and the invoice, so the client picks, signs and pays from a single link. On the plans with automations there is also an AI builder: you describe the workflow in a sentence and it drafts it for you to review. You can realistically get your first proposal-to-deposit file working in an afternoon.

Dubsado expects you to build more yourself: packages, proposal forms, contract templates, questionnaires and then the Flows that connect them. Reviewers, web designers among them, describe a steeper learning curve in exchange for more customisation. Dubsado runs regular free live demos, which are worth an hour before you start, and a weekend is a sensible budget for the core setup.

Whichever you pick, write your client journey on paper before you touch the software. Our guide to a web design client onboarding process has a version you can copy.

Branded proposals, contracts and client portals

Both put your logo and colours on everything a client sees, and both let you run the client portal on your own subdomain (for example clients.yourstudio.com) instead of the vendor's address.

HoneyBook proposals are interactive files. You show service packages and add-ons, the client chooses, and the choices fill the invoice, with the contract and payment page in the same file. Since an August 2025 update you can also set the portal's fonts, colours and images. Starter shows a 'Powered by HoneyBook' label, which Essentials removes.

Dubsado proposals are interactive forms built from packages. Each package can show a select button or a quantity box, the subtotal updates as the client chooses, and submitting the proposal creates the invoice automatically. You can attach the contract and take a deposit in the same step. The portal is password protected, and you can add custom CSS if you want it to match your site exactly. One catch: public proposals (a shareable link you can put on a pricing page) are Premier only.

For a designer who sells three clear tiers, say a five-page brochure site, a larger business site and an online store build, both work well. Dubsado gives you more control over how each form looks and behaves. HoneyBook gets you to a good-looking result with less effort.

Workflow logic: what happens without you

A web design project follows the same steps every time, and both tools can automate most of them on their middle plans:

1. The enquiry form on your site creates a lead.
2. An email invites them to book a discovery call.
3. After the call, the proposal goes out.
4. A signed contract and paid deposit move the project to booked.
5. An onboarding questionnaire collects content, logins and brand files.
6. Reminders chase missing content before the build deadline.
7. The final invoice goes out at launch, followed by a review request.

HoneyBook automations (Essentials and Premium) start from events such as a new enquiry, a session booked, a file viewed or completed, a contract signed or a payment received. Conditions split a workflow into separate paths, for example only sending a follow-up if the contract is still unsigned after three days.

Dubsado Flows (Premier only) became a visual, node-based builder in the 3.0 release. They start from form submissions, signed contracts, payments and booked appointments. At the time of writing, conditional logic inside Flows is still listed as in progress, so a Flow cannot yet take a different path when a client fails to do something. On branching, HoneyBook currently has the edge.

Neither entry plan automates anything: HoneyBook Starter has no automations or scheduler, and Dubsado Starter has no Flows or scheduler. If you want the steps above to run on their own, budget for HoneyBook Essentials or Dubsado Premier.

Invoicing, payment plans and fees

Both handle deposits, payment plans, autopay and payment reminders, which covers the usual half upfront, half at launch arrangement.

• HoneyBook processes payments itself. Its pricing page lists card fees of about 2.7-2.9% plus a small fixed fee, 1.5% for bank transfers (ACH) and 1% for instant deposits. QuickBooks Online connects from Essentials.
• Dubsado adds no markup. You connect Dubsado Payments (built on Stripe, with cards, ACH, Klarna, Affirm and Tap to Pay), PayPal or Square, and pay that processor's normal rate. It also does recurring invoices, which suit monthly care plans and retainers, plus income, expense and profit and loss reports. QuickBooks Online is on Premier.

On a US card payment the cost ends up similar, roughly 3% either way, so about $90 on a $3,000 website. The bigger difference is control: Dubsado lets you choose the processor, while HoneyBook sets its own rates.

Where your business is based matters

Many comparisons skip this, and for a lot of readers it settles the question.

HoneyBook is open to businesses in the US and Canada and, since 2026, the UK and Australia, where plans are charged in pounds and Australian dollars. Businesses in other countries, such as India, Brazil or France, can only join a waiting list at the time of writing. Your clients can be anywhere: what counts is where your business is based.

Dubsado serves business owners internationally. You set your country and currency, and payment options depend on your region. A client abroad can pay in their own currency at the day's exchange rate while you receive yours. One warning: set your country and currency before you connect Dubsado Payments, because you cannot change them afterwards.

So if your studio is in India, Brazil, Germany or Spain, the choice is simple: try Dubsado, and check which payment processor works best where you are.

Solo designer or small agency: which fits

For a small agency the numbers are clear. You plus three colleagues on Dubsado Premier cost $525 a year. The same team on HoneyBook needs Premium at $1,308 a year, which is $783 more. If you are still deciding whether you need a proposal tool or a full CRM, our guide to choosing a CRM for a web design agency explains the difference.

Where WebNewBiz fits, and where it does not

WebNewBiz is a different kind of tool, so it is fair to say what it is first. It is an AI platform that drafts a complete website from a plain description, with an online store and an AI CRM in the same place. The CRM starts on the Growth plan ($79 a month, 3,000 contacts, 3 team members). It reads and scores leads, tracks deals, tasks and bookings, connects to your own email and sends invoices that chase themselves. Website enquiries land in it automatically, and workflow automations run on triggers such as a form submission or a date.

For a web design agency the more useful part is white-label. You put your own name, logo and colours on the dashboard, run it on your own domain such as app.youragency.com, create client accounts on packages you price yourself, and take payment through your own Stripe or PayPal account. So instead of a tool that only manages your clients, you get something you can sell them: a website plus a CRM under your brand, billed monthly. Our page on white-label CRM for agencies explains how that works.

The honest limits:

• It is not built around proposals and e-signed contracts the way HoneyBook and Dubsado are. If contracts and proposals are your main need, either of them is the better pick.
• The CRM starts at $79 a month, more than Dubsado Premier or HoneyBook Essentials.
• It is a younger platform with a much smaller app ecosystem and community, and there is no free plan (the first month costs $1).
• Agency white-label pricing is not published, so you have to ask.

It can make sense to use both: Dubsado or HoneyBook for your own proposals and contracts, and WebNewBiz to build, host and resell client sites with a CRM attached. For a wider view, see our roundup of the best CRM for freelancers.

A checklist before you choose

1. Check your country. If your business is not in the US, Canada, the UK or Australia, HoneyBook is off the table for now.
2. Count logins for the next year. More than two team members pushes HoneyBook to Premium.
3. Write down your tiers and add-ons. Build them as packages during the trial and send a test proposal to yourself.
4. Run one real enquiry end to end. Form, call booking, proposal, contract, deposit, questionnaire. Note where you got stuck.
5. Price the fees on a typical project. At roughly 3%, card fees on a $3,000 site come to about $90 on either tool.
6. Test recurring billing. If you sell care plans or retainers, set up a recurring invoice with autopay before you commit.
7. Ask about leaving. Find out how you would export clients, contracts and invoices if you ever switch.

Quick answers

Is HoneyBook or Dubsado better for web designers?

HoneyBook suits solo designers in the US, Canada, the UK or Australia who want quick setup and polished client files. Dubsado suits designers who sell tiered packages, run more than one brand, have a small team or are based in another country.

Which is cheaper, HoneyBook or Dubsado?

For one person they are close: at the time of writing (October 2026) Dubsado Premier is $525 a year and HoneyBook Essentials is $588 a year. For a team of four, Dubsado is far cheaper because HoneyBook needs Premium at $1,308 a year.

Can I use HoneyBook outside the US?

Yes, in Canada, the UK and Australia as well. Businesses in other countries can only join a waiting list at the time of writing, so Dubsado is the practical choice there.

Which is easier to set up?

HoneyBook. Its templates and all-in-one client files get a first proposal out quickly. Dubsado gives you more control but takes more time to set up packages, forms and Flows.

Can I white-label HoneyBook or Dubsado and resell it to clients?

Both let you brand the client portal with your logo, colours and your own subdomain, but they are built to run your own business, not to be resold. If you want to sell clients a CRM under your brand, look at a white-label platform instead.

Related guides

• Dubsado alternatives for web designers, sorted by the job you need done
• HoneyBook alternatives for small businesses, sorted by why you are leaving
• Best CRM for wedding planners: an honest 2026 comparison

Your next step

If HoneyBook or Dubsado fits, start its trial and run one real client through it this week. If you build sites for clients and want to offer them a website and CRM under your own name, talk to us about white-label. We share agency pricing on request. To see the product first, try the free AI Website Preview, which designs a homepage from one sentence, or read about the AI website builder and start for $1.