Honeybook vs. Dubsado. What’s right for you?
“I’m currently using Honeybook but want to switch to Dubsado,” or “I’m using Dubsado but I’ve heard of Honeybook and thinking about switching. What do you recommend?” Are two VERY common things I hear as a systems specialist. They both offer powerful features, but which one is truly better? In this blog post, we’ll dive deep into the pros and cons of Honeybook vs. Dubsado, helping you make an informed choice. I even have a quiz at the end you can take so you can see which one is right for YOU!
Introduction to Honeybook and Dubsado
Before we delve into the nitty-gritty details, let’s do a quick overview of the two platforms.
Honeybook: Designed with creatives in mind, Honeybook is a user-friendly CRM that streamlines client communication, project management, and financial tasks. It’s particularly popular among wedding planners, photographers, and other creative professionals due to its intuitive interface and all-in-one capabilities.
Dubsado: Dubsado, on the other hand, is a highly customizable CRM known for its flexibility. It caters to a wide range of businesses, including wedding professionals, offering robust features for managing projects, contracts, forms, and automation. Dubsado’s strength lies in its adaptability, making it a favorite among those who want to tailor their CRM to their unique workflow.
Collect signatures and payments, create automations, and capture leads with both platforms!
Honeybook vs. Dubsado: Feature Comparison
Let’s start by comparing the core features that both Honeybook and Dubsado offer, and then we’ll dive into their pros and cons.
1. User Interface and Ease of Use
Honeybook: Honeybook is renowned for its clean, visually appealing interface. Its dashboard is designed to be intuitive, allowing users to navigate easily through projects, tasks, and client communication. For wedding professionals who may not be tech-savvy, Honeybook’s simplicity is a significant advantage. The onboarding process is smooth, and the learning curve is minimal, which means you can start managing your business more efficiently from day one.
This is a photo of Honeybook's Pipeline (where you house your clients information and projects).
Dubsado: Dubsado offers a more complex interface, which can be both a pro and a con depending on your needs. While it’s not as immediately intuitive as Honeybook, Dubsado’s interface is highly customizable. You can set up your dashboard to reflect your workflow, add custom branding, and tailor forms to fit your specific needs. This level of customization is ideal for those who want a CRM that adapts to their business processes rather than the other way around.
This is a photo of Dubsado's Project board (where you house your clients information and projects).
Honeybook vs. Dubsado - Who has better features?
If you prioritize user-friendliness and a quick setup, Honeybook might be the better choice, especially since they offer a free file transfer. However, if you value customization and don’t mind spending a bit more time learning the system, Dubsado offers more flexibility and customization.
2. Client Management and Workflow Automation
Honeybook: Honeybook excels in client management, offering a pipeline view that lets you see where each client is in the process. You can create templates for emails, contracts, and invoices, and automate tasks such as payment reminders and follow-up emails. Honeybook also integrates with other tools like Google Calendar, Zoom, and Zapier, making it easier to keep track of deadlines, schedule appointments, and manage projects.
If you are a wedding planner or coordinator, you can communicate with vendors in Honeybook for each client by going to the client project > scroll to the bottom of “Only visible to you” > Related Workspaces.
Dubsado: Dubsado’s client management features are even more robust. You can create detailed workflows with multiple triggers and actions, automate complex tasks, and set up conditional logic to personalize the client experience. For wedding planners, this means you can create intricate workflows that account for different types of events, client preferences, and vendor communications. Dubsado also allows you to track time spent on projects, which is a useful feature for businesses that bill by the hour.
Honeybook vs. Dubsado – Who has better automations?
For basic client management and simple automation, Honeybook is more than sufficient. But if you need advanced workflow automation with conditional logic, Dubsado takes the lead.
This is an example of what a Honeybook automation could look like!
3. Client Communication and Experience
Honeybook: One of Honeybook’s standout features is its client portal, where clients can view their contracts, invoices, and project timelines. The platform’s emphasis on a smooth client experience is evident in its communication tools, which are designed to keep everything organized and professional. This portal houses your questionnaires, brochures, and whatever other files you send to your clients. Honeybook also offers a mobile app that allows both you and your clients to manage projects on the go. However, this app is a bit limited.
Dubsado: Dubsado offers a client portal as well but with more customization options. You can brand the portal to match your business (Honeybook offers branding too, but it’s quite limited), and create very custom forms and questionnaires that enhance the client experience. You can use CSS coding to do this. Honeybook does not offer a CSS feature yet. Dubsado’s communication tools are powerful, allowing you to automate and trigger responses based on client actions, such as filling out a form or making a payment. Dubsado recently launched an app as well and is also a bit limited.
Honeybook vs. Dubsado – Who has better client communication and client experience?
For wedding professionals who want extreme customization and very limited manual work, Dubsado is the better contender! If you want to quickly customize templates and don’t want every email to be automated, Honeybook would be the better option for you.
4. Contracts, Invoices, and Payments
Honeybook: Honeybook simplifies the process of sending contracts, invoices, and receiving payments. Their templates are easy to customize, and you can set up payment schedules with automatic reminders. Honeybook’s payment processing is straightforward, integrating with major payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, and credit cards. As of August 2024, they also offer Google and Apple Pay! The platform offers financial reporting features as well, so you can keep track of your income and expenses.
Dubsado: Dubsado offers similar features, but as previously mentioned, all of their templates can be completely customized. Dubsado’s invoicing system is more complex and may require a bit more time to set up compared to Honeybook. Dubsado integrates with payment processors like PayPal and Stripe, but some users have reported occasional issues with payment processing. However, Dubsado recently created Dubsado Payments, so hopefully there are less issues with payment processing. Dubsado also offers surcharging, meaning you charge the client the payment processing fees so you don’t have to!
Honeybook vs. Dubsado – Who has better contracts, invoices, and payments?
If you’re looking for simplicity and reliability in contracts and payments, Honeybook is the winner. Dubsado offers more customization but may require more effort to manage (seeing a trend here?).
5. Pricing and Value for Money
Honeybook: Compared to Dubsado, Honeybooks free trial is very limited, with only 7 days free. Honeybook’s pricing is straightforward, with a single plan offering all features at a flat rate. As of this writing, Honeybook costs $19-$79/month or $192-$792/year. The lowest monthly/yearly plan is quite limited, with only 1 scheduler session, no automations, limited reporting, and limited branding. If you were to invest in Honeybook, I would recommend purchasing the Essentials plan ($39/month or $384/year) This plan includes unlimited projects, clients, and access to all features, making it a great value for growing businesses.
Dubsado: Dubsado offers two pricing tiers. The Starter plan costs $20 per month and is limited to three active clients. The Premier plan, at $40 per month or $400 annually, includes unlimited clients and access to all features. Dubsado also offers a free trial with no time limit, but it’s limited to three active clients. While Dubsado’s pricing is slightly higher than Honeybook’s, the added customization and advanced features may justify the cost for businesses that need them.
Honeybook vs. Dubsado – Who has better pricing?
Honeybook offers excellent value for money, especially for businesses that don’t need extensive customization. Dubsado is worth the investment if you require advanced features and are willing to pay a bit more.
Honeybook vs. Dubsado: Pros and Cons
Honeybook Pros:
User-Friendly Interface: Honeybook’s intuitive design makes it easy for users to get started quickly.
All-in-One Solution: With Honeybook, you can manage projects, contracts, invoices, and payments in one place.
Client Portal: The client portal enhances the client experience, offering easy access to important documents.
Mobile App: Honeybook’s mobile app allows you to manage your business on the go.
Flat Pricing: A single pricing plan offers great value for small to medium-sized businesses.
Honeybook Cons:
Limited Customization: Honeybook offers fewer customization options compared to Dubsado.
Basic Automation: Workflow automation is available, but it’s not as advanced as Dubsado’s.
Overall Limited Features: You may find as you use Honeybook that there are features that should be there that aren’t. For example, there’s no clear way to organize your templates. But it makes sense that organization should be a key feature, right?
Limited Free Trial: Unlike Dubsado, you can’t learn the system very well before investing. That’s a BIG con.
Dubsado Pros:
Advanced Customization: Dubsado’s flexibility allows you to tailor the platform to your business needs.
Powerful Workflow Automation: With conditional logic and multiple triggers, Dubsado offers more sophisticated automation.
Custom Branding: You can fully brand your client portal, contracts, and forms to match your business identity.
Free Trial: Dubsado offers a free trial with no time limit, allowing you to explore its features before committing.
Dubsado Cons:
Steeper Learning Curve: Dubsado’s complex interface may take longer to master, especially since there may be coding involved. This is Dubsado’s BIGGEST con.
Limited Resources to Learn and Connect: Honeybook offers a large community within the platform called The Honeybook Community. Ask questions, request features, even hire and GET hired by your network! Dubsado does not offer this.
Higher Pricing: Dubsado’s pricing is slightly higher, especially for the Premier plan. The only things Dubsado offers in the Starter plan are Unlimited clients & projects, One lead capture form, and Invoicing & templates. No automations, scheduler, integrations, nothing! So if you want to invest in Dubsado, You should invest in the Premier plan.
Conclusion: Which CRM is Right for Your Wedding Business?
When it comes to choosing between Honeybook vs. Dubsado, the best CRM for your wedding business depends on your specific needs and preferences.
Choose Honeybook if you value ease of use, a clean interface, and a simple, all-in-one solution that allows you to manage your business efficiently without the need for extensive customization. Honeybook is ideal for wedding professionals who want to streamline their processes and enhance their client experience with minimal setup time.
Choose Dubsado if you require a highly customizable CRM with advanced workflow automation and the ability to tailor every aspect of your client management system. Dubsado is perfect for wedding planners and coordinators who need to manage complex projects and value the flexibility to create personalized client experiences.
Both Honeybook and Dubsado have their strengths, so it ultimately comes down to what matters most to you in your business operations. Take advantage of the free trials offered by both platforms to explore their features and determine which CRM aligns best with your needs.
Want to find out what your specific needs are?
Take the quiz here to find out! If you have any questions about Honeybook or Dubsado, my email is always open! You can reach out at hello@virtuallyvital.co and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
