Moxie vs HoneyBook vs Dubsado for Freelancers in 2026
Real 2026 pricing, who takes a cut of your payments, and a plain verdict across three freelancer CRM suites.
The Delivvo team· September 18, 2026 8 min read
Pick Moxie if you want the cheapest, most explicitly solo-freelancer suite. Pick HoneyBook if you want the smoothest done-for-you client experience and do not mind it taking a cut of every payment. Pick Dubsado if you want deep automation and to keep your payment fees at zero by connecting your own processor. All three are client-management suites that hold proposals, contracts, invoices, and a client portal in one place, the same job tools like Delivvo, HoneyBook, Dubsado, and Moxie all exist to do. The sharpest difference between them is not the monthly price. It is who touches your money. Here is how they compare in 2026.
The three suites in one line each
Moxie is the freelancer-native budget option, priced and shaped for a business of one. HoneyBook is the polished all-in-one that processes your payments for you, convenience with a cut attached. Dubsado is the automation powerhouse that connects to your own payment processor and takes nothing on transactions. The features overlap heavily; the money model is where they split.
The 2026 prices, side by side
| Tool | Entry plan | Top plan | Payment model | |---|---|---|---| | Moxie | $10/mo (annual) | $32/mo Teams | Connect your own processor | | HoneyBook | $29/mo | $109/mo | Takes 2.7% + 10c card, 1.5% ACH | | Dubsado | $335/yr Starter | $525/yr Premier | (your own gateway) |
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Moxie starts at $10 a month billed annually for its Starter plan, rising to $20 for Pro with a white-label client portal and automations, and $32 for Teams, per Moxie. HoneyBook runs Starter at $29 a month, Essentials at $49, and Premium at $109 on annual billing, per HoneyBook. Dubsado charges $335 a year for Starter and $525 for Premier, prices that took effect on December 1, 2025 alongside the Dubsado 3.0 release, per Dubsado.
On sticker price alone Moxie wins clearly, and Dubsado is a real annual commitment. But the subscription is only part of the cost, because two of these three also decide how much you keep of every client payment.
Two freelancers comparing platforms on a laptop in a bright coworking space
Do the payment math before the feature math
When two suites feel close on features, run the payment math, because it usually decides more than any feature list. Take a freelancer billing $5,000 a month by card. On HoneyBook's 2.7% + 10c that is roughly $140 a month, about $1,680 a year, gone before the subscription. On Dubsado or Moxie, where you connect your own processor, you pay only that processor's rate and the suite takes nothing, so the platform cut on that same $5,000 is zero. Over a year, the difference dwarfs the gap in subscription price. If you invoice heavily, the suite that owns your checkout is the expensive one even when its monthly fee looks cheaper.
The second decider is setup time, which is a real cost for a business of one. HoneyBook is built to get you sending a branded proposal within an hour, so its payment cut buys you speed and simplicity. Dubsado rewards a weekend of setup with automations that then run onboarding, contracts, and invoicing hands-off, which pays back every month in saved admin. Moxie sits between the two, cheap and quick to start, with automations on its higher plan. Be honest about which trade fits you: if your time is scarce and your volume is low, HoneyBook's convenience may be worth its fee; if you invoice a lot or love automation, the bring-your-own-gateway suites win on both money and control.
Whatever you choose, the job all three do is get a signable document in front of a client and turn it into money. That is measurable: proposals sent through Proposify close at a 34% rate versus a roughly 20% industry benchmark, drawn from an analysis of 742,137 real proposals, per Proposify's State of Proposals 2026. The suite that removes the most friction between yes and paid is the one that earns its price, so weigh the payment cut and the setup time first, and treat the feature checklist as the tiebreaker rather than the headline.
The real difference: who takes a cut
This is the line item that decides more than the plan does. HoneyBook processes payments itself and charges 2.7% + 10c per card payment and 1.5% on ACH bank transfers, per HoneyBook. On $5,000 of monthly card invoices, that is roughly $140 a month gone before the subscription.
Dubsado takes the opposite approach. It does not process payments at all; you connect Dubsado Payments powered by Stripe, or Square, or PayPal, and pay only that processor's standard rate, per Dubsado's help center. Dubsado's own cut is zero. Moxie also connects your own processor rather than inserting a platform fee, so you pay your gateway's rate and not a suite markup.
The pattern is worth naming: the suite that owns your checkout tends to add a platform cut on top of card processing, while the ones that let you bring your own gateway leave you paying only the processor. A branded portal like Delivvo takes that second approach to its logical end, letting clients pay direct through your own Stripe, PayPal, or regional gateway while the platform takes 0%. Our three-way on Dubsado, HoneyBook, and Bonsai digs deeper into the automation side of that trade.
The verdict by freelancer type
Choose Moxie if you are a solo freelancer who wants a capable suite at the lowest price, with your own processor connected so no platform skims your payments. At $10 a month it is the value pick, and it is built for one person rather than a team.
Choose HoneyBook if you want the most polished client experience with the least setup, and you would rather pay a payment cut than wire up your own gateway. It is the smoothest on-ramp, and the fee is the price of that convenience.
Choose Dubsado if you run repeatable projects and want automation that runs onboarding, delivery, and invoicing hands-off, while keeping 0% on payments through your own processor. The annual price is a commitment, but the saved admin and the zero payment cut can offset it.
Whichever you pick, the point is the same: get a clean, signable document in front of a client fast. Proposals that include an e-signature close at a 15% higher rate and 60% faster, per Proposify's State of Proposals 2026. The suite that removes friction from signing and paying wins more of the work, which is also the case for a dedicated client portal.
Delivvo gives freelancers a branded portal for proposals, contracts, file delivery, and invoices, so the whole client relationship lives on one link. Clients pay you directly through your own gateway, and Delivvo takes 0% of it. See how it works
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheapest for a solo freelancer in 2026?
Moxie, at $10 a month billed annually, has the lowest sticker price and is built specifically for solo freelancers. Once you factor payment fees, Dubsado can also be cheaper than HoneyBook over a year, because Dubsado and Moxie both take 0% on transactions while HoneyBook charges 2.7% + 10c on cards.
Does Dubsado really take nothing on payments?
Yes, on its side. Dubsado does not process payments; you connect Dubsado Payments powered by Stripe, Square, or PayPal, and pay only that processor's standard rate. HoneyBook, by contrast, processes payments itself and adds a 2.7% + 10c card cut on top of processing.
What changed with Dubsado 3.0?
Dubsado 3.0 launched in late 2025, and new pricing took effect on December 1, 2025, setting Starter at $335 a year and Premier at $525. If you subscribed before that date, check your account for your current rate, since pricing changes typically apply to new subscriptions first.
Which suite is best for automation?
Dubsado, clearly. Its workflows can chain forms, emails, contracts, and invoices into automations that run a whole project. Moxie offers automations on its Pro plan, and HoneyBook keeps automations simpler and easier to set up. Match the depth to how much of your process actually repeats.
Which suite is easiest for a brand-new freelancer?
HoneyBook is the gentlest on-ramp, because it is built to get you sending a branded proposal within an hour and bundles payments so there is nothing to wire up. Moxie is also beginner-friendly and cheaper, at ten dollars a month, and is shaped specifically for solo freelancers. Dubsado is the most powerful but the steepest to learn, so it rewards someone who will invest a weekend in setup rather than someone who needs to bill a client this afternoon. For a true beginner who wants to look professional fast, start with HoneyBook or Moxie, and consider Dubsado once your process is repeatable enough to be worth automating. Whichever you pick, resist the urge to configure every feature at once; set up the proposal, the contract, and the invoice first, then add automation as you learn what actually repeats.
The takeaway
Moxie, HoneyBook, and Dubsado all run the freelance client relationship well, so choose on the money model, not the feature list. Moxie is the cheapest and most solo-shaped, HoneyBook is the most polished but takes a cut, and Dubsado is the automation heavyweight that keeps your payment fees at zero. Look hard at who touches your payments, because that percentage is the number you pay every single month.
