A brand designer's work rarely ends at delivery, and a second brand of your own is common. Here is how each tool handles multi-brand management, proposals and retainers, with pricing verified against both vendors.
Last verified: August 26, 2026
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A brand designer's client work rarely ends at delivery. A logo package becomes a style guide, the style guide becomes a website handoff, and the same client often comes back a year later for a refresh, all while you might be running a second brand of your own alongside client work. How each tool handles ongoing retainers, showing off design work inside a proposal, and managing more than one brand under one login matters more here than in a single project, single invoice service.
| Attribute | Dubsado | HoneyBook |
|---|---|---|
| Plan structure | Two plans: Starter, Premier | Three plans: Starter, Essentials, Premium |
| Starting price | $335/year (Starter) | $36/mo (or $29/mo billed annually) |
| Free trial | 21 days, no card required, full Premier-tier access, capped at 3 projects rather than by calendar time | 7 days (30 days via some promo landing pages) |
| Managing a second brand | Any plan, add a brand for $10/month; separate branding on forms, contracts and invoices Recurring add-on | Only on the Premium plan ($109/129 per month); unlimited companies once there, each with its own pipeline and branding |
| Showcasing work in a proposal | Custom CSS and embedded images inside questionnaires and proposals, built for showing off design samples directly to a lead | Client portal supports font, color and image customization since a 2025 update, narrowing the gap but still short of Dubsado's CSS-level control |
| Retainers and recurring invoices | Recurring invoices built from saved package templates, managed from one centralized schedule across all clients | Recurring payments supported per project; no single cross-client view of every active retainer |
| Client sign off on final files | Proofs tied to a subcontract for a binding sign off before a final logo or brand file ships | No dedicated proofing tool; sign off typically happens through message threads or a signed contract alone |
| Mobile app | Browser only, no native mobile app | Full-featured mobile app, including switching between companies from your phone |
Pricing and features verified directly against Dubsado's public pricing page on 2026-08-26. HoneyBook's own pricing page returned an HTTP 403 to automated fetching, so its figures are cross-checked against HoneyBook's own help center and independent third-party sources instead. Both vendors change plans and pricing periodically; confirm current numbers before buying.
Dubsado is the cheaper way to run two brands. A $10 monthly add-on on any plan, including Starter, covers a second brand with its own forms and invoice branding. HoneyBook only unlocks multiple companies on its Premium plan, which costs more on its own than Dubsado's entire Starter plan plus the brand add-on combined. If you run client work under one name and a product or teaching brand under another, that difference compounds every year.
Dubsado's proposals are built to show design work, not just describe it. Embedding images directly into a questionnaire or proposal, with CSS-level control over how the whole document looks, matters when the proposal itself is the first thing a lead judges your design taste by. HoneyBook has narrowed this gap with its 2025 client portal update, but independent accounts from working designers still describe Dubsado as the more customizable of the two for this specific use.
Dubsado's proofing and subcontract combination gives a binding sign off before final files ship. A logo package or brand guide is usually the deliverable a client is least likely to ask you to redo for free after approval; a proof tied to a subcontract makes that approval explicit rather than implied by an email thread going quiet.
HoneyBook's mobile app carries over across every company you manage. If you're the kind of designer who checks in on a second brand from your phone between client meetings, HoneyBook's app supports switching between companies natively. Dubsado has no native app to switch from.
Part of the best CRM, invoicing & scheduling tools for solo service providers hub. See also Dubsado vs HoneyBook for stationery designers, the closest design-adjacent audience, but paper goods and proofing rather than identity work and retainers. And Dubsado vs HoneyBook for interior designers, the same tool pair for a longer, procurement-heavy design workflow.