HoneyBook raised prices again. Here are your options.

HoneyBook Raised Prices Again: Here Are Your Options

If you're a HoneyBook user, you've probably seen the email. Another price increase, another round of freelancers questioning whether they're getting enough value for the cost. HoneyBook's Essentials plan now starts at $19/month (billed annually) and the Professional tier runs $39/month, with the Premium plan at $79/month.

For a lot of freelancers, especially those who signed up years ago at lower rates, the value equation has shifted. Let's look at what's out there.

Why Freelancers Are Looking Around

Price increases aren't inherently bad. Software costs money to build and maintain. The frustration comes when prices go up but the product doesn't meaningfully improve for your use case.

The most common complaints from HoneyBook users considering a switch:

• Invoicing limitations: HoneyBook's invoicing works within its ecosystem, but lacks flexibility for freelancers who need customizable payment schedules or multi-currency support.
• Template rigidity: The template system is visual but constrained. Freelancers with specific branding needs often hit walls.
• Workflow complexity: HoneyBook's automation system has a learning curve that many solopreneurs find disproportionate to their actual needs.
• Mobile experience: The mobile app has improved but still lags behind the desktop experience for core tasks like invoicing and proposal editing.

If you're happy with HoneyBook and the price works for you, there's no reason to switch. But if the latest increase has you evaluating alternatives, here's an honest comparison.

The Comparison

| Feature | HoneyBook ($19-79/mo) | Dubsado ($20-40/mo) | Bonsai ($25-49/mo) | Hello.Solo ($29/mo) |

|---------|----------------------|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|

| Proposals | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (AI-drafted) |

| Contracts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (AI-drafted) |

| Invoicing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (auto-generated) |

| Client Portal | Yes | Yes | Limited | Yes |

| Time Tracking | No | No | Yes | Yes |

| Project Management | Basic | Basic | Basic | Yes (Kanban + tasks) |

| AI Features | Limited | No | Basic | Core (Solo AI) |

| Scheduling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |

| Automations | Yes (complex) | Yes (complex) | Basic | Yes (AI-driven) |

| Payment Processing | Stripe/Square | Stripe/Square/PayPal | Stripe | Stripe |

| Multi-currency | Limited | Yes | Yes | Yes |

Dubsado: The Customization Play

Dubsado is the go-to recommendation for freelancers who want granular control over their workflows. Its form builder, workflow automations, and scheduling tools are genuinely powerful.

Strengths: Deep customization of forms, contracts, and workflows. Excellent for service-based businesses with complex client intake processes. The workflow builder, while complex, is more flexible than HoneyBook's once you learn it. Sub-branding support for agencies.

Weaknesses: The learning curve is steep. Expect to spend a full weekend setting up your workflows properly, or pay a Dubsado specialist ($500 to $2,000) to do it for you. The interface feels dated compared to newer competitors. No native time tracking. No AI features. Mobile experience is limited.

Best for: Photographers, wedding planners, and service providers with complex, repeatable client workflows who don't mind investing setup time.

Pricing: Starter plan at $20/month, Premier at $40/month (billed annually).

Bonsai: The Freelancer Suite

Bonsai has positioned itself as the all-in-one freelancer solution, combining contracts, proposals, invoicing, accounting, and tax preparation.

Strengths: Integrated accounting and tax features that most competitors lack. Solid contract templates with legal backing. Time tracking built in. The tax preparation features are genuinely useful for US-based freelancers. Clean, modern interface.

Weaknesses: The client portal is basic compared to HoneyBook or Hello.Solo. Proposal templates are functional but not visually distinctive. The project management features are minimal. AI features exist but are limited to basic content generation. The lower-tier plans restrict the number of clients and projects.

Best for: US-based freelancers who want their invoicing, accounting, and tax prep in one place and don't need sophisticated client-facing features.

Pricing: Starter at $25/month, Professional at $39/month, Business at $49/month (billed annually).

Hello.Solo: The AI-First Approach

Full disclosure: this is our product, so take this section with appropriate skepticism. We'll try to be honest about both strengths and limitations.

Strengths: AI is integrated into every workflow, not bolted on. Proposals, invoices, and client communications are drafted by Solo using your actual project data and history. Client portal is comprehensive. Combines project management, time tracking, and invoicing in a single flow. Flat pricing with no tier restrictions on features.

Weaknesses: Hello.Solo is newer, which means fewer integrations than established platforms. The template library is growing but smaller than HoneyBook's or Dubsado's. If you need complex multi-step automations with branching logic, Dubsado offers more manual control (though Solo's AI handles many of these scenarios automatically).

Best for: Freelancers and solopreneurs who want AI to handle administrative overhead and prefer a streamlined, modern interface over deep manual customization.

Pricing: $29/month flat.

Migration Considerations

Switching platforms is a commitment. Before you move, think through these factors:

Data portability: Check what you can export from your current platform. Most platforms let you export client lists, but project history, proposals, and contracts may not transfer cleanly. Download copies of all signed contracts and paid invoices before canceling.

Active projects: Don't switch mid-project if you can avoid it. The best time to migrate is between projects or during a naturally slow period. If you have active projects, consider running both platforms in parallel for a month.

Client-facing links: If you've shared payment links, booking links, or portal URLs with clients, those will break when you leave your current platform. Plan to update clients with new links before you cancel.

Automations and workflows: Document your current workflows before you switch. What emails go out automatically? What triggers what? You'll need to recreate these in your new platform.

Sunk cost awareness: The time you invested learning HoneyBook or Dubsado is a sunk cost. Don't let it keep you on a platform that's no longer the right fit. The time you spend switching is an investment, not a loss.

Making the Decision

There's no universally "best" platform. The right choice depends on what you actually use daily. If you use 20% of HoneyBook's features and you're paying for 100%, any of these alternatives will likely work and save you money.

If you're curious about the AI-first approach, Hello.Solo offers a free trial with no credit card required. Import a few clients, send a test proposal, and see if the workflow fits.

Start your free trial and compare for yourself.