If you run a wedding business — photography, planning, florals, videography, or any creative service — you've probably landed on two names while shopping for business management software: Maroo and 17hats. Both handle invoicing, contracts, and client management. Both are popular with wedding professionals. And both will cost you real money if you choose the wrong one.
This comparison breaks down exactly how these two platforms differ on pricing, processing fees, features, and total annual cost. By the end, you'll know which one is the better fit for your business — and how much you stand to save by making the right call.
Maroo is a business management platform built specifically for the wedding and events industry. It handles the financial side of running a wedding business: invoicing, contracts, payments (ACH and card), contractor payouts, W-9 collection, and 1099 e-filing. As of 2026, Maroo has processed over $300 million in invoices, with 94% paid on time.
Its defining feature is fee-passing: Maroo lets you pass credit card and ACH processing fees directly to clients, so the cost of accepting payments doesn't come out of your margin. This is legal in most U.S. states and is increasingly common in the wedding industry.
Maroo is a strong fit for: Wedding photographers, planners, and vendors who want clean, professional payment collection, need to pay subcontractors and file 1099s, and want full control over who absorbs processing fees.
17hats is an all-in-one business management platform aimed at solo entrepreneurs — coaches, photographers, designers, and wedding pros. It covers the entire client lifecycle from lead capture to final payment, with heavy emphasis on automation and workflow management.
Its standout feature is the 3-in-1 document: a combined quote, contract, and invoice that clients can review, sign, and pay in a single step. 17hats also connects natively with The Knot and WeddingWire, making it easy to pull leads from the two largest wedding marketplaces directly into your CRM.
17hats is a strong fit for: Solo wedding professionals who want one platform to handle their entire business — from automated lead follow-up to recurring billing — and who value deep automation over cost optimization.
Processing fees are the single biggest hidden cost in payment software for wedding businesses. At $200K in annual revenue, even a 0.5% fee difference amounts to $1,000 per year. Here's how the two platforms compare:
At first glance, 17hats' card rate (2.9%) looks lower than Maroo's (3.4% on Business). But here's what that comparison misses: with Maroo, you can pass the entire fee to your client. Your effective cost is 0%. With 17hats, 2.9% comes out of your pocket on every transaction.
Let's run the numbers at three revenue levels. Assumptions: 70% of payments by card, 30% by ACH; Maroo Business plan at $50/mo; 17hats at $60/mo; Maroo fees fully passed to clients.
These numbers represent a best-case scenario for Maroo — assuming you pass all fees to clients and clients accept the surcharge. In practice, some clients will push back on card surcharges, and you may choose to absorb fees selectively. But even at 50% fee-passing, the savings at $250K/year are roughly $2,900 annually.
1. Workflow automations are genuinely powerful.
17hats was built around the idea that a solo business owner's time is their most valuable asset. Its advanced workflow engine lets you automate the entire client journey — from the moment a lead submits an inquiry to the final payment follow-up — without you touching a keyboard. Auto-responders, scheduled follow-ups, and conditional logic in questionnaires make this platform feel like having an assistant.
2. The 3-in-1 document saves time on every booking.
Sending a quote, waiting for approval, then sending a contract, then sending an invoice is a four-step process most business owners do dozens of times a year. 17hats collapses this into a single document clients can review, sign, and pay in one sitting. For high-volume photographers booking 40+ weddings a year, this friction reduction is real.
3. Native wedding marketplace integrations.
The Knot and WeddingWire are where millions of couples find their vendors. 17hats pulls inquiries from both platforms directly into your CRM — no copy-pasting, no missed leads. If you actively rely on either marketplace for bookings, this integration alone can justify the platform.
4. More complete reporting.
17hats includes P&L reports and sales tax reporting out of the box. For a solo business owner handling their own bookkeeping, having revenue and expense summaries inside the same platform where you run your business is a genuine convenience.
5. Mobile app.
Maroo is web-based only. 17hats has a mobile app, which matters if you regularly need to check on client status, send invoices, or review contracts from your phone on a wedding day.
1. Fee-passing is a structural financial advantage.
This is Maroo's defining edge. The ability to pass credit card and ACH fees to clients legally and cleanly — with the fee disclosed at checkout — means your processing cost is effectively zero. At any meaningful revenue level, this more than offsets the platform subscription cost and, in many cases, offsets 17hats' entire subscription plus processing fees.
2. Contractor payouts and 1099 compliance are built in.
Most wedding businesses don't work alone. Photographers hire second shooters. Planners subcontract décor. DJs bring assistants. Paying those contractors and staying IRS-compliant with W-9 collection and 1099 filing is a real operational burden — and Maroo handles it natively. 17hats has no contractor payment functionality at all.
3. Free B2B ACH is genuinely rare.
When you're invoicing other businesses — venues, planners, production companies — Maroo's free B2B ACH means you pay nothing on those transfers. No other major platform in this space offers this.
4. Fraud monitoring and dispute assistance.
Wedding payments are large, sometimes in the five-figure range for a single booking. Maroo's built-in fraud monitoring and hands-on dispute assistance add a layer of protection that 17hats doesn't offer.
5. A free plan that's actually usable.
If your monthly invoicing is under $5K, Maroo's free Starter plan gives you contracts, payments, CRM, and contractor payouts without a monthly fee. 17hats offers only a 7-day trial before billing starts.
6. API access for growing businesses.
Maroo provides API access on Business and Pro plans, giving tech-savvy users the ability to build custom integrations. 17hats offers no API access.
Maroo is not trying to be a complete business operating system. It does not have workflow automations, scheduling, questionnaires, or a mobile app. If you want one platform to automate your entire client onboarding journey — from inquiry to signed contract without manual intervention — Maroo is not that tool today. It also lacks the photography-specific integrations (Fundy, ShootProof) and wedding marketplace connections (The Knot, WeddingWire) that 17hats provides.
17hats cannot pass processing fees to clients, period. For a business doing significant volume on cards, this is a meaningful and unavoidable cost. It also has no contractor payment features, no 1099 filing, and no B2B ACH — gaps that matter for wedding professionals who regularly work with subcontractors. Its $60/mo base price, plus add-ons for scheduling and time tracking, can push total monthly costs to $75–$80/mo before processing fees.
- You want to eliminate or dramatically reduce processing fees by passing them to clients
- You regularly pay subcontractors and need W-9/1099 compliance
- You want a free plan to start and scale up later
- You need API access for custom integrations
- You're comfortable using a web-based tool and don't need a mobile app
- You invoice other businesses and want free B2B ACH transfers
- You want deep workflow automation that handles your business while you're on location
- You actively get leads from The Knot or WeddingWire and want them to flow directly into your CRM
- The 3-in-1 document flow is important to your booking process
- You need scheduling, questionnaires, and calendar management in one place
- A mobile app is a must-have for your workflow
- You use ShootProof or Fundy and want native integration
Both Maroo and 17hats are legitimate, well-built platforms for wedding professionals. The right choice depends on what you value more: automation depth or financial efficiency.
If your priority is streamlining your client workflow — automating follow-ups, syncing leads from The Knot, and running your business from your phone — 17hats delivers strong value at $60/mo.
If your priority is keeping more of what you earn — eliminating processing fees, paying subcontractors cleanly, and building on an industry-specific financial foundation — Maroo delivers an edge that compounds with every dollar of revenue.
For a solo wedding photographer billing $200K/year, the fee-passing advantage alone represents $4,000–$5,000 in annual savings compared to absorbing 17hats' processing fees. That's not a marginal difference. It's the cost of a second shooter for the season, a new lens, or a full marketing budget.
The platforms aren't competing on the same dimension. 17hats is broader. Maroo is cheaper to operate at scale. Know which problem you're solving, and the choice becomes clear.
Does Maroo allow fee-passing in all U.S. states?
Maroo supports fee-passing in most U.S. states. Surcharging is not permitted in Connecticut and Massachusetts. If you're based in either state, you cannot pass card fees to clients — though ACH fees remain passable. Always verify current state laws if you're unsure.
Can I use both platforms together?
Technically yes — some wedding pros use 17hats for automations and client communication while routing all payments through Maroo to take advantage of fee-passing. This hybrid approach adds complexity but can make sense for larger operations that want 17hats' workflow engine without absorbing its processing costs.
Does 17hats offer any discounts for annual billing?
17hats offers three billing options: $60/month, $600/year (equivalent to $50/mo), or $800 for two years (equivalent to $33.33/mo). The two-year plan represents a meaningful discount — though it locks you in for an extended period.
What happens if a client refuses to pay the processing fee surcharge on Maroo?
Fee-passing is disclosed to clients before they complete payment. Some clients will ask to pay by ACH to avoid the card surcharge — which is a fine outcome, since ACH fees are lower and also passable. In practice, most clients accept the disclosed fee without issue, particularly when the invoice amount is already agreed upon.
Ready to see how much fee-passing could save your business? Explore Maroo's plans or start free with no invoicing limits up to $5K/month.
Looking for more comparisons? See Best Invoicing Software for Wedding Photographers, How to Pass Credit Card Fees to Clients Legally, and Wedding Business Payment Processing Guide.
