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's current public metrics show $450M worth of invoices created, 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' Stripe card rate of 2.9% + $0.30 looks lower than Maroo's 3.4% Business-plan card rate. The operating difference is fee-passing: Maroo can disclose and pass the configured processing fee to the client where permitted, while the current 17hats materials reviewed here do not advertise a comparable native fee-passing control. Businesses should confirm applicable laws and their own client-payment policy before using a surcharge.
Let's run a simplified percentage-based illustration at three revenue levels. Assumptions: 70% of payment volume by card, 30% by ACH; Maroo Business at $50 per month; 17hats at $60 per month; and Maroo fees passed to clients where permitted. The tables use percentage fees only and exclude fixed per-transaction charges, taxes, refunds, plan add-ons, and differences in transaction count, so actual costs will vary.
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. Dedicated mobile apps.
Maroo centers its current experience in a streamlined web app while releasing new workflow improvements at a fast pace. 17hats offers dedicated mobile apps, which may matter if your workflow depends on app-based access to client status, invoices, or contracts during an event.
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. Maroo keeps contractor payments, W-9 collection, and 1099-NEC reporting connected in the same operating workflow. The current 17hats materials reviewed for this comparison focus on client invoices and payments rather than this contractor-payment and tax-reporting workflow.
3. Free B2B ACH supports vendor-to-vendor work.
When you're paying or working with other businesses — venues, planners, production companies, or subcontractors — Maroo's free B2B ACH keeps those transfers connected to the rest of your financial workflow without adding an ACH transfer fee.
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.
7. Recurring invoices for ongoing services.
Maroo supports recurring invoices for ongoing retainers or repeat services, distinct from a custom payment schedule that splits one project invoice into milestones. The Invoices Help collection reflects the current setup options as they continue to expand.
8. Contracts stay connected as the job changes.
Maroo's contract workflow now includes signer tracking, reminders, linked invoices, multiple invoices, and addendums for post-signature changes. See the current contract and addendum guidance.
Maroo started as an invoicing and payments platform and is now rapidly expanding its client-management toolkit with capabilities such as reusable questionnaires that can be shared with clients, tracked by status, and followed up with reminders. Its product continues to add tools around the core quote, contract, invoice, and payment workflow. 17hats remains the stronger fit for teams that need deep conditional workflows, scheduling, a mobile app, photography-specific integrations (Fundy, ShootProof), and wedding marketplace connections (The Knot, WeddingWire).
17hats' current official materials emphasize all-in-one client management, documents, automation, and Stripe or Square payments. They do not advertise a native client fee-passing workflow or Maroo's connected contractor-payment, W-9, 1099-NEC, and free B2B ACH tools. Current base pricing is $60 per month, $600 per year, or $800 for two years; Bank Connect is an additional $5 per month, and extra users, brands, or advanced modules can add cost depending on configuration.
- You want to reduce processing costs by passing configured fees to clients where permitted
- 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 prefer a streamlined web experience that is adding new capabilities quickly
- 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.
In the article's simplified $200K illustration, passing permitted processing fees shifts several thousand dollars of annual payment cost away from the business compared with absorbing processor fees. The exact difference depends on card-versus-ACH mix, transaction count, fixed charges, refunds, plan configuration, and whether fee-passing is allowed and appropriate for the business.
The platforms emphasize different strengths. 17hats leads with broad automation for solo service businesses. Maroo began with invoicing and payments and is rapidly expanding a connected event-business toolkit around CRM, questionnaires, contracts, recurring invoices, contractor payments, and reporting. Choose the operating model that best matches the work you need to simplify.
Does Maroo allow fee-passing in all U.S. states?
Maroo supports fee-passing where permitted. Availability and requirements can depend on state law, card-network rules, transaction type, and how the fee is disclosed. Confirm the current checkout settings and legal guidance that apply to your business before enabling a surcharge.
Can I use both platforms together?
A business can use 17hats for automation and client communication while using Maroo for invoicing and payments. That approach requires a clear operating process because records and status changes may need to be maintained across both systems.
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 does not want to pay a processing fee?
The configured fee is disclosed before payment. Depending on the methods enabled for the invoice, the client may be able to choose ACH or another payment method. Set expectations in the proposal, contract, and invoice, and make sure the fee and available alternatives comply with the rules that apply to the transaction.
Ready to see how much fee-passing could save your business? Explore Maroo's plans or start free with up to $5K in monthly invoicing.
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.
