You run an event business. You need software that handles clients, contracts, payments, and projects — ideally without juggling five different tools. Maroo and Aisle Planner are two of the most talked-about platforms in the wedding and events space right now, but they solve very different problems.
This post breaks down exactly what each platform does, what it costs, where each one wins, and — most importantly — which one you should choose based on what your business actually needs. We'll also cover the scenario where using both makes sense.
Maroo is a business management platform built specifically for the wedding and event industry. Its core focus is financial operations: getting paid faster, paying contractors, and handling the tax paperwork that comes with running an event business.
What Maroo does well:
- Invoicing with custom payment schedules, autopay, templates, and itemized line items
- ACH and card payment collection — with fees you can pass directly to your clients
- B2B ACH transfers at zero cost on all plans
- Contractor payments with built-in W-9 collection and 1099 e-filing
- Contracts with e-signature
- CRM for managing leads and client relationships
- QuickBooks Online, Zapier, and Make.com integrations
- API access on Business and Pro plans
- Fraud monitoring and dispute assistance
What Maroo does not do:
- No workflow automations or AI tools
- No appointment scheduling or forms/questionnaires
- No floor plans, seating charts, or event design tools
- No email integration or in-person POS payments
- No mobile app (fully web-based)
- No BNPL/Afterpay options
Maroo's defining feature is its approach to processing fees. On every plan, you can pass credit card and ACH fees directly to your clients — meaning the cost of getting paid doesn't have to come out of your margins. That's a significant differentiator in an industry where a single $10,000 invoice can carry $350 in processing fees.
Aisle Planner markets itself as the "Power of One" — an all-in-one platform for wedding planners, event coordinators, and venue managers. Where Maroo focuses on financial infrastructure, Aisle Planner focuses on the full lifecycle of planning an event, from first lead inquiry to final guest list.
What Aisle Planner does well:
- CRM and lead tracking with proposal and quote tools
- Contracts with e-signature
- Invoicing and payment collection via Wedpay (powered by Fullsteam)
- Project management: timelines, checklists, and budgets
- Design Studio: mood boards, seating charts, and floor plans — a genuinely unique feature set for event planners
- Client portal for collaboration and document sharing
- Guest list management
- Vendor management and team collaboration
- Reporting and analytics
- QuickBooks and Google Calendar integrations
What Aisle Planner does not do:
- No fee-passing to clients (processing costs come out of your revenue)
- No contractor payments or 1099 filing
- No B2B ACH transfers
- No API access or Zapier/Make.com integrations
- Processing rates through Wedpay are not publicly listed
The Design Studio is Aisle Planner's strongest differentiator. The ability to build mood boards, design floor plans, and create seating charts inside the same platform where you manage contracts and invoices is genuinely valuable for full-service planners. No other platform in this comparison offers that combination.
Maroo uses a subscription tier model with volume-based invoicing limits and per-transaction fees.
All plans include the ability to pass processing fees to clients. B2B ACH is free across all plans. The Starter plan includes basic CRM, Zapier/Make.com access, QuickBooks integration, and payment tools at no monthly cost — making it genuinely useful for newer or smaller event businesses.
The Business plan ($50/mo) includes 20 contracts per month, 10 contractor payouts, and lower processing fees. W-9/1099 forms cost $3 each (vs. $5 on Starter).
Aisle Planner structures pricing around active project volume, with a 10% discount available for annual billing.
The important nuance here: the Sales Essentials plan at $49.99 is primarily a lead and sales tracking tool. If you want the full suite — including project management, design tools, client portal, and budgets — you're starting at $99.99/mo. For most working planners, Planner Pro 25 is the entry point for real usage.
A 30-day free trial is available, though a credit card is required at signup.
This is where the platforms diverge most significantly — and where the actual cost of your software choice shows up in your bank account.
Maroo allows you to pass credit card and ACH fees to clients on every plan. Here's what that means in practice:
Scenario: You invoice $8,000 for a wedding package, client pays by credit card.
- Maroo Starter: 3.5% = $280 fee → passed to client, you keep $8,000
- Maroo Business: 3.4% = $272 fee → passed to client, you keep $8,000
- Your net: $8,000
For B2B payments (vendor-to-vendor, for example), ACH is completely free on all plans.
Note: Fee-passing is not permitted in Connecticut and Massachusetts due to surcharging regulations.
Aisle Planner processes payments through Wedpay (powered by Fullsteam). Processing rates are not publicly published, which makes direct comparison harder. What is clear: there is no fee-passing mechanism — processing costs come out of your payout.
Scenario: Same $8,000 invoice, client pays by credit card.
- Assuming a standard 2.9% + $0.30 rate (typical for platforms like this): ~$232.30 fee absorbed by you
- Your net: approximately $7,767.70
Over the course of a full year with $150,000 in revenue, that difference could amount to $3,000–$5,000 in absorbed fees depending on volume and payment method mix.
This isn't a knock on Aisle Planner — it's a structural reality of many all-in-one platforms. But it's a real cost that every planner should factor into the true monthly price of the software.
For event businesses where cash flow is tight and processing fees are a real concern, Maroo's fee-passing capability is the most impactful feature in this comparison. You don't have to absorb hundreds of dollars per booking in credit card fees — you can pass them to clients transparently, or choose not to as a customer service gesture.
Combined with free B2B ACH for vendor-to-vendor payments, Maroo effectively eliminates payment processing costs as a line item for businesses that use it strategically.
Maroo handles the full contractor payment workflow: paying subcontractors, collecting W-9s, and filing 1099s at tax time. For event businesses that work with independent photographers, florists, DJs, or assistants, this removes significant administrative overhead. Aisle Planner offers nothing comparable.
Maroo's Zapier and Make.com integrations let you connect it to the rest of your business stack — your CRM, email platform, scheduling tools, whatever you use. The Business plan also includes API access for custom integrations. Aisle Planner has no Zapier, no Make.com, and no API.
Maroo's Starter plan is genuinely free for businesses invoicing under $5,000/month. For newer planners or those just starting out, that's a meaningful on-ramp. Aisle Planner's lowest paid tier is $49.99/mo, and real project management features don't kick in until $99.99/mo.
No other platform in this comparison — and frankly, few platforms in the broader event software market — offer what Aisle Planner's Design Studio delivers: mood boards, floor plan design, and seating chart management built directly into your planning workflow. For full-service wedding planners, this is a game-changer. You can show a client a visual representation of their event, get approval, and connect it to the same project where you're managing contracts and timelines.
Maroo has no equivalent, and it doesn't try to.
Aisle Planner's project management tools — timelines, checklists, budgets, and the client portal — cover the full arc of an event from booking to execution. If you want one platform that manages the planning experience (not just the financial one), Aisle Planner has more depth here.
For planners coordinating large weddings or corporate events, Aisle Planner's guest list management and vendor coordination tools add real operational value. These aren't features that exist in Maroo's scope at all.
The client portal gives clients a dedicated space to review documents, approve proposals, and track their event. Coupled with the visual design tools, it creates a polished, professional client experience that reflects well on the planner.
Let's run the numbers for a mid-sized wedding planning business invoicing $150,000/year across roughly 15–20 weddings.
- Platform cost: $50/mo × 12 = $600/year
- Processing fees (card, passable): $0 absorbed (passed to clients)
- B2B ACH for vendor payments: $0
- 1099 filing (10 contractors): ~$30 (at $3/form)
- Total annual cost: ~$630
- Platform cost: $99.99/mo × 12 = $1,199.88/year (or ~$1,080 with annual discount)
- Processing fees (assumed ~2.9%, absorbed): ~$4,350/year
- No contractor payment tools
- Total annual cost: ~$5,430–$5,550
This is a simplified illustration — actual processing rates from Wedpay may differ, and some planners will factor in the value of design tools. But the comparison makes clear that Maroo's financial model can produce substantially lower total costs for payment-heavy businesses.
Maroo is the right choice if:
- Payment efficiency matters most. You want to stop absorbing credit card fees or reduce them as much as possible.
- You pay contractors regularly. Photographers, florists, second shooters, assistants — Maroo handles their payments and handles 1099 filing automatically.
- You already have project management tools. If you use Asana, Notion, HoneyBook, or another tool for managing event logistics, Maroo plugs into your stack via Zapier and handles the financial layer.
- You're early-stage. The free Starter plan is a legitimate option for newer businesses not yet hitting $5K/month in invoices.
- Integrations matter. You need your payment platform to talk to your accounting, CRM, or automation tools.
→ Related reading: How to Pass Credit Card Fees to Clients as a Wedding Planner
Aisle Planner is the right choice if:
- You're a full-service wedding planner who sells the visual experience. Mood boards and floor plans are part of how you win and retain clients. No other platform matches this.
- You want a single platform for planning operations. CRM, timelines, checklists, budgets, client portal, guest lists — Aisle Planner consolidates all of it.
- You don't pay contractors directly or need 1099 filing. If your business model doesn't involve subcontractor payments, Aisle Planner's gap here won't matter.
- Your clients are willing to absorb planning fees. If you charge premium rates and processing costs can be baked into your pricing rather than itemized, Aisle Planner's absorbed-fee model becomes less of a concern.
- Design and presentation are central to your client pitch. No other platform in this market offers comparable visual planning tools.
Yes — and for some businesses, this is actually the optimal setup.
Aisle Planner handles the planning and design workflow (timelines, mood boards, floor plans, guest lists, client portal). Maroo handles the financial infrastructure (invoicing, payments with fee-passing, contractor payouts, 1099 filing).
The overlap — contracts and basic invoicing — exists in both platforms, so you'd need to decide which one owns those workflows. But the core capabilities are complementary, not duplicative. Some planners use Aisle Planner as their client-facing operations hub and Maroo for back-end financial management.
The combined cost (Aisle Planner Pro 25 at $99.99 + Maroo Business at $50 = ~$150/mo) is meaningful, but so is the value if both platforms are fully utilized.
→ Related reading: Best Payment Platforms for Wedding Planners in 2026
Does Aisle Planner have a free plan?
No. Aisle Planner offers a 30-day free trial (credit card required), but there is no permanent free tier. The lowest paid plan is $49.99/month.
Does Maroo charge a monthly fee?
Maroo's Starter plan is free for businesses invoicing under $5,000/month. The Business plan is $50/month. Pro pricing is custom.
Can I pass credit card fees to clients on Aisle Planner?
No. Aisle Planner does not support surcharging or fee-passing. Processing costs are absorbed by the planner.
Does Maroo have project management or design tools?
No. Maroo does not offer workflow timelines, seating charts, floor plans, mood boards, or a client portal. It focuses on invoicing, payments, contracts, and contractor management.
What payment processor does Aisle Planner use?
Aisle Planner uses Wedpay, powered by Fullsteam. Processing rates are not published publicly.
Does Maroo integrate with Zapier?
Yes. Maroo integrates with Zapier and Make.com on all plans, including the free Starter plan. Aisle Planner does not offer Zapier or Make.com integrations.
Does Aisle Planner handle 1099s for contractors?
No. Aisle Planner does not support contractor payments or 1099/W-9 filing. Maroo handles both.
Which is better for a new wedding planner just starting out?
Maroo's free Starter plan is a practical option for new planners not yet at $5K/month in invoices. Aisle Planner's lowest entry for real project management is $99.99/month — a significant monthly commitment for an early-stage business.
Maroo is the stronger choice for event businesses where payment infrastructure, fee management, and contractor payouts are the priority. Its ability to pass fees to clients, combined with free B2B ACH and built-in 1099 filing, makes it the most cost-efficient financial platform in this category — especially for businesses already using separate tools for project management.
Aisle Planner is the stronger choice for full-service wedding planners who need design and planning tools built into their platform. The Design Studio alone — with mood boards, floor plans, and seating charts — is a differentiator that no payment-focused platform can match. If you need a single platform that manages the complete client and event experience, Aisle Planner delivers that in a way Maroo doesn't attempt to.
If you're choosing between the two: ask yourself whether your biggest operational pain point is getting paid and managing contractor finances (Maroo) or managing the full planning lifecycle and presenting a premium client experience (Aisle Planner). The answer to that question points directly to the right platform.
→ Related reading: 1099 and Contractor Payments for Event Industry Businesses
Have questions about which platform fits your specific business? Try Maroo free — no credit card required for the Starter plan.
