You've narrowed your software search to two names that come up again and again in wedding pro communities: Maroo and Dubsado. Both handle contracts, invoicing, and client management. Both have real fans. So how do you pick?
The honest answer depends on what you actually need -- and, critically, how much money you're processing each year. For wedding professionals handling average bookings of $5,000-$30,000+, the payment fee structure alone can be the difference between saving hundreds or thousands of dollars annually versus leaving that money on the table.
This guide breaks down every meaningful difference between Maroo and Dubsado in 2026 -- pricing, payment processing fees, features, and real annual costs at three different revenue levels -- so you can make the right call for your business.
Maroo is a business management platform built from the ground up for wedding and event professionals. It handles invoicing, contracts, payments, and contractor management -- with a payment model that lets you pass processing fees directly to clients, so you keep 100% of every dollar. As of 2026, Maroo has facilitated over $300M in invoices with a 94% on-time payment rate.
Dubsado is a well-established client management platform serving a broad range of creative freelancers and service businesses. It's known for its powerful workflow automations, form builder, and client portals. Dubsado processes payments through Stripe and has served thousands of users across many service industries since 2016.
Both platforms are legitimate, capable tools. The question is which one fits the specific economics and workflow of your wedding business.
Key takeaway on pricing: Maroo's free plan is genuinely free for businesses invoicing under $5,000/month -- there's no client cap, just a volume cap. Dubsado's free plan is capped at 3 clients with no time limit, which is useful for testing but impractical for a running business. For most active wedding pros, the relevant paid tiers are Maroo Business at $50/mo vs Dubsado Premier at $55/mo -- nearly identical on sticker price, which makes the processing fee comparison all the more important.
Platform subscription costs are relatively minor for any working wedding business. Processing fees are where the real money lives -- and where Maroo and Dubsado diverge most significantly.
Maroo's core differentiator is that processing fees can be passed directly to clients. When a client pays your invoice, they absorb the fee -- you receive 100% of your invoiced amount. From your business's perspective, your processing cost is $0.
Note: Before passing processing fees to clients, confirm this is permitted in your state. A small number of states (including Connecticut and Massachusetts) restrict surcharging.
Dubsado processes payments via Stripe and does offer surcharging (fee-passing) in the US and Canada. However, most Dubsado users absorb fees into their pricing -- and the Stripe rates are the baseline:
Dubsado's ACH rate -- 0.8% capped at $5 per transaction -- is exceptionally competitive. On a single $3,000 deposit paid via ACH, that's just $5. On a $10,000 payment, still $5. For businesses that train their clients to pay exclusively via ACH and choose to absorb that cost, Dubsado's effective ACH fee can be very low.
However, most wedding clients pay by card. The average US consumer defaults to card payments, and a $5,000 invoice charged to a card through Dubsado costs the business $145.30 in fees (2.9% + $0.30). That's per booking.
For a $5,000 photography package paid in two transactions:
The Dubsado ACH scenario looks attractive -- until you realize that most clients won't voluntarily initiate a bank transfer. Maroo removes the choice from the equation: the fee is passed regardless of payment method.
Being honest here matters -- Dubsado has earned its reputation for good reasons.
1. Forms and questionnaires. Dubsado's form builder is one of the best in the creative business software space. You can build lead capture forms, onboarding questionnaires, style surveys, and feedback forms that live inside the client portal. For wedding planners who rely heavily on detailed intake forms, this is a material advantage.
2. Workflow automations. Dubsado's automated workflows (Premier plan) let you trigger emails, tasks, form sends, and invoice creation based on project milestones. If your business runs on repeatable processes -- and most do -- these automations save real hours each week. Maroo does not currently offer equivalent automation features.
3. Dubsado's ACH rate is genuinely excellent. At 0.8% capped at $5 per transaction, it's one of the best ACH rates in the creative software market. If you have clients who consistently pay via bank transfer and you choose to absorb fees, your effective processing cost on large ACH payments can be very low.
4. International payments. Dubsado accepts payments in 135+ countries via Stripe. If you photograph destination weddings or serve international clients, this matters. Maroo is primarily US-focused.
5. Buy now, pay later. Dubsado offers BNPL options for clients who want to spread payments differently. Some wedding photographers and planners use this to reduce friction on large deposits.
6. Client portals and email integration. Dubsado gives each client a dedicated portal where they can view proposals, sign contracts, pay invoices, and fill out forms -- all in one place.
1. Zero processing fees out of pocket. This is the headline advantage. Maroo's fee-passing model means your business never absorbs card or ACH processing costs. On a $10,000 wedding package, a card payment through Dubsado (absorbed by you) costs $290.30. Through Maroo, it costs your business $0. At scale, this difference is dramatic.
2. Built specifically for weddings and events. Maroo isn't trying to serve every freelancer. Every product decision -- from payment flow to contractor management to the CRM design -- is built around how wedding and event businesses actually operate.
3. Free CRM on the free plan. Maroo's CRM (newly launched) is available at no cost on the Starter plan, which itself is free for businesses under $5K/month.
4. Contractor payments and 1099 filing. This is a meaningful gap in Dubsado's feature set. Maroo lets you pay your contractors directly through the platform, collect W-9s, and file 1099-NEC forms -- either digitally or via mail. For wedding planners who coordinate photographers, florists, caterers, and day-of coordinators, this is a real time-saver that Dubsado simply doesn't offer.
5. Free B2B ACH payments. When you're paying vendors -- venues, rental companies, other businesses -- Maroo processes those transfers at no cost on any plan.
6. API access and Make.com integration. Maroo offers API access and integrations with both Zapier and Make.com on the Business plan, giving technically inclined users substantial flexibility to build custom workflows.
7. Simpler, cleaner user experience. Dubsado is powerful, but its learning curve is real -- there are active communities devoted entirely to teaching people how to set it up. Maroo's interface is designed to be immediately usable without a setup sprint.
The numbers below use these assumptions:
Dubsado's ACH cap of $5 per transaction is genuinely strong. If you could guarantee all clients paid via ACH, Dubsado's total processing costs drop significantly. But in practice, a meaningful share of wedding clients pay by credit card -- either to earn points or simply out of habit. The more card payments you process, the more favorably Maroo's fee-passing model compares.
Both platforms are solid choices, and neither is a bad decision. The right answer comes down to what you optimize for.
If you want to eliminate processing fees and keep every dollar of your pricing, Maroo is the clearer choice. The fee-passing model is genuinely unique, and at $250K+ in annual revenue, the savings more than justify the platform cost. Add in contractor payments, 1099 filing, and free B2B ACH, and Maroo covers operational needs that Dubsado simply doesn't address.
If workflow automation and client forms are the backbone of your process, Dubsado's Premier plan is hard to beat. The form builder, automated workflows, and client portal create a polished, hands-off client experience that many wedding pros rely on.
One practical path: some wedding businesses use both -- Dubsado for client onboarding, forms, and automations, and Maroo for payments and contractor management. The platforms aren't mutually exclusive, and Maroo's Zapier/Make.com integrations make it connectable to Dubsado workflows on the Business plan.
Ultimately, if you're processing $100K or more per year -- and most full-time wedding pros are -- the fee math alone makes Maroo worth a serious look.
Maroo's Starter plan is free for businesses invoicing under $5,000/month, with no client cap and no time limit. The Business plan, at $50/month, unlocks the full feature set including contractor payments, 1099 filing, QuickBooks sync, and advanced invoicing tools.
No credit card required. Setup takes under 10 minutes.
Does Maroo offer workflow automations like Dubsado?
Not currently. Maroo's strength is payments, invoicing, contracts, and contractor management -- not automated client workflows. If sophisticated automations are essential to your operations, Dubsado Premier or a tool like HoneyBook may be a better fit, or you can use Maroo alongside Dubsado via Zapier.
Can I really pass 100% of processing fees to clients with Maroo?
Yes -- for card and client-facing ACH payments, Maroo's fee-passing model means clients pay the processing fee at checkout and you receive your full invoiced amount. B2B ACH payments (to vendors and contractors) are free on all plans. Note that surcharging rules vary by state; confirm compliance with your accountant.
Is Dubsado's ACH rate better than Maroo's?
For businesses that absorb fees themselves, Dubsado's ACH rate of 0.8% capped at $5 per transaction is competitive -- especially for large single transactions. However, Maroo's model passes fees to clients, so your out-of-pocket cost is $0 regardless of transaction size.
Does Maroo handle contractor payments and 1099s?
Yes. Maroo lets you pay contractors directly through the platform, collect W-9s digitally, and file 1099-NEC forms (e-file + mail) -- included on the Business and Pro plans. This feature is not available on Dubsado.
Pricing and features current as of March 2026. Always verify current rates directly at maroo.us/pricing and dubsado.com/pricing before making a decision.
