You charge $5,000 for a wedding. Your payment platform charges you $125 just to collect it.
That is not a hypothetical — it is what happens when you process a $5,000 invoice through Rock Paper Coin's split-fee model as the business owner. And it is a cost many wedding and event professionals absorb without fully realizing it.
Choosing the right payment platform for your event business is one of the most consequential financial decisions you will make this year. With dozens of tools vying for your attention, the choice often comes down to two platforms purpose-built for the wedding and event industry: Maroo and Rock Paper Coin.
Both target the same professionals — venues, photographers, videographers, DJs, officiants, florists, caterers, and wedding planners. Both handle contracts, invoices, and payments in one place. Both let you pass processing fees to clients. But the way they execute on that promise — and the true cost to your bottom line — differ significantly.
This post breaks down every meaningful difference: pricing, fee structures, features, integrations, and who each platform is actually best for. By the end, you will have a clear answer.
Maroo's pricing is structured around monthly invoice volume, with three tiers:
- Starter (Free): For businesses invoicing under $5,000/month. Includes ACH and card payments, automatic reminders, autopay, itemized invoices, payment tracking, CRM, Zapier/Make.com, QuickBooks, and fraud monitoring. Contracts cost $5 each. Contractor payouts are free for the first 3/month, then $1 each. W-9 and 1099 filing is $5/form.
- Business ($50/month): For businesses invoicing up to $50,000/month. Lower processing fees (1.25% ACH, 3.4% cards), 20 contracts per month included (then $3 each), 10 contractor payouts per month, advanced branding and reporting, dedicated onboarding, and email + chat support.
- Pro (Custom pricing): For high-volume businesses. Unlimited everything — contracts, payouts, volume. Lowest processing fees (1.0% ACH, 3.25% cards). Free W-9 and 1099 filing. Priority support with a dedicated account manager and phone access.
The key takeaway: Maroo's free plan is genuinely functional, not a watered-down trial. Wedding pros early in their business can run real client relationships — invoicing, CRM, contracts, payments — without paying a monthly fee.
Rock Paper Coin offers three tiers as well:
- Basic (Free): Payment processing, 2-day payouts, auto-pay, branded emails, and unlimited invoice volume. No contracts, no proposals.
- Professional ($27/month or discounted annual): Adds proposals, contracts with e-sign, unlimited team members, white-glove onboarding, and shareable folders. Also includes flexible processing fee options.
- Premium ($33/month or 20% annual discount): Adds inquiry forms, lead management with lead reporting, priority support, volume pricing, and Google/Apple Pay.
Rock Paper Coin's pricing looks lower at first glance — $33/month vs. Maroo's $50/month. But that comparison misses the most important number: the processing fee model.
This is the most important section of this comparison, and the one most event professionals overlook when choosing a payment platform.
Rock Paper Coin uses what it calls a “split-fee” model for credit card transactions:
- The business pays 2.5%
- The client pays an additional 2% (if they pay by credit card)
- Total processing cost: 4.5%, split between both parties
Rock Paper Coin does give you options: you can pass all fees to the client, or you can absorb the full 4.5% yourself. But if you use the default split model, your business is paying 2.5% on every card payment — no matter which plan you are on.
Maroo takes a different approach. On every plan — including the free Starter tier — you can pass 100% of processing fees to the client. The business pays nothing to collect the payment.
This is not a split. The full fee is passed through. If a client pays by card, they see and pay the processing fee. If they pay by ACH, the fee is lower and also passable. For B2B ACH payments, there is no fee at all.
Let's put real numbers to this. A typical wedding photographer, DJ, or caterer might collect a $5,000 invoice.
With Rock Paper Coin (split-fee model):
- Business pays 2.5% = $125 out of pocket
- Client pays 2% = $100 extra
- Total processing cost: $225
With Maroo (full pass-through, Business plan card rate 3.4%):
- Business pays: $0
- Client pays 3.4% = $170
- Total processing cost to the business: $0
Annual impact at $200K in annual card revenue:
- Rock Paper Coin split-fee: $5,000/year in fees paid by the business
- Maroo full pass-through: $0/year in fees paid by the business
That $5,000 is essentially an invisible subscription fee that does not show up on your Rock Paper Coin invoice — it comes out of your collected revenue.
Even if you choose to pass all fees to your clients on Rock Paper Coin, the 4.5% total fee is higher than Maroo's 3.4% on the Business plan (3.25% on Pro). Your clients pay less with Maroo while you pay nothing.
Many event vendors prefer ACH (bank transfer) payments to reduce friction for large invoices. Here is where Maroo's advantage becomes even more pronounced:
- B2B ACH on Maroo: Free on all plans. If you have a corporate client — a company booking a corporate event, a venue paying a vendor — there is no fee at all.
- Client-facing ACH on Maroo: 1.5% (Starter), 1.25% (Business), 1.0% (Pro) — all passable to the client.
- Rock Paper Coin ACH: Processing fees not separately broken out; Stripe-based infrastructure.
For wedding pros who regularly handle large payments, encouraging ACH adoption and passing that low fee saves everyone money.
Maroo launched a CRM feature that is included free on all plans. For event professionals who are juggling dozens of leads, prospect conversations, and active clients simultaneously, having your contacts, communication history, and payment activity in one system is a meaningful operational advantage.
Rock Paper Coin has no CRM. You manage your leads in a separate tool, then move to Rock Paper Coin for contracts and invoices. This means either paying for another CRM (HubSpot, Dubsado, etc.) or managing client records manually. The Premium tier does include inquiry forms and lead management, but this is a lightweight lead capture tool — not a full CRM.
Both platforms offer e-sign contracts, but there is a key difference: Rock Paper Coin includes proposals on its Professional and Premium plans, while Maroo does not have a proposal feature.
For event vendors who send detailed proposals before a contract — especially photographers who present packages, or catering companies that pitch menus — this is a genuine Rock Paper Coin advantage. You can build a proposal, have the client accept it, and convert it to a contract within the same platform.
Maroo goes straight to contracts and invoices. If proposals are a critical part of your sales workflow, you would need to handle that step elsewhere.
This is a significant area where Maroo pulls ahead, particularly for wedding planners and venues who pay subcontractors and vendors.
Maroo includes:
- Contractor payment processing
- W-9 collection
- 1099-NEC e-filing ($5/form on Starter, $3/form on Business, free on Pro)
- IRS compliance built in
Rock Paper Coin has no contractor payment or 1099 infrastructure. If you pay photographers, florists, bar staff, or assistants through your business, you need a separate solution.
Rock Paper Coin has one feature that no other platform in this space offers: wedding planners can view, approve, and pay vendor contracts on behalf of their clients.
Here is how it works: A couple's wedding planner has access to all vendor contracts. The planner can review invoices from the venue, the caterer, the DJ, and the photographer — and process payments from the couple's account directly to each vendor. This creates a centralized hub for the couple's entire vendor payment management.
For planners who handle full-service weddings with large vendor rosters, this feature alone may justify choosing Rock Paper Coin. It reduces the friction of chasing clients to pay vendors and gives planners a birds-eye view of the event's financial picture.
Maroo does not have this feature. Planners using Maroo manage their own invoices to clients, but do not have a mechanism to manage third-party vendor payments on the client's behalf within the platform.
Rock Paper Coin's Premium plan includes inquiry forms, lead management, and lead reporting — letting you capture leads from your website, track their status, and see reporting on your pipeline.
Maroo does not have built-in lead management or inquiry forms. If you want leads to flow from your website directly into your payment platform, Rock Paper Coin Premium has an advantage here.
Rock Paper Coin includes white-glove onboarding on its Professional and Premium plans — a human-guided setup experience for new users. Maroo's Business plan includes dedicated onboarding as well.
For event professionals who are not particularly tech-savvy, or who are migrating from paper invoices, this kind of onboarding support can make a significant difference in how quickly you actually adopt the platform.
When it comes to connecting with the rest of your business software stack, Maroo significantly outpaces Rock Paper Coin.
Maroo integrations:
- QuickBooks Online — sync invoices and payments for accounting
- Zapier — connect to 6,000+ apps (CRMs, email tools, project management, etc.)
- Make.com — advanced automation workflows
- API access — custom integrations for tech-forward businesses (Business plan and above)
Rock Paper Coin integrations:
- Timeline Genius — event timeline collaboration tool
- QuickBooks: not available
- Zapier: not available
- Google Calendar: in development, not yet released
- No API
This is a meaningful gap. If you use QuickBooks for accounting, you will manually re-enter every Rock Paper Coin invoice and payment. If you want to auto-create a project in Asana when a contract is signed, or send a Slack notification when a payment arrives, Rock Paper Coin cannot do that. Maroo can, via Zapier.
For wedding businesses that have invested in building a tech stack — email marketing, CRM, project management — Maroo's integration layer is far more flexible.
In the interest of full transparency, there are features that both platforms lack, which some event professionals may be looking for:
- Workflow automation: Neither platform has built-in workflow triggers (e.g., automatically send a questionnaire three days after a contract is signed). Both are finance-first platforms, not all-in-one studio management tools.
- Scheduling and appointment booking: Neither has built-in calendar booking.
- Mobile app: Both are web-based only. Neither has a native iOS or Android app.
- AI tools: Neither platform has AI-generated contracts, smart pricing suggestions, or automated communication drafts.
- Questionnaires / forms: Maroo has no forms feature. Rock Paper Coin has inquiry forms on Premium only.
- In-person / POS payments: Neither handles in-person card processing.
If you need workflow automation, client questionnaires, or an all-in-one business management system, platforms like HoneyBook or Dubsado cover more ground — though they handle fees and contractor payments differently.
Maroo is the stronger choice if you:
- Want to pay $0 in processing fees — the full fee passes to clients on every plan
- Pay subcontractors, assistants, or secondary vendors and need W-9 and 1099 infrastructure
- Use QuickBooks Online and want automatic invoice/payment sync
- Want to connect your payment platform to other tools via Zapier, Make.com, or API
- Are a high-volume business processing B2B payments for free via ACH
- Want a built-in CRM without paying for a separate tool
- Need a functional free plan that includes CRM, invoicing, contracts, and payments
Specific vendor types where Maroo excels:
- Photographers, videographers, and DJs who want to pass fees and sync with QuickBooks
- Catering companies and venues paying staff or contract workers
- Wedding planners managing multiple subcontractors per event
- High-volume businesses processing large B2B ACH transactions at zero cost
Rock Paper Coin is the better fit if you:
- Are a full-service wedding planner who needs to pay vendors on behalf of clients — the planner-pays-vendors feature is genuinely unique
- Need a built-in proposals tool that flows into contracts and payments
- Want lead management and inquiry forms within your payment platform (Premium plan)
- Value white-glove onboarding support and find guided setup meaningful
- Want Google Pay and Apple Pay for client convenience (Premium plan)
- Have simpler accounting needs and do not require QuickBooks or Zapier
Specific vendor types where Rock Paper Coin excels:
- Full-service wedding planners managing couple finances across multiple vendors
- Newer event businesses that want proposal-to-payment in one simple workflow
- Vendors with straightforward needs who prioritize simplicity over integration depth
Both Maroo and Rock Paper Coin are solid platforms built specifically for wedding and event professionals — and that puts them ahead of generic tools like PayPal, Square, or FreshBooks that were never designed with your industry in mind.
But the differences matter — especially at scale.
Rock Paper Coin's unique strengths are the planner-pays-vendors feature, built-in proposals, and lead management on Premium. If you are a full-service planner or if proposals are central to your sales process, those features have real value.
Maroo's structural advantage is in the economics. Paying zero dollars in processing fees — not splitting them, not negotiating, just zero — is a real and compounding benefit. On $200,000 in annual card revenue, that is potentially $5,000 back in your pocket compared to Rock Paper Coin's split-fee model. Add contractor payments, 1099 filing, QuickBooks sync, and Zapier, and Maroo functions as a more complete financial infrastructure for event businesses.
For most wedding and event professionals who want to protect their margins, manage their full team, and connect their tech stack, Maroo is the more powerful choice in 2026.
Ready to see the difference? Start with Maroo's free Starter plan — no credit card required, and you get CRM, invoicing, contracts, and zero-fee payment collection from day one.
Does Rock Paper Coin charge the business a processing fee?
Yes. Rock Paper Coin uses a split-fee model where the business pays 2.5% on credit card transactions, and the client pays an additional 2%. Even if you pass fees to clients, the business still absorbs 2.5% under the default model. You can elect to pass all fees to the client, but the combined 4.5% rate is higher than Maroo's card rates (3.4% on Business, 3.25% on Pro), which are fully passable to clients.
Does Maroo charge the business a processing fee?
No — Maroo allows you to pass 100% of processing fees to clients on every plan, including the free Starter tier. When a client pays by card, they pay the processing fee. The business collects the full invoice amount. B2B ACH payments have no fee at all.
Can I use Rock Paper Coin for free?
Yes. Rock Paper Coin has a free Basic plan that includes payment processing, auto-pay, branded emails, and unlimited invoice volume. Contracts and proposals require the Professional plan ($27/month) or higher.
Does Maroo have a free plan?
Yes. Maroo's Starter plan is permanently free for businesses invoicing under $5,000/month. It includes CRM, invoicing, ACH and card payments, contracts ($5 each), Zapier, QuickBooks integration, and fraud monitoring.
Which platform is better for wedding planners?
It depends on your workflow. Rock Paper Coin has a unique feature that lets planners view vendor contracts and pay vendors on behalf of clients — unmatched in the industry. However, Maroo is better for planners who pay their own subcontractors and need contractor payment management, W-9 collection, and 1099 filing built in.
Does either platform integrate with QuickBooks?
Maroo integrates with QuickBooks Online. Rock Paper Coin does not currently offer a QuickBooks integration.
Can I use Zapier with Rock Paper Coin?
No. Rock Paper Coin's only integration is with Timeline Genius. Zapier, Make.com, and API access are not available. Maroo supports Zapier, Make.com, and API access (Business plan and above).
Which platform is better for photographers?
Maroo is generally the better choice for photographers. Full fee pass-through means you keep every dollar from client payments. QuickBooks sync handles bookkeeping automatically. If you hire second shooters or editors as contractors, Maroo's W-9 and 1099 tools handle year-end compliance. Rock Paper Coin offers proposals, which can be valuable for photographers presenting packages — but Maroo's financial advantages typically outweigh this for established photographers.
Does Rock Paper Coin support Google Pay and Apple Pay?
Yes, but only on the Premium plan ($33/month or with an annual discount). Basic and Professional plans do not include Google Pay or Apple Pay.
What is the main difference between Maroo and Rock Paper Coin?
The biggest difference is the fee model. Maroo passes 100% of processing fees to clients on all plans, so the business pays $0 in processing costs. Rock Paper Coin's split-fee model means the business always pays 2.5% on card transactions. Secondary differences include Maroo's CRM, contractor payments, 1099 filing, and integration ecosystem (QuickBooks, Zapier, API) versus Rock Paper Coin's unique planner-pays-vendors feature and built-in proposal tools.
Last updated: March 2026. Pricing and feature information is based on publicly available data and platform documentation. Always verify current pricing directly with each vendor before making a purchasing decision.
