HoneyBook — $36, $59 and $129 a month billed monthly, or $29, $49 and $109 billed yearly — plus card fees from 2.9% + 25¢ on every payment it collects.
Short answer: HoneyBook costs $36 a month for Starter, $59 for Essentials and $129 for Premium when billed monthly, falling to $29, $49 and $109 a month when billed yearly. The page labels annual billing as saving up to 18% and separately advertises special annual prices. On top of the subscription, payments carry processing fees starting at 2.9% plus 25¢ for cards and 1.5% for bank transfers, with instant deposit at a 1% fee where eligible; the page notes that customers paying annually on Premium may be eligible for discounted card fees. All plans start with a free trial and include unlimited clients and projects, invoices and payments, proposals and contracts, a client portal and HoneyBook AI. Read from honeybook.com/pricing on 1 October 2026.
On this page
Verdict at a glance
Overall rating: 4.0/5 ★★★★☆
Standout: Unlimited clients and projects on the cheapest plan, with proposals, contracts, invoicing, a client portal and the AI features all included — HoneyBook gates on team size and automation, not on how much business you do.
Watch out: The subscription is only half the cost. Every payment collected carries a fee from 2.9% plus 25¢, so a studio invoicing $12,000 a month pays roughly $350 in processing on top of its plan — and the discount badges on the annual view do not match the figures beside them: $59 marked ‘25% off’ resolves to $49, which is 17%.
HoneyBook sells one thing well: taking a service business from enquiry to signed contract to paid invoice without three separate tools. The ladder is $36, $59 and $129 a month billed monthly, or $29, $49 and $109 billed yearly. What is unusual, and good, is where the gates sit. Starter at $36 already includes unlimited clients and projects, invoices and payments, proposals and contracts, a calendar, all the professional templates, a client portal, basic reports, two live lead forms and HoneyBook AI. You are not throttled on volume at the bottom of the range. Essentials at $59 adds the scheduler, automations, the QuickBooks Online integration, up to two team members, ten lead forms, SMS reminders, removal of the ‘Powered by HoneyBook’ branding and standard reports. Premium at $129 adds unlimited team members, priority support, multiple companies, advanced reports and unlimited lead forms. The real cost sits underneath. Card payments start at 2.9% plus 25¢, bank transfers are 1.5%, and instant deposit costs 1% where eligible — and the page states that annual Premium customers may be eligible for discounted card fees, which is a reason to ask. For a photographer or consultant invoicing meaningful sums, processing will exceed the subscription within the first month. The presentation has one sloppy edge: on the annual view, Essentials shows ‘$59, 25% off, $49’ and Premium ‘$129, 25% off, $109’, which are 17% and 16% respectively, while the toggle itself says ‘save up to 18%’. The numbers are real; the badges are not arithmetic. Four stars. The product is well-shaped for solo and small service businesses, both billing periods are published for all three plans, and the feature gating is honest about what a one-person business actually needs. The deductions are for processing fees that dominate the total and for discount labelling that does not survive a calculator.
Quick facts
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Ideal team | Photographers, consultants, planners and small service studios |
| Learning curve | Low |
| Setup time | An afternoon to configure templates and a lead form |
| Free trial | ✅ All plans start with a free trial |
| Free tier | ⚠️ None |
| Entry | $36/mo billed monthly ($29/mo billed yearly) |
| Payment fees | ⚠️ From 2.9% + 25¢ cards · 1.5% bank transfer |
| Client limit | ✅ Unlimited clients and projects on every plan |
Overview
Starter is $36 a month billed monthly or $29 billed yearly and is a complete product rather than a teaser: unlimited clients and projects, invoices and payments, proposals and contracts, calendar, all professional templates, a client portal, basic reports, up to two live lead forms and HoneyBook AI. Essentials is $59 monthly or $49 yearly and adds the scheduler with unlimited sessions, automations, the QuickBooks Online integration, up to two team members, up to ten live lead forms, SMS reminders, removal of the ‘Powered by HoneyBook’ mark and standard reports. Premium is $129 monthly or $109 yearly and adds unlimited team members, priority support, multiple companies, advanced reports and unlimited live lead forms.
Payments are the second bill. Card payments start at 2.9% plus 25¢ on all three plans, bank transfer fees are 1.5%, and instant deposit — access to funds faster, subject to eligibility — costs 1%. The page states that customers who pay annually and are subscribed to Premium may be eligible for discounted card fees, which is worth raising with sales. Invoicing supports one-time, recurring and custom schedules, autopay, payment reminders, payment plans, late fees, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and dispute management where HoneyBook’s team helps build the case.
The annual view is where the page gets careless. Starter shows $29 a month billed yearly with no badge. Essentials shows ‘$59, 25% off, $49’ and Premium shows ‘$129, 25% off, $109’ — but $59 to $49 is 17% and $129 to $109 is 16%, while the toggle above them reads ‘Billed yearly (save up to 18%)’. A separate banner advertises ‘Summer savings! Get special prices on annual plans’. The figures themselves are consistent across the plan cards and the comparison table; it is the percentages that do not reconcile. Treat $29, $49 and $109 as the annual rates and $36, $59 and $129 as the monthly rates, and ignore the badges.
Key features
- Unlimited clients and projects — on every plan including Starter
- Proposals, contracts and invoices — from Starter
- Client portal — from Starter
- HoneyBook AI — listed on all three plans
- Scheduler and automations — from Essentials
- QuickBooks Online integration — from Essentials
- SMS reminders and unbranded portal — from Essentials
- Unlimited team members — Premium only
- Card and ACH payments — ⚠️ from 2.9% + 25¢ and 1.5%
- Instant deposit — ⚠️ 1% fee, subject to eligibility
Pricing (as of 2026-10-01)
Model: flat monthly subscription by tier, billed monthly or yearly, plus per-payment processing fees · Free tier: ⚠️ None — all plans start with a free trial · Entry paid: $36/mo billed monthly ($29/mo billed yearly)
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $36/mo monthly | Unlimited clients and projects · invoices and payments · proposals and contracts · client portal · 2 lead forms · HoneyBook AI |
| Starter (yearly) | $29/mo billed yearly | Same as Starter |
| Essentials | $59/mo monthly | Adds scheduler · automations · QuickBooks Online · 2 team members · 10 lead forms · SMS reminders · unbranded portal |
| Essentials (yearly) | $49/mo billed yearly | Same as Essentials |
| Premium | $129/mo monthly | Adds unlimited team members · priority support · multiple companies · advanced reports · unlimited lead forms |
| Premium (yearly) | $109/mo billed yearly | Same as Premium · may be eligible for discounted card fees |
⚠️ Processing fees are separate from the subscription and will usually exceed it: cards from 2.9% plus 25¢, bank transfers 1.5%, instant deposit 1% where eligible.
The page states that customers paying annually on the Premium plan may be eligible for discounted card fees — ask for the actual rate in writing before assuming it.
⚠️ The annual discount badges do not match the figures. Essentials shows $59 marked ‘25% off’ resolving to $49 (17%) and Premium $129 to $109 (16%), while the toggle reads ‘save up to 18%’. The dollar figures are consistent; the percentages are not.
All three plans include unlimited clients and projects. The gates are on team members, lead forms, automations and reporting, not on how much business you run through it.
All plans start with a free trial and the page says you can change or cancel at any time; the trial length is not stated on the pricing page.
Ratings breakdown
| Criterion | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Ease Of Use | 4.5/5 | ⭐ Built for one-person businesses, not for admins |
| Features | 4.0/5 | Proposals, contracts, invoicing, scheduling and AI in one place |
| Value | 4.0/5 | Unlimited clients at $36, but processing fees dominate the total |
| Support | 3.5/5 | ⚠️ Priority support is Premium only at $129 a month |
Pros
- Unlimited clients and projects on the cheapest plan
- Both monthly and yearly rates published for all three tiers
- Proposals, contracts, invoicing and a client portal included from Starter
- HoneyBook AI listed on every plan
- Bank transfers at 1.5% are far cheaper than cards for large invoices
- Free trial on all plans with no stated commitment
Cons
- ⚠️ Card fees from 2.9% + 25¢ on top of the subscription
- ⚠️ Annual discount badges do not match the prices shown
- Automations and the scheduler require Essentials at $59
- Only two team members below the $129 Premium plan
- Priority support reserved for Premium
- Trial length not stated on the pricing page
Who it’s for
- Photographers, planners and consultants billing clients directly
- Solo businesses that want contracts and invoices in one tool
- Studios collecting most payments by bank transfer at 1.5%
- Anyone replacing a proposal tool, an e-signature tool and an invoicer
Who it’s not for
- Teams larger than two without the Premium budget
- Businesses whose payment volume makes a direct processor cheaper
- Companies needing a full sales CRM with pipeline forecasting
- Buyers who want a free tier rather than a trial
Best use cases
- Sending a branded proposal, contract and deposit invoice in one flow
- Automating enquiry follow-up from a website lead form
- Collecting a $6,000 project payment by bank transfer at 1.5%
- Running payment plans with automatic reminders and late fees
- Syncing invoices to QuickBooks Online from the Essentials plan
Integrations
HoneyBook integrates with QuickBooks Online from the Essentials plan, syncs calendars, and collects card and bank payments — where the underlying economics are worth comparing against Stripe directly, since HoneyBook’s 2.9% plus 25¢ sits in the same range as a raw processor. For scheduling alone, Calendly, SavvyCal and Acuity Scheduling cost less; for contracts alone, DocuSign is the dedicated option.
Alternatives
FreshBooks and Wave cover invoicing and accounting without the proposal and contract layer. Acuity Scheduling and Calendly handle booking for less. For a genuine sales pipeline rather than client management, Pipedrive and Close are the right shape, and Kajabi is the comparison if you also sell digital products.
Recent changes
Read from honeybook.com/pricing on 1 October 2026: Starter $36, Essentials $59 and Premium $129 a month billed monthly, or $29, $49 and $109 a month billed yearly. HoneyBook AI is listed as included on all three plans. Processing fees start at 2.9% plus 25¢ for cards with bank transfers at 1.5% and instant deposit at 1% subject to eligibility, and the page notes that annual Premium customers may be eligible for discounted card fees. Unlimited clients and projects remain on every plan, with gating on team members (2 on Essentials, unlimited on Premium), live lead forms (2, 10, unlimited) and automations (Essentials upward). A ‘Summer savings’ banner advertises special annual prices, and the annual plan cards carry ‘25% off’ badges against figures that work out to 17% and 16% while the billing toggle states ‘save up to 18%’.
Frequently asked questions
How much does HoneyBook cost?
$36 a month for Starter, $59 for Essentials and $129 for Premium billed monthly, or $29, $49 and $109 a month billed yearly. Read from honeybook.com/pricing on 1 October 2026. Payment processing is charged separately.
What are HoneyBook’s payment fees?
Cards start at 2.9% plus 25¢ per transaction and bank transfers are 1.5%. Instant deposit costs a 1% fee where eligible. The page says annual Premium customers may qualify for discounted card fees.
Is there a limit on clients or projects?
No. All three plans include unlimited clients and projects. The limits are on team members, live lead forms, automations and reporting depth rather than on business volume.
What do I get by upgrading from Starter to Essentials?
The scheduler with unlimited sessions, automations, the QuickBooks Online integration, up to two team members, up to ten live lead forms, SMS reminders, removal of the ‘Powered by HoneyBook’ branding and standard reports.
Why do the annual discount percentages look wrong?
Because they are. The annual cards badge Essentials and Premium as ‘25% off’ while showing $59 to $49 and $129 to $109, which are 17% and 16%, and the toggle above says ‘save up to 18%’. The dollar figures are consistent; use those.
Does HoneyBook have a free plan?
No. Every plan starts with a free trial and the page says you can change or cancel at any time, but the trial length is not stated on the pricing page and there is no permanently free tier.
Sources
- HoneyBook – pricing page, yearly billing selected (read 2026-10-01)
- HoneyBook – pricing page with monthly billing selected (read 2026-10-01)
- HoneyBook – plan comparison, payment and processing fee rows (read 2026-10-01)
Compiled from public sources; last verified 2026-10-01. Pricing is subject to change — verify with the vendor. Ratings reflect editorial opinion based on documented capabilities, published pricing, and aggregated user reviews. DigiJaws does not accept payment for review placement or rating.
HoneyBook Review (4/5): Pricing & Fees (2026). DigiJaws, 2026. https://digijaws.com/reviews/honeybook-review/