Comparison
Dubsado alternative: Scopivo for solo freelancers who want simpler.
Dubsado is a powerful, mature, deeply-featured client management tool. Some freelancers love that depth; many find it's more tool than they need. Scopivo trades feature depth for a much shorter setup curve, a real free year, and your own Stripe with no platform fee.
Free for your first year. No credit card to start. Your own Stripe, no platform fee.
The cost math (solo freelancer)
Dubsado is annual-billed and adds per-user and per-brand surcharges on top. Scopivo Pro is one number. Below is what a solo freelancer actually pays at each tool.
Year 1
Scopivo
$0
Free for 365 days from signup
Dubsado
$335 - $525
Starter or Premier, no free year
Year 2+ cheapest
Scopivo
$190/yr
Pro annual (saves 17%)
Dubsado
$335/yr
Starter, limited features
Year 2+ with full features
Scopivo
$190/yr
Same Pro plan, all features included
Dubsado
$525/yr
Premier required for automations + scheduling
Dubsado pricing verified at dubsado.com/pricing on 2026-05-10. Scopivo Pro: $19/mo or $190/yr annual.
Side-by-side
| Capability | Scopivo | Dubsado |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free first year, then $19/mo (or $190/yr saves 17%) | $335/yr (Starter), $525/yr (Premier) |
| Free tier | Free for a full year, no card | 21-day trial with Premier access |
| Billing cadence | Monthly or annual | Annual only |
| Branding on client documents | Your brand only on PDFs + portal | No Dubsado branding on docs + portal |
| URL / browser-tab branding | Your subdomain by default | hello.dubsado.com by default; CNAME setup needed |
| Payment processor | Stripe Connect, your own account, no platform fee | Dubsado Payments, Square, or PayPal |
| Multi-user support | Single user today; multi-user on roadmap | 3 users free, then $25-$60/mo for 4-30 users |
| Multi-brand support | Single brand by design | Additional brands $10/mo each |
| Setup curve | Minutes, guided onboarding | Weeks, Dubsado is known for a steep learning curve |
| Audience focus | Solo freelancers and small studios | Creatives, freelancers, service-based entrepreneurs |
Where Scopivo wins
A full free year, not 21 days
Dubsado's trial is 21 days with full Premier access. Generous as trials go, but it's a trial. Scopivo's Free plan runs for 365 days from signup with no card. You can run a real freelance practice on Free for a full year before deciding whether to upgrade.
Setup in minutes, not weeks
Dubsado's steep learning curve is well-documented; whole consulting practices exist around Dubsado setup. Scopivo is deliberately leaner: you can send your first proposal the same day you sign up. The trade is feature depth; for solos who don't need the deepest workflow engine on the market, the trade is worth it.
Your Stripe, no platform fee
Scopivo uses Stripe Connect: clients pay your Stripe account directly, you pay Stripe's standard 2.9% + 30¢, and Scopivo never sits in the payment path. Dubsado's default is Dubsado Payments (their own, Stripe-powered); Square and PayPal are also supported. There's no Stripe Connect option in Dubsado, so if you already use Stripe for other revenue streams you can't consolidate here.
Simpler, more predictable pricing
Scopivo is $19/mo or $190/yr. That's the whole price list. Dubsado is $335-$525/yr + $25-$60/mo per extra user + $10/mo per extra brand. The Dubsado bill is rarely just the headline number.
Where Dubsado wins
Honest comparison means naming where Dubsado is the better fit. For these workflows, stay on Dubsado.
Workflow automation depth
Dubsado's workflow engine, chains of triggers, delays, conditional branches, automated email/form sends, is more powerful than Scopivo's today. If your practice runs on a 12-step workflow you spent weeks building, that's a genuine reason to stay.
Multi-user accounts today
Dubsado includes 3 users on every tier and scales to 30 with paid add-ons. Scopivo is single-user today; multi-user is on our roadmap but not shipped yet. If you need a co-founder, VA, or contractor on your account right now, Dubsado has the feature today and Scopivo doesn't.
Multi-brand support
Dubsado supports additional brands at $10/mo each, useful if you genuinely run two distinct businesses from one account. Scopivo is single-brand by design today; if you need this, Dubsado is the right tool.
Mature, battle-tested product
Dubsado has been refining its product since 2017. Scopivo is newer. For freelancers who value “has been doing this for years and works reliably,” Dubsado has the track record. We're building toward that.
Migration playbook (two weeks)
- 1
Export your data from Dubsado
From Dubsado's settings, export your contacts, projects, and invoices. Dubsado's export is comprehensive, you'll get a clean CSV of everything you've built.
- 2
Set up Scopivo in parallel
Sign up for the free year. Connect your own Stripe account so payments route to you with no platform fee. Upload your logo, pick a brand color, and you're ready to send your first proposal.
- 3
Recreate only the templates you actively use
Dubsado users often have years of accumulated templates, workflows, and canned email scripts. Don't try to recreate it all. Pick the 2-3 templates you actually use weekly and rebuild those first in Scopivo's editor.
- 4
Run two weeks of overlap, then cancel
Finish in-flight projects in Dubsado. Send new proposals through Scopivo. Cancel Dubsado at the end of your annual billing period (you've already paid for the year, so no refund unless they make a goodwill exception).
FAQ
- Is Scopivo actually cheaper than Dubsado?
- Yes, by a meaningful margin. Dubsado Starter is $335/yr, Premier is $525/yr, both annual-only. Scopivo Pro is $190/yr annual or $228/yr monthly. Plus the first year of Scopivo is free, so over two years you'd pay $190 on Scopivo vs $670 on Dubsado Starter or $1,050 on Premier. The math is even starker if you add a Dubsado teammate ($25-$60/mo each past the 3 included).
- Does Dubsado put their branding on my client documents?
- No, this is actually a parity point. Dubsado's help docs say clients will never see Dubsado logos or 'powered by' messaging on forms, invoices, proposals, contracts, or the client portal at any tier. Where Dubsado branding does leak by default is the URL (hello.dubsado.com), the browser tab title, and social-media link previews, those require a custom CNAME setup to fully brand. Scopivo gives you a branded subdomain out of the box.
- What about Dubsado's automations and workflows?
- Dubsado's workflow engine is more powerful than Scopivo's. If you've built an elaborate Dubsado workflow that's running your practice on autopilot, that's a real reason to stay. Scopivo's automations cover the common cases (proposal accepted → create contract, invoice paid → send thank-you, etc.) but don't yet match Dubsado's depth.
- Will the migration take forever?
- It depends on how much you've customized Dubsado. Solo freelancers who use 2-3 templates can migrate in an afternoon. Power users with elaborate workflows and many templates should plan a week. The single biggest time sink is recreating templates you use occasionally, don't. Migrate the 2-3 you use weekly, and add the rest later (or never).
- Can my clients pay through Scopivo without your platform fee?
- Yes. Scopivo uses Stripe Connect: clients pay your Stripe account directly, you pay Stripe's standard 2.9% + 30¢, and Scopivo never takes a cut. Dubsado's default payment processor is Dubsado Payments (their own, Stripe-powered), you can use Square or PayPal alternatively, but not your own Stripe Connect account.
- Does Scopivo support multi-user or multi-brand accounts?
- Not today. Scopivo is single-user, single-brand per account. Both are on our roadmap but not shipped yet. If you currently use Dubsado for multiple team members or multiple business brands, you'd be early to Scopivo. We'd rather tell you up front.
Ready to try Scopivo?
Free for your first year. No credit card. Your own Stripe with no platform fee. Set up in minutes, not weeks.