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A Dubsado alternative, for coaches who sell sessions, not projects
Dubsado is a genuinely good tool — and it is honest about what it is: a client-management platform for creative service businesses. It runs custom-quoted projects beautifully. Coaching is not a custom-quoted project, though. A coach sells a package of sessions, tracks how many are left, writes a note after each one, and watches a client's goals move. Dubsado keeps none of that record. The question is not whether Dubsado is good — it is whether you are paying Premier money for workflows while still tracking the coaching itself somewhere else.
Side by side
| Dubsado | CoachFlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Starter $335/year (~$28/month); Premier $525/year (~$44/month) — monthly billing $35 / $55 | $29 / month flat — one plan, no tiers |
| Designed for | Creative service businesses — photographers, designers, planners — with custom-quoted projects | One-to-one coaching & consulting |
| Session packages & balances | No — projects and invoices, not coaching packages with sessions remaining | Yes — booked sessions count down automatically |
| Session notes & client record | No structured session notes, no client goals or progress tracking | Structured note per session plus goals and progress, on the client record |
| Booking / scheduling | Premier only — Starter has no scheduling | Yes — your own booking page, linked to packages |
| Automated workflows | Premier only — visual Flows for multi-step onboarding; Starter has none | Coaching workflow built in (intake → package → booking → notes → invoice); no workflow builder |
| Intake forms | Yes — lead capture and questionnaires, customisable in depth | Yes — coaching-specific intake questionnaire |
| Contracts & e-sign | Yes — contracts with e-signatures, plus public proposals on Premier | Yes — coaching agreement templates plus type-to-sign acceptance |
| Invoicing & payments | Yes — invoices, payment plans and payment collection (Stripe, Square, PayPal) | Yes — invoicing with tax lines; live card checkout is still being finished |
| Client portals & templates | Yes — dedicated client portals, form and email templates on both plans | Booking page and client record in-app; no separate public portal |
| Getting started today | Self-serve sign-up; 21-day trial with full Premier access, no card required | CoachFlow is now live — founding members are onboarded personally by email while self-serve checkout is finished |
Prices checked November 2026 — Dubsado's official pricing page leads with annual pricing (Starter $335/year, Premier $525/year); monthly equivalents ($35 / $55) are from Dubsado's own product information page. Verify on the official site before deciding; plans and prices change.
Dubsado is probably better for you if…
- You run custom-quoted projects and want a workflow builder to run them
- You need public proposals, Zapier or bookkeeping integrations
- You need live payment collection through invoices and payment plans today
- You also serve clients outside coaching and want one general tool
CoachFlow may fit better if…
- You coach one-to-one and sell session packages
- You want sessions remaining, session notes and goals on one client record
- You invoice clients (with tax lines) rather than needing live checkout yet
- You would rather pay $29 flat than $525 a year for workflows you don't use
Comparing other tools too? Read the other honest head-to-heads: CoachFlow — a HoneyBook alternative built for coaches and CoachFlow — a Paperbell alternative for coaches who only need the core.
Questions
Is CoachFlow a full Dubsado alternative for coaches?+
For a one-to-one coach, on the coaching core, yes: packages with live balances, session notes, goals and progress, intake, booking, agreements and invoices — for $29/month flat. It is not a full replacement if you need Dubsado's workflow builder, public proposals, Zapier and bookkeeping integrations, or live payment collection: Dubsado has all of those on Premier today and CoachFlow does not yet. Judge it on the job you actually need done.
Isn't Dubsado Starter cheaper than CoachFlow?+
On annual billing, yes — Starter is $335/year, about $28/month, a little under CoachFlow's $29/month. But Starter leaves out exactly what a coach usually buys Dubsado for: scheduling, automated workflows and public proposals are all Premier-only. The realistic Dubsado price for a coach is Premier at $525/year, about $44/month — and even Premier has no session packages, session notes or goal tracking. Compare the plan you would actually use, not the cheapest headline.
What does Dubsado do that CoachFlow doesn't (yet)?+
Plenty, honestly: a visual workflow builder that runs multi-step onboarding on its own, public proposals with packages and pricing options, Zapier and bookkeeping integrations, client portals, deep form and email templates, and live payment collection through invoices and payment plans — built and supported over years as a general client-management product. If you need that automation depth or live payments running this week, Dubsado Premier is the safer pick today.
Can I actually use CoachFlow today?+
Yes. CoachFlow is now live: email us at abdulazeem3255@gmail.com and we'll set up your founding-member account personally. You can also explore the entire app first in the live demo — it runs with sample coaching clients, packages, session notes and goals in your browser, free. We would rather onboard you honestly, by hand, than promise a self-serve sign-up we haven't finished.
Where do these prices come from?+
Dubsado's own pricing page, as checked in November 2026: the page leads with annual pricing — Starter $335/year and Premier $525/year — and Dubsado's own product information page lists the monthly equivalents ($35 and $55). Starter excludes scheduling, automated workflows, public proposals, Zapier and bookkeeping integration; Premier includes them. Plans and prices change, so verify the latest on Dubsado's official site before deciding.
Judge the record, not the claims
Open the live demo and look at one client the way you'd want to before a session: package balance, last session's notes, goals and progress, next booking — one screen. Then email us and we'll set up your account.