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Agency Software Comparison

Dubsado vs. helloHQ

At a glance

At a glance

Dubsado

Best for

Best for solo service providers and small studios that want enquiry, contract, invoice and payment in one branded client flow.

  • Freelancers
  • Small and mid-sized

helloHQ

Best for

Best for small and mid-sized agencies that want the whole process from lead to invoice in one German-hosted system.

  • Small and mid-sized

Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.

Full Comparison

Criterion Dubsado helloHQ
Starting price From $335 / year Starter plan; Premier is $525 per year. Annual billing is priced as ten months. Three additional users are included, then $25 per month for 4 to 10 users, and each extra brand costs $10 per month. Prices in US dollars. From €35 / user / month Team plan, no base fee, minimum 3 users; €29.75 per user in the first contract year. The Pro and Enterprise plans add a monthly base fee of €180 and €600.
Free trial 21-day free trial with full access to the Premier plan, no credit card required 14 days
API No developer API is published. Integrations run through Zapier on the Premier plan alongside native connections Not stated
Languages Not stated German, English
Hosting Cloud (SaaS), with a mobile app Cloud, hosted in Germany, GDPR-compliant
Made in United States Germany
Time tracking Yes, a global time tracker on the Premier plan. An entry carries a task description, a project, an hourly rate and the invoice it will be billed to, runs while you work elsewhere, and is applied to that invoice from the tracker or from within the invoice. Yes
Project costing Not offered as a costing module. Billable hours carry an hourly rate that feeds an invoice, and reporting covers revenue and profit margins, but the published feature list has no cost rates or budget-against-actual tracking. Yes, quotes and estimates
Invoicing Yes, branded invoices with payment plans, recurring billing, automatic reminders and gratuity options; payments by card and ACH through Dubsado Payments on Stripe, in 135+ currencies with buy-now-pay-later and instant payouts Yes
Resource planning No. The published feature list runs from lead capture and scheduling through proposals, contracts, invoices, workflows, the client portal and reporting, without capacity or resource planning. Yes, resource, capacity and vacation planning
Reporting and controlling Yes, dashboards covering month-to-month growth, profit margins, payment history and revenue patterns, plus lead conversion, project status and pipeline health Yes, controlling and dashboards, including a PowerBI connection
Integrations and API No developer API is published. Zapier connects thousands of apps on the Premier plan, alongside native integrations for Gmail, Microsoft 365, Stripe, QuickBooks Online, Xero, Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams. Yes, REST API
Deployment Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based
Support Email helpdesk, Chat more entries Email helpdesk, Phone, Chat
Onboarding Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials, Live online demos and webinars Live online demos and webinars, Personal consulting, On-site training
Company size more entries Freelancers, Small and mid-sized Small and mid-sized
Integrations Gmail, Microsoft 365, Stripe, QuickBooks Online, Xero, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Zapier PowerBI, Microsoft Exchange, awork, Jira, Personio, agicap, Zapier, Memtime, REST API

Compare more tools

Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.

The short version

Key Differences

  • Starting price Dubsado From $335 / year helloHQ From €35 / user / month
  • Free trial Dubsado 21-day free trial with full access to the Premier plan, no credit card required helloHQ 14 days
  • Company size Dubsado Freelancers, Small and mid-sized helloHQ Small and mid-sized
  • Hosting Dubsado Cloud (SaaS), with a mobile app helloHQ Cloud, hosted in Germany, GDPR-compliant
  • Support Dubsado Email helpdesk, Chat helloHQ Email helpdesk, Phone, Chat

Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.

The trade-offs

Strengths and Limitations

Dubsado

Strengths

  • Lead capture, proposal, contract and invoice run as one branded client-facing flow
  • 21-day free trial with full access to the Premier plan, no credit card required
  • Three additional users are included before the user add-ons start
  • Payments by card and ACH in 135+ currencies, with QuickBooks Online and Xero sync

Limitations

  • Automated workflows, advanced scheduling and the time tracker require the Premier plan
  • Zapier, the only published route to apps without a native integration, is also on the Premier plan
  • Extra brands and users beyond three are billed as monthly add-ons on top of the annual plan
  • Once tracked hours are applied to an invoice they cannot be edited in the tracker or moved to another invoice

helloHQ

Strengths

  • Centralises the whole agency process in one system
  • Replaces many separate tools
  • Responsive support
  • German hosting

Limitations

  • Occasional slow load times reported
  • No built-in ticketing
  • Some customisation limits

Plans

Pricing

Dubsado

  • Starter $335 Per year. Email integration, unlimited projects and clients, invoicing and payment plans, form and email templates, client portals, calendar connection, mobile app, email and live chat support, and one active lead capture form.
  • Premier $525 Per year. Adds unlimited lead capture forms, automated workflows, advanced scheduling, public proposals, the time tracker, bookkeeping integration and Zapier.
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helloHQ

  • Team €35 Per user and month, no base fee. Minimum 3 users. First contract year discounted.
  • Pro €30 Per user and month, plus a €180 monthly base fee. Minimum 5 users. First contract year discounted.
  • Enterprise €24 Per user and month, plus a €600 monthly base fee. Minimum 20 users. First contract year discounted.
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What users say

Review Scores · opens after launch

Dubsado

Ease of use
Not rated yet
User interface
Not rated yet
Onboarding
Not rated yet
Support and service
Not rated yet
Value for money
Not rated yet
Features
Not rated yet

No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.

helloHQ

Ease of use
Not rated yet
User interface
Not rated yet
Onboarding
Not rated yet
Support and service
Not rated yet
Value for money
Not rated yet
Features
Not rated yet

No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.

Where this comes from

Where this comes from

Dubsado https://www.dubsado.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-12

helloHQ https://www.hellohq.io · checked against the official source on 2026-08-14

This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.