Moxie vs HoneyBook pricing breakdown
Moxie and HoneyBook take very different approaches to pricing. Moxie charges a flat rate regardless of how many features you use. HoneyBook uses tiered pricing where key features only appear on higher plans.
Moxie Pricing (2026)
- Starter: $12/month ($10/month annual). CRM, proposals, contracts, invoicing, time tracking, and basic accounting. Solo use only.
- Pro: $25/month ($20/month annual). Adds expense tracking, financial reporting, and client portal access. Still solo use.
- Teams: $40/month ($32/month annual). Up to 5 team members, shared project access, and collaboration features.
HoneyBook Pricing (2026)
- Starter: $29/month ($36/month monthly). Smart Files, basic automation, and basic time tracking. No team access.
- Essentials: $49/month ($59/month monthly). Adds two team members, more automation triggers, and priority email support.
- Premium: $109/month ($129/month monthly). Unlimited team members, priority phone support, and 1:1 onboarding.
What teams actually pay
For solo freelancers, the gap is clear: Moxie Starter ($12/month) costs less than half of HoneyBook Starter ($29/month), and Moxie's Starter has more features including time tracking and accounting. For teams, Moxie's $40/month covers up to 5 members. HoneyBook's team access starts at $49/month for just two members. Since neither handles the full delivery workflow, most users also run:
- Project management: Trello Free or Asana Starter ($0-11/month)
- Advanced time tracking: Toggl or Harvest ($0-12/month per user)
- Accounting: QuickBooks or Wave ($0-25/month)
A typical multi-tool stack runs $60-120 per month. All-in-one platforms like Plutio start at $19/month with proposals, projects, time tracking, and invoicing in one subscription.
The verdict: Moxie costs less than half of HoneyBook at entry level and includes time tracking and accounting that HoneyBook lacks. HoneyBook costs more and focuses on the booking experience through Smart Files, but lacks accounting, expense tracking, and global availability. Both require supplementary tools for project delivery, so the total cost goes beyond either platform's sticker price.
Which tool is better for your business type?
The choice between Moxie and HoneyBook depends on whether budget efficiency or client-facing experience matters more for a specific business.
Event-based businesses (photographers, planners, florists)
HoneyBook started with this market. Smart Files handle the inquiry-to-booking flow in one document, the mobile app handles on-location bookings, and the automation covers follow-up sequences. Moxie handles the same workflow but requires separate proposals and contracts. The trade-off: HoneyBook costs $29/month minimum, requires a US/Canadian bank account, and shows HoneyBook branding on every client document.
Consultants and coaches billing hourly
Moxie includes time tracking on every plan from $12/month, combined with built-in expense tracking and per-project profit reporting. HoneyBook's time tracking is more recent and more basic. Neither platform tracks at the task level, so consultants who bill 20-40 hours per week and need hourly breakdowns by deliverable still need manual notes or a separate tool. For task-level time tracking that connects hours to specific deliverables, platforms like Plutio go further than either.
International freelancers
Moxie works globally with Stripe payments. HoneyBook requires a US or Canadian bank account, which disqualifies freelancers based outside North America entirely. For any business operating internationally, this is a dealbreaker for HoneyBook. Moxie, Plutio, and other platforms with Stripe or PayPal integration work regardless of location.
Creative freelancers focused on first impressions
HoneyBook's Smart Files combine proposals, contracts, and payments into one scrollable document, and the overall design is more recent than Moxie's. Moxie's proposals and documents are functional but less visually current. The trade-off: HoneyBook costs $29/month minimum, Smart File templates have limited layout customization, and neither platform offers white-labeling, so clients see the software vendor's brand in both cases.
Budget-conscious solo freelancers
Moxie's $12/month Starter plan has more features than HoneyBook's $29/month Starter. The Moxie Starter includes time tracking, expense tracking, and accounting that HoneyBook does not offer at any price point. For freelancers watching every dollar while building their business, Moxie includes more features at the entry-level price, though the interface takes longer to learn.
What both tools are missing
Moxie and HoneyBook both cover client intake: proposals, contracts, and invoicing. But once the contract is signed and the real work begins, most users find themselves opening other apps to manage delivery, track progress, and keep clients updated.
Project management beyond checklists
Both platforms offer task lists with due dates. Neither has Kanban boards, Gantt charts, subtasks with nesting, or task dependencies. For simple projects, checklists work. For multi-phase engagements with overlapping deliverables and client approval stages, a separate project management tool runs alongside. Platforms with visual project management handle both intake and delivery without extra tools.
Task-level time tracking
Both platforms track time at the project level only. Neither lets freelancers see which specific task consumed the hours, set different rates per deliverable type, or run reports by work category. Consultants who need to show clients a detailed breakdown by task end up maintaining a separate time log or using Toggl alongside, then manually transferring totals into invoices. For most hourly billers, that manual step takes 15-30 minutes per invoicing cycle.
White-labeled client portals
Neither platform offers white-labeling. Moxie portals show Moxie's brand. HoneyBook portals show HoneyBook's brand on honeybook.com URLs. For premium services where the brand experience is part of the value, clients seeing third-party branding works against the positioning. Platforms like Plutio support custom domains and complete brand removal.
Automatic subscription billing
Retainer clients paying monthly are common across consulting, coaching, and agency work. Neither Moxie nor HoneyBook has automatic recurring charges. Both support recurring invoices, but clients need to manually pay each one. For businesses with 5-10 retainer clients, tracking who paid and following up on missed payments can take 2-3 hours monthly. Platforms with built-in subscription billing handle automatic charges and payment recovery.
What users do when neither tool is enough
When Moxie or HoneyBook cannot handle the full workflow alone, users either build a multi-tool stack or move to a platform that covers intake through delivery.
The typical workaround stack
- Moxie or HoneyBook for proposals, contracts, and invoicing ($12-50/month)
- Trello, Asana, or ClickUp for project management ($0-25/month)
- Toggl, Clockify, or Harvest for detailed time tracking ($0-12/month per user)
- QuickBooks or Wave for accounting ($0-25/month)
- Google Drive or Dropbox for file sharing ($0-15/month)
Together that is four or five subscriptions totaling $50-130 per month, with constant manual data transfer between each tool.
The hidden cost: time on handoffs
When a contract gets signed in HoneyBook, someone manually creates a project in Trello, sets up time tracking in Toggl, then transfers completed hours back into an invoice. Each handoff takes 5-15 minutes. Across 15-20 clients per year, that is 25-40 hours annually spent on copying data that software should handle on its own.
What a unified workflow looks like
If you are curious: Plutio is one platform that covers proposals, project management with Kanban boards, task-level time tracking, invoicing, and white-labeled client portals. The comparison table below shows exactly where Plutio fills the gaps, and where Moxie and HoneyBook fall short.
Final verdict: Moxie vs HoneyBook
Moxie and HoneyBook both cover client intake, but the trade-offs are different: Moxie includes more features at a lower price but with a dated interface, while HoneyBook focuses on the booking experience through Smart Files but costs more and requires a US/Canadian bank account.
Moxie makes sense when:
- Budget matters. Moxie's $12/month Starter includes time tracking and accounting that HoneyBook lacks at any price, but the interface takes several days to learn and feels dated.
- Built-in accounting removes the need for QuickBooks or Wave. Moxie tracks income, expenses, and profit per project, but there are no tax preparation features.
- Global payment processing is required. Moxie works with Stripe worldwide, while HoneyBook requires a US or Canadian bank account.
- A small team needs access without per-user fees. Moxie's $40/month Teams plan covers up to 5 people, but team collaboration features are basic and the cap is hard.
The trade-off: The interface has a learning curve and feels dated. Integrations are limited. Teams cap at 5 members. There is no G2 presence to compare reviews.
HoneyBook makes sense when:
- The booking experience is the priority. Smart Files combine proposals, contracts, and payments in one document, but templates have limited layout customization and show HoneyBook branding.
- AI-powered automation covers intake sequences. Automations 2.0 suggests workflow improvements, but automation only handles intake, not project delivery or billing.
- A mobile app for on-location work matters. HoneyBook's mobile app mirrors the desktop, but the same geographic payment restrictions apply on mobile.
- Speed to launch matters more than feature depth. Most users book their first client within 48 hours, but quickly find project management and accounting missing.
The trade-off: Pricing starts at $29/month and goes up to $109/month for full features. Client documents show HoneyBook's branding with no white-labeling option. Payment processing only works in the US and Canada.
Consider a unified platform if:
- The workflow already spans three or more tools and the handoffs between them eat into productive hours.
- Projects need more than checklists: Kanban boards, timelines, or task dependencies.
- Clients should see a custom domain and brand, not the software vendor's logo.
- Time tracking needs to connect directly to specific tasks and flow into invoice line items.
The reality: Moving to a new platform means migrating data and learning a new interface. For most users, the transition takes a focused weekend. The ongoing time savings typically pay back within a month.
The bottom line: Moxie has more features at a lower price with built-in accounting and global availability, but the interface takes days to configure and teams are capped at 5. HoneyBook has Smart Files and AI automation for intake, but costs 2-3x more, shows HoneyBook branding on all documents, and only works in the US and Canada. Both cover intake but stop there. Project delivery, detailed time tracking, and branded portals require other apps. If the multi-tool workflow is already frustrating, the comparison table below shows how platforms like Plutio fill those gaps.
Research & Sources
The Moxie vs HoneyBook comparison above is based on official documentation review, pricing page verification, and analysis of user feedback across review platforms. All data was verified in February 2026.
Research methodology
Each tool was evaluated through official feature documentation, pricing pages, and analysis of user reviews across G2, Trustpilot, Capterra, and AppSumo. The focus was on common pain points from lower-rated reviews where users share honest limitations.
Platform ratings (February 2026)
- Moxie: 5.0/5 on Trustpilot (518 reviews), 4.8/5 on AppSumo (83 reviews). No active G2 listing. Noted for value-for-money pricing and included features, criticized for learning curve and limited integrations.
- HoneyBook: 4.5/5 on G2 (2,100+ reviews). Noted for ease of use and Smart Files, criticized for limited customization and HoneyBook branding on documents.
- Plutio: 4.6/5 on G2 (200+ reviews), praised for all-in-one coverage and white-labeling.
Common user complaints (from 1-3 star reviews)
Moxie users frequently mention: "Steep learning curve," "Interface feels outdated," "Limited integrations," "Team capped at 5 members"
HoneyBook users frequently mention: "Cannot remove HoneyBook branding," "Time tracking is too basic," "Customization is limited," "No real project management"
Pricing sources (verified February 2026)
- Moxie: Official pricing page
- HoneyBook: Official pricing page
- Plutio: Official pricing page
Feature verification
- Moxie Trustpilot reviews (518 reviews)
- HoneyBook G2 reviews (2,100+ reviews)
- Moxie Help Center
- HoneyBook Help Center
If you find any inaccuracies or outdated information, please let us know so we can investigate and update.
