Flowlu vs Dubsado: Honest Comparison for 2026

If you are searching "Flowlu vs Dubsado," you are comparing two tools that look similar on the surface -- both serve freelancers and service businesses -- but solve fundamentally different problems.

Flowlu is a CRM-and-project-management all-in-one that bundles deal pipelines, Gantt charts, invoicing, and a knowledge base into per-seat pricing. Dubsado is a form-builder-first client management platform built around proposals, contracts, conditional intake forms, and polished automation flows.

This guide compares both on current features, pricing from Flowlu and Dubsado, and user feedback from G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot so you can pick the right tool or decide neither fits.

Quick verdict

Choose Flowlu if you need CRM with visual deal pipelines, project management with Gantt charts and dependencies, invoicing with expense tracking, a built-in knowledge base, a free plan to start on, and per-seat pricing that scales for teams.

Choose Dubsado if you need powerful proposals and contracts with conditional logic, CSS-customized forms with branching, a polished client intake experience, e-signatures with legal time-stamping, and global payment processing with an ACH fee cap of $5.

The short version: Flowlu manages the business. Dubsado manages the client intake. Neither has AI features. Neither has HR or payroll. If your work starts with proposals and contracts and continues through project delivery, you will likely need additional tools regardless of which one you pick.

Key differences at a glance

• Core strength: Flowlu is CRM + project management + invoicing. Dubsado is proposals + contracts + forms + client automation.
• Pricing model: Flowlu charges per seat ($12-$22/user/month, or $9-$17 annual). Dubsado charges per account ($28-$44/month annual) with 3 users included.
• Free tier: Flowlu has a permanent Free plan (2 users, 100 contacts). Dubsado offers a 21-day free trial only.
• Proposals and contracts: Dubsado has a full suite. Flowlu has none.
• Project management: Flowlu has Gantt, Kanban, dependencies. Dubsado has basic task lists.
• AI: Neither platform has any AI features as of April 2026.

CRM and sales pipeline

Flowlu includes CRM on every plan, including Free. You get visual drag-and-drop pipelines, multiple pipelines for different sales processes, custom fields, contact profiles with activity timelines, and deal-to-project handoff that converts won deals into active projects. The Free plan limits you to 1 pipeline and 100 contacts; paid plans remove those limits. The interface is dense and can feel cluttered, but the CRM depth is real.

Dubsado is project-centric, not pipeline-centric. Dubsado 3.0 added a Kanban board for project statuses, which helps with visual tracking, but there are no visual deal stages, no pipeline boards for sales, and no lead scoring. You track clients through project statuses rather than sales stages. For businesses that think in terms of "leads to close," this is a meaningful limitation.

Verdict: Flowlu wins. If CRM and sales pipeline management matter to your workflow, Flowlu delivers a full pipeline experience on every plan. Dubsado was not built for pipeline-based selling.

Proposals, contracts, and client intake

Dubsado is purpose-built for this. Five form types -- lead capture, questionnaires, contracts, proposals, and general forms -- each support conditional logic, branching paths, smart fields, and CSS customization. Proposals combine pricing tables, contracts, and payment collection into a single branded flow. E-signatures include time-stamped records and IP tracking for legal compliance. You can design intake experiences where questions adapt based on client responses and pricing calculates dynamically.

The trade-off is setup time. There is an entire cottage industry of Dubsado setup specialists charging $500 to $2,000+ to configure the platform properly.

Flowlu has no proposals, no contracts, and no e-signatures. These features have been listed as "coming soon" for over two years. If your sales process requires sending branded proposals or collecting signed contracts before work begins, Flowlu cannot handle it without a third-party tool.

"The form builder is incredible -- conditional logic lets me create exactly the experience I want." -- Capterra verified reviewer

Verdict: Dubsado wins decisively. This is not close. Dubsado's form and proposal builder is its defining feature; Flowlu does not compete in this category at all.

Project management

Flowlu offers Kanban boards, Gantt charts with task dependencies, subtasks, milestones, agile boards, project templates, mind maps for planning, and built-in time tracking. Billable hours require the Advanced plan ($17/user/month). The project management suite connects directly to CRM (deal-to-project handoff) and invoicing (time-to-invoice on Advanced). The mobile app is a weak point -- Android scores 3.5/5 with recurring performance complaints.

Dubsado has basic task lists only. No Gantt charts, no task dependencies, no milestones, no subtasks, no project templates. Once a client signs a contract and pays a deposit, you are on your own for managing the actual project delivery. Most Dubsado users add a separate project management tool to handle post-intake work.

Verdict: Flowlu wins decisively. If you need to manage project delivery beyond basic checklists, Flowlu is the only option here.

Invoicing and payments

Flowlu includes invoicing on all plans, including Free. Features include branded invoices, Stripe and PayPal integration, recurring invoices, estimate-to-invoice conversion, multi-currency support, and expense tracking. Time-to-invoice conversion requires the Advanced plan. Some users have flagged column-sum discrepancy issues in financial reports, which is a concern for a billing tool.

Dubsado includes invoicing on all plans. Payment options include Dubsado Payments (powered by Stripe), Square, and PayPal, with availability in 39+ countries. ACH payments are charged at 0.8% capped at $5 -- a meaningful advantage for businesses processing large invoices. Invoices can be embedded in proposal flows so clients sign, pay, and onboard in one step.

Dubsado does not have expense tracking.

Verdict: Close. Flowlu has broader financial features (expense tracking, multi-currency, estimate-to-invoice). Dubsado has a better payment experience (ACH fee cap, proposal-embedded payments, more payment gateways). Choose based on whether you need expense tracking (Flowlu) or streamlined client-facing payment flows (Dubsado).

Automation

Flowlu offers a visual workflow builder on the Advanced plan ($17/user/month, annual) and above. Free and Essential plans have zero automation. Automation caps are modest. Actions include sending emails, creating tasks, updating fields, and firing webhooks.

Dubsado offers "Flows" -- a drag-and-drop automation builder -- on the Premier plan only ($55/month or $525/year). Starter plan users get no automation. Flows trigger on events like lead submissions, contract signings, and payment receipts. Actions include sending emails, generating invoices, sharing forms, activating portals, and updating project statuses. Flows support conditional logic, time delays, and multi-step sequences.

Both platforms gate automation behind higher tiers. Dubsado's Flows are more mature and battle-tested for client onboarding sequences. Flowlu's automation is more affordable per user for teams.

Verdict: Dubsado's automation is more polished for client-facing workflows -- onboarding sequences, follow-up emails, form triggers. Flowlu's is cheaper per seat for internal process automation -- task creation, field updates, webhooks. Neither gives you automation on entry-level plans, which is a significant limitation for both platforms.

Worth noting: Dubsado Premier also includes scheduling (Google, Apple, and Microsoft calendar sync, conflict checking, buffer times, video conferencing links, and paid booking). Flowlu has no scheduling feature on any plan.

Time tracking

Flowlu has built-in time tracking on all plans. Billable hours and time-to-invoice conversion require the Advanced plan ($17/user/month). Time entries connect to projects and tasks directly.

Dubsado has no time tracking. A mobile stopwatch exists but is not connected to invoicing or project billing in any meaningful way.

Verdict: Flowlu wins. If you bill by the hour or need to track time against projects, Flowlu is the only option.

Client portal

Dubsado includes a CSS-customizable client portal on all plans. Clients can view projects, forms, invoices, and contracts through a branded interface. The portal is part of the core experience from Starter onward.

Flowlu offers a client portal on the Advanced plan ($17/user/month) and above. Advanced includes 10 guest users; Ultimate includes 500. Full custom domain branding requires the Ultimate plan. Free and Essential plans have no client portal.

Verdict: Dubsado has the edge here -- the portal is included on all plans with CSS customization. Flowlu gates it behind Advanced pricing and caps guest access.

Knowledge base

Flowlu includes a built-in knowledge base on all plans. You can create both internal team wikis and external client-facing help centers, integrated directly with projects.

Dubsado has no knowledge base or wiki feature.

Verdict: Flowlu wins. If internal documentation or client-facing help centers matter, Flowlu is the only choice.

Pricing comparison (April 2026)

Flowlu pricing

Plan	Monthly	Annual	Key features
Free	$0	$0	2 users, 1 pipeline, 100 contacts, basic invoicing, knowledge base
Essential	$12/user/month	$9/user/month	Unlimited contacts, multiple pipelines, Gantt, invoicing, time tracking
Advanced	$22/user/month	$17/user/month	Automation, client portal (10 guests), billable hours, time-to-invoice
Ultimate	Custom	Custom	500 portal guests, custom domain, higher automation caps

No seat minimum. Annual billing saves 25%.

Dubsado pricing

Plan	Monthly	Annual	Key features
Starter	$35/month	$335/year (~$28/month)	3 users, forms, proposals, contracts, invoicing, client portal
Premier	$55/month	$525/year (~$44/month)	Everything in Starter + Flows (automation), scheduling

Additional brands: $10/month. Additional users: $25/month (4-10 users), $45/month (11-20), $60/month (21-30). 21-day free trial with full Premier access, no credit card required.

Cost comparison: 5-person team

Scenario	Flowlu	Dubsado
Entry tier, monthly (no automation)	$60/month (5 x $12 Essential)	$60/month ($35 Starter + $25 for 2 extra users)
Entry tier, annual (no automation)	$45/month (5 x $9 Essential)	~$53/month ($335/year Starter + $300/year users)
With automation, monthly	$110/month (5 x $22 Advanced)	$80/month ($55 Premier + $25 for 2 extra users)
With automation, annual	$85/month (5 x $17 Advanced)	~$69/month ($525/year Premier + $300/year users)

At the automation tier the costs are nearly identical for a 5-person team, but the feature sets diverge sharply: Flowlu gives you Gantt charts, CRM pipelines, and expense tracking; Dubsado gives you conditional proposals, contracts, and polished intake flows.

Solo freelancer cost comparison

Scenario	Flowlu	Dubsado
Entry tier	$0 (Free plan, 2 users)	$28/month (Starter, annual)
With automation	$17/month (Advanced, annual)	$44/month (Premier, annual)
Annual total (automation)	$204/year	$525/year

For solo users, Flowlu is significantly cheaper -- especially since the Free plan covers CRM and invoicing at no cost. Dubsado's value proposition improves for teams of 3 or more because of the bundled users.

What real users say

Flowlu

G2: 4.7/5 (386+ reviews) | Capterra: 4.8/5 | Trustpilot: 3.9/5 (245 reviews)

"Great all-in-one value. CRM, projects, and invoicing in one place without paying for three separate tools." -- G2 verified reviewer

"The UI is cluttered and the mobile app is unusable for anything beyond checking a notification." -- G2 verified reviewer

Users consistently praise the breadth of features per dollar and the CRM depth. Criticism centers on the cluttered interface, weak mobile app (Android 3.5/5), inconsistent support quality, and alarming reports of accounts being deleted without warning. The gap between Flowlu's G2/Capterra scores and its Trustpilot score (3.9/5) suggests that billing and support issues surface more when reviewed outside vendor-curated platforms.

Dubsado

G2: 4.3/5 (~75 reviews) | Capterra: 4.2/5 (60 reviews, ease-of-use score: 3.6/5)

"The form builder is incredible -- conditional logic lets me create exactly the experience I want." -- Capterra verified reviewer

"The initial setup was quite confusing and took a long time. I needed help from the Facebook group." -- Capterra verified reviewer

Users praise the form builder power and automation reliability once configured. Criticism focuses on the steep learning curve (Capterra ease-of-use score is just 3.6/5), the need for paid setup specialists ($500-$2,000+), and occasional bugs where old information loads in forms that do not update quickly enough. Dubsado 3.0 addressed some performance issues with a rebuilt interface, but the smaller review sample size (75 on G2 vs. Flowlu's 386+) makes it harder to draw broad conclusions.

Full feature comparison

Feature	Flowlu	Dubsado
Starting price	Free / $9/user/month	$35/month (~$28 annual)
Users included	2 (Free), 1 per seat (paid)	3 additional users free
Free trial	Free plan (permanent)	21 days, full Premier access
CRM pipeline	Visual pipelines (all plans)	Project-based Kanban (no deal stages)
Proposals	No	Advanced with conditional logic
Contracts and e-signatures	No	Yes, time-stamped with IP tracking
Invoicing	All plans	All plans
Expense tracking	Yes	No
Payment processing	Stripe, PayPal	Stripe, Square, PayPal; ACH 0.8% capped $5
Automation	Advanced+ ($17/user)	Premier only ($55/month)
Project management	Kanban, Gantt, dependencies, milestones	Basic task lists
Time tracking	Built-in (billable on Advanced)	No
Client portal	Advanced+ (10-500 guests)	All plans, CSS customizable
Knowledge base	Built-in	No
Scheduling	No	Premier only
AI features	None	None
Mobile app	Android 3.5/5	iOS 4.8/5
Geographic availability	Global	Global (39+ countries for payments)
G2 rating	4.7/5 (386+ reviews)	4.3/5 (~75 reviews)

When to choose Flowlu

• You need a visual CRM with deal pipelines, multiple sales processes, and contact management
• Project management with Gantt charts, dependencies, and milestones is a core requirement
• You bill by the hour and need time tracking connected to invoicing
• Budget is the deciding factor -- Flowlu's free plan and $9/user Essential tier are hard to beat on breadth
• Internal documentation or a client-facing knowledge base matters to your workflow
• You want expense tracking alongside invoicing in one platform

When to choose Dubsado

• Your business depends on branded proposals with conditional logic and dynamic pricing
• You need contracts with legally binding e-signatures and IP-tracked audit trails
• CSS-customized, pixel-perfect client intake forms are a requirement
• You process large ACH payments and want the $5 fee cap
• You want a client portal included from day one without upgrading to a higher tier
• Scheduling with calendar sync matters (Premier plan)
• You run a creative or service business where the intake experience is the product differentiator

Consider Agiled if both fall short

Flowlu covers the back office -- CRM, projects, invoicing, knowledge base -- but cannot send a proposal or collect a signed contract. Dubsado covers the front door -- proposals, contracts, forms, intake automation -- but cannot manage the project after the contract is signed. If you need both sides of the client lifecycle in one platform, Agiled is worth evaluating.

Agiled covers CRM with visual pipelines, drag-and-drop proposals with AI drafting and interactive pricing tables, contracts with legally binding e-signatures, full invoicing with Stripe and PayPal, time tracking that flows directly into invoices, Kanban and Gantt project management, a fully branded client portal, HR and payroll, appointment scheduling with booking pages, and AI agents for proposals, emails, and reports.

Feature	Flowlu	Dubsado	Agiled
Starting price	Free / $9/user	$35/month (3 users)	Free / $30/month (3 users)
CRM pipelines	Built-in (all plans)	Project-based Kanban	Built-in pipelines
Proposals and contracts	No	Conditional logic + e-sign	Drag-and-drop + AI + e-sign
Project management	Kanban, Gantt, dependencies	Basic task lists	Kanban, Gantt, dependencies
Time-to-invoice	Advanced ($17/user)	No	Yes
Automation	Advanced+ (capped)	Premier ($55/month)	Visual workflow builder
Client portal	Advanced+	All plans	Fully branded
Knowledge base	Built-in	No	No
AI features	None	None	Proposals, emails, reports
HR/Payroll	No	No	Yes
Scheduling	No	Premier only	Booking pages
Expense tracking	Yes	No	Yes

Start Free With Agiled

Conclusion

Flowlu vs Dubsado is not a direct competition -- it is a choice between two different halves of running a service business. Flowlu gives you CRM pipelines, project management with Gantt charts and dependencies, invoicing with expense tracking, and internal documentation. Dubsado gives you proposals with conditional logic, contracts with e-signatures, polished intake forms, and client-facing automation flows. Picking one almost certainly means bolting on additional tools to cover what the other does.

For businesses that start with client intake and end with project delivery, neither tool covers the full journey on its own.

If you want one platform that covers the entire client lifecycle -- CRM, proposals, contracts, invoicing, projects, time tracking, client portal, scheduling, HR, and AI -- try Agiled free and see if it fits.

Frequently asked questions

Is Flowlu better than Dubsado?

It depends on what your business needs. Flowlu is better for CRM, project management, time tracking, invoicing with expense tracking, and internal documentation. Dubsado is better for proposals, contracts, e-signatures, branded intake forms, and client-facing automation. They solve different problems with minimal overlap.

Can Flowlu send proposals and contracts?

No. As of April 2026, Flowlu has no proposal builder, no contract functionality, and no e-signatures. These features have been listed as "coming soon" for over two years. If your workflow requires proposals or signed contracts, you will need a separate tool or a platform like Dubsado or Agiled.

Does Dubsado have project management?

Dubsado has basic task lists, but no Gantt charts, no task dependencies, no milestones, and no project templates. It is not a project management tool. Most Dubsado users add a separate PM platform for post-contract work delivery.

How much does Flowlu cost compared to Dubsado?

Flowlu Essential starts at $12/user/month ($9 annual). Dubsado Starter costs $35/month (~$28/month annual) with 3 users included. For a solo user, Flowlu is cheaper. For a 3-person team needing automation, Flowlu Advanced costs $66/month (3 x $22) or $51/month annual (3 x $17) versus Dubsado Premier at ~$44/month annual. Dubsado becomes more cost-effective for small teams because it bundles 3 users into the base price.

Does either platform have AI features?

No. As of April 2026, neither Flowlu nor Dubsado offers AI capabilities. If AI-powered proposals, email drafting, or reporting matter to your workflow, Agiled is an alternative that includes AI agents across multiple modules.

Can I use Flowlu and Dubsado together?

Some businesses do pair them -- using Dubsado for client intake, proposals, and contracts, then moving to Flowlu for project management and invoicing after the contract is signed. This works but creates data silos and manual handoff steps. A single platform that covers both sides eliminates that friction.

Which has better customer support?

Dubsado's support is generally responsive, though the steep learning curve means many users rely on community Facebook groups and paid setup specialists. Flowlu's support quality is inconsistent -- the G2 score is 4.7/5, but the Trustpilot score drops to 3.9/5 with visible complaints about unanswered tickets and accounts deleted without warning. If reliable support is critical, weigh Flowlu's Trustpilot reviews carefully.

Does Dubsado have time tracking?

No functional time tracking. Dubsado has a mobile stopwatch, but it is not connected to invoicing or project billing. If you bill by the hour, you will need a separate time tracker or a platform like Flowlu or Agiled that integrates time tracking with invoicing.

Does Dubsado have a free plan?

No. Dubsado offers a 21-day free trial with full Premier access and no credit card required, but there is no permanent free tier. After the trial ends, the lowest plan is Starter at $35/month ($28/month billed annually). Flowlu has a permanent Free plan covering 2 users, 1 CRM pipeline, 100 contacts, basic invoicing, and a knowledge base.

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