Which one costs less?

The Black Line Essential is €19 a month, or €198 a year, excluding VAT, with automations included. Dubsado's automations come with Premier: $55 a month or $525 a year (prices read November 2, 2026).

Can I bring my clients over from Dubsado?

Yes. Bring your contact list and bookings in a spreadsheet; on the Ultra plan our AI reads it as it is, so you don't match columns by hand. Contracts you've already signed stay on file as PDFs.

The Black Line vs Dubsado

The Black Line and Dubsado, side by side.

Dubsado is a deep, flexible system that many studios have grown up with, now with AI form building, call notes and, according to its terms, an MCP server. The Black Line puts automations in its first plan and lets its AI do the setup of every new booking inside the app.

Automations from the first plan

Dubsado's Flows and scheduler come with Premier, at $55 a month. The Black Line's automations are in Essential, at €19 a month, and every message they draft waits for your approval.

The AI does the setup, inside the app

Dubsado's AI builds forms from a prompt or a PDF, records calls and summarizes emails. The Black Line's own AI turns an inquiry into a client, a booking, a contract, a payment plan and a reply, all ready for your yes.

Your history, moved in for you

Dubsado imports contacts from a CSV file; signed contracts go in one by one, and invoices are re-created by hand. On the Ultra plan, our AI reads your exports, spreadsheets and old PDFs as they are.

Line by line

What each one does, and where it says so.

Topic	The Black Line	Dubsado
Price of the full plan	The Black Line€19 a month, or €16.50 billed yearly, excluding VAT	DubsadoPremier, the plan with Flows and the scheduler, is $55 a month or $525 a year, in USD. Starter is $35 or $335 a year, without them.Source: Dubsado, Pricing
Who can sign up	The Black LineStudios anywhere, invoiced by a German business with EU VAT	DubsadoDubsado serves businesses internationally; Dubsado Payments works for merchants in 39 countries and payments are accepted in more than 135 currencies.Source: Dubsado, Information for AI assistants · Dubsado Help, Dubsado Payments processing fees
AI inside the app	The Black LineSets up a new inquiry: client, booking, contract, payment plan and reply, for you to approve (Ultra)	DubsadoDubsado's AI builds contracts, questionnaires and proposals from a prompt or a PDF, records and summarizes calls, and summarizes emails.Source: Dubsado, AI features · Dubsado Help, Easy form creation tool
Connect your own AI (MCP)	The Black LineClaude, ChatGPT or any MCP client, read and act with your approval (Studio and Ultra)	DubsadoDubsado's terms and AI addendum, updated October 14, 2026, mention an API and an MCP server for connecting AI assistants. We found no public setup guide yet.Source: Dubsado, Terms and conditions (updated October 14, 2026) · Dubsado, AI addendum (updated October 14, 2026)
API for your own tools	The Black LineDocumented REST API with your own keys, and webhooks (Studio and Ultra)	DubsadoZapier connects with an API key generated in Dubsado, on Premier. The terms mention an API; we found no public documentation for it.Source: Dubsado Help, Connecting with Zapier · Dubsado, Terms and conditions (updated October 14, 2026)
Bringing your history in	The Black LineThe AI reads 17hats exports, spreadsheets and old PDFs: no column matching (Ultra)	DubsadoContacts come in from a CSV file under 8 MB, each with a project if you like. Signed contracts are uploaded one by one as PDFs, and invoices are re-created by hand.Source: Dubsado Help, Bulk import or export your contact list · Dubsado Help, Migrate an existing business into Dubsado
Automations	The Black LineReminders and follow-ups drafted for you; nothing reaches a client without your yes	DubsadoAutomations, called Flows, are available on the Premier plan.Source: Dubsado Help, Before building flows · Dubsado, Pricing
Client page	The Black LineOne link per couple: choices, contract, signature, deposit, then their Client Lounge	DubsadoClient portals are included in both plans.Source: Dubsado, Pricing
How your clients pay	The Black LineCard through your own Stripe, PayPal, bank transfer, Bitcoin, cash. No fee of ours	DubsadoClients pay through Dubsado Payments, powered by Stripe, or through Square or PayPal. Dubsado Payments charges from 1.5% + €0.25 for standard European cards and 2.9% + $0.30 for US cards.Source: Dubsado Help, Connect a payment processor · Dubsado Help, Dubsado Payments processing fees
Crew and margins	The Black LineCrew fees and payouts per job, and what each wedding really earns	DubsadoExpenses tied to a project show its net profit in the project details, and finance reports cover the whole business. We found no feature for paying team members.Source: Dubsado Help, Tracking your expenses · Dubsado Help, Finance reports
Invoices	The Black LineAn invoice for every payment, your numbering, Factur-X / ZUGFeRD data inside the PDF	DubsadoInvoices and payment plans in both plans, with QuickBooks and Xero on Premier. EU e-invoice data (Factur-X / ZUGFeRD) isn't mentioned.Source: Dubsado, Pricing · Dubsado Help, Choose the right Dubsado plan

Read on November 1, 2026. The Black Line's AI is in the Ultra plan; the API and MCP from the Studio plan.

Prices

The price, plan by plan.

List prices as published, read on November 1, 2026: Dubsado in USD before tax, The Black Line in euros excluding VAT.

See our plans

Plan	Monthly	Yearly, per month
The Black Line Essential1 person, automations included	€19	€16.50
The Black Line StudioUp to 3 people	€35	€32.50
The Black Line UltraUp to 10 people	€49	€41.50
Dubsado StarterNo Flows, no scheduler	$35	$27.92
Dubsado Premier$525 a year. 3 extra users free	$55	$43.75

Source: Dubsado, Pricing

Fair is fair

Where Dubsado shines.

Three extra users free on any plan, before team pricing starts.Source: Dubsado, Pricing
A 21-day free trial of everything in Premier, no card needed.Source: Dubsado, Pricing
QuickBooks and Xero connections for your bookkeeping, on Premier.Source: Dubsado Help, Choose the right Dubsado plan
Contracts and questionnaires drafted from a prompt, or converted from a PDF you already use.Source: Dubsado Help, Easy form creation tool

FAQ

Questions about Dubsado.

Yes: it builds forms from a prompt or a PDF, records and summarizes calls and summarizes emails, and its terms mention an MCP server for AI assistants. The Black Line's own AI does the setup itself: it prepares the whole booking from an inquiry and waits for your approval.

Sources

Every claim, and where it comes from.

Each company's own pricing, help, legal and developer pages, read on November 1, 2026. Facts about The Black Line come from the workspace as it runs today. If something here is out of date, write to us and we'll correct it.