Comparison
An honest, side-by-side comparison. We'll tell you where fstop wins, where HoneyBook wins, and who each one is actually for.
Monthly Price
From $19.99/mo
vs
$29/mo starter
Feature Gates
Every feature, every plan
vs
CRM features locked by tier
Built For
Photographers & videographers
vs
All creative businesses
Feature by Feature
Every feature, compared honestly. Green check means it's included. We're not going to pretend fstop does everything, but what it does, it does well.
| Feature | Fstop | HoneyBook |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Starting price | From $19.99/mo | $29/mo (Starter) |
| CRM features included | ✓ Every feature on every plan | ✗ Essentials ($49/mo) or Premium ($109/mo) for full features |
| Trial | ✓ 7 days, cancel anytime | ✓ 7 days |
| Lead Management | ||
| Inquiry pipeline | ✓ | ✓ |
| Embeddable contact form | ✓ Visual builder | ✓ |
| Webhook intake | ✓ | ✗ Zapier required |
| Lead source tracking | ✓ | ✓ |
| Contracts & E-Signatures | ||
| Contract builder | ✓ | ✓ |
| E-signatures | ✓ | ✓ |
| Contract templates | ✓ | ✓ |
| Send from your Gmail | ✓ Gmail API | ✗ Sends from HoneyBook |
| Email templates | ✓ | ✓ |
| Automated sequences | ✓ Just the ones you need | ✓ Workflows |
| Scheduling & Timelines | ||
| Google Calendar sync | ✓ | ✓ |
| Event timelines | ✓ Built-in timeline builder | ✗ |
| Scheduler / booking links | ✓ Built-in booking + Calendar sync | ✓ |
| Payments & Invoicing | ||
| Invoicing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Online payments | ✓ Card payments via your own Stripe or Square account, no fstop fee | ✓ Built-in processor |
| Payment plans / installments | ✗ Not yet | ✓ |
| Branding & Customization | ||
| Branding kit | ✓ Colors, fonts, logos, social | ✓ Brand settings |
| Custom form builder | ✓ Visual drag-and-drop | ✓ |
| Other | ||
| Built specifically for photographers | ✓ | ✗ General creative businesses |
| Client portal | ✓ Branded portal: questionnaires, timelines, files & documents | ✓ |
| Questionnaires | ✓ | ✓ |
| Client photo galleries | ✓ Built in on Studio & Pro (250 GB / 1 TB) | ✗ Needs Pic-Time or Pixieset ($20-50/mo extra) |
| AI features | Coming soon | ✓ HoneyBook AI |
| Mobile app | ✓ iOS app on the App Store: live sync + push notifications | ✓ |
Honest Take
We're not going to pretend fstop beats HoneyBook at everything. Here's the real story.
Plans from $19.99/mo vs $29-109/mo for HoneyBook. Every CRM feature is on every plan; the only thing fstop's tiers change is gallery storage, while HoneyBook locks core features behind higher plans. The iOS app and client portal are included too. And Studio and Pro plans add client photo galleries (250 GB and 1 TB), something HoneyBook doesn't offer at all, so you can drop the separate $20-50/mo Pic-Time or Pixieset bill.
Clients pay invoices by card through your own connected Stripe or Square account. Fstop takes no cut of your money; you just pay your processor's standard rate. With HoneyBook, payments run through their platform at their rates.
Fstop sends through your Gmail. Clients reply to you, not to a CRM address. HoneyBook sends from their own system.
Built-in wedding and event timeline builder. HoneyBook doesn't have this. You'd need a separate tool.
Fstop is designed for photographers and videographers. HoneyBook serves florists, planners, DJs, consultants: everyone. The tradeoff is a more focused, less bloated tool.
Connect any website form to fstop directly. HoneyBook requires Zapier ($20+/mo) for the same thing.
HoneyBook has been around since 2013. They have a massive user base, extensive support docs, and a mature product. Fstop is newer and still growing.
HoneyBook can split an invoice into scheduled installments. Fstop tracks deposits and balances, and clients pay by card through your connected Stripe or Square account, but automatic payment plans aren't here yet.
Clients can log into HoneyBook to view proposals, sign contracts, and make payments in one place. Fstop has a branded client portal too, with questionnaires, timelines, files and documents, and clients pay invoices by card, but it's not one logged-in hub for everything yet.
HoneyBook has iPhone and Android apps. Fstop's iOS app is live on the App Store with live sync and push notifications on every plan, but Android isn't out yet.
Who It's For
Pricing
No hidden fees on either side. Here's the real cost breakdown.
Fstop
$19.99
/mo billed yearly
Every CRM feature included. Client galleries on Studio and Pro.
HoneyBook
$29–109
per month depending on plan
Annual billing available at a discount. Starter plan has limits on automation, scheduling, and reports.
Making the Switch
Realistically an afternoon of setup, not a week. Here's the whole process.
Export your contacts as a CSV from HoneyBook, and download PDF copies of any signed contracts and paid invoices you want to keep on file. Those documents stay legally valid as PDFs; you don't need to recreate them.
Upload that CSV to fstop's contact importer. It auto-matches your columns (name, email, phone, company, tags, notes), so even a few hundred contacts take about a minute. Not coming from HoneyBook? The same importer works with any spreadsheet: export your Google Sheet or Excel file as a CSV and it loads the same way.
Paste your contract and email templates into fstop, and smart variables fill in client and shoot details automatically. Add your branding kit (logo, colors, fonts) so everything clients see matches your studio.
Point your website's contact form at fstop with the form builder or a direct webhook, no Zapier needed, so new inquiries flow straight in. Connect Stripe or Square and your invoices take card payments with no fstop fee.
Finish in-flight projects where clients have already signed and paid, start every new inquiry in fstop, and cancel HoneyBook when the last active project wraps. Most photographers run both for a few weeks and never look back.
Book a migration call and we move you in together, live on a screen share. HoneyBook export, a messy spreadsheet, a Notes app full of names: bring whatever you have and we'll load your clients, set up your templates and connect your form before we hang up. No charge, it's just how we onboard.
Book a migration callI built fstop because I'm a photographer and I got tired of paying for features I didn't need while missing the ones I did. HoneyBook is a good product. They've earned their reputation. But they're built for every creative professional, not specifically for photographers.
Fstop is younger, leaner, and laser-focused on what photographers and videographers actually need. Some things are different by design: card payments run through your own Stripe or Square account rather than a platform processor, and the automations are deliberately lean. But if you're looking for an affordable, photographer-specific CRM that nails the fundamentals (inquiries, contracts, emails, card payments, timelines, branding, client galleries, a branded client portal and an iOS app on the App Store), fstop might be exactly what you need.
Try it for 7 days. If it's not for you, no hard feelings.
Questions
If you're a photographer or videographer, yes. Fstop covers the same core workflow (inquiries, contracts, invoicing with card payments, scheduling, client portal) but it's built only for photographers, starts at $19.99/mo, and adds things HoneyBook doesn't have, like client galleries and event timelines. If you need automatic payment plans or run a non-photography business, HoneyBook may fit you better.
Fstop runs $19.99 to $49.99/mo billed yearly. HoneyBook runs $29 to $109/mo billed yearly depending on plan. Against HoneyBook Essentials at $49/mo, fstop Essentials is less than half the price: roughly $240 a year versus $588.
Yes. Export your contacts from HoneyBook as a CSV and upload it to fstop's importer, which auto-matches your columns. Signed contracts and paid invoices stay valid as PDFs, so download those for your records, and paste your contract and email templates into fstop once.
Clients pay invoices by card, but the money runs through your own connected Stripe or Square account instead of a platform processor. Fstop adds no fee on top of the processor's standard rate, and deposits and balances are tracked on every invoice.
Yes, on the Studio plan (250 GB) and Pro plan (1 TB). HoneyBook doesn't offer galleries at all, so most HoneyBook users pay another $20 to $50/mo for Pic-Time or Pixieset on top.
Yes. Book a migration call and we do it with you live on a screen share: we'll import your clients from a HoneyBook export or any spreadsheet, set up your templates and branding, and connect your website form. Email hello@fstopcrm.com with the subject "Migrate me" and we'll set it up. There's no charge for this.
Yes, a 7-day trial of the full CRM, no long-term commitment. Client galleries come with the Studio and Pro plans.
Ready when you are
7-day trial. Every CRM feature included. Plans from $19.99/mo.