Comparison
Clinch vs Dubsado for freelancers
Dubsado is a powerful client management system: lead forms, proposals, contracts, invoices, scheduling and automated workflows. People who invest the setup time love it, and its learning curve is well known. If what you actually need is the step where a deal becomes a signed contract with a deposit, here's the honest comparison.
Start free — no card required →| Feature | Clinch | Dubsado |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free for 3 contracts/mo, then 15/mo or $120/yr unlimited | Starter about $335/yr, Premier about $525/yr (monthly ~$35/$55); 21-day trial, no free plan |
| Drafts the contract for you | Yes — describe the deal in plain language, AI drafts it from a vetted template | No — you build and maintain your own contract templates |
| Client signs without an account | Yes, from their phone, in about 30 seconds | Yes, clients sign through a link |
| Collects your deposit at signing | Yes — Stripe Connect or your own payment link, paid directly to you | Yes, with a combined proposal (contract + invoice), which needs the Premier workflows |
| Setup time | None — first contract out in a few minutes | Significant — templates, forms and workflows are set up by you |
| CRM, scheduling, lead forms, automations | Not offered — keep the tools you already use | Included (scheduling and workflows on Premier) |
When Dubsado is the better call
If you run a service business with many similar clients and want every step automated, from inquiry to final invoice, Dubsado's workflows repay the setup time. Clinch fits when you want contracts done well today without building a system first, or when a few deals a month don't justify a yearly CRM subscription.
FAQ
Is Clinch cheaper than Dubsado?
For contracts, yes: 3 a month are free and Pro is $120/yr, against roughly $335–525/yr for Dubsado, which also bundles a CRM and scheduling.
Do I need to write my own contract templates?
No. Clinch drafts from vetted freelance and agency templates based on the deal you describe; you review and edit before sending.
Are the contracts legally binding?
Signatures are Simple Electronic Signatures (SES) with an audit trail and a hashed certificate, valid for standard commercial contracts under ESIGN (US) and eIDAS (EU). See /legality for the limits.
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