Dubsado vs VA Growth Suite
Dubsado is the heavyweight CRM for creatives — powerful, but genuinely overkill for a VA with 5 clients.
| Feature | Dubsado | VA Growth Suite |
|---|---|---|
| Time tracking with running timer | ||
| Multi-client dashboard | ||
| PDF invoice generation | ||
| Branded client portal | ||
| Kanban task board per client | ||
| Starts at $0 (free plan) | ||
| No per-user pricing | ||
| Built for VAs specifically | ||
| Starting price | $40/mo | $0 free, $19/mo paid |
Dubsado — strengths
- Rich workflow automations and canned emails
- Beautiful forms, questionnaires, and proposals
- Client-facing portal with branding
Dubsado — limits for VAs
- Starts at $40/mo — double what VAs typically budget
- Steep learning curve (most users need YouTube tutorials)
- No real-time timer — only manual time entry
Our honest take
Dubsado is for established creative agencies. A VA just starting out gets the same useful 20% for a fraction of the price with VA Growth Suite.
When Dubsado is the right choice
If you're already on Dubsado and it's working, don't switch just to save a few dollars. But if you're just starting out as a VA — or you're paying for Dubsado plus a second tool for invoicing or a client portal — we built VA Growth Suite to replace that stack.
When VA Growth Suite wins
- You're a solo VA or small agency (not a 20-person design studio)
- You need time tracking and invoicing and a client portal
- Flat pricing matters more than deep workflow automation
- You want to get set up in 5 minutes, not 5 days
What you actually use Dubsado for
Dubsado is the heavy-hitter for VAs running their business like an agency: branded client portal, multi-step intake forms, signed proposals, scheduled emails, and recurring invoicing all on one canvas. Once it's set up — and that takes a weekend, plus a YouTube playlist — the automations genuinely save hours. The reality for most VAs: you bill seven clients hourly, you need a timer that's one click away, and Dubsado wants you to think in workflows. If the word 'workflow' makes you reach for caffeine, you're not the target user.
Moving from Dubsado to VA Growth Suite
Dubsado exports clients, projects, and invoices through Settings → Account Settings → Export. The export includes a full CSV plus a ZIP of attached documents. Time entries are stored against projects but only as manual log entries — there's no timer history to migrate. To move: import the client CSV into VA Growth Suite, archive the document ZIP somewhere reliable (Google Drive works), then rebuild the two or three workflows you actually use as VA Growth Suite client templates. Most VAs report cutting six unused automations in the process.
Frequently asked questions
Is Dubsado free?
Dubsado doesn't offer a free plan. The cheapest paid tier starts at $40/mo. VA Growth Suite, by contrast, is free for up to 2 clients with no time limit and no credit card.
Can I import my data from Dubsado into VA Growth Suite?
Yes. Dubsado supports CSV + document ZIP via Account Settings, which covers the migration cleanly. Most VAs move clients and the last 90 days of time entries in under an hour. Older records can stay in Dubsado as a read-only archive.
What does VA Growth Suite do that Dubsado doesn't?
VA Growth Suite bundles time tracking, multi-client invoicing in multiple currencies, a branded client portal, and a per-client kanban task board into one app — at a flat $19/mo for 50 clients, with no per-user pricing. Dubsado typically requires you to combine it with at least one other tool to cover that workflow.
Why does VA Growth Suite charge $19/mo instead of per-user pricing like Dubsado?
Per-user pricing punishes VAs the moment they add a subcontractor or VA partner. Flat pricing means a two-person VA team pays the same as a solo VA — $19/mo for up to 50 clients. It's the model that makes sense for the way VAs actually grow.
Try VA Growth Suite free — no Dubsado required
Up to 2 clients free, forever. Move your workflow over in under 10 minutes.
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