HoneyBook vs Mankai

HoneyBook is a hosted CRM that also handles your payments, while Mankai runs on your own WordPress site with galleries built in.

What is a good HoneyBook alternative that runs on WordPress?

Mankai, a WordPress plugin for photographers, is a HoneyBook alternative with booking, contracts, invoices and client galleries built in, so you don’t need a separate gallery tool. Payments go through your own Stripe or PayPal with no Mankai cut. HoneyBook starts at $348 a year; Mankai is free, or $249.99 a year for Pro.

Elijah Lemanski, the photographer who makes Mankai

The short version

Both are good tools. Which one suits you comes down to hosting, galleries and how you like to get paid.

What HoneyBook does well

Lead to proposal to payment, in one flow.
Built-in payments and a client portal.

What Mankai does differently

Galleries and proofing come built in.
Your Stripe or PayPal, with no Mankai cut.

Stay with HoneyBook if…

Its proposals and payments run your sales.

Try Mankai if…

You pay for HoneyBook and a gallery tool.

At a glance

Last checked July 24, 2026. Their plans and prices can change, so check their site before you decide.

Mankai compared with HoneyBook, last checked July 24, 2026
Running the studio
	Mankai	HoneyBook
Studio CRM	Yes: clients, sessions, pipeline	Yes, it’s the main product
Booking	Yes, included	Yes
Proposals and contracts	Contracts on Free; new quotes on Pro	Yes, with e-sign
Client galleries	Yes, built in	No, you pair another gallery tool
Client login	Yes, on your WordPress site	Yes
Money
Starting price	Free, or Pro at $249.99/yr; hosting is separate	From $348/yr (Starter, billed yearly)
Invoices and payments	Your Stripe or PayPal	HoneyBook processes the payments
Extra fee on payments	No Mankai cut; processor rates only	Yes, HoneyBook’s card and ACH fees
How you pay for it	Free download, or Pro yearly	Monthly or yearly plans, plus payment fees
Client limits	No per-client fee from Mankai	Unlimited clients and projects
Team members	No seat pricing from Mankai	Depends on the plan
Your site and your data
Where it lives	On your WordPress site	HoneyBook hosts it for you
Built for WordPress	Yes, as a plugin	No
Public website	Your WordPress theme (not part of the plugin)	No website builder
Where client data sits	Your WordPress database	HoneyBook’s servers
Moving over	Optional Setup & Migration help; no auto-import	You can export contacts

What this page doesn’t claim

Which card rate is current. Their marketing shows both “from 2.7% + 10¢” and “from 2.9% + 25¢”. Fees change, so check HoneyBook’s current fee page before you decide.
Fee schedules for the UK and Australia.
Whether Stripe or PayPal can fully replace HoneyBook payments inside HoneyBook.
Dollar “savings vs HoneyBook” for any particular studio’s volume.

Switch or stay

Here are good reasons to move and good reasons to stay put. HoneyBook may still be the better fit for you.

Why you might switch

HoneyBook needs a separate gallery tool. Mankai comes with galleries and proofing.

Mankai adds no platform cut. Clients pay through your Stripe or PayPal at their normal rates.

Your clients, sessions and invoices live in your WordPress database, on hosting you control.

Free covers the core studio work. Pro is $249.99 a year, with no per-client fee.

HoneyBook needs a separate gallery tool. Mankai comes with galleries and proofing.

Mankai adds no platform cut. Clients pay through your Stripe or PayPal at their normal rates.

Your clients, sessions and invoices live in your WordPress database, on hosting you control.

Free covers the core studio work. Pro is $249.99 a year, with no per-client fee.

Why you might stay

Interactive proposals are a HoneyBook specialty, and Mankai doesn’t copy that screen for screen.

If WordPress updates and backups are a hard no for you, a hosted CRM suits you better.

Some studios want one company for the CRM and the money. HoneyBook is built that way.

If something you use only works well inside HoneyBook, check Mankai can do the same before you move.

Interactive proposals are a HoneyBook specialty, and Mankai doesn’t copy that screen for screen.

If WordPress updates and backups are a hard no for you, a hosted CRM suits you better.

Some studios want one company for the CRM and the money. HoneyBook is built that way.

If something you use only works well inside HoneyBook, check Mankai can do the same before you move.

What moving over involves

HoneyBook can’t move itself into WordPress. You export your contacts, rebuild what you still use, and choose when to switch.

Export your contacts
Download your contact list so you don’t have to retype every client in Mankai.
Keep records you might need
Save active contracts and invoices as PDFs or exports before you change client links.
Rebuild templates and session types
Set up your contracts, questionnaires and booking once in Mankai.
Connect payments and go live
Connect your Stripe or PayPal, then send new work through your WordPress site.

Project threads, old files and HoneyBook payment history don’t come with you. If it’s safer, finish open jobs in HoneyBook.

Setup & Migration is $799.99, paid once, after you have Pro. I go over the scope with you first. It doesn’t include automatic imports.

Ask about Setup & Migration

A Zenit-E film camera beside three instant prints, laid out on an old map

Questions people ask before leaving HoneyBook

On Pro, Mankai has quotes your clients can approve, plus contracts and invoices on the session. It handles documents differently, so it isn’t a copy of HoneyBook’s proposal files.

Yes, you can keep any gallery tool you like. Mankai already includes galleries, though, so most people who switch drop the extra one. It’s up to you.

No. HoneyBook processes the payments and publishes its own card and ACH fees. Mankai doesn’t process payments or add a percentage on top.

Yes. It’s built around photography studio work: sessions, galleries, proofing and print orders. HoneyBook is marketed to creatives more broadly.

Mankai doesn’t sell seat tiers. You decide who gets in through your WordPress user accounts. If you need HoneyBook’s multi-company or large-team packages, compare carefully.

Read their current help pages and pricing. If running your studio on WordPress appeals to you, look through Mankai’s features too. Then pick the setup that suits how you like to work. Neither one is right for every studio.

HoneyBook site (opens in a new tab) Mankai features Mankai pricing