A simple alternative to Studio Ninja for wedding photographers
Studio Ninja is a well-built CRM made by photographers, for photographers. But a CRM is a system you have to run. If what you really want is for the quote to close and the deposit to land in your own Stripe, you may not need the whole system — you might just need one link.
The honest trade-off
Studio Ninja tracks leads, jobs, contracts, invoices and reminders across your whole calendar. If you shoot enough weddings that a pipeline needs managing, that structure earns its keep. But it's still software you have to adopt, populate and maintain — leads to log, stages to move, templates to build. For a solo or part-time photographer, that can be more machine than the job requires.
quolby is deliberately smaller: nail the moment a couple decides, and get out of the way.
How quolby compares to Studio Ninja
| Studio Ninja (CRM) | quolby | |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Full lead-to-delivery pipeline | The quote and the deposit — done well |
| Setup | Import, configure, build templates | ~10 minutes — build packages, send a link |
| The couple sees | A proposal / invoice you send | An interactive quote they build themselves |
| Deposit | Yes, via connected payments | Yes — paid on the spot, straight to your Stripe |
| Who holds the money | Your own connected Stripe or PayPal — no Studio Ninja cut | Your own Stripe — 0% platform fee, quolby is never in the money flow |
| Price | Paid subscription | Free to start · €15/mo Pro |
What quolby does
- A branded quote link your couple builds themselves — pick packages, watch the total settle, accept.
- The deposit is paid in the same tap, directly into your own Stripe account (quolby takes no cut).
- You're notified the moment the date is reserved.
- Free to send quotes; Pro (€15/mo) adds deposit collection and removes the small 'made with quolby' credit.
See it in 60 seconds
Build a sample quote exactly like your couple would — no signup.
Try the free quote makerWho it's for
If you need a full pipeline across dozens of weddings a year, a proper CRM like Studio Ninja may suit you better — keep it. quolby is for the photographer who wants to look professional and get paid faster on the one step that matters, without running a whole back office to do it.
See also our Dubsado and HoneyBook comparisons, or learn how to collect a wedding photography deposit.
FAQ
Is quolby a Studio Ninja alternative?
quolby is a lighter alternative for one part of the job: turning a quote into a signed booking with the deposit paid. It isn't a full CRM — Studio Ninja tracks leads, jobs, invoices and reminders across your whole calendar. If you want that pipeline, keep it. If you mainly want the quote to close and the deposit to land, quolby replaces that step with a single branded link.
Does quolby charge a fee on deposits?
quolby takes a 0% platform fee — it never adds a cut on top of the deposit your couple pays. Stripe's own standard card processing fee (around 2.9% plus a small fixed amount) still applies, and it's charged inside your own Stripe account, not by quolby. So the deposit lands directly with you, minus only what Stripe itself charges to process the card.
Can I keep Studio Ninja and still use quolby?
Yes. quolby doesn't ask you to migrate anything. You can keep your CRM for the full pipeline and use quolby only for the front door — the branded link where a couple builds their quote, e-signs the contract and pays the deposit. When that's done, you log the booking in Studio Ninja as usual. The two sit side by side with no lock-in.
How much does quolby cost?
quolby is free to start: you can build and send interactive quote links at no cost. Pro is €15 a month and adds deposit collection, so couples can pay to reserve the date on the spot. There's also a no-signup builder at /try, where you can make a sample quote in about a minute before you create an account. No long contract, cancel whenever.
Where does the couple's deposit go?
Straight into your own Stripe account. quolby uses a Stripe Connect direct charge, which means the couple's card payment is made directly to your connected Stripe — quolby is never in the middle of the money. You keep the full amount minus only Stripe's standard processing fee. Because the funds never pass through quolby, there's no platform balance, no payout delay from us and no cut taken by us.
Can quolby freeze or hold my money?
No. Because the deposit is a direct charge into your own Stripe account, quolby never holds the funds and takes no slice of them — there is no extra platform layer between you and your money. That's the structural difference from tools that act as the merchant of record and route payments through their own balance first. With quolby, the money is yours from the moment the couple pays, sitting in the Stripe account you control.
Comparing options? See our HoneyBook vs Dubsado breakdown, or try the no-signup quote builder to feel it yourself.