Dapple vs Submittable: Which Platform Is Right for Creative Organisations?

Introduction

If you run open calls, awards, prizes, or applications in the arts, you've probably crossed paths with Submittable. It's a powerful platform, no argument there. But power comes with baggage — and in recent years that baggage has become very corporate-shaped. This isn't about better vs worse. It's about fit. And for creative organisations, Dapple fits.

What's in This Article

Why Did Submittable Stop Serving Creative Organisations?

Submittable launched in 2010 as Submishmash, a platform built specifically for literary magazines managing paper-to-digital submission workflows. It was first to market, and for many years it was the only credible option for creative organisations.

Since then, Submittable has raised close to $170 million in venture capital funding. That investment has shifted both their customer base and their product roadmap significantly. Their focus today is on:

• Employee giving programmes
• Corporate social responsibility initiatives
• Government and relief funding
• Large-scale grant management

If you're Amazon, Meta, or a government body, that's great news. If you're a literary magazine, arts organisation, festival, small publisher, or independent prize, those features are largely irrelevant, while the cost very much isn't. And because product development is no longer aimed at the creative market, Submittable's core offering for smaller organisations has not meaningfully improved in years.

Dapple was built with a different philosophy. Creative work deserves the same quality tools as large organisations, without locking them behind five-figure contracts. Dapple is also proudly independent, with no outside investment, which means no pressure to chase enterprise contracts at the expense of the creative community.

What Features Does Dapple Have That Submittable Doesn't?

Submittable's feature set is built for enterprise customers. Dapple spoke to hundreds of people working across the creative industries when building the platform, and the result is a set of features that solve actual problems for arts organisations rather than corporate ones. Beyond the standard submission management tools, Dapple adds:

• Visual kanban boards to track submissions through each stage of the process
• Flexible, customisable stages and workflow automations
• A project hub to manage all opportunities from a single dashboard
• Industry-specific templates for fast, accurate setup
• An intuitive, modern interface designed with creative organisations in mind

In short: features built to suit the needs of someone running a creative programme, awards, contest, audition or application process, not a global CSR programme.

How Quickly Can You Get Set Up on Dapple vs Submittable?

Submittable's onboarding process can take weeks or even months. It typically requires sales calls, account review periods, and mandatory onboarding sessions before you can do anything.

Dapple works differently. You can create a free account in a few clicks, and be set up and taking real submissions within minutes thanks to a range of in-built industry templates and a smart form generator. You only pay when you go live with your opportunity, which means there's no risk in getting started.

• Create a free account instantly — no sales call required
• Set up using industry templates and a smart form generator
• Full onboarding support and hand-holding where needed
• Demo mode for free testing without affecting live data
• Instant chat support and a help centre with over a hundred articles and guides

Dapple's support is instant via in-platform chat. There's no waiting days for a reply. Many of the platform's five-star reviews specifically reference the quality of that support.

How Do Dapple and Submittable's Software Fees Compare?

Submittable is one of the most expensive platforms in the market. Standard pricing starts at around $10,000 per year, with no monthly option. That's a hard sell for organisations that run seasonal or one-off opportunities, operate on grants or limited funding, or want flexibility year to year.

They do offer a discounted $39/month plan for CLMP members (Community of Literary Magazines and Presses), but it comes with heavy restrictions: limited submission quotas, forms with only 5 fields, no extra stages, and limited users and reviewers. And it only applies to CLMP members and so many creative organisations don't qualify. They've also been known to offer other discounts but again this can come with restrictive caveats such as single programmes only.

Dapple starts from $49/month, offers monthly plans, and includes far higher submission and feature allowances — including additional discounts for CLMP members. The same level of sophistication, without the enterprise lock-in.

How Do Dapple and Submittable's Submission Fees Compare?

Submittable established early market dominance and set transaction fees accordingly: 5% plus $0.99 on every paid submission. These are the highest fees in the market. For creative organisations without an alternative, the choice was to absorb the cost or pass it on to applicants. Many did the latter, which has created a cycle of ever-rising fees for artists and writers that still exists today.

It's also worth noting that Submittable uses its own payment system, meaning they receive the funds and pay organisations at a later date, usually over a month later. In the arts, where cash flow is always tight, waiting that long for your own money is far from ideal.

Dapple charges 3.9% plus $0.65 (3.5% + £0.49 for UK customers) per transaction, and integrates directly with an organisation's own Stripe account meaning funds are deposited immediately, with no additional Stripe fees and no delayed payouts.

Try our calculator below to see how much you’d save!

How Much Money Would You Actually Save by Switching to Dapple?

The fee difference is significant at any volume. Here are two real-world examples:

That's money better spent on artist fees, judges, printing, or simply keeping the lights on. And because payments go straight into Stripe, there are no delayed payouts, no extra steps, and no surprises. Transfer funds to your bank whenever you choose.

Should You Use Dapple or Submittable?

They're different tools built for different customers. The answer is straightforward:

Use Submittable if:

You're a large organisation, corporation, or government body with a high budget and complex CSR or enterprise grant management requirements.

Use Dapple if:

You work in the creative industries and want powerful tools, fair pricing, immediate payments, and a platform that actually understands your world. This means arts organisations, literary magazines, festivals, prizes, residencies, galleries, music commissions, and independent awards programmes of any size.

The Bottom Line

Submittable built a great product for a market it no longer primarily serves. If you're a creative organisation, you're paying enterprise prices for a platform whose development roadmap has moved on without you.

Dapple is independently built, independently funded, and focused entirely on making the admin of running creative programmes as simple as possible — both for the organisations running them and for the artists, writers, and musicians applying.

Try the Dapple pricing calculator to see exactly what you'd save. Or create a free account and be set up within the hour.

Last updated: April 2026 | Pricing accurate at time of publication. Always verify current rates directly with each platform.