Bonsai alternatives
Bonsai is already the cheapest freelancer business tool we track at 1 freelancer sending 10 invoices a month ($25/mo). Here's how the other 2 compare. The closest match, FreshBooks, covers 94% of what Bonsai does. Each one shows how much of it it covers, capability by capability, next to the price.
What Bonsai does
Core: Electronic signatures (partly), Proposal builder (partly), Payments at signing (partly), Invoices & online payment, Online invoice payments (partly), Project time tracking.
Important: Reusable templates (partly), Recurring billing (partly), Payment reminders and late fees (partly), Quotes & estimates (partly), Client CRM and lead capture (partly), Workflow automation (partly), Branded client portal (partly), Simple bookkeeping & tax (partly), Mobile apps (partly), Accounting software sync (partly), Billable rates (partly), Mobile apps.
Also has: Native app integrations (partly), Custom branding & white-label (partly), Contract repository & lifecycle (partly), Mobile apps & in-person signing (partly), Form-to-document workflows (partly), Booking pages (partly), Task & project tracking (partly), AI assistant (partly), Expense tracking (partly), Budgets and profitability (partly), Timesheet approvals (partly), Work-tool integrations (partly), Advanced reporting (partly), Desktop and browser apps (partly), AI timesheets and assistant (partly).
Alternatives to Bonsai at 1 freelancer sending 10 invoices a month, best match first
- HoneyBook: $29/mo Billed yearly; monthly list prices unlabeled (Starter, billed yearly ($29/mo); no monthly-billed Starter price is shown). It covers 90% of Bonsai; missing or partial: Invoices & online payment (partly), Project time tracking. Free plan: none. Last price hike: Feb 2025.
- Dubsado: $27.92/mo Annual price / 12; no monthly price on page (Starter plan, annual price / 12 (the page shows no monthly price)). It covers 79% of Bonsai; missing or partial: Invoices & online payment (partly), Project time tracking, Simple bookkeeping & tax, AI assistant. Free plan: none.
Other kinds of products that cover part of Bonsai
- FreshBooks (Accounting): covers 94% of Bonsai; missing or partial: Booking pages, AI assistant
- Stripe (Payments & merchant of record): covers 69% of Bonsai; missing or partial: Electronic signatures, Proposal builder, Project time tracking, Booking pages, Task & project tracking
- QuickBooks Online (Accounting): covers 68% of Bonsai; missing or partial: Electronic signatures, Proposal builder, Project time tracking (partly), Branded client portal, Booking pages
- Harvest (Time tracking): covers 67% of Bonsai; missing or partial: Electronic signatures, Proposal builder, Workflow automation, Branded client portal, Booking pages
- PandaDoc (E-signature): covers 65% of Bonsai; missing or partial: Invoices & online payment (partly), Project time tracking, Recurring billing, Branded client portal, Simple bookkeeping & tax
- Square (Payments & merchant of record): covers 65% of Bonsai; missing or partial: Electronic signatures, Proposal builder, Project time tracking (partly), Workflow automation, Branded client portal
- Xero (Accounting): covers 63% of Bonsai; missing or partial: Electronic signatures, Proposal builder, Project time tracking (partly), Workflow automation, Branded client portal
- BILL Accounts Payable (Expenses & spend): covers 58% of Bonsai; missing or partial: Electronic signatures, Proposal builder, Invoices & online payment (partly), Project time tracking (partly), Quotes & estimates
Prices at every size
- Bonsai: 1 freelancer sending 10 invoices a month $25/mo, the full proposal, contract, booking and invoice workflow $39/mo, a 5-person team $125/mo (Clientflow (Premium) not fully confirmed)
- HoneyBook: 1 freelancer sending 10 invoices a month $29/mo, the full proposal, contract, booking and invoice workflow $49/mo, a 5-person team $109/mo (Billed yearly; monthly list prices unlabeled)
- Dubsado: 1 freelancer sending 10 invoices a month $27.92/mo, the full proposal, contract, booking and invoice workflow $43.75/mo, a 5-person team $52.92/mo (Annual price / 12; no monthly price on page)
Prices are USD per month for the software on monthly billing (annual-only plans divided by 12). Card and bank processing fees are left out, but invoicing fees charged on top of them (such as a percentage per paid invoice) are counted. The headline is one freelancer sending 10 invoices a month; the other two figures are the full proposal-to-payment workflow for one person and a 5-person team.
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Everything about Bonsai's own prices and price hikes: Bonsai.