Bonsai Alternatives for Freelancers and Small Agencies (2026)

If you want invoicing without paying per person, LotsInvoice is $12 a month per business with your whole team included and no cut of your payments. If you want to stay free, Zoho Invoice or Invoice Ninja's free plan. If you want Bonsai's all-in-one workspace for less per seat, look at Moxie, Plutio or HoneyBook.

Bonsai is a full client and project workspace, and plenty of small agencies and freelancers run their whole business in it. I opened Bonsai's pricing page, its payments page and its help article on payment fees on 22 October 2026, then every alternative's own pricing page the same day, and compared them on what you actually pay for: the price, what your team costs, client and invoice limits, and what is taken from each payment. Prices are US dollars before tax, list prices only (no promotions). Sources are linked at the end.

What Bonsai does well, and why people look elsewhere

Bonsai puts clients, projects and money in one place. Its Basic plan covers time tracking, task management, unlimited projects and clients, a CRM and iOS and Android apps. Essentials adds invoices and payments, proposals and contracts, forms, scheduling, a client portal and expense and income tracking. Premium adds project insights, workload management, a deals pipeline, profit and productivity reports, removal of Bonsai branding and integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, Zapier, Calendly and Google. Invoices can be retainer or subscription invoices, scheduled, and billed in several currencies. Bonsai also introduces a Bonsai MCP to connect Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini. If you want proposals, contracts, time and invoices in one tool, that's a lot.

The reasons small agencies and freelancers look for a Bonsai alternative come from how it's priced and how payments work:

• It's priced per user, and invoicing starts on Essentials. Basic is $15 per user a month ($9 billed annually) and doesn't include invoices. Essentials, the first plan with invoices and payments, is $25 per user a month ($19 billed annually). Premium is $39 ($29) and Elite is $59 ($49) with a 3-user minimum. A three-person studio on Essentials pays $75 a month, or $57 a month billed annually.
• Payments carry fees, and switching processors adds one. Bonsai Payments charges 2.9% + $0.30 per card, 3.25% + $0.30 for American Express and 1% for ACH with a $1 minimum. Where Bonsai Payments is available, getting paid through Stripe or PayPal instead adds a 1% platform fee (1.35% for Amex through Stripe). Invoices paid internationally through Bonsai Payments or Stripe carry a 2.5% FX fee, and instant payouts add 1.5%. Offline methods such as a wire or a check have no Bonsai fee, but you mark those invoices paid yourself. I broke these down next to Stripe, PayPal and Square in what Stripe, PayPal, Square and Bonsai take from every paid invoice.
• It's a suite. If you only need to send invoices and get paid, the project, CRM and resourcing side is more than you need, and you pay for it on every seat.

Bonsai alternatives at a glance

Checked on 22 October 2026 on each vendor's own pricing page.

1. LotsInvoice: invoicing only, the whole team included, no cut of payments

An invoice is your name on a request for money. It should be right. I built LotsInvoice for agencies, freelancers and small businesses who invoice their own clients and want that one job done well, without paying for a workspace per person.

• One price per business, the team included. Starter is $12 a month or $120 a year for one business (from $10 a month billed yearly). Inside the business, clients, invoices, estimates, credit notes, items, templates, reminders and team members are unlimited. Invite your partner, your project manager or your bookkeeper as an editor or viewer at no extra cost. Pro ($29 for 5 businesses) and Business ($79 for 20) are for people who run several brands or sister companies, and include LotsNotes Pro. See pricing.
• No cut of your payments. LotsInvoice never holds or moves your money. Your invoices, emails and client portal show the options you already use: a Stripe Payment Link, PayPal, Venmo, Cash App or Square link, bank transfer or ACH details, Zelle or a check address. Clients pay you directly, your provider's own fees apply, and LotsInvoice adds none. You record the payment when it arrives.
• Set up once. Your logo, colours and font, one of nine designs (US Letter or A4) or your own template, your numbering, your columns, item and accounting codes, custom fields, tax IDs and declarations.
• Nothing goes out unchecked. Every invoice starts as a draft next to a preview of the real PDF. Quantities, discounts and several named taxes per line are calculated to the cent and match in the preview, the PDF and the reports. You send it when you are ready.
• A record you can trust. Sent invoices are numbered and locked. Changes are revisions with a reason, or credit notes.
• Followed up until you're paid. Invoices go from your business name with the PDF and a private client portal link. You see when they're opened. Reminders go out before and after the due date, in your words, and stop when the invoice is paid.
• Retainers and quotes. Recurring invoices weekly, monthly or yearly, as drafts to review or sent on schedule. Estimates accepted with a typed name, converted in one click. Any currency.
• Reports for your accountant. Who owes what, revenue, tax collected and payments received, with CSV export, and a full export of your data any time.

For the three-person studio above, that's $12 a month for the business instead of three Essentials seats. New accounts get 15,000 free credits, valid 90 days, no card, enough to run one business for a month.

Where Bonsai still fits better: LotsInvoice doesn't do proposals, contracts, time tracking, projects or a CRM, and it doesn't take card payments inside the invoice or mark invoices paid automatically. If you want all of that in one workspace, Bonsai or one of the suites below is the better fit. Start at lotsinvoice.com.

2. Moxie: Bonsai's kind of workspace, priced per workspace

Moxie is the closest like-for-like swap. It bundles client management, project management, invoicing and payments, proposals, quotes and contracts, time tracking, a sales pipeline, basic accounting, forms and meeting schedulers. Starter is $12 a month ($10 billed annually, $120 a year), Pro is $25 ($20) and adds a custom domain, a white-label client portal, automations, API integrations and a QuickBooks integration, and Teams is $40 ($32, $385 a year) with up to five team members. Invoices can repeat for retainer clients, send reminders and add late fees, and clients pay through the Stripe or PayPal account you connect. There's a 14-day free trial.

Choose Moxie if you want Bonsai's mix of projects, proposals and invoices and your team is five people or fewer.

3. Plutio: an all-in-one app with no transaction fee

Plutio puts projects, invoices, proposals, contracts, scheduling, forms and time tracking on every plan. Core is $19 a month for solo work with up to 9 active clients. Pro is $49 with unlimited active clients and 30 contributors included, and Max is $199 with unlimited contributors, white-label and single sign-on. Yearly billing is $190, $490 and $1,990. Plutio says it charges no transaction fees on invoices; your Stripe, PayPal or Square fees still apply. There's a 7-day trial.

Choose Plutio if you want an all-in-one workspace and your team is bigger than a per-seat plan makes comfortable.

4. HoneyBook: client flow from inquiry to payment

HoneyBook covers the client journey: lead forms, proposals and contracts, invoices on one-time, recurring or custom schedules, autopay, payment plans, late fees, a client portal and scheduling. Starter is $29 a month billed yearly with unlimited clients and projects. Essentials allows up to 2 team members and Premium unlimited team members and multiple companies. Card and ACH payments run through HoneyBook, with ACH at 1.5%. Every plan starts with a free trial.

Choose HoneyBook if you sell with proposals and contracts and want clients to book, sign and pay in one flow.

5. Invoice Ninja: low-cost invoicing with unlimited clients

Invoice Ninja's Free plan gives you unlimited invoicing for up to 5 clients, with recurring invoices, auto-billing, projects, billable time and expenses. Ninja Pro is $14 a month or $140 a year with unlimited clients and invoices, custom designs and automatic payment reminders. Adding account users starts on Enterprise, from $18 a month for 1 to 2 users up to $300 a month for 51 to 100. Clients pay through the gateway you connect, and there are apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android.

Choose Invoice Ninja if you want invoices plus time and expenses at a low price and you're a small team. I compared it with LotsInvoice in LotsInvoice vs Invoice Ninja.

6. Zoho Invoice: free, with a two-user limit

Zoho Invoice costs $0, forever. Its pricing page lists the limits: up to 2 users, a maximum of 3 projects, up to 500 invoices a year, and "Powered by Zoho Invoice" branding on what you send. Your payment gateway charges its own processing fee.

Choose Zoho Invoice if you're a freelancer or a two-person studio, you send fewer than 500 invoices a year and you don't mind Zoho's branding.

7. FreshBooks: invoicing with accounting

FreshBooks combines invoicing with expenses, estimates and accounting reports. Lite is $23 a month and lets you send invoices to 5 clients, Plus is $43 for 50 clients and Premium is $70 for unlimited clients. Each team member is $11 a month. Clients can pay by card, ACH, Apple Pay or Google Pay through FreshBooks. There's a 30-day free trial.

Choose FreshBooks if you're leaving Bonsai because you want proper bookkeeping next to your invoices. More options in FreshBooks alternatives for agencies.

8. Harvest: time tracking first, then the invoice

Harvest is built around tracking time and invoicing it. The Free plan is 1 seat and 2 projects with time tracking, invoicing and expenses. Teams starts at $11 per seat a month ($9 billed annually, $108 per seat a year) with team reporting, capacity tracking and integrations with Stripe, QuickBooks Online and Xero. Harvest's page says extra invoices, projects, clients and tasks are billed by use as your team grows, so seat prices are a starting point. There's a 30-day free trial.

Choose Harvest if you used Bonsai mainly for timesheets and hourly invoices.

Which Bonsai alternative should you pick?

• You want exact, on-brand invoices with your whole team included, and no cut of payments: LotsInvoice, from $10 a month billed yearly.
• You want Bonsai's all-in-one workspace at a flat price: Moxie (up to five team members) or Plutio.
• You sell with proposals, contracts and payment plans: HoneyBook.
• You want to stay at $0: Zoho Invoice (2 users, 500 invoices a year) or Invoice Ninja's free plan (5 clients).
• You want accounting too: FreshBooks.
• You bill tracked hours: Harvest.

For the wider picture, see the best invoicing software for agencies and freelancers.

How to move from Bonsai to LotsInvoice

Keep Bonsai open while your last invoices there get paid, and start new invoices in LotsInvoice:

1. Create your business with your legal name, address and email, then confirm the email from your inbox.
2. Set it up once: logo, design, columns, taxes and payment options (your Stripe Payment Link or PayPal link, bank or ACH details, Zelle).
3. Bring your clients and services in as CSV files: customers and items.
4. Continue your numbering, so your next invoice follows the last one you sent from Bonsai.
5. Invite your team as editors or viewers, at no extra cost.
6. Move retainers to recurring invoices, as drafts to check each month or sent on schedule.
7. Send your first invoice from a draft, after checking the PDF preview.

LotsInvoice also works with the AI agent you already use, when you want it. If you work in Claude or ChatGPT, connect it at lotsinvoice.com/mcp and give it the move in one message:

Read https://lotsinvoice.com/skill.md. Then set up my studio in LotsInvoice: import the clients in clients.csv and the services in services.csv, continue invoice numbering from INV-0148, add my Stripe Payment Link and my bank details as payment options, and invite my partner as an editor. Draft the first invoice for Example Co and show me the preview before anything is sent.

It asks before anything goes out, and the dashboard is where you check everything.

FAQ

What is the best Bonsai alternative for a small agency?

It depends on what you use Bonsai for. If it's invoicing and you want your whole team included at one price, LotsInvoice charges $12 a month per business with unlimited team members and no cut of payments. If you want Bonsai's all-in-one workspace, Moxie or Plutio. If you sell with proposals and contracts, HoneyBook.

Is there a free alternative to Bonsai?

Yes. Zoho Invoice is free for up to 2 users and 500 invoices a year, with Zoho branding. Invoice Ninja is free for up to 5 clients, and Harvest's free plan covers 1 seat and 2 projects. LotsInvoice has no free plan; new accounts get 15,000 free credits, valid 90 days, no card.

Which Bonsai plan includes invoicing?

Essentials and above. Essentials is $25 per user a month, or $19 billed annually, and adds invoices and payments, proposals and contracts and the client portal. Basic covers time tracking, tasks, projects and the CRM. Checked on Bonsai's pricing page on 22 October 2026.

Does Bonsai take a fee on payments?

Bonsai Payments charges 2.9% + $0.30 per card and 1% for ACH with a $1 minimum. Where Bonsai Payments is available, getting paid through Stripe or PayPal instead adds a 1% platform fee, and international payments through Bonsai Payments or Stripe carry a 2.5% FX fee. Offline methods such as a wire or check have no Bonsai fee.

Can I keep taking card payments if I move from Bonsai to LotsInvoice?

Yes, through your own provider. Add your Stripe Payment Link, PayPal or Square link and it appears on every invoice, in the email and in the client portal, next to bank, ACH or Zelle details. Clients pay you directly, your provider's fees apply, and you record the payment when it arrives.

Sources

All checked on 22 October 2026:

• Bonsai: pricing, payments, payment methods and fees
• LotsInvoice: lotsinvoice.com, pricing, skill.md
• Moxie: pricing, invoicing
• Plutio: plutio.com/pricing
• HoneyBook: honeybook.com/pricing
• Invoice Ninja: invoiceninja.com/pricing-plans
• Zoho Invoice: pricing
• FreshBooks: freshbooks.com/pricing
• Harvest: getharvest.com/pricing