Bonsai review
An invoicing option for freelancers who want project, client, and payment tools together.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Bonsai brings invoicing into a wider workspace for freelancers, agencies, and other client-based businesses. Alongside invoices and online payments, it covers project and client management, time and expense tracking, contracts, proposals, scheduling, reporting, and client portals. That breadth is useful for freelancers who want client work and billing in one place; it may be more workspace than someone seeking only a straightforward invoice maker needs.
Plan choice matters because the lowest-priced tier does not include invoicing. Basic costs $9 per user per month with annual billing, or $15 monthly, and includes time tracking, task management, unlimited projects, CRM, a service library, and iOS and Android apps. Invoices and payments arrive with Essentials, at $19 annually billed or $25 monthly; this tier also adds proposals and contracts, a client portal, expense tracking, forms, and scheduling. Premium costs $29 annually billed or $39 monthly and adds project insights, workload management, a Gantt view, a deals pipeline, custom fields, and client tasks and messaging. Elite is $49 annually billed or $59 monthly, with custom permissions, timesheet locking, expense markups, and custom data import; it has a three-user minimum. Paid plans include a seven-day trial.
For recurring billing, Bonsai supports weekly, biweekly, monthly, and yearly invoice schedules, as well as subscription invoices with automatic recurring charges. Clients can pay through Bonsai Payments, Stripe, or PayPal. Time can be recorded with timers or manual entries, classified as billable or non-billable, and paired with expense tracking and project profitability reporting. QuickBooks Online and Xero integrations suit accounting workflows, while Zapier, Calendly, Google, and Slack broaden the listed connections. Choose Bonsai if you value connected billing and project administration; if you need invoicing on the entry tier or want a narrower tool, compare alternatives.
Bonsai pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Recurring invoices support weekly, biweekly, monthly, or yearly schedules
- Combines invoicing, time and expense tracking, and a client portal
- Integrates with QuickBooks Online, Xero, Stripe, and PayPal
- Where it doesn't
- Invoicing and payments start at the Essentials plan
- The lowest annual price requires annual billing
- Elite requires a three-user minimum
Bonsai fact sheet, pricing and score →
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