What is the best Hello Bonsai alternative?

It depends on what you use Bonsai for. For time tracking on a budget, Moxie. For booked-by-date creative work in the US, Canada, the UK or Australia, HoneyBook. For deep automation, Dubsado. For a small team that mostly needs proposals, invoices and a CRM at a flat price, ApeiroCraft.

Is there a free alternative to Bonsai?

Of the tools on this page, ApeiroCraft is the only one with a free plan that doesn't expire. Every other tool here, Bonsai included, offers a trial of 7 to 30 days instead.

Why do people switch from Bonsai?

The common reasons are per-user pricing as a team grows, the lack of a free plan, and that proposals, contracts and invoicing start at the $25 Essentials tier rather than the $15 Basic plan.

How much does Bonsai cost?

Bonsai is $15, $25, $39 or $59 per user per month billed monthly, or $9 to $49 per user per month billed annually. Our Bonsai pricing guide breaks down what each plan includes.

Compared · prices checked 7 October 2026

Hello Bonsai alternatives in 2026

Bonsai is priced per user ($15–$59 a month), has no free plan, and keeps proposals and invoicing out of its $15 Basic tier. If any of those is why you're looking, here are eight alternatives with what they actually cost.

Written by Shaish Guni, Founder, ApeiroCraft.Last reviewed 25 August 2026Kathmandu, Nepal

Tool	Starting price	Billing	Free plan	Best for
ApeiroCraft	Free; Solo $19/mo, Team $79/mo, Agency $149/mo	Flat per account (3, 5 or 20 people)	Yes, no time limit	Small studios and agencies who want proposals, invoices and the CRM in one place
Moxie	$12/mo Starter, $25 Pro, $40 Teams ($10/$20/$32 billed annually)	Flat by tier	No, 14-day trial	Solo freelancers on a tight budget who want time tracking
HoneyBook	$36–$129/mo monthly ($29–$109 billed yearly)	Per account by tier, plus payment processing	No, 30-day trial	US, Canadian, UK and Australian creatives whose work is booked by date
Dubsado	$335/yr Starter, $525/yr Premier	Per account, billed annually; 3 users included	No, 21-day trial	Service businesses that want deep, custom automated workflows
Plutio	$19/mo Core, $49 Pro, $199 Max (less billed annually)	Per account by tier	No, 7-day trial	Solo freelancers who want the most features per dollar
Prospero	$19/user/mo, or $12 billed annually	Per user	No, 14-day trial, no card	Freelancers who only need good-looking proposals
Proposify	Build $49/user/mo ($35 annual); Grow $325/mo billed annually	Per user, with monthly send limits	No, 14-day trial	Sales teams that live in proposal analytics
Qwilr	Starter $35/user/mo annual ($49 monthly)	Per user; Growth needs 5 users, Scale 10	No, 14-day trial	Designed, interactive web-page proposals

USD list prices from each vendor's own pricing page, checked 7 October 2026. Taxes and payment fees extra. Spotted a change? Tell us.

1. ApeiroCraft

Free; Solo $19/mo, Team $79/mo, Agency $149/mo

Our own product, so read this entry as interested. Proposals go out as links with read tracking and a verified e-signature; the accepted proposal becomes an invoice in one click; contacts, tasks and a team notes wiki sit on the same records. Pricing is per account, so Solo covers three people for $19 and Team covers five for $79. What it doesn't have: time tracking, expense tracking, a scheduler or client logins.

Pick it if: Small studios and agencies who want proposals, invoices and the CRM in one place
Skip it if: You bill hourly and need time tracking, or want built-in scheduling

See ApeiroCraft pricing

2. Moxie

$12/mo Starter, $25 Pro, $40 Teams ($10/$20/$32 billed annually)

The cheapest all-rounder here for one person. Proposals, contracts, invoicing and time tracking are on every plan; the client portal starts at Pro. The ceiling is the Teams plan, which holds up to five team members.

Pick it if: Solo freelancers on a tight budget who want time tracking
Skip it if: You will grow past five people — Teams tops out at five members

3. HoneyBook

$36–$129/mo monthly ($29–$109 billed yearly)

Polished, with a strong scheduler, questionnaires and payments built in. HoneyBook processes your client payments itself; its US plan comparison lists card fees starting at 2.9% + 25¢. Not available to businesses outside the US, Canada, the UK and Australia.

Pick it if: US, Canadian, UK and Australian creatives whose work is booked by date
Skip it if: You're based anywhere else — HoneyBook only serves those four countries

4. Dubsado

$335/yr Starter, $525/yr Premier

Proposals, contracts, invoices and a client portal on both plans; scheduling and automated workflows on Premier. Three users are included, with extra users from $25 a month. The flexibility is real and so is the setup time.

Pick it if: Service businesses that want deep, custom automated workflows
Skip it if: You want to send your first proposal today rather than after a setup project

5. Plutio

$19/mo Core, $49 Pro, $199 Max (less billed annually)

A wide feature set for the price, including proposal view tracking. Core is designed for solo work and capped at nine active clients; Pro removes the client cap and includes 30 contributors.

Pick it if: Solo freelancers who want the most features per dollar
Skip it if: You have more than nine active clients on the entry plan

6. Prospero

$19/user/mo, or $12 billed annually

Guided, questionnaire-driven proposal building with e-signatures and unlimited proposals. It stops at the proposal: no invoicing, no client pipeline. Three people cost $57 a month billed monthly.

Pick it if: Freelancers who only need good-looking proposals
Skip it if: You also want invoicing or a CRM in the same tool

7. Proposify

Build $49/user/mo ($35 annual); Grow $325/mo billed annually

Free-form proposal design, approval workflows and team-level analytics. Every plan includes a monthly send allowance with a fee per extra send. Grow includes five seats; extra seats are $780 a year each.

Pick it if: Sales teams that live in proposal analytics
Skip it if: You're a freelancer — it's priced and built for sales teams

8. Qwilr

Starter $35/user/mo annual ($49 monthly)

The best-looking proposals in the category: interactive pricing, embedded video, accept-and-sign. Growth ($55 per user) needs five users and Scale ($75 per user) needs ten, both billed annually.

Pick it if: Designed, interactive web-page proposals
Skip it if: You need invoicing or a CRM, or are a team of one on a budget

How to choose

Start with the axis your bill grows on. Per-user tools (Bonsai, Prospero, Proposify, Qwilr) are cheapest for one person and climb with every hire. Tiered tools (Moxie, Plutio, Dubsado, HoneyBook) are predictable until you hit the tier's cap. Flat per-account pricing only wins once more than one person needs access.

Then check the one feature you can't do without. If it's time tracking, that rules out ApeiroCraft and the proposal specialists. If it's invoicing, it rules out Prospero, Proposify and Qwilr. If you're outside the US, Canada, the UK and Australia, it rules out HoneyBook. For the full Bonsai price breakdown see Hello Bonsai pricing in 2026, and for a feature-by-feature view, ApeiroCraft vs Bonsai.

Questions

What is the best Hello Bonsai alternative?: It depends on what you use Bonsai for. For time tracking on a budget, Moxie. For booked-by-date creative work in the US, Canada, the UK or Australia, HoneyBook. For deep automation, Dubsado. For a small team that mostly needs proposals, invoices and a CRM at a flat price, ApeiroCraft.
Is there a free alternative to Bonsai?: Of the tools on this page, ApeiroCraft is the only one with a free plan that doesn't expire. Every other tool here, Bonsai included, offers a trial of 7 to 30 days instead.
Why do people switch from Bonsai?: The common reasons are per-user pricing as a team grows, the lack of a free plan, and that proposals, contracts and invoicing start at the $25 Essentials tier rather than the $15 Basic plan.
How much does Bonsai cost?: Bonsai is $15, $25, $39 or $59 per user per month billed monthly, or $9 to $49 per user per month billed annually. Our Bonsai pricing guide breaks down what each plan includes.

Try the flat-priced one free.

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