One by one
Best for: Solo creatives who want polished client flows — proposals, contracts, invoices — with a bigger template gallery than Bonsai, and who don’t bill by the hour.
Pricing: Starter $36/mo, Essentials $59/mo, Premium $129/mo on monthly billing ($29/$49/$109 billed yearly), checked September 23, 2026. Texting and calling are a $8/mo add-on, US only. Time Tracker was removed on September 8, 2026.
Skip it if: You bill by the hour (its time tracking is gone) or you are outside the US and need texting.
Best for: Solo creatives who want Bonsai-style client flows with much deeper automation — and who don’t need time tracking or a phone line in the same tool.
Pricing: Starter $35/mo, Premier $55/mo on monthly billing ($335/$525 a year), checked September 23, 2026, after the December 1, 2025 increase. Three extra users are free; bands of 4–10 users add $25/mo. The free plan was retired November 17, 2025 — new accounts get a 21-day trial.
Skip it if: You bill by the hour (its time tracking story is unclear), or you want a phone line or books in the same tool.
Best for: Freelancers and small teams whose first question is “where are the books?” — real double-entry accounting with invoicing on top, from an established vendor.
Pricing: Lite $23/mo, Plus $43/mo, Premium $70/mo on monthly billing, checked September 23, 2026 — the lineup in place since the March 2026 price change. Anything beyond the plan labels (seat costs, portal details) should be confirmed on its pricing page.
Skip it if: You want client work, comms and books in one tool rather than books with client features around them — or you need texting anywhere near the invoice.
Best for: Solo operators with a handful of live clients who want a modern, customizable workspace at the lowest entry price on this list.
Pricing: Core $19/mo (up to 9 active clients), Pro $49/mo (unlimited clients, up to 30 contributors), Max $199/mo (white-label, SSO), checked September 23, 2026. Yearly billing takes two months off. 7-day free trial, no card.
Skip it if: You juggle more than nine live clients at once and $49/mo is over budget — or you need texting next to the project.
Best for: Freelancers leaving Bonsai who want to keep time tracking and basic accounting — and gain an actual phone line — at nearly the same solo price.
Pricing: Starter $12/mo, Pro $25/mo, Teams $40/mo on monthly billing (annual: $10/$20/$32 per month), checked September 23, 2026. Teams covers up to five members and adds a second phone line.
Skip it if: You need more than five seats, deeper-than-basic accounting, or documented SMS alongside the phone line.
Best for: Freelancers-turned-teams who want client records, projects, a shared inbox, SMS, a business phone line, invoices, payment plans and accounting in one workspace — without per-seat pricing punishing every new hire.
Pricing: Cadet $29/mo (1 seat), Voyager $74/mo (2 seats — adds the shared inbox, SMS and time tracking), Specialist $149/mo (5 seats — adds voice, payment plans and basic accounting), Commander $299/mo (10 seats — full accounting). About 20% off on annual billing; extra seats $15. Claiming dedicated SMS/voice numbers carries a $50 one-time carrier compliance fee. Checked September 23, 2026 — every number is on the pricing page.
Skip it if: You are a solo hourly biller happy at $15–25/mo, or you mainly need contracts plus time tracking — Bonsai still wins that exact job on price, Zoom ownership or not.
FAQ
Questions Bonsai users actually ask
- Did Zoom buy Bonsai?
- Yes. Zoom announced the acquisition on November 5, 2025 on its official blog, and the transaction closed in December 2025. Bonsai now operates as a Zoom company.
- What does the Zoom acquisition mean for Bonsai users?
- As of our September 23, 2026 check, the plan lineup and prices are intact and the product is fully operating — Zoom’s announcement pitches Bonsai as its small-business play, not a product being wound down. What acquisitions change over time is roadmap priority and packaging, so the sensible move is to keep your exports current and re-check pricing at renewal, not to panic-move.
- Is Bonsai worth it for a team?
- Run the per-seat math first. Essentials is $25/mo per seat, so five people cost $125/mo — and QuickBooks/Xero sync needs Premium at $39/seat, or $195/mo for five. Flat-seat tools price the same team differently: Workspace369 Specialist is $149/mo for 5 seats with a phone line, payment plans and basic accounting included. For a solo user, though, $25/mo is hard to beat.
- Does Bonsai include accounting?
- Partly. Bonsai tracks income and expenses, and QuickBooks/Xero sync starts on Premium ($39/seat on monthly billing). It is not full double-entry accounting — for that, look at FreshBooks (Lite from $23/mo) or Workspace369, which includes basic accounting from Specialist ($149/mo) and full accounting from Commander ($299/mo).
- Does Bonsai have a phone line or texting?
- No. Bonsai has no native SMS and no business phone line. Moxie includes a phone line from its $25/mo Pro plan (US/CA/UK); Workspace369 includes SMS from Voyager ($74/mo, 2 seats) and voice from Specialist ($149/mo, 5 seats).
- How much does Bonsai cost per month?
- On monthly billing, checked September 23, 2026: Basic $15, Essentials $25, Premium $39 and Elite $59 per seat, with Elite carrying a 3-user minimum. Annual billing drops the per-seat equivalents to $9/$19/$29/$49.
- How do I switch from Bonsai to another tool?
- Export your clients, open invoices and time entries, and download your contract and proposal templates. No tool on this list has an automated Bonsai importer, so budget time for rebuilding templates — Workspace369 support can help you map the export into your workspace.