Hello Bonsai’s per-user cost is quite expensive than what alternatives offer, like Agency Handy. Even though Bonsai is fully loaded with features, the overall stability of Bonsai software isn’t satisfactory considering the cost.
Whether you’re a freelancer or an agency owner, luckily, there are many better alternatives in terms of cost, stability, and client management. This article discusses the best alternatives that offer more than their counterparts.
Quick List of Bonsai Alternatives
- Agency Handy: All-in-one client management solution for small to large.
- ManyRequests: Client portal for creative agencies with visual feedback tools.
- HoneyBook: Clientflow platform with automation for creative businesses.
- Moxie: Affordable all-in-one tool for freelancers with premium features.
- Dubsado: Business management platform with deep workflow automation.
- Bloom: Studio management platform for creatives with portfolios & galleries.
- FreshBooks: Accounting and invoicing software for small business owners.
- Accelo: Professional Services Automation (PSA) for established agencies.
- UseQueue: Client portal designed for selling productized & subscription services.
Top Reasons to Find Bonsai Alternatives
Bonsai users often complain about the following issues. And these are the prime reasons why their users make a switch to a suitable Bonsai alternative.
1. Expensive Per-User Cost
Hello Bonsai pricing ranges from $15-$59/mo/user. If you have 5 team members, the cost would multiply. So for an agency of 5 internal users, the cost would range from $75 to $295 per month. That’s an insanely high price for most agencies.
2. Technical Issues
As a client management business solution, Bonsai is packed with tons of features. While it’s an advantage, it causes frequent headaches as well. Users complained of frequent technical issues with an overwhelming number of features.
3. Spies on Bank Transaction Data
Several users complained about Hello Bonsai payments as well. Bonsai freezes its customers’ accounts for no legitimate reason. Bonsai spies on bank transactions, and they freeze suspected users’ accounts without giving a proper explanation.
4. Slow Support
Except for the top-tier plan, Bonsai’s support for its users is quite slow. Sometimes people have to wait for a few days to get things done.
Comparison Table of The Best Bonsai Alternatives
After testing dozens of software, these are the top 9 alternatives for Bonsai. If you want to switch or are just looking for an affordable option, these reviews will help you decide.
| Tool | Service Catalog | Client Onboarding Automation | Proposal | File Feedback | Pricing |
| Bonsai | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | Basic (Comments) | $15-$59/user |
| Agency Handy | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Annotations | $19-$199 |
| ManyRequests | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | Annotations | $29-$99 |
| HoneyBook | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | Basic (Comments) | $36-$129 |
| Moxie | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | Basic (Comments) | $12-$40 |
| Dubsado | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | Basic (Comments) | $20-$40 |
| Bloom | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | Basic (Comments) | $18-$78 |
| FreshBooks | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | Basic (Comments) | $6-$19/user |
| Accelo | ❌ | ✅ | Basic (Comments) | ||
| UseQueue | ✅ | ✅ | Annotations | $42-$149 |
Top 9 Hello Bonsai Alternatives and Competitors
After testing dozens of software, these are the top 10 alternatives for Bonsai. If you want to switch or are just looking for an affordable option, these reviews will help you decide.
1. Agency Handy
As an all-in-one agency solution, Agency Handy is the best Bonsai alternative both for freelancers and agencies of all sizes. From client onboarding to project delivery, Agency Handy makes operations more efficient at affordable prices.
Here’s a detailed table showing where Agency Handy Excels Hello Bonsai –
| Features | Agency Handy | Bonsai |
| Client Portal | ✅ | ✅ |
| Service Listing | ✅ | ✅ |
| Multi Package Services | ✅ | ❌ |
| Coupon Management | ✅ | ❌ |
| Client Reviews | ✅ | ❌ |
| Contact Form | ✅ | ✅ |
| Order Form | ✅ | ❌ |
| CRM | ✅ | ✅ |
| Multiple Workspaces | ✅ | ❌ |
| Kanban Boards | ✅ | ✅ |
| Team Collaboration | ✅ | ✅ |
| Workflow Visualizations | ✅ | ✅ |
| Time Tracking | ✅ | ✅ |
| Ticketing System | ✅ | ❌ |
| File Library | ✅ | ✅ |
| Client Approval & Feedback | ✅ | ❌ |
| File Feedback | ✅ | ❌ |
| Invoicing | ✅ | ✅ |
| Quotations and Proposals | ✅ | ✅ |
| Subscriptions and one-time payments | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email customization | ✅ | ❌ |
| Remove ‘Powered by’ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Built-in Multiple language support | 14 languages | ❌ |
| Storage (max plan) | Up to 20 TB | Not mentioned |
| Free trial | 7-day | 7-day |
Key Features of Agency Handy
As a Bonsai alternative, Agency Handy comes with the following features –
Lead Management
By embedding a public form on your website, Agency Handy helps you get leads. You can add those leads and organize them as per their status – eligible, contacted, sent proposal to, potential, etc. You never overlook potential leads.
Multipackage Service Catalog
You can showcase your services in a catalog view with multiple packages and different pricing. If you provide relevant services, you can group them to keep the catalog organized.
Automate Client Onboarding
Agency Handy allows you to create order forms with various inputs. When potential clients select services, they can proceed to self-checkout and make the payment.
Image (Client onboarding journey – Service, Order Form, Checkout, Invoice, Payment, Task Creation)
When the payment is done, clients are welcomed with an intake form. You can customize it as per your needs to get started on the project. You don’t need to do anything manually for client onboarding.
Invoice and Subscription Management
When clients place an order, they get an invoice with all details. They can complete the payment with Stripe, Wise, and manual bank.
For your productized services, you can manage both one-time and recurring subscriptions with Agency Handy. Start, pause, resume, and cancel subscriptions whenever needed.
Task Management
Once clients make the payment, Agency Handy task management tool creates tasks as per the purchase. You can organize tasks simply by drag and drop actions on the Kanban board. At a glance, both your team and client will see which tasks are in progress, which ones are sent for review, and which tasks are completed.
Feedback with Annotation
For designers and creative agencies, Agency Handy allows clients to give feedback with annotation tools. You can annotate by –
- Drawing lines and arrows
- Adding shapes
- Highlighting with different colors
- Adding comments on specific spots
Clients will pinpoint exactly what needs to be changed and where. This reduces back and forth between files. You can also control file versions from history.
Client Portal
Compared to Bonsai as well as other client management software, Agency Handy’s client portal is more advanced. Clients can create tasks of their own, check project status, message the assignee, and give file feedback through annotation tools.
Other worth mentioning features from Agency Handy are –
- Time tracking
- Custom forms
- Custom proposal
- Service add-ons
- Subscription management
- White-label branding with custom email and domain
- Up to 30 users
- Up to 5 workspace
- Up to 10 TB storage
- Slack integration
- Webhooks
- PayPal, Stripe, Wise, Crypto and manual bank
- Multi-support channels (chat and email)
What Users Say About Agency Handy
What Users Say About Agency Handy
G2: 4.9 out of 5
“I really like how Agency Handy keeps everything in one place—it makes managing tasks and tracking team hours super easy. The proposal tool is awesome too. It lays out all the package options in a way that makes sense to clients, and then it automatically creates tasks for my team based on what they select. It honestly saved me so much time.” – Sheena S.
Capaterra: 4.5 out of 5
“Agency Handy is an all-in-one solution that has streamlined our operations, improved client satisfaction, and boosted team productivity. It’s an indispensable tool for any digital agency looking to scale their business efficiently.” – Priyanka P.
Agency Handy Pricing
Freelancer
- $19/mo billed monthly
- $13/mo billed yearly
Team Starter
- $99/mo billed monthly
- $66/mo billed yearly
Business Pro
- $199/mo billed monthly
- $133/mo billed yearly
Is Agency Handy Better than Bonsai?
Considering per-user cost, stable agency-focused features, managing leads, task management and client portal integration for client updates, feedback tools for creative agencies, Agency Handy is actually much better than Bonsai.
2. ManyRequests
For creative creators and designers, ManyRequests is a familiar name. Considering both price and features, ManyRequests is a good option if you don’t need proposals and contracts.
Compared to Bonsai, per user cost is comparatively low in ManyRequests. Bonsai’s agency focused plan costs $29-$35/user. ManyRequests basic agency plan costs $29, and for extra users, it’s $20/user. Plus, their entry-level plan provides a custom domain.
While Bonsai charges a premium for integration and stuff, ManyRequests is quite affordable in this case.
When it comes to giving design feedback, ManyRequests excels Bonsai with its annotation tools.
Design and Video Feedback
For creators, ManyRequests features annotation tools. Clients can pinpoint exactly where they want you to make changes. They can annotate and leave remarks right on the files.
Service Catalog
When you need to showcase your services, ManyRequests presents it in a catalog view to attract visitors. This is something Bonsai doesn’t even have.
Per User Cost
For your agency, ManyRequests charges $20-$30 extra per additional user. With Bonsai, it’s $25/-$59/seat.
Pros
- Service catalog view
- File feedback with annotations
- Low cost custom domain
- Affordable per user cost
- Zapier integration is available
Cons
- Doesn’t automate client onboarding
- No proposals and contracts
What Users Say About ManyRequests
G2: 4.5 out of 5
ManyRequests Pricing
Starter
- $29/month billed monthly
- $19/month billed yearly
Core
- $59/month billed monthly
- $39/month billed yearly
Pro
- $99/month billed monthly
- $79/month billed yearly
3. Honeybook
When sending proposals and contracts matter for your business, but you want to work as a team, HoneyBook can be a good option.
Their top-tier premium plan at $129/mo allows an unlimited number of team members, offering better flexibility than Hello Bonsai.
Their Essentials plan at $59/mo is ideal for small-sized agencies. Apart from certain operational automations, you can schedule meetings, use up to 10 lead forms, and much more.
Workflow Automations
HoneyBook’s automation is quite impressive. You can set a trigger-based action to take. For example, if a client submits a form, then send an automated email. After that, create a task for that client.
Per User Cost
For agency operations, Bonsai costs $25/user/mo. Let’s say you need to add 10 users, which would cost $250/mo.
Whereas with HoneyBook, it’s cheaper to add more users. Their top-tier plan costs $129/mo for unlimited users.
QuickBook Integration
If you own a small agency or work as a freelancer, and QuickBooks matters for you, HoneyBook would be an efficient choice. The $59 plan for 2 users comes with QuickBooks native integration.
Whereas, Bonsai costs $39/mo/user for the Plan with QuickBooks integration through Zapier.
Pros
- Great for sending proposals and contracts
- Automates client onboarding and other operations
- Schedules meetings with clients
- Tracks time and provides billable hours
- Prepares financial reports
Cons
- Expensive for small teams
- Emails land in the spam folder
What Users Say About HoneyBook
- G2: 4.5 out of 5
- Capterra: 4.7 out of 5
HoneyBook Pricing
Starter
- Monthly: $36/month
- Yearly: $29/month
Essentials
- Monthly: $59/mo monthly billed
- Yearly: $49/mo yearly billed
Premium
- Monthly: $129/month
- Yearly: $109/month
4. Moxie
If your agency’s work would be doing just fine without financial reports, Moxie is worth considering as it has similarities in features with Bonsai.
With the Starter plan, you can create proposals, contracts, send quotes, manage sales pipeline, and track time. Higher-tier plans come with a client portal, white-labeling, automation, integration, and much more.
Client Onboarding
Even with a manual onboarding process, you can send proposals, contracts, quotes, and manage sales pipeline spending for just $12/mo. They even come with a meeting scheduler.
White-label Client Portal
Moxie comes with a white-labeled client portal to provide your client with a professional experience. Clients can schedule meetings, collaborate on projects, sign proposals, and make payments.
Adding Team Members
Moxie allows adding 5 team members for just $40/month, which is significantly lower compared to Hello Bonsai’s user cost of $19 for minimal agency-level operations.
Pros
- Low-tier plan is good enough to onboard clients
- Workflow automations
- Zapier with native QuickBook integration
- White-label with custom domain
- Low per user cost
Cons
- Not suitable for a large team
What Users Say About Moxie
- G2: 4.8 out of 5
- Capterra: 4 out of 5
Moxie Pricing
Starter
- $12/month billed monthly
- $10/month billed yearly
Pro
- $25/month billed monthly
- $20/month billed yearly
Teams
- $40/month billed monthly
- $32/month billed yearly
5. Dubsado
For businesses that want to build a powerful, automated client onboarding machine, Dubsado is a top-tier choice.
While Bonsai excels at integrating project management with deep financial reporting, Dubsado specializes in creating highly customized and automated workflows.
If your main goal is to put your client intake, contracts, and scheduling on autopilot, Dubsado offers a level of control that Bonsai doesn’t match.
However, this power comes with a steeper learning curve and less emphasis on team management and financial insights.
Deep Workflow Automation
You can build workflows with many steps. It automatically sends emails, forms, proposals, and payment reminders. This creates a hands-off journey for your clients.
Customizable Forms and Proposals
Dubsado has a powerful form builder. You can make custom intake forms and proposals. It even lets you use if/then questions to gather the right info.
Client Portal
Clients get a private online page for all their project documents. Here, they can easily approve proposals, sign contracts, and pay invoices. Everything stays organized, giving them a clear history of your work together.
Pros
- Highly customizable workflow automation
- Automates client onboarding process
- Flexible form builder with conditional logic
- Deeply integrated scheduling tool
Cons
- Has a steeper learning curve than Bonsai
What Users Say About Dubsado
G2: 4.3 out of 5
Capterra: 4.2 out of 5
Dubsado Pricing
Starter
- $20/mo monthly billed
- $200/year
Premier
- $40/mo monthly billed
- $400/yearly
6. Bloom
Bloom is a great tool if you’re a creative person, especially a photographer. Think of it as your complete studio manager. It’s built to help you show off your work and make it really easy for clients to book you.
Bonsai is different. It’s more focused on the money and management side of your business. So while Bloom helps you present your work beautifully, Bonsai helps you manage projects and track your profits in detail.
Website Portfolio
Bloom gives you the tools to create your own professional website. It’s more than just a photo gallery. You can use their builder to design pages, write content, and help your site get found on Google. You can even sell products.
Photo Galleries
This tool is perfect for delivering your final photos. You can create beautiful, private online galleries for each client. They can easily pick their favorite images and download them. You can also protect galleries with a password.
Chatbox to Email
Bloom gives you a chat box you can put on your website. Visitors can send you a message directly from any page. These messages go to your email, so you can reply quickly and never miss a chance to get a new client.
Pros
- Beautiful galleries for delivering photos to clients
- Flexible payment options, including Venmo and Zelle
- A very simple, all-in-one booking process
- A chat box for your website to get new leads
Cons
- Its project and task management tools are more basic
What Users Say About Bloom.io
- G2: 4.5 out of 5
- Capterra: 4.3 out of 5
Bloom Pricing
| Plan | Billed Monthly | Billed Yearly (Price per Month) |
| Starter | $9/mo (first 3 months), then $18/mo | $7/mo (first 12 months), then $14/mo |
| Standard | $22/mo (first 3 months), then $44/mo | $17/mo (first 12 months), then $34/mo |
| Plus | $39/mo (first 3 months), then $78/mo | $33/mo (first 12 months), then $66/mo |
7. FreshBooks
FreshBooks is an accounting tool at its heart, built to make bookkeeping easy for business owners. It has since added features for project management, making it a strong all-in-one option. This makes it very different from Bonsai.
If your top priority is accurate finances, working with an accountant, and making tax time simple, FreshBooks is an excellent choice. While Bonsai is a great project tool with good financial tracking, FreshBooks is a true accounting platform first and foremost.
Double-Entry Accounting
This is the biggest difference. FreshBooks is a real accounting system, not just an expense tracker. It keeps a proper ledger of all your money, just like an accountant would. This means your financial reports are more accurate and reliable.
Tracks Profit
FreshBooks helps you see if your projects are actually making money. It compares your invoices against tracked time, team costs, and other expenses. This gives you a clear profitability report for each project, so you know where to focus.
Integrated Payroll Service
If you have employees, FreshBooks offers a huge advantage. You can add a full payroll service directly within the platform. It will handle paying your team, along with all the necessary tax deductions and filings, which most freelance tools do not offer.
Pros
- Easy time tracking directly to invoices
- Manages project budgets to stay profitable
- Tracks the profitability of individual projects
- Offers an integrated payroll service as an add-on
Cons
- Lacks visual project tools like Kanban boards or Gantt charts
What Users Say About FreshBooks
- G2: 4.5 out of 5
- Capterra: 4.5 out of 5
FreshBooks Pricing
Lite
- $6.30/month
- $185/year
Plus
- $11.40/month
- $336/year
Premium
- $19.50/month
- $575/month
8. Accelo
Accelo is a serious business tool for established professional services companies. Think of it as a step up from platforms like Bonsai, built for agencies that manage complex client work. Accelo is all about deep data and maximizing profitability.
Its pricing isn’t public, you have to request a quote, which tells you it’s a more premium, enterprise-level solution.
Manages Client Retainers
Accelo is built to handle retainer-based work properly. It doesn’t just send a recurring bill. It lets you manage the actual hours and tasks performed against that retainer contract. This helps you see if your ongoing client agreements are truly profitable.
Built-in Client Support Tickets
Accelo includes a client ticketing system, like a helpdesk built right in. Your clients can submit requests for small, ongoing tasks. Your team can then track and manage all these tickets from a shared inbox without needing a separate tool.
Deep Profitability Insights
This platform focuses heavily on your bottom line. It tracks project costs, resources, and budgets in real-time. This gives you deep insights into which clients and project types make you the most money, helping you make smarter business decisions.
Pros
- Excellent for managing retainer and ticket-based client work
- Manages business process from sales to billing
- Manages your team’s schedule and availability
- Highly configurable for complex and unique agency workflows
Cons
- Overkill for solo freelancers and even most agencies
What Users Say About Accelo
G2: 4.4 out of 5
Capterra: 4.5 out of 5
Accelo Pricing
- Custom pricing on request
9. UseQueue
UseQueue is a great tool for modern freelancers and agencies, especially those that sell “productized” services. Think of it as a smart storefront for your business. Its main strength is helping you package, sell, and manage your services clearly and efficiently.
While Bonsai is a powerful all-in-one tool for managing custom projects and tracking detailed finances, UseQueue focuses more on the client onboarding and service delivery process.
It’s a strong alternative if you want to streamline how clients buy from you.
Service Catalog
UseQueue lets you display your services in a beautiful, shoppable catalog. Your clients can browse different packages and see clear pricing options upfront.
Bonsai has a ‘Service Library’ to list what you do. It’s more of a simple list for creating proposals, not a client-facing catalog.
Subscription Management
This tool is perfect if you sell your services as fixed packages or on a subscription basis. The entire system is designed to support this model. It helps you manage recurring work and ongoing client requests smoothly from start to finish.
But Bonsai’s project tools are more geared towards custom hourly or fixed-fee projects.
Annotation Feedback
UseQueue comes with advanced feedback tools. Clients can leave comments and make annotations directly on your designs, documents, or images. This lets them pinpoint exactly what changes they want, which saves a lot of back-and-forth.
Pros
- Excellent for selling productized or subscription-based services
- Showcases services in a catalog
- Feedback with annotation tools
- Hassle free client onboarding with custom forms
Cons
- Not suitable for a large team
What Users Say About UseQueue
G2: 4.9 out of 5
UseQueue Pricing
- Starter: Free
- Growth: $49
- Scale: $149
So, What’s the Best Bonsai Alternative?
For both freelancers and agencies, Agency Handy stands out as the best Hello Bonsai alternative in terms of cost, functionalities, and overall operational efficiency.
You will have the following advantages over Bonsai –
- Up to 30 internal users. It’s around $9/seat with Agency Handy. Bonsai costs $25/seat.
- Automates client onboarding from order forms to payment and task creation.
- Nurtures and organizes leads with a Kanban board view.
- Multipackage service catalog with service grouping.
- Kanban board organizes tasks as per status.
- Clients can send messages, get project updates, and upload files.
- File feedback with annotations on images and videos.
- Up to 5 workspaces.
Conclusion
As a small business management software, Hello Bonsai has its place. But when your productized service business grows, Bonsai pricing goes significantly higher. Settling with Hello Bonsai alternatives like Agency Handy would be the ideal pick for growing agency business, as well as budget freelancers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Hello Bonsai have any hidden charges?
Hello Bonsai doesn’t include hidden charges but their per user cost policy can be a concern for agencies. Depending on what pricing plan you choose, that would be for each team member. So adding more members would add more to the total cost.
What is the best alternative to Hello Bonsai for photographers?
Agency Handy is the best alternative to Hello Bonsai for photographers due to its advanced annotation tools for feedback needed for design and creative projects. It lets clients pinpoint exact changes directly on images and videos. Other worth mentioning alternatives are – Bloom and ManyRequests.
What is the best affordable alternative to Hello Bonsai for freelancers?
Agency Handy’s Freelancer plan is the most affordable alternative to Bonsai for freelancers. At just $19, freelancers can onboard unlimited clients, projects, nurture their valuable leads, manage projects as well as clients.
Does Hello Bonsai have any free trial?
Hello Bonsai offers a 7 days free trial on all their pricing plans.
