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Invollo vs Bonsai: all-in-one freelance suite or focused billing tool?

Bonsai is an all-in-one business suite for freelancers and agencies: contracts, proposals, CRM, scheduling, projects and invoicing, priced per user. Invollo does a narrower job, quotes, time tracking, invoices and a client portal, and has a free plan. If you want contract templates and a sales pipeline in the same app as your invoices, Bonsai does more. If you want to get paid for tracked hours without a monthly bill to start, or you need a Windows tracker with screenshots, Invollo is the lighter choice.

The short answer

Choose Bonsai if…

  • You want ready-made contracts (Bonsai says its templates are vetted by contract attorneys) and proposals with packages and deposits.
  • You also need a CRM, deals pipeline, scheduling with paid bookings and forms.
  • You manage projects with Kanban, Gantt charts, budgets and workload views.
  • You bill retainers or subscriptions that charge a client’s card automatically.
  • You want iPhone, Android and Mac apps.

Choose Invollo if…

  • You want a free plan instead of a 7-day trial that asks for a card.
  • You need a Windows desktop tracker with screenshots for remote clients.
  • You don’t want a platform or foreign-exchange fee on top of the gateway’s fee.
  • Your work is mostly quote, track time, invoice, get paid, and you’d rather not pay for a CRM and project suite you won’t use.

Bonsai and Invollo side by side

Bonsai and Invollo compared feature by feature, with sources
 BonsaiInvollo
Free option7-day free trial with card details; after cancelling, a view-only Limited plan that can’t send new invoices[2][3]Free plan, $0 with no time limit and no card: 1 user, 3 active clients, 5 invoices and 5 quotes a month, 3 active projects, 10 emails a day sent through Invollo.
PlansPer user a month: Basic $15 ($9 billed annually), Essentials $25 ($19), Premium $39 ($29), Elite $59 ($49, 3-user minimum)[1]Pro (no client, invoice, quote or project limits) and Business (3 seats, your own sending domain), billed monthly; there is no annual plan. The pricing page shows the price for your country.
Invoicing starts onEssentials; Basic has no invoices[1]Every plan, including Free.
UsersEach team member is an extra seat at your plan’s per-user rate[4]1 user on Free and Pro. Business includes 3 seats with Owner, Admin and Member roles; there is no larger team plan.
Online payment feesBonsai Payments: 2.9% + $0.30 per card, 3.25% + $0.30 Amex, 1% ACH. Using Stripe or PayPal where Bonsai Payments is available adds a 1% platform fee; a 2.5% FX fee applies when the invoice currency differs from your payout country’s[5]Clients pay through your own Stripe or PayPal account (PayPal in 24 of the 26 currencies, not BDT or INR), or by bank transfer you record. Invollo takes 0% of client payments; the gateway’s own fees apply.
Where payments workBonsai Payments in the US, UK, Canada and Australia; Stripe in Stripe’s countries except India[6]Wherever your own Stripe or PayPal account works.
Recurring invoicesRecurring invoices and card-charging subscription invoices (Essentials and up)[7][1]Not available.
Payment remindersAutomated reminders before and after the due date[8]Automatic overdue reminders by email, on every plan.
Contracts and proposalsContracts with e-signature from templates; proposals with packages and deposits (Essentials and up)[9][10]Quotes that clients accept online with a typed name and drawn signature, recorded with a SHA-256 proof, timestamp and IP; convert an accepted quote to an invoice. Every plan. No contract templates.
Time trackingIn-app timer, invoices from tracked time; apps for iPhone, Android and a Mac menu-bar tracker[12][13]Web timer, Chrome extension and a desktop tracker for Windows 10 and 11 that takes periodic screenshots; tracked time becomes invoice lines. Every plan.
Client portalClient portal with contracts, proposals, invoices, files and messaging (Essentials and up)[11][1]Client portal where clients see their invoices, quotes and projects and pay online. Every plan.
CurrenciesMore than 100 invoice currencies[14]26 invoice currencies, including BDT and INR, converted to one of 10 workspace currencies for reports.
AccountingBookkeeping connections to accounting platforms[16]None. Reports show revenue, outstanding, overdue, hours, expenses and net income; export to CSV or JSON for your accountant.
BrandingWhite-label branding on Premium and up[15]“Powered by Invollo” on Free and Pro; removed on Business.

On small screens, scroll the table sideways; the first column stays in place.

Where Bonsai is the better choice

Bonsai’s strength is breadth. Contracts are its signature feature: you send, sign and store them from templates[9], and proposals can offer several packages and take a deposit when the client approves[10]. Invollo’s quotes collect a typed name and drawn signature on a scope and price, but there are no contract templates, and that matters if you don’t have your own.

Bonsai also runs the rest of a small agency. Its plans include a CRM, a deals pipeline, scheduling, forms, Kanban and Gantt project views, budgets and workload reports[1]. On billing, it supports retainers and subscription invoices that charge a saved card each cycle[7], and it invoices in more than 100 currencies[14]. Invollo has 26 currencies and no recurring invoices.

If you work from your phone or a Mac, Bonsai has iPhone and Android apps and a Mac menu-bar time tracker[13]. Invollo runs in the browser, and its desktop tracker is for Windows.

Where Invollo is the better choice

Price of entry. Invoicing on Bonsai starts with Essentials at $19 per user a month on annual billing, or $25 monthly[1], after a 7-day trial that asks for a card[2]. Invollo’s free plan has no time limit and needs no card. It allows 3 active clients and 5 invoices a month, enough to try it with real work, and Pro removes those limits.

Fees on what clients pay you. Bonsai adds a 1% platform fee if you use Stripe or PayPal in a country where Bonsai Payments is available, and a 2.5% FX fee when the invoice currency differs from your payout country’s[5]. Invollo takes 0% of client payments: money goes straight from your client to your own Stripe or PayPal account, and only those gateways’ fees apply.

Proof of work for remote clients. Invollo’s Windows desktop tracker takes periodic screenshots, and clients can review them in the portal if you allow it. That’s useful when a client abroad pays by the hour and wants to see the work. Use it openly: tell everyone it covers before you start.

Less to set up. If you don’t need a CRM, scheduling or Gantt charts, Invollo’s narrower scope means fewer settings and a flow that goes from signed quote to tracked time to invoice.

What Invollo doesn’t do

  • No contract templates, CRM, scheduling or forms.
  • No recurring or subscription invoices.
  • No accounting, bank feeds or accounting-software sync.
  • No mobile apps, and the desktop tracker runs on Windows only.
  • No full white-label: Business removes “Powered by Invollo”, but the client portal header still shows Invollo.
  • Teams are capped at 3 seats on Business.

Frequently asked questions

Does Bonsai have a free plan?
Not one you can sign up for. Bonsai has a 7-day free trial that asks for card details. If you cancel a paid plan, your account moves to a view-only Limited plan on which you can’t create or send new invoices, proposals or contracts. Invollo has a free plan with no time limit and no card.
How much does Bonsai cost with invoicing?
Invoicing and online payments start on the Essentials plan: $25 per user a month billed monthly, or $19 per user a month billed annually. Basic ($15, or $9 annually) has CRM, projects and time tracking but no invoices. Prices are from Bonsai’s pricing page, checked on 4 October 2026.
Does Bonsai charge extra fees on payments?
Bonsai Payments charges 2.9% + $0.30 per card payment, 3.25% + $0.30 for Amex and 1% for ACH. Bonsai says that where Bonsai Payments is available, using Stripe or PayPal instead adds a 1% platform fee, and invoices in a currency other than your payout country’s carry a 2.5% foreign-exchange fee. Invollo takes no share of client payments.
Can Invollo replace Bonsai’s contracts?
Not fully. Invollo’s quotes are accepted online with a typed name and drawn signature, which suits scopes and prices, but Invollo has no contract template library. Bonsai offers contract templates it says are vetted by contract attorneys, plus proposals with packages and deposits.
Which one has a Windows time tracker?
Invollo has a desktop tracker for Windows 10 and 11 that takes periodic screenshots. Bonsai’s help centre lists apps for iPhone, Android and a Mac menu-bar time tracker, alongside the in-app timer.

Sources

Bonsai’s official pages, each checked on 4 October 2026. Plans and prices change; the vendor’s page is always the final word.

  1. Bonsai: Pricing (checked 4 October 2026)
  2. Bonsai Help: How our free trial works (checked 4 October 2026)
  3. Bonsai Help: What you can do on a free Limited subscription plan (checked 4 October 2026)
  4. Bonsai Help: How to invite team members to Bonsai (checked 4 October 2026)
  5. Bonsai Help: Understanding online payment methods and fees (checked 4 October 2026)
  6. Bonsai Help: The integrated payment methods supported by Bonsai (checked 4 October 2026)
  7. Bonsai Help: Subscription and recurring invoices (checked 4 October 2026)
  8. Bonsai Help: Automated reminders for invoices (checked 4 October 2026)
  9. Bonsai: Contracts (checked 4 October 2026)
  10. Bonsai: Proposals (checked 4 October 2026)
  11. Bonsai: Client portal (checked 4 October 2026)
  12. Bonsai: Time tracking (checked 4 October 2026)
  13. Bonsai Help: The Bonsai applications available on iPhone, Mac and Android (checked 4 October 2026)
  14. Bonsai Help: Supported currencies (checked 4 October 2026)
  15. Bonsai Help: White-labelling features (checked 4 October 2026)
  16. Bonsai: Bookkeeping (checked 4 October 2026)
  17. Invollo: pricing page and product documentation.

Try Invollo on the free plan

No credit card and no time limit. If it isn’t the right fit, export your data as CSV or JSON and move on.

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