The best CRM for freelancers who want client records, proposals, time tracking and invoices in one place is Workspace369. Moxie costs less, Bonsai suits hourly billing, HoneyBook suits creative booking and HubSpot Free CRM covers a plain pipeline. We compared published plans, gates and trial terms on October 29, 2026. Before you pay anyone, run your last job through our free trial checklist.
What a CRM for freelancers is (and is not)
A CRM for freelancers is the place where each client’s messages, agreement, work and invoice stay together, so the next action is visible without opening five tabs. It is not a full accounting package, a team project suite or an email-marketing platform, though some of these tools include light versions of those jobs.
You do not need one just because you freelance. If a calendar and a spreadsheet keep a short client list on track, keep them. Consider a switch when inquiries sink into email, invoices depend on memory or the same details get copied between tools. Our consultant CRM guide covers the retained-work version of this decision.
How we compared these tools
We compared five tools by reading their own published pages. Each criterion below was checked on the date shown, for one person on the monthly plan.
- Price of the plan that covers the workflow. The lowest plan that includes client records, proposals, invoicing and time tracking, in US dollars billed monthly, with the yearly rate noted. Workspace369, Moxie, Bonsai and HoneyBook were read on 2026-10-29.
- Plan gates. Which tier unlocks the client portal, automations, texting, invoicing and online booking, read from each vendor’s plan table.
- Seats. Included users on the entry plan and what each extra user costs.
- Trial terms. How long each free trial runs, as stated on the vendor’s page.
- Workflow coverage. Whether the plan pages list inquiry, agreement, delivery, billing and follow-up, or only some of them.
What we did not test. We did not sign up for, time or load-test any of these tools, and we did not measure speed, mobile apps, support quality or data export. We have no customer ratings to report. Rankings are an editorial judgment from published plans, and vendors change plans without notice. Check the sources at the end before you buy.
The best CRM for freelancers in 2026
The order follows documented fit for a freelancer who sells services and wants one place for the client, the agreement, the work and the invoice. It is not a ranking by price.
1. Workspace369, best for freelancers who want conversations, delivery and billing in one place
Our #1 pick is Workspace369. Its pricing page lists a client portal, proposals, invoices, recurring invoices, retainers, time tracking and Requests on every plan, starting with Cadet at $29 a month ($23.25 a month billed yearly). Cadet also includes an email inbox, calendar and a connection to Claude and ChatGPT. Voyager, $74 for two seats, adds a shared inbox and two-way texting beside the client record.
The case for ranking it first is that fit, not price. Moxie Starter is cheaper, but a branded client portal sits behind Moxie Pro at $25. Workspace369 puts the portal on the entry plan and gives you a clear path from solo to a small team.
Cadet has limits to plan around: one seat and up to 3 active email workflows. Texting starts on Voyager, and client self-booking pages start on Specialist at $149 a month for 10 seats. Extra seats are $10 a month from Voyager. Cadet through Commander start with a 14-day free trial (card required).
Best for: freelancers who want one client record from first message to paid invoice, and may add a second person. Workspace369 pricing
2. Moxie, best for a tight solo budget
Moxie is the cheapest paid way here to cover a freelancer’s basics. Starter is $12 a month ($10 billed yearly) and its page lists client management, projects, invoicing and payments, proposals and contracts, time tracking, a sales pipeline, basic accounting, forms and a meeting scheduler. Pro, $25 a month ($20 yearly), adds the white-labeled client portal, client request management, workflow automation, a phone line for US, Canada and the UK, and Zapier, Make and webhook integrations. Teams is $40 a month and allows up to five team members.
Starter also lists a universal calendar and inbox. The page we read advertises a 14-day free trial, and the plan table is short enough to compare in a few minutes.
The limits are that the client portal and automations need Pro, so the real price for a portal is $25, not $12. Teams stops at five members, so a larger studio means a different product.
Best for: solo freelancers who want proposals, invoices and hours for the lowest monthly price. Moxie pricing
3. Bonsai, best for hourly work and per-person billing
Bonsai is worth a trial when time entries drive your invoices. Basic is $15 per user a month ($9 billed yearly) and covers time tracking, tasks and a CRM. Essentials, $25 ($19 yearly), adds invoices, payments, proposals, contracts, forms, scheduling, the client portal and expenses. Premium, $39, adds project insights, a Gantt view and a deals pipeline. Our Bonsai review goes through those tiers in more detail.
For a solo freelancer the fair comparison is Essentials at $25, not Basic, because Basic has no invoices, contracts or portal. That puts Bonsai at $25 a month against $29 for Workspace369 Cadet, which also includes an inbox and projects.
Pricing is per user, so a second person doubles the bill, and the page lists no free tier. The trial is 7 days, the shortest here, so plan your test before you start it.
Best for: freelancers who bill by the hour and want time entries to flow into invoices. Bonsai pricing
4. HoneyBook, best for a polished creative booking flow
HoneyBook is built around presenting services to clients: its template gallery bundles services, scheduling, invoices and online payments, a questionnaire, ready-to-use copy and a contract, with categories for consultants, events, creatives and marketers. Starter is $36 a month ($29 billed yearly). Essentials, $59 ($49 yearly), adds automations, an unlimited scheduler, SMS reminders and up to two team members.
Starter is the tighter plan: two live lead forms, one scheduler session type and email-only reminders. If a repeatable automated sequence after booking is the point, price Essentials rather than assuming the entry plan covers it. HoneyBook’s own FAQ describes a 30-day free trial. Our HoneyBook review covers the decision.
It is the costliest entry plan in this comparison, so a freelancer billing by the hour should price Bonsai or Workspace369 alongside it.
Best for: creative freelancers selling packages with a repeatable onboarding process. HoneyBook pricing
5. HubSpot Free CRM, best for tracking a pipeline at no cost
HubSpot Free CRM is $0 for two users and 1,000 contacts, per its page on October 29, 2026, and the free tier has no stated expiry. Its page lists deal tracking, tasks and activities, and a CRM import from another tool. Read our HubSpot Free CRM review before you commit.
The page does not mention invoicing, time tracking or a client portal, so delivery and billing would stay in other tools. That can be fine if your invoicing already works and follow-up is your only gap. The HubSpot alternatives guide covers what to do when you outgrow that.
Best for: freelancers whose only need is a contact and deal list, with delivery and billing handled elsewhere. HubSpot Free CRM
Side-by-side comparison
Prices are US dollars for one person on monthly billing, from vendor pages read on 2026-10-29 (Workspace369, Moxie, Bonsai, HubSpot and HoneyBook).
| Tool | Entry plan for the full workflow | Best for | Key gate | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workspace369 | Cadet $29 (1 seat); Voyager $74 (2 seats) | Conversations, delivery and billing in one place | Texting and shared inbox start on Voyager | Cadet: 1 seat, 3 active workflows |
| Moxie | Starter $12; Pro $25 | A tight solo budget | Client portal and automations start on Pro | Teams caps at five members |
| Bonsai | Essentials $25 per user | Hourly billing | Invoices, proposals and portal start on Essentials | Per-user pricing; 7-day trial |
| HoneyBook | Starter $36; Essentials $59 | Creative booking | Automations and SMS reminders start on Essentials | Highest entry price here |
| HubSpot Free CRM | $0 (2 users, 1,000 contacts) | A free pipeline | Paid tiers are priced separately | Page mentions no invoicing or time tracking |
Connecting Claude or ChatGPT to these tools
MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is a connector that lets an AI app you already use, such as Claude or ChatGPT, read and change your CRM account when you ask. For a freelancer, the useful requests are the admin ones, such as “which invoices are still unpaid this month?” or “log two hours to the Rivera project and draft the invoice”. We read four of the five vendors’ own MCP documentation on November 1, 2026; Bonsai’s was blocked by a bot check. It doesn’t change the order above.
The step that matters most is what the AI can send to a client, because a sent invoice or message can’t be taken back.
| Tool | AI apps named in its docs | Plan that includes it, per its docs | What reaches a client, per its docs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workspace369 | Claude, ChatGPT and other MCP apps | Every plan, Cadet included | Sends wait for your approval in the app, by default |
| Moxie | Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and other compatible apps | Pro and Teams, as a beta | Some externally visible actions need an explicit confirmation |
| Bonsai | Not read: its help centre returned a bot check (HTTP 403) on November 1, 2026 | Not read | Not read |
| HoneyBook | Claude and ChatGPT | Not stated | The assistant should check with you before changing anything a client will see |
| HubSpot | Its own connectors in Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Gemini | Not stated on the page we read | Not stated |
- Workspace369: per its MCP tools reference, an AI can draft proposals and invoices, record payments, log time and schedule follow-ups. Per the sends and approval docs, sending an invoice, a proposal or a message to a client waits until you approve it in the Workspace369 app, and “the AI app cannot approve its own request”. “Send without asking” is a per-connection setting, and it is off by default.
- Moxie: its MCP server is a beta for active Pro and Teams workspaces, so the $12 Starter plan above isn’t among them. When you connect, you set each area to no access, read only, or read and write, and the AI never goes beyond the connected user’s own role.
- Bonsai: we requested its MCP help article on November 1, 2026, and got a bot check with HTTP 403 both times, so we have no answer for it either way.
- HoneyBook: its connector works in Claude and ChatGPT. Its docs say changes have “no preview and no undo”, and that a file a client has seen can’t be pulled back.
- HubSpot: its remote MCP server powers HubSpot’s own AI connectors for Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Gemini, which read, write and update records. The page we read doesn’t say which plans include it.
For what an AI can do with each job, see our guides to AI and proposals and invoices and AI and client follow-up. Our census of which CRMs have an MCP server lists every vendor we read.
Which CRM fits your use case
| If you are… | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A solo freelancer who wants the lowest bill | Moxie Starter, $12 | Invoices, proposals and time tracking on the entry plan |
| A freelancer who wants inbox, portal and billing together | Workspace369 Cadet, $29 | Portal and billing on every plan, with texting from Voyager |
| A freelancer billing by the hour | Bonsai Essentials, $25 | Time entries lead into invoices; portal included |
| A photographer or designer selling packages | HoneyBook Starter or Essentials | Templates and a booking flow built for creative services |
| Someone who only needs follow-up on leads | HubSpot Free CRM, $0 | Contacts and deals at no cost; invoice elsewhere |
| Planning to add a second person soon | Workspace369 Voyager, $74 | Two seats and a shared inbox; extra seats $10 a month |
Frequently asked questions
What is the best CRM for freelancers in 2026?
For freelancers who want client records, time tracking and invoices together, our pick is Workspace369. If budget decides it, Moxie Starter at $12 a month is cheaper, and HubSpot Free CRM costs nothing for a basic pipeline.
Do freelancers need a CRM?
No. A short, predictable client list can run on a calendar and a spreadsheet. A CRM earns its place when follow-ups slip, project status is unclear or details are copied between tools.
What is the cheapest CRM for freelancers?
HubSpot Free CRM is $0 for two users. Among paid plans here, Moxie Starter is the lowest at $12 a month ($10 billed yearly), and it includes invoicing, proposals and time tracking.
Which CRM is best for hourly billing?
Bonsai fits hourly billing, and its Essentials plan at $25 per user adds invoices. Workspace369 and Moxie also list time tracking, so test how an entry becomes a line on an invoice in each.
How long are the free trials?
Workspace369 and Moxie list 14 days, and Bonsai lists 7 days. HoneyBook’s own FAQ describes 30 days. HubSpot Free CRM has no trial because the free tier has no stated expiry.
Can I use a free CRM instead of a paid one?
Yes, if you only need to track contacts and deals. HubSpot Free CRM does that for two users, but you would keep invoicing and time tracking in other tools.
How do I test a CRM before I pay?
Run your last completed job through it, from inquiry to invoice, and see whether you can find the agreed scope without opening your old files. Our free trial checklist lists the steps.
Can I connect Claude or ChatGPT to my freelance CRM?
In Workspace369, Moxie, HoneyBook and HubSpot, yes: each documents a way to connect AI apps. Workspace369 includes it on every plan and holds client sends for your approval by default, while Moxie’s is a beta on Pro and Teams. Bonsai’s help page was blocked when we checked, so we can’t say.
Next step: test one real project
If the Workspace369 plans fit your work, you can start the 14-day free trial and run your last job through it. Whichever tool you pick, test it on one real client first.
