Bonsai vs Moxie vs 17hats vs Plutio (2026): Which One Fits?

Pick by how you bill and who helps you deliver. Our pick is Workspace369, which we make, for keeping agreements, delivery and billing connected. Among the four, Bonsai fits hourly work, Moxie the smallest solo budget, Plutio projects with many collaborators, and 17hats one bundled admin workflow at a flat price.

Prices and plan details were checked on each vendor’s own pricing page on October 5, 2026, in US dollars. This is an editorial assessment of published plans, not a hands-on test, and the ranking reflects our judgment about running client work.

Jump to the price table, team costs, the trial checklist or the FAQ.

Bonsai vs Moxie vs 17hats vs Plutio: prices compared

These four use four different pricing models. Bonsai charges per user, Moxie and Plutio charge per plan with different team allowances, and 17hats sells one bundled plan.

Sources, all checked October 5, 2026: Workspace369, Bonsai, Moxie, 17hats, Plutio.

Two notes on reading these pages. 17hats advertised 50% off the first year for buying without the trial; the discount covers the first year only, so budget on the standard $60, $600 or $800. And Plutio’s pricing page includes its own breakdowns of rivals’ prices that did not match those vendors’ pages when we checked (its Bonsai section lists plans Bonsai doesn’t sell), so use each vendor’s own page.

What does each tool cost for a team of five?

Headline prices hide the seat math. Here is the same five-person team, billed monthly:

Same sources, checked October 5, 2026.

Moxie and Plutio are clearly the cheapest ways to give five people access, and that is a real advantage. Workspace369 costs more than both at this size. What Voyager adds to the portal, proposals and invoices every plan includes is a shared inbox with SMS texting in one client thread, time tracking that flows into invoices, and Requests. Bonsai is the most expensive here because every seat is billed. Compare the plan that covers your whole client routine, not just the login count.

For one person the order changes: Moxie Starter is $12, Plutio Core $19, Bonsai Essentials $25, Workspace369 Cadet $29 and 17hats $60.

Which one should you pick?

1. Workspace369: our pick for connected client work

Our pick is Workspace369, which we make. It fits freelancers who want the agreement, the delivery work and the bill in one place. Evaluate Cadet ($29, one seat) if you work alone on fixed fees or retainers. Every plan includes proposals with themes, invoices, the client portal, payment schedules, retainers with auto-invoice and a service catalog that shows each service’s cost and gross margin. Move to Voyager ($74, two seats) for time tracking and texting. See Workspace369 for freelance businesses.

2. Bonsai: hourly freelance work

Bonsai fits people whose main question is how tracked hours become an invoice. Evaluate Essentials at $25 per user a month, which adds invoices, proposals, contracts, scheduling and the client portal to Basic’s time tracking. Tradeoff: automations, QuickBooks and profitability reports need Premium at $39 per user, and every teammate is another seat. Our Bonsai review has the full plan breakdown.

3. Moxie: lean freelance operations

Moxie is the budget pick. Starter, $12 a month, already includes client management, projects, proposals and contracts, invoicing, time tracking and meeting schedulers. Pro, $25, adds a white-labeled client portal, workflow automations, a phone line (US, Canada, UK), QuickBooks and unlimited project collaborators, which makes it one of the cheapest ways to get automation. Tradeoff: full team members need Teams, $40 for up to five.

4. 17hats: one bundled business workflow

17hats sells one all-inclusive plan at $60 a month. Its feature grid covers quotes, contracts, invoices, questionnaires, workflows, lead capture forms and online scheduling. It suits an owner who wants one consistent admin process rather than choosing a plan per feature. Tradeoff: the grid still has three columns and lists some items as paid modules, such as time tracking at $5 a month, so confirm what your plan includes before you commit.

5. Plutio: project collaboration

Plutio puts the same core features on every plan, including projects, invoices, proposals, contracts, time tracking, scheduling, forms and a client portal, and charges for scale. Pro, $49 a month, includes 30 contributors and unlimited active clients. Tradeoff: Core ($19) caps you at nine active clients with no contributors, and AI credits and workflow actions are metered by plan (900 workflow actions on Core, 5,500 on Pro).

Bonsai vs Moxie: which is better for hourly freelancers?

Both track time on their entry plans. The difference is where billing starts. Moxie Starter includes invoicing at $12, while Bonsai’s Basic plan has no invoices, so an hourly freelancer needs Essentials at $25. Moxie is also cheaper for automation: Pro at $25 includes workflow automations and QuickBooks, which on Bonsai require Premium at $39 per user.

Bonsai’s case is depth for teams that report on time. Premium adds timesheets, timesheet reminders, profitability and utilization reports and a workload view, and Elite adds timesheet locking. If you manage other people’s hours, those matter. If you only bill your own, Moxie covers the basics for less.

17hats vs Plutio: which handles project work better?

Plutio is built around projects and collaborators. Kanban boards, lists, calendars and Gantt charts are on every plan, and Pro includes 30 contributors. If a client approves a quote and then asks who is doing what, Plutio Pro gives a small team room to work for $49 a month.

17hats leans toward client administration: contacts, projects that hold documents and phone logs, and to-dos and workflows that repeat for every client. Its grid lists unlimited contacts and projects. It is the better fit when the work is a repeatable sequence of documents and reminders. In either tool, test one project with the collaborator role you would really use. Can that person find their next task without reading your private client messages?

How to test them with one real client

Bonsai, 17hats and Plutio offer seven-day trials, and Moxie advertises 14 days, so plan the test before you start:

1. Pick one representative client. Choose your most common service, not your simplest.
2. Send the agreement. Build the proposal or quote and approve it from a client inbox.
3. Deliver one piece of work. Add a task, invite the collaborator role you would really use, and check what they can see.
4. Bill it the way you charge. Hourly: timer to invoice. Fixed fee: a payment schedule. Retainer: a recurring invoice.
5. Open the client view on a phone. Find the invoice and the next step without help.
6. Price the year. Add up seats, contributors and paid modules for monthly and yearly billing.
7. Note what the trial relied on. Anything on a higher plan belongs in your budget.

When to compare Workspace369

Compare Workspace369 when your problem continues after the proposal: the client texts a question, the work needs tracking, and the next invoice depends on both. For freelancers, the relevant plan gates are:

• Every plan: proposals, invoices, the client portal, retainers with auto-invoice, a service catalog with cost and gross margin, email workflows (up to three active on Cadet), and two-way Google Calendar sync: events assigned to you go to the Google calendar you choose, and your Google events show in Workspace369.
• Voyager ($74, two seats): time tracking from timer to invoice, a shared inbox with SMS texting in one client thread with an AI summary, Requests (a lead form whose submissions become clients), and up to 10 workflows with SMS steps.
• Specialist ($149, ten seats): client self-booking pages and deposits paid when a proposal is accepted.

Every plan has a 14-day free trial, and extra seats are $10 a month from Voyager. See freelance business software from Workspace369 and the plan comparison. For more options, our freelancer CRM guide and HoneyBook alternatives cover the wider field.

Frequently asked questions

Is Moxie cheaper than Bonsai?

Yes, for most setups. Moxie Starter is $12 a month and Pro $25, while Bonsai charges $25 per user for Essentials and $39 per user for Premium, all billed monthly and checked October 5, 2026. For five people, Moxie Teams is $40 a month against $125 for five Bonsai Essentials seats. Moxie pricing, Bonsai pricing

Which is cheapest: Bonsai, Moxie, 17hats or Plutio?

For one freelancer, Moxie Starter at $12 a month is the lowest standard price, followed by Plutio Core at $19, Bonsai Essentials at $25 and 17hats at $60. For a team of five, Moxie Teams ($40) and Plutio Pro ($49) are the cheapest. All prices are billed monthly and were checked on each vendor’s pricing page on October 5, 2026.

How much does 17hats cost?

17hats lists one all-inclusive plan at $60 a month, $600 a year or $800 for two years, in US dollars. When we checked on October 5, 2026, it also advertised 50% off the first year for buying without the trial, so budget on the standard price. Its feature grid lists additional users at $5 a month. 17hats pricing

How many users does Plutio include?

Plutio Core ($19 a month) is designed for solo work, with no contributors and up to nine active clients. Pro ($49) includes 30 contributors and unlimited active clients, with more contributors available for a fee. Max ($199) includes unlimited contributors. Plutio pricing

What is the best all-in-one software for freelancers?

Our pick is Workspace369, which we make, because proposals, invoices, the client portal and retainers are on every plan, and time tracking and texting join on Voyager. Among the four compared here, Moxie is strongest on a small budget, Bonsai for hourly billing, Plutio for collaborators and 17hats for a flat bundled plan. Workspace369 pricing