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Hourbun vs Bonsai

Looking for a Bonsai alternative with no platform fee on your payments? Hourbun tracks time and sends invoices that clients pay into your own Stripe account, for one flat price per workspace.

By Fred Wu, maker of Hourbun · Checked · Report a mistake

The short answer

Hourbun gives freelancers and small teams time tracking and invoicing for one flat price, with no fee of its own on online payments. Bonsai charges per user, puts invoices on its Essentials plan, and adds a 1% platform fee on Stripe or PayPal payments where Bonsai Payments is available. Bonsai fits people who want a CRM, proposals and contracts in the same app.

Why switch

Why teams pick Hourbun over Bonsai

  • One flat price: a team of 5 pays $99 a month on Hourbun and $125 on Bonsai Essentials, and a team of 10 pays $99 against $250.
  • No app fee on online payments: Bonsai adds a 1% platform fee on Stripe or PayPal where Bonsai Payments is available, and 2.5% on international payments.
  • The weekly timesheet grid, CSV reports, and cost rates and profit on every plan: Bonsai has timesheets and reports from its Premium plan.
  • A Xero sync of issued invoices and their payments on every plan: Bonsai has Xero from its Premium plan.
  • Expenses with receipts, billed with a markup, on every plan: Bonsai has a markup on expenses from its Elite plan, which charges at least 3 users.
  • A 14-day trial with no card: the 7-day trial of Bonsai needs a card to start.

Head to head

At a glance

Hourbun and Bonsai at a glance
Hourbun Bonsai
Duo, a month $15 (lower price) Duo $50 Essentials
Free plan None None
Free trial 14 days, with no card 7 days with full access; a card is needed to start
Client invoices Yes Yes
Online payment Yes By card or bank debit, into your own Stripe account Yes By card or bank transfer through Bonsai Payments or Stripe, or by PayPal
Desktop or mobile apps No A web app with a layout for phones Yes iPhone and Android apps, and a time tracker in the Mac menu bar

Same work, two prices

What you'd pay each month

Hourbun costs less in 5 of 5 examples below.

Hourbun

  • One flat price per workspace
  • Duo up to 2 seats · Team up to 30
  • 14-day free trial, no card

Bonsai

  • A price per user on four plans, with no free plan
  • A lower price when billed yearly
  • Invoices start on Essentials
  • Elite charges at least 3 users
What each example pays a month, billed monthly
Hourbun Bonsai
Solo freelancer 1 person · 5 clients $15 (lower price) Duo Save $10 a month $25 Essentials $19 billed yearly
Duo 2 people · 8 clients $15 (lower price) Duo Save $35 a month $50 Essentials $38 billed yearly
Small studio 5 people · 15 clients $99 (lower price) Team Save $26 a month $125 Essentials $95 billed yearly
Agency 10 people · 30 clients $99 (lower price) Team Save $151 a month $250 Essentials $190 billed yearly
Larger team 25 people · 60 clients $99 (lower price) Team Save $526 a month $625 Essentials $475 billed yearly
  • USD list prices, billed monthly
  • Before tax and payment fees
  • Highlight = lower price
  • Checked 10 November 2026
Pricing details (6)
  • Time tracking, tasks, projects and the CRM, with no invoices
  • Bonsai Payments (US, UK, Canada and Australia): cards 2.9% + $0.30, American Express 3.25% + $0.30, ACH bank transfer 1% ($1 minimum).
  • Where Bonsai Payments is available, a payment through Stripe or PayPal has an extra platform fee of 1% (1.35% for American Express on Stripe).
  • An international payment through Bonsai Payments or Stripe has a 2.5% foreign exchange fee.
  • A cancelled subscription moves the account to a free Limited plan: projects, tasks and time tracking, but no new invoices or client documents.
  • The usage of each example: Solo freelancer: 1 person · 5 clients · 6 projects · 5 tasks · 6 invoices and $7.5k invoiced a month. Duo: 2 people · 8 clients · 10 projects · 8 tasks · 10 invoices and $16k invoiced a month. Small studio: 5 people · 15 clients · 20 projects · 10 tasks · 20 invoices and $40k invoiced a month. Agency: 10 people · 30 clients · 40 projects · 15 tasks · 40 invoices and $90k invoiced a month. Larger team: 25 people · 60 clients · 80 projects · 20 tasks · 80 invoices and $220k invoiced a month.

Feature by feature

Features

  • Yes
  • Partly
  • No
  • Only the rows that we could check on a page of Bonsai
The features of Hourbun and Bonsai
Hourbun Bonsai
Time tracking
Timer Yes Yes
Weekly timesheet grid Yes Higher plan Timesheets, from the Premium plan
Billable and non-billable time Yes Yes
Hourly rates by client, project, task and person Yes Partly By person and by project, and on each time entry
Desktop or mobile apps No A web app with a layout for phones Yes iPhone and Android apps, and a time tracker in the Mac menu bar
Invoicing and payments
Invoices from tracked time Yes Yes
Invoice lines of your own (a fixed fee, a product) Yes Yes
Recurring invoices Yes Yes
Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online Yes Yes Proposals that a client accepts online
Deposit invoices Yes Partly A deposit with a proposal, through Bonsai Payments only
Expenses with receipts, billed with a markup Yes Higher plan A markup on expenses from the Elite plan
A currency for each client or project Yes Yes A currency on each invoice
Exchange rates between currencies No Partly Income totals converted to USD in bookkeeping
Email reminders of late invoices Yes Yes
Online payment of an invoice Yes By card or bank debit, into your own Stripe account Yes By card or bank transfer through Bonsai Payments or Stripe, or by PayPal
No fee of the app on online payments Yes Only the fees of Stripe No A 1% platform fee on Stripe or PayPal where Bonsai Payments is available, and a 2.5% fee on international payments
Projects and reports
Project budgets in hours or money Yes Yes
Fixed-fee projects Yes Yes
Cost rates and profit Yes For admins and the owner Higher plan Cost rates from Essentials; profitability reports from the Premium plan
Reports with a CSV export Yes Higher plan Reports from the Premium plan
Weekly capacity of each teammate Yes Yes
Team
Team roles Yes Member, manager, admin and owner Yes Owner, partner, project manager and collaborator; custom permission profiles on some plans
Integrations and data
Accounting sync Partly Xero, one way: issued invoices and credit notes, and their payments if you choose Higher plan Xero, from the Premium plan
QuickBooks No Higher plan QuickBooks, from the Premium plan
A public API No Yes
Import from any app by CSV, with past invoices and expenses Yes Time, clients and projects too; a format guide with a prompt for an AI agent Partly Clients, time entries, expenses and paid invoices
Data export and account deletion Yes A whole workspace as CSV files with receipts, for the owner and admins; your account as JSON Partly The permanent deletion of all data only through support

Which one fits

Hourbun or Bonsai?

Choose Hourbun if

  • You want one flat price per workspace as your team grows.
  • You want online payments into your own Stripe account, with no fee of the app.
  • You want timesheets, CSV reports, profit and Xero without a higher plan.
  • You want to try the app for 14 days without a card.

Where Bonsai is better

  • Proposals and contracts that clients accept or sign online, forms, scheduling and a client portal, from the Essentials plan.
  • A CRM on every plan, project tools with Kanban and Gantt views, and subscription invoices that charge the saved card of a client.
  • Apps for iPhone and Android, a time tracker in the Mac menu bar, QuickBooks from the Premium plan, and a public API.

Switching

Switch from Bonsai to Hourbun

Hourbun imports a CSV of time entries from any app, and Bonsai exports your tracked time as a CSV file. Upload it, check the columns and the people that Hourbun proposes, and see a preview of the clients, projects, tasks and time before anything is added. Your clients, projects, expenses and past invoices can come too: give the Hourbun format guide and your Bonsai exports to an AI agent, and upload the files that it makes. The 14-day trial of Hourbun needs no card.

Questions

Questions and answers

Is Hourbun cheaper than Bonsai?

In every example on this page, yes: a solo freelancer pays $15 a month on Hourbun and $25 on Bonsai Essentials, the first Bonsai plan with invoices, and a team of 10 pays $99 against $250.

Does Bonsai add a fee to online payments?

Hourbun adds no fee: clients pay into your own Stripe account, and only the fees of Stripe apply. Bonsai charges processing fees on payments through Bonsai Payments, adds a 1% platform fee when you use Stripe or PayPal in a country where Bonsai Payments is available, and adds a 2.5% fee on international payments.

Does Bonsai have a free plan?

Hourbun has a 14-day trial with no card. Bonsai has no free plan to start on: it has a 7-day trial that asks for a card, and a cancelled account moves to a free Limited plan where you cannot create or send new invoices.

Can I invoice tracked time in Bonsai and in Hourbun?

Yes. Hourbun makes invoices from tracked time on every plan. Bonsai adds unbilled billable time to an invoice from its Essentials plan; its Basic plan tracks time but has no invoices.

Can I move from Bonsai to Hourbun?

Yes. Bonsai exports your tracked time as a CSV file, and Hourbun imports it with its clients, projects, tasks and people, after a preview. Your Bonsai invoices and expenses can come too, in files of the Hourbun format guide that an AI agent can make from your exports.

Sources

  • From the pages of Bonsai, unless a source says otherwise
  • A feature that we could not check has no row
  • Prices change: check the pricing page of Bonsai
All sources (25)

Bonsai is a trademark of Bonsai Technologies Inc, a Zoom company, and Hourbun is not affiliated with it.

Try Hourbun for free.

14 days, no card. Add a client, track your first hour, and send the invoice.