Handl vs Bonsai: Project Billing vs Freelancer Toolkit
Teams vs Solo
Bonsai has built a loyal following among solo freelancers by bundling the business tools they need into one platform: contracts, proposals, invoicing, time tracking, accounting, and tax preparation. It is genuinely well-designed for the solo freelancer workflow.
Handl is built for a different use case: project-based agencies and freelancers who work in teams, manage milestones, deal with scope changes, and need automated payment collection. It goes deep on billing automation rather than trying to cover the full freelancer business stack.
The core question: are you a solo freelancer who needs everything in one place, or a project-based team that needs billing to work properly?
How they stack up
An honest look at where each tool wins.
| Feature | Handl | Bonsai |
|---|---|---|
| Milestone-based billing | ✅ | ❌ |
| Automated payment reminders (AI) | ✅ | ⚠️ Basic scheduled |
| Client portal | ✅ | ⚠️ Limited |
| Change order management | ✅ | ❌ |
| PM tool integrations | ✅ | ❌ |
| Contract templates | ⚠️ Basic | ✅ Extensive library |
| Tax preparation | ❌ | ✅ US tax prep + 1099 |
| Built-in accounting | ❌ (syncs to Xero/MYOB) | ✅ |
| Starting price | $29/mo flat | Free / $21/user/mo |
| Per-seat pricing | ❌ Flat rate | ✅ Per user |
See the difference for yourself
Try Handl free for 14 days — no credit card, no commitment.
Simple pricing vs. per-seat costs
One flat price for your whole team, or pay more for every person who touches an invoice.
- Starter: basic invoicing
- Professional: + proposals
- Business: + subcontractors
- Built-in contracts
- Tax prep + accounting
- Time tracking included
What are our strengths?
Both tools do some things really well. Here's where each one shines.
- Milestone billing. Tie invoices to project deliverables. Bonsai has standard line-item invoicing only.
- AI-driven payment reminders. Intelligent, automatic follow-ups that adapt to client behaviour. Bonsai has basic scheduled reminders.
- Change order management. Track scope changes with client approval and automatic billing. Bonsai has no scope management.
- PM tool integrations. Connect Jira, Asana, Monday, ClickUp directly. Bonsai has no external PM integrations.
- Flat pricing. $29/month for unlimited users. A 5-person team on Bonsai Professional costs $160/month.
- Revenue forecasting. Pipeline visibility based on milestones and project health. Bonsai shows basic financial reports only.
- Project health scoring. AI flags at-risk projects before budget overruns. Bonsai has no project analytics.
- Built for teams. Multi-user collaboration, shared client views, and team billing workflows. Bonsai is designed primarily for solo operators.
- Contract template library. Hundreds of legally-reviewed contract templates for different industries and project types. Genuinely comprehensive.
- Tax preparation. Quarterly tax estimates, 1099 tracking, and tax-ready reports. Rare feature in this category and genuinely useful for US freelancers.
- Built-in accounting. Profit and loss, expense categorisation, and financial reporting without needing a separate accounting tool.
- Free plan. Limited but functional free tier for freelancers just starting out.
- Proposal builder. Clean, professional proposals with e-signatures and client approval tracking.
- Time tracking. Built-in timers with project and task attribution for hourly billing.
- Expense tracking. Receipt capture, automatic categorisation, and project-linked expenses.
- Solo freelancer focus. Every feature is designed for the individual freelancer workflow. The UX is optimised for one-person businesses.
When to choose each tool
Choose the right tool based on how your agency bills and what problems you're solving.
When to choose
Handl
Choose Handl if you work in a team or if your projects have milestones, phases, and scope changes. Bonsai was built for solo freelancers — the moment you add team members, the per-user pricing works against you and the collaboration features thin out.
Handl also makes more sense if billing is your primary pain. If chasing payments, managing scope creep, and connecting billing to your PM workflow are the problems eating your time, Handl solves those specifically. Bonsai's invoicing is adequate for simple billing but lacks the automation and intelligence Handl provides.
And for agencies on Xero or MYOB, Handl's native accounting integration means your books stay clean without manual work. Bonsai's accounting is built-in but does not sync with external accounting platforms well.
When to choose
Bonsai
Bonsai is the right choice if you are a solo freelancer in the US who wants everything in one place. The combination of contracts, proposals, invoicing, accounting, AND tax preparation is genuinely unique — no other platform covers all of those for solo operators.
It is also the better fit if contracts and proposals are your primary workflow. Bonsai's template library is extensive and legally reviewed. If you send a lot of contracts and proposals and want a polished, professional experience, Bonsai handles that well.
And if you are a US-based freelancer who dreads tax season, Bonsai's tax preparation features — quarterly estimates, 1099 tracking, tax-ready categorisation — are genuinely valuable. Having your invoicing and tax prep in the same tool saves significant headaches come April.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Handl and Bonsai together?
There is no direct integration. If you use Bonsai for contracts and tax prep, you would use Handl separately for billing. Most agencies find it cleaner to use Handl for billing and Xero/MYOB for accounting.
Is Bonsai good for agencies?
Bonsai is designed primarily for solo freelancers. The per-user pricing ($21-52/user/month) makes it expensive for teams, and it lacks milestone billing and PM integrations that agencies need.
Does Bonsai have milestone billing?
No. Bonsai has standard invoicing with optional payment schedules. You cannot tie an invoice to a project deliverable or trigger billing when a phase is completed.
Which is cheaper for a team of 5?
Handl at $29/month flat. Bonsai Professional at $32/user would be $160/month for 5 users — over 5x more expensive.
Does Bonsai work outside the US?
Bonsai works globally for invoicing and contracts, but the tax preparation features are US-specific. International freelancers miss out on one of Bonsai's strongest features.
Ready to Stop Chasing Payments?
.webp)