Bonsai alternative
A simpler Bonsai alternative for teams
Bonsai is business management for agencies and consultancies: CRM, proposals and contracts, projects, time tracking and invoicing. Hourtick focuses on the core: a Mac menu bar timer, tasks, timesheets, approvals and billable reports. Free for your whole team.
- Free for your whole team, forever
- No credit card
- Every feature included
- Team of 10
- $90–$150
- $0 a month
- Free plan
- No free plan on the pricing page
- Unlimited people, every feature
Bonsai prices from their pricing page, checked September 2026. Hourtick is free for unlimited people with 500 MB of usage a month.
The real product
What you get instead of Bonsai
The whole app, free for your whole team: timer, timesheet, tasks, chat and reports.
Why teams look for a Bonsai alternative
- Invoicing needs Essentials and profitability reports need Premium
- Priced per user, and the higher tiers add up quickly
- Lots of client-admin features if you mainly need tasks and time
Where Bonsai shines
- Proposals, contracts and invoicing with online payments
- CRM and a client portal
- Projects, time and profitability reports together
Where Hourtick is different
Bonsai bundles proposals, contracts and invoicing on paid plans. Hourtick has no proposals or contracts; it gives the team tasks, chat and accurate billable time with approvals and invoiced-time locking, free for everyone, and sends invoices for that time through your own Stripe account with 0 % Hourtick fee, instead of a higher plan.
Try Hourtick next to Bonsai
Sign up free, add a project and run the timer for a day. Nothing to cancel.
- Free for your whole team, forever
- No credit card
- Every feature included
Hourtick vs Bonsai at a glance
| Criteria | Hourtick | Bonsai |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free for unlimited people with 500 MB of usage a month. $29/month for 5 GB. Every feature on both plans, no per-seat fees. | Basic $9, Essentials $19, Premium $29, Elite $49 per user/month billed yearly ($15 / $25 / $39 / $59 monthly). Invoicing starts on Essentials; timesheet locking is on Elite, with a 3-user minimum. |
| Team of 10, per month | $0 on Free · $29 on Pro (5 GB) | $90–$150 (Basic, time tracking) · $190–$250 (Essentials, invoicing) |
| Free plan | Unlimited people, every feature, 500 MB of usage a month | No free plan on the pricing page |
| Task board and list | Board and list, assignees, chat, files, checklists. Every plan | Yes (tasks, lists, dependencies and templates) |
| Built-in timer | Mac menu bar and web, offline. Every plan | Yes, on every plan |
| Timesheet approvals | Included | See their site |
| Mac menu bar timer | Native menu bar timer with live time | See their site |
| Screenshots / activity monitoring | None — no screenshots or activity tracking | See their site |
| Best for | Teams that want tasks and time tracking together, simple enough to use every day, free for everyone. | Agencies and consultancies that want proposals, contracts and invoicing next to their projects. |
Bonsai pricing from their pricing page, checked September 2026.
Bonsai pricing in 2026
| Plan | Per person/month, billed yearly | Billed monthly | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $9 | $15 | Time tracking, tasks, unlimited projects and clients, CRM |
| Essentials | $19 | $25 | Invoices and payments, proposals and contracts, client portal, expenses |
| Premium | $29 | $39 | Workload, Gantt, profit and productivity reports, integrations |
| Elite | $49 | $59 | Timesheet locking, custom permissions, Xero. Minimum 3 users |
- Teams of 30 or more users can get a reduced rate.
- A team of 10, per month: $90–$150 (Basic, time tracking) · $190–$250 (Essentials, invoicing).
- Hourtick: Free for unlimited people with 500 MB of usage a month. $29/month for 5 GB. Every feature on both plans, no per-seat fees.
From Bonsai's pricing page, checked September 29, 2026. Prices change; check theirs before you buy.
The board you'd move to
Hourtick's real Tasks page: drag cards, open a task, add files, link tasks and mention them in chat, with a timer on every card.
Drag a card between To do, In progress, In review and Done. The timer and the hours stay on the card.
Switching in an afternoon
- 1
Sign up free and add your clients and projects (task types are created for you).
- 2
Mark which task types are billable and set project rates and budgets.
- 3
Invite the team with a link. There is no per-seat price to approve.
- 4
Install the Mac menu bar app and track your first hour.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hourtick cheaper than Bonsai?
For a team of 10, Bonsai lists $90–$150 (Basic, time tracking) · $190–$250 (Essentials, invoicing) per month on the relevant plan (September 2026). Hourtick is free for unlimited people with 500 MB of usage a month, or $29/month for 5 GB.
How much does Bonsai cost?
Basic $9, Essentials $19, Premium $29, Elite $49 per user/month billed yearly ($15 / $25 / $39 / $59 monthly). Invoicing starts on Essentials; timesheet locking is on Elite, with a 3-user minimum. (Bonsai's pricing page, September 2026.)
Can I import my Bonsai data?
There's no one-click import yet. Most teams recreate clients and projects in a few minutes (an admin's AI assistant can do it over Hourtick's MCP server), start tracking from a clean date, and keep Bonsai's exports as the record of past hours.
When should I stay with Bonsai?
If you rely on proposals, contracts and invoicing with online payments, Bonsai may still be the better fit.
Keep comparing
Track your first hour in a minute.
Free for your whole team, forever. Every feature included.