Bonsai lists four plans, Basic, Essentials, Premium and Elite, each priced per user per month. The lower figures need annual billing and the Monthly toggle shows higher ones, as of Nov 2026.
If you're a freelancer looking at Bonsai for proposals, contracts and invoices, start with one fact from the pricing page: none of those are on the entry plan. Everything else about Bonsai's tiers makes more sense once you know that.
What you'll miss on the entry plan
Basic covers time tracking, task management, unlimited projects and clients, a CRM, a service library and the iOS and Android app. It's a tidy plan for tracking work, but invoices and payments, proposals and contracts, and the client portal all start at Essentials, which the page shows at $19 /user/month billed annually. So the entry figure doesn't cover the core freelance workflow of quote, contract and invoice.
Two more details sit in the small print. Elite carries a 3 users minimum, so it's never a one-person plan. And every lower figure on the page needs annual billing: the Monthly toggle is $6 to $10 higher per user, depending on the plan.
The four Bonsai plans as listed
| Plan | Price as shown | Billing basis | Main limit | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $9 /user/month billed annually; $15 /user/month on the Monthly toggle | Yearly or Monthly | Unlimited projects, unlimited clients | Track time and manage your occasional projects |
| Essentials | $19 /user/month billed annually; $25 monthly | Yearly or Monthly | Everything in Basic plus | The essentials for an end-to-end client and project management |
| Premium | $29 /user/month billed annually; $39 monthly | Yearly or Monthly | Everything in Essentials plus; marked Most popular | Advanced client and project management with reporting |
| Elite | $49 /user/month billed annually; $59 monthly | Yearly or Monthly | 3 users minimum | Powerful team management and reporting features with onboarding |
All figures are per user per month, as of Nov 2026. The page names no add-ons, so what you see in the table is what each seat includes.
Across the four tiers: what each one adds
Essentials: the client paperwork
Essentials is where Bonsai becomes a client tool rather than a tracker. It adds invoices and payments, proposals and contracts, all templates, forms and questionnaires, scheduling, the client portal, and expense and income tracking. For a solo freelancer sending quotes and invoices, this is the first plan that covers the whole job.
Premium: reporting and your own brand
Premium adds project insights, workload management, a Gantt view, a deals pipeline, custom fields and properties, client tasks and messaging, and profit and productivity reports. It's also where you can remove Bonsai branding and where the named accounting, automation and calendar integrations start. The page marks it as the most popular plan.
Elite: team controls
Elite adds custom permissions, timesheet locking, markup on expenses and custom data import, with a 3 users minimum. It's built for small teams that need to control who sees what and lock hours once they're signed off.
Annual or monthly, and the trial
The page's Yearly toggle carries an 'Up to 4 months free' label, and that's where the lower figures come from. Switch to Monthly and each plan's figure rises, from $15 on Basic to $59 on Elite. If you'd rather not commit for a year, the monthly figures are the ones to plan around.
There's a free trial of 7 days of full, unlimited access. After that, a plan and a credit card are required, according to the page's FAQ. Every plan button reads Start for free, but there's no ongoing free plan.
If you're weighing Bonsai against other tools, our guides to Bonsai alternatives, proposal software and invoicing software for freelancers and small businesses cover the same jobs from other angles.
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My advice after reading Bonsai's plans
The page shows the tiers split by workflow, not by usage. Basic is time and task tracking; Essentials adds invoicing, proposals, contracts and the client portal; Premium adds reporting, branding removal and integrations; and Elite adds team controls with a 3 users minimum. Every figure is per user, and the lower figures assume annual billing.
So the first question isn't which plan sounds right. It's which jobs you need Bonsai to do. If invoices and contracts are on that list, Basic won't do them, and that's the line the page draws most clearly.
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Frequently asked questions
Does Bonsai have a free plan?
No ongoing free plan is shown. As listed on the page as of Nov 2026, there's a free trial of 7 days of full, unlimited access, then a plan and credit card are required.
Which Bonsai plan includes invoicing and contracts?
Invoices and payments, proposals and contracts, and the client portal start at Essentials, not Basic.
How much is Bonsai Essentials?
The page shows $19 /user/month billed annually; $25 monthly, as of Nov 2026.
Is there a minimum number of users on Bonsai?
Elite carries a 3 users minimum. The other plans are priced per user with no minimum stated.
Which Bonsai plan removes the branding?
Removing Bonsai branding starts at Premium, along with the named integrations.
