Bonsai vs Elorus (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Elorus grades higher than Bonsai: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Bonsai grades higher on platforms. Elorus grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Bonsai
Client, project and billing software for agencies and freelancers
Elorus
Invoicing, time tracking and expenses in one cloud app
Which one is for you
Pick Bonsai if
- Fits if you're a freelancer who bills by the hour or on retainer
- Works for small studios that keep the ledger in QuickBooks Online or Xero anyway
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want proper books, as Bonsai isn't a full ledger
- Skip it if you only need invoicing on the cheapest plan, since Basic doesn't send invoices at all
- Pricey if your team grows, because every plan charges per user and Elite needs at least 3
- Tight if you want the QuickBooks, Xero or Zapier links, which start at Premium at $29 a user
- Watch out: the trial lasts 7 days and then needs a card, and online payments carry processing fees
Pick Elorus if
- Fits if you invoice up to 5 clients and want time tracking free
- Works for agencies that bill from tracked time
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you pass 5 active clients, because that is the end of the free plan
- Watch out: limits count clients invoiced in the past 365 days, 25 on Starter and 500 on Standard
- Watch out: the free plan allows 1 user, and extra users are $5 a month on yearly billing
- Skip it if you want a phone app, since none is listed
- Watch out: prices exclude VAT, and the site has a region selector that can show other prices
How we grade them
| 2.4GPABonsaiFair | 2.6GPAElorusGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CBasic is $9 a user a month billed yearly, but it can't send an invoice. Billing starts on Essentials at $19 a user yearly or $25 monthly, near this category's middle, and every extra person pays the same again. | BStarter is $7 a month on yearly billing, inside the category's cheapest quarter. Extra users are $5 a month each on top. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 7-day free trial with full access, and the card only comes in when it ends. A week is short for judging something you'd run your business on, and there's no free plan. | BA free plan with unlimited invoices for up to 5 active clients, 1 user and time tracking. One person with a few clients can live on that. |
| Features | CProposals, contracts, forms, scheduling, a CRM, projects, time tracking, invoices and expense tracking. But the listing says itself that it's not a full accounting ledger, and the QuickBooks and Xero links that fill the gap need Premium. | CInvoicing, quotes, time tracking, expenses, a client portal, stock and an API. It leans toward invoicing and projects, with no ledger described on the page. |
| Ease of use | C4.3 from 311 App Store ratings, just enough ratings to count. There's plenty to set up, too: clients, projects, proposal templates and a bank connection before it all hangs together. | CNo store rating on record, and you set up clients, products and payment connections first. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, iPhone, Android and a browser extension, with QuickBooks Online, Xero, Zapier, Calendly, Gmail and Slack, plus an MCP connection for AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT. | BWeb and a browser extension, with Stripe, Braintree, PayPal, Slack, Asana and Jira. No phone or desktop app listed. |
| Best for | freelancers who want proposal to invoice in one app | invoicing and time tracking in one place |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Bonsai and Elorus. How we grade
Price against what you get
Bonsai starts at $9 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Elorus starts at $7 a month and scores 2.3.
Bonsai scores higher, and starts $2 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 2 score higher than Bonsai for less, and 10 score higher than Elorus for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Bonsai also covers forms, reports and bookkeeping.
- Elorus also covers inventory and quotes and estimates.
At a glance
| Bonsai | Elorus | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9 per user / month, billed annually | $7 per month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | Unlimited invoices for up to 5 active clients, 1 warehouse, unlimited products and services, and time tracking. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial with full access, then a card is needed to continue | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Bonsai Technologies Inc. | Elorus |
| Price read from | hellobonsai.com | elorus.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Bonsai
- Basic has no invoices, payments or expense tracking; billing starts on Essentials at $19 per user a month, billed annually.
- It is not a full accounting ledger; the QuickBooks Online and Xero integrations that fill that gap need Premium.
- Every plan is priced per user, and Elite needs at least 3 users.
- Online payments carry processing fees that vary by method; the pricing page points to a help article for the figures.
Elorus
- Plan limits count active clients, meaning clients invoiced in the past 365 days: 5, 25 and 500 before unlimited.
- Prices exclude VAT; extra users cost $5 a month on annual billing and $6 billed monthly.
- The Free plan allows one user only.
- The site has a region selector (USA, UK, Greece, International); the page read here showed dollar prices.
Key features
Bonsai
- Proposals, contracts and forms
- Send proposals and contracts from templates, collect answers with forms and questionnaires, and book calls with scheduling links.
- Invoices and payments
- Unlimited, retainer and subscription invoices with time and expenses attached, online card and ACH payments, and billing in several currencies.
- Time tracking and timesheets
- Track billable and non-billable time on every plan, with timesheet reminders, and lock timesheets on Elite.
- Projects and resourcing
- Unlimited projects and tasks with kanban views, hourly or fixed-fee budgets, task estimates and workload planning on higher plans.
- Bookkeeping
- Connect a bank account to categorize expenses by client project, see revenue dashboards, and send invoice data to QuickBooks Online.
- Bonsai MCP
- Connect an AI assistant such as Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini to update clients, create projects or draft invoices in Bonsai.
Elorus
- Invoicing and quotes
- Invoices, credit notes, estimates and custom sales documents in many currencies, sent by email with attachments and templates.
- Time tracking
- A live tracker and weekly timesheets, with a Chrome and Firefox extension, and billing of tracked time and expenses to clients.
- Expenses and bills
- Supplier invoices, recurring expenses and bill payments, with expenses tied to projects for cost reporting.
- Client portal and payments
- Clients see invoices and project progress and pay online; the vendor says card payments via PayPal, Braintree and others carry no Elorus commission.
- Automation and API
- Recurring invoices and bills, payment reminders and and a developer API for connecting other systems.
- Stock and warehouses
- Unlimited products and services, delivery notes and internal transfers, with one warehouse on Free and Starter.
Plans
Bonsai
Basic$9
per user / month, billed annually
$15 billed monthly. Time tracking, tasks, unlimited projects and clients, a CRM and the mobile apps. No invoicing or payments.
Essentials$19
per user / month, billed annually
$25 billed monthly. Adds invoices and online payments, proposals, contracts, forms, scheduling, a client portal, and income and expense tracking.
Premium$29
per user / month, billed annually
$39 billed monthly. Adds project insights, workload, a deals pipeline, profit reports, no Bonsai branding, and QuickBooks, Xero and Zapier.
Elite$49
per user / month, billed annually
$59 billed monthly. Minimum of 3 users. Adds custom permissions, timesheet locking, markups on expenses and custom data import.
Elorus
Free$0
Up to 5 active clients and 1 user, with time tracking, 1 warehouse and customer support.
Starter$7
per month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly)
Up to 25 active clients and 1 warehouse. Extra users $5 a month on annual billing. Excludes VAT.
Standard$15
per month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly)
Up to 500 active clients and unlimited warehouses. Marked most popular. Extra users $5 a month annually.
Premium$30
per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly)
Unlimited clients and warehouses. Extra users $5 a month on annual billing, $6 billed monthly.
Ways to pay less
Bonsai
- Annual discount
Up to 4 months free with yearly billing
Yearly billing brings Basic from $15 to $9 per user a month, Essentials from $25 to $19, Premium from $39 to $29 and Elite from $59 to $49.
- Other savings
Reduced rate for teams of 30 or more users
The pricing page says a reduced rate is available for teams of 30 or more users, without giving the figure.
Elorus
- Annual discount
Yearly billing saves $24 to $108 a year
Elorus lists a saving of $24 a year on Starter, $48 on Standard and $108 on Premium when billed annually.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Bonsai or Elorus?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Bonsai starts at $9 per user / month, billed annually, and Elorus starts at $7 per month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Bonsai or Elorus?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Elorus has a free plan. Bonsai does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Bonsai and Elorus run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Bonsai lists macOS, iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app and a browser extension. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.