Bonsai vs QuickBooks Online
We give Bonsai and QuickBooks Online the same GPA: 2.4 out of 4.0. Bonsai grades higher on platforms. QuickBooks Online grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan 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
QuickBooks Online
Cloud accounting from Intuit, from a free plan to 25-user Advanced
How we grade them
| 2.4GPABonsaiFair | 2.4GPAQuickBooks OnlineFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CSimple Start is $38 a month for 1 user, above the dearer quarter of accounting tools at $31.10 but short of the dearest tenth at $49. Three users is $85, and inventory and budgets need Plus at $140. The 50% off lasts only 3 months. |
| 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. | CThere's a free plan, but it's 2 invoices a month, 3 reports and 1 bank account, with no accountant access or mobile app. You'll hit that fast. Paid plans have a 30-day trial instead of the discount. |
| 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. | BBank feeds that learn your categories, invoices and payments, bill pay by ACH, reports, budgets, project profit, inventory, classes, AI that reconciles and flags oddities, and payroll as an add-on. That's the whole job. |
| 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. Its bank feeds learn how you categorize and copy you, which helps, but there are accounts to connect and reports to learn before it runs itself. |
| 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, iPhone and Android, with PayPal, Square, Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Gusto and QuickBooks Time. No desktop app is listed, and the free plan gets no mobile app or third-party apps. |
| Best for | freelancers who want proposal to invoice in one app | US businesses that share the books with an accountant |
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 QuickBooks Online. 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. QuickBooks Online starts at $38 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Bonsai starts $29 a month lower. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Bonsai for less, and 5 score higher than QuickBooks Online 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 starts at $9 per user / month, billed annually. QuickBooks Online starts at $38 per month, billed monthly.
- QuickBooks Online has a free plan. Bonsai does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Bonsai lists a macOS app.
- Only Bonsai lists a browser extension.
- Bonsai also covers time tracking and forms.
- QuickBooks Online also covers payroll.
At a glance
| Bonsai | QuickBooks Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9 per user / month, billed annually | $38 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | 1 user, income and expense tracking, 2 invoices a month, 3 reports and 1 connected bank. No accountant access, mobile app or third-party apps. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial with full access, then a card is needed to continue | 30-day free trial on paid plans, taken instead of the 3-month discount |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Bonsai Technologies Inc. | Intuit Inc. |
| Price read from | hellobonsai.com | quickbooks.intuit.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Bonsai
- Freelancers and small agencies that bill clients by the hour or by retainer
- Studios that want proposals, contracts, projects and invoices in one app
- Teams that keep their ledger in QuickBooks Online or Xero
QuickBooks Online
- US small businesses that want their accountant working in the same books
- Businesses that expect to add payroll, inventory or project tracking later
- Sole traders who only need to track income and send a few invoices
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.
QuickBooks Online
- The advertised prices are a 50% discount for the first 3 months; the plan then renews at $38, $85, $140 or $340 a month.
- Each plan caps users: 1 on Simple Start, 3 on Essentials, 5 on Plus and 25 on Advanced.
- Payroll costs extra: Workforce Payroll alone is $50 a month plus $7 per employee, and Premium is $88 plus $13 per employee.
- These are US prices and plans; Intuit runs separate country sites for Canada, the UK, Australia, India and others.
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.
QuickBooks Online
- Bank feeds and automatic categorizing
- Connect bank and card accounts and QuickBooks learns how you categorize transactions, then matches and records new ones the same way.
- Invoices and online payments
- Send invoices and estimates, take card and bank payments through QuickBooks Payments, and get status updates and reminders.
- Bills and accounts payable
- Organize and pay bills by ACH from paid plans. Standard ACH payments beyond the monthly allotment cost $0.50 each.
- Reports, budgets and projects
- Profit and loss and sales reports on every paid plan. Budgets, project profitability, inventory and class tracking start on Plus.
- Intuit Intelligence
- AI tools that categorize expenses, reconcile books and flag anomalies, with more of them unlocked on Plus and Advanced.
- Payroll through QuickBooks Workforce
- A separate subscription that runs full-service payroll, files payroll taxes and e-files 1099s, added from the same checkout.
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.
QuickBooks Online
Free$0
1 user, 2 invoices a month, profit and loss, balance sheet and account quick report, and 1 connected bank account.
Simple Start$38
per month for 1 user, billed monthly
Advertised at $19 a month for the first 3 months. Automated bookkeeping, invoicing with online payments, bill pay and access for 2 accountants.
Essentials$85
per month for up to 3 users, billed monthly
Advertised at $42.50 a month for the first 3 months. Adds enhanced reports, employee time on invoices and web lead forms.
Plus$140
per month for up to 5 users, billed monthly
Advertised at $70 a month for the first 3 months. Adds budgets, project profitability, inventory and up to 40 classes and locations.
Advanced$340
per month for up to 25 users, billed monthly
Advertised at $170 a month for the first 3 months. Adds custom roles, workflow automation, Excel sync, batch invoices and priority support.
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.
QuickBooks Online
- Other savings
50% off the first 3 months
New customers on a monthly plan pay half the base price for the first 3 months, then the regular price. It does not apply to per-employee fees.
