Frelvo vs Bonsai
Bonsai is the better bookkeeper. Frelvo is the better client experience, for less.
Last verified August 24, 2026. Pricing checked July 1, 2026 — confirm on Bonsai’s pricing page before deciding.
The short version
These two are less alike than the category suggests. Bonsai’s real strength is the money layer — expense tracking, profit and loss, quarterly tax estimates and connected banking — and Frelvo has none of that. Frelvo is stronger on the client-facing side and materially cheaper, especially since Bonsai moved to per-user pricing in 2026.
Where Bonsai wins
- Expense tracking, P&L reporting and quarterly tax estimates. This is a real moat and Frelvo does not compete with it at all.
- Connected banking, so income and expenses reconcile without manual entry.
- A mobile app.
- A custom-domain client portal.
Where Frelvo wins
- Price, particularly for solo freelancers — Bonsai’s 2026 move to per-user pricing was unpopular with exactly that group.
- A genuinely free plan.
- Contract smart-fields. Bonsai contracts lacking dynamic fields is a recurring complaint.
- Branding and portal customisation, which reviewers describe as clunky in Bonsai.
- Deeper AI assistance across drafting, summaries and pipeline insight.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Frelvo | Bonsai |
|---|---|---|
| Expense tracking and P&L | NoNot offered | YesA core strength |
| Quarterly tax estimates | No | YesTheir strongest differentiator |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Entry paid price | Yes$15/mo, flat | YesFrom $21/mo, per user as of 2026 |
| Contract smart-fields | Yes | NoA recurring user complaint |
| Branded client portal | YesWhite-label on every plan | PartialBasic; branding described as clunky |
| Available worldwide | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | No | Yes |
| AI assistance | YesDrafting, summaries and pipeline insights | PartialBasic |
| Custom domain portal | NoPlanned | Yes |
Common questions
- Does Frelvo do expense tracking or taxes?
- No. If quarterly tax estimates and profit-and-loss reporting are what you are shopping for, Bonsai is the better tool and we would rather say so. Some freelancers run Frelvo for the client-facing side and separate accounting software for the money side.
- Did Bonsai raise its prices?
- Bonsai moved to per-user pricing in 2026, which raised the effective cost for many users and was poorly received by solo freelancers in particular. Frelvo’s pricing is flat per account.
- Which has better contracts?
- Frelvo, on the specific point of dynamic smart-fields — Bonsai contracts lacking them is a long-standing complaint. Bonsai ships more ready-made templates; Frelvo gives you a builder and AI drafting instead.
Try Frelvo free — no card, no country gate
Three clients, five projects, invoicing, contracts and a white-label client portal on the free plan. Set up in about 15 minutes.