Bonsai (Hello Bonsai) is an all-in-one business management platform for freelancers, consultants, and small agencies. Founded in 2016 in San Francisco, it combines proposals, contracts, invoicing, time tracking, project management, expense tracking, and a client portal in a single product. The platform serves over 500,000 freelancers and small businesses across design, development, consulting, marketing, and other service categories.
In December 2025, Zoom acquired Bonsai, raising questions about the product’s independent roadmap and long-term direction under enterprise communications company ownership. Bonsai continues to operate as a standalone product for now.
Bonsai restructured to per-user pricing across four tiers. Basic at $15/user/month (annual: $9/user/month) covers time tracking, task management, unlimited projects, and CRM tools, but notably excludes invoicing, contracts, and the client portal. Essentials at $25/user/month (annual: $19/user/month) adds proposals, contracts, scheduling, invoices, client portal, and expense tracking — this is the minimum useful tier for most freelancers. Premium at $39/user/month (annual: $29/user/month) adds white-label branding, advanced reporting, Kanban boards, workload management, and Gantt timelines. Elite at $59/user/month (annual: $49/user/month, with 3-user minimum) adds custom permissions, timesheet locking, and Xero integration for larger agencies.
The shift to per-user pricing has been a source of criticism, as it makes team plans significantly more expensive than when Bonsai was flat-rate. A 5-person team on Premium costs $195/month (monthly) or $145/month (annual) — which many find expensive compared to per-business competitors like Dubsado.
The platform charges Stripe-based payment processing fees on transactions. An optional Bonsai Tax add-on for expense tracking and tax preparation costs $100/year extra.