Two names keep coming up when freelancers go looking for a business platform: Dubsado and Bonsai. Both handle contracts, invoices, and client management. But they approach the problem from opposite directions.
Dubsado is a workflow engine. You build custom automations, design your own forms, and wire everything together the way you want. Bonsai is a ready-made toolkit. You pick a template, fill in the blanks, and get moving. The right choice depends on how much control you need, and how much setup time you are willing to spend.
Quick Overview
Dubsado launched in 2016 and built a loyal following with photographers, event planners, and service providers who need repeatable client workflows. It gives you deep customization over forms, proposals, and automations. The tradeoff: it takes real time to set up properly.
Bonsai started as a contract and invoice tool for freelancers and has expanded into proposals, time tracking, accounting, and tax prep. It is faster to get started with, thanks to pre-built templates. More recently, Bonsai has been shifting its focus toward agencies and teams.
Proposals and Contracts
Bonsai gives you a library of contract and proposal templates. You select one, customize the details, and send it. For freelancers who want something professional without writing legal language from scratch, this works well. The templates cover common industries and are reasonably solid for US-based work.
Dubsado takes a different approach. Instead of templates, you build proposals inside its form editor. You can design branded, multi-page proposals with embedded pricing tables, questionnaires, and contract signing all in one flow. The result can look more polished and more personal, but it takes significantly more effort to create.
If you need contracts that match a specific workflow, like a photographer who sends a questionnaire, then a proposal, then a contract, all triggered automatically, Dubsado is the stronger pick. If you want to send a clean contract in five minutes, Bonsai gets you there faster.
For a deeper look at what your contracts should actually include, see our guide on freelance contract essentials.
Invoicing
Both platforms handle invoicing, but the experience differs.
Bonsai's invoicing is straightforward and well-designed. You create an invoice, attach it to a project, and send it. Clients get a clean payment page. Bonsai also connects invoicing to its accounting and tax features at higher tiers, which is a genuine advantage if you want everything in one place.
Dubsado's invoicing is more flexible but less polished out of the box. You can build invoices into automated workflows, so a final invoice is sent automatically when a project wraps up. It supports both Stripe and Square for payment processing. But the invoice design tools feel older compared to Bonsai's interface.
For most freelancers, Bonsai's invoicing is the smoother experience. Dubsado's invoicing is better if you want invoices to fire as part of a larger automation chain. Either way, if you are looking for tips on getting paid faster, check out our guide on how to invoice clients as a freelancer.
Client Experience
How your clients interact with your tools matters. A confusing portal reflects poorly on you.
Bonsai offers a basic client portal where clients can view contracts, invoices, and project details. It works, but it is minimal. Clients can sign documents and make payments, which covers the essentials. There is not much room for collaboration or real-time updates.
Dubsado handles the client experience through custom forms and client portals built into workflows. You can create branded questionnaires, onboarding sequences, and scheduling pages that feel like your own website. The downside is that all of this needs to be set up manually. If you skip the setup, your clients see a generic experience.
Dubsado has the higher ceiling here, but only if you put in the work to build it out. Bonsai gives you a decent default without the effort.
Automation
This is where Dubsado pulls ahead clearly.
Dubsado's workflow builder lets you create multi-step automations triggered by client actions. When a client fills out an inquiry form, you can automatically send a proposal, wait for approval, trigger a contract, send a welcome email, create a project, and schedule a follow-up. All without touching anything.
Bonsai has some automation features, like recurring invoices and automatic payment reminders, but nothing close to the workflow builder Dubsado offers. Bonsai's automations are more like convenience features than a true automation engine.
If your business runs on repeatable processes and you serve a high volume of similar clients, Dubsado's automation alone might justify the switch. If you handle a few clients at a time and each project is different, Bonsai's simpler approach may be all you need.
Pricing
Both platforms use tiered pricing, but the ranges differ.
Dubsado offers two plans:
- Starter: $24/month (core features, limited automations)
- Premier: $44/month (full workflow builder, unlimited everything)
Bonsai has three tiers:
- Starter: $24/month (basics: contracts, invoices, proposals)
- Professional: $39/month (adds workflow automations, client portal, integrations)
- Business: $79/month (adds subcontracting, accountant access, team features)
At the entry level, they cost the same. But Dubsado's $44/month Premier plan gives you the full platform, while Bonsai's comparable features sit at the $39-79/month range. Bonsai's higher tiers are geared toward agencies and teams, which may not be relevant if you are a solo freelancer.
For solo freelancers on a budget, Dubsado's Premier plan at $44/month is the better value for what you get. Bonsai's $24/month Starter plan is fine if you only need basic contracts and invoices.
Learning Curve
This is Dubsado's biggest weakness.
Setting up Dubsado properly takes hours. The workflow builder is powerful, but the interface is not intuitive. Most users watch tutorial videos or hire a Dubsado setup specialist (yes, that is a real job title) to get their account configured. Once it is running, it saves enormous amounts of time. But getting there is a real investment.
Bonsai is the opposite. You can sign up, create a contract from a template, send an invoice, and be done in under an hour. The interface is modern and things are where you expect them to be. The tradeoff is that you hit the ceiling of what Bonsai can do much sooner.
If you are just starting out or want to get operational quickly, Bonsai wins. If you are willing to spend a weekend setting things up and want a system that runs itself afterward, Dubsado pays off over time.
Who Should Pick Which
Choose Dubsado if:
- You serve a high volume of similar clients (photographers, event planners, consultants with repeatable processes)
- You want deep automation that handles your entire client lifecycle
- You are willing to invest time upfront for long-term efficiency
- Custom branding across every client touchpoint matters to you
Choose Bonsai if:
- You want to get started quickly without a setup phase
- You need basic contracts, invoices, and proposals in one place
- Tax and accounting features in the same tool appeal to you
- You are a solo freelancer who does not need complex automations
A Third Option Worth Considering
Both Dubsado and Bonsai require you to set up templates, build workflows, or manually create documents before you can use them. TAV works differently. It auto-generates contracts, invoices, and proposals from the work you actually log, so there is no template setup or document creation step. You get a live client portal where clients see real-time project progress, and the platform works natively in both the US and the EU with region-appropriate contracts and tax handling. If the setup overhead of Dubsado or the limitations of Bonsai bother you, TAV is worth a look.