Comparison
Bonsai alternative: Scopivo for solo freelancers.
Both tools cover the solo freelancer workflow. The differences come down to your first year cost, whether vendor branding shows up on client documents, and how much accounting you want bundled into the tool.
Free for your first year. No credit card to start. Your own Stripe, zero branding on client documents.
The cost math (solo freelancer)
Both tools price differently across tiers. Below is what a single freelancer actually pays per year at each tool's no-branding and at-its-cheapest tier, on annual billing.
Year 1 cost
Scopivo
$0
Free for 365 days from signup
Bonsai
$108 - $588
7-day trial, then full price (Basic to Elite)
Year 2+ cost (cheapest)
Scopivo
$190/yr
Pro annual (saves 17% vs $228 monthly)
Bonsai
$108/yr
Bonsai Basic (with Bonsai branding on docs)
Year 2+ without vendor branding
Scopivo
$190/yr
Branding never appears on any plan
Bonsai
$348/yr
Premium tier required
Bonsai pricing verified at hellobonsai.com/pricing on 2026-05-10. Scopivo Pro: $19/mo or $190/yr annual.
Side-by-side
| Capability | Scopivo | Bonsai |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Free for a full year | 7-day trial, card required after |
| Solo monthly cost (annual billing) | $0 year 1, then $19/mo (or $190/yr saves 17%) | Basic $9/mo, Essentials $19/mo, Premium $29/mo, Elite $49/mo |
| Vendor branding on client documents | Your brand only on PDFs + portal, on any plan | Premium tier and up removes Bonsai branding ($29/mo) |
| Solo annual cost without branding | $0 year 1, then $190/yr | $348/yr (Premium) |
| Multi-user support | Single user today; multi-user on roadmap | Yes; charges per user on every tier |
| Audience focus | Solo freelancers and small studios | Broad: freelancers, agencies, consultancies |
| Payment processor | Stripe Connect, your own account, no platform fee | Bonsai Payments, your Stripe (+1% fee), or PayPal |
| Mobile apps | Web-first, mobile-optimized | iOS + Android (all tiers); macOS on Premium |
| Bookkeeping / accounting tools | Focused on the client-work workflow | Built-in expense tracking + QuickBooks/Xero on Elite |
Where Scopivo wins
A full free year, not a seven-day trial
Bonsai's trial is seven days, then a credit card is required. Scopivo's Free plan runs for 365 days from signup with no card. That is a full year of real client work before you pay anything, long enough to actually decide whether the tool fits your practice.
Your brand on every proposal, contract, and invoice
Scopivo never puts its name on a proposal, contract, invoice, or the client portal, on any plan, including Free. Bonsai puts “Powered by Bonsai” on client-facing forms on Basic and Essentials, and only removes it once you upgrade to Premium ($29/mo solo annual) or Elite ($49/mo solo annual). For solos who want a branding-free document experience, Scopivo Pro ($190/yr) is $158 less per year than Bonsai Premium ($348/yr). Outbound emails from Scopivo do carry a small “via Scopivo” attribution for deliverability, the same way every transactional-email platform does.
Your Stripe, no platform fee
Scopivo uses Stripe Connect: clients pay your Stripe account directly, you pay Stripe's standard 2.9% + 30¢, and Scopivo never sits in the payment path. Bonsai lets you use your own Stripe too, but adds a 1% platform fee on top whenever you do, their default is Bonsai Payments (their own processor). On a $5,000 invoice that's an extra $50 to Bonsai.
Built for the workflow, not the bookkeeping
Scopivo focuses on proposals, contracts, invoicing, and time tracking. Bonsai bundles expense tracking, banking, and QuickBooks/Xero sync on top, which is genuinely convenient if you want it all in one tool but slower to set up and harder to learn if you only need the client-work workflow.
Where Bonsai wins
Honest comparison means naming where Bonsai is the better fit. If any of these matter to you, stay on Bonsai.
Bookkeeping and accounting integrations
Bonsai bundles expense tracking on every tier and adds QuickBooks Online and Xero sync on Elite. If you actively use those, the all-in-one is genuinely convenient. Scopivo doesn't replace your accounting tool.
Native desktop apps
Bonsai ships macOS and Chrome apps on Premium and above. Scopivo is web-first; we will ship native apps when Pro revenue justifies the build. If you prefer working in a dedicated app over a browser tab, Bonsai is more comfortable today.
Cheapest tier is cheaper than Scopivo's year-two cost
Bonsai Basic at $9/user/mo annual ($108/year) is cheaper than Scopivo Pro at $190/year (annual). If you don't mind “Powered by Bonsai” on your client documents and you want the absolute lowest sticker price, Bonsai Basic wins on year two and beyond. Scopivo's free first year makes up the difference twice over in year one, then Bonsai pulls ahead from year two if branding doesn't matter to you.
Multi-user accounts are available today
Bonsai supports adding teammates on every tier (with per-user pricing). Scopivo is single-user today; multi-user is on our roadmap but not shipped. If you need shared logins for a co-founder, virtual assistant, or contractor right now, Bonsai has the feature today.
Migration playbook (two weeks)
Migration fatigue is the single biggest reason freelancers stay on a tool they have outgrown. Here's the sequence we recommend.
- 1
Export your data from Bonsai
From Bonsai's settings, export your contacts, projects, and invoices as CSV. Bonsai keeps the data accessible during your active subscription, so export early in the month rather than the last day.
- 2
Set up Scopivo in parallel
Sign up for the free year. Connect your own Stripe account so payments route directly to you (you're likely already on Stripe through Bonsai's setup, so it's the same account). Upload your logo and pick a brand color.
- 3
Run two weeks of overlap
Finish in-flight projects in Bonsai. Send new proposals through Scopivo. The two-week overlap is the safety margin that prevents mid-project context switches your clients would notice.
- 4
Cancel Bonsai when next month's renewal would hit
Bonsai's billing is per-user × tier. If you cancel before the renewal date, you stop the next charge cleanly. Confirm in your billing settings that no future charges remain pending.
FAQ
- I'm a solo freelancer. Is Scopivo actually cheaper than Bonsai?
- Year one: yes, Scopivo is free vs $108-$588 on Bonsai. Year two onward depends on which Bonsai tier you'd be on. Scopivo Pro is $190/yr (annual). Bonsai Basic is $108/yr (cheapest), Essentials $228/yr, Premium $348/yr, Elite $588/yr. If 'Powered by Bonsai' on your client documents is fine and you only need basic features, Bonsai Basic is the cheaper long-term option. If you want branding-free documents (Bonsai Premium tier), Scopivo Pro saves you $158/yr from year two onward.
- Does Bonsai really put their branding on my proposals?
- On Basic and Essentials tiers, yes. Bonsai's pricing page lists 'Remove Bonsai branding' as a Premium-tier ($29/mo solo annual) feature. To send branding-free client documents on Bonsai you have to be on Premium or Elite. Scopivo never adds any vendor branding, on any plan.
- What about Bonsai's expense tracking and tax features?
- That's the one place Bonsai has more breadth. Scopivo focuses on the workflow side (proposals, contracts, invoices, time). If you actively use Bonsai's expense tracking or its QuickBooks/Xero sync (Elite tier), you'd lose those on Scopivo. Many solo freelancers use a separate accounting tool (Wave, QuickBooks Self-Employed) and don't touch Bonsai's accounting features, in which case the loss is theoretical.
- Does Scopivo support multi-user accounts?
- Not today. Scopivo is currently single-user per account; multi-user with shared logins is on our roadmap but not shipped. If you need to add a co-founder, virtual assistant, or contractor to your account right now, Bonsai supports that (with per-user pricing). We'd rather tell you up front than have you sign up and run into the wall.
- Will my clients notice the switch from Bonsai?
- Only if you tell them. Proposals, contracts, and invoices come from your domain in their inbox. The client portal lives at your Scopivo subdomain. The 'Powered by Bonsai' line at the bottom of client-facing forms (if you were on Basic/Essentials) is replaced by nothing at all.
- What happens at the end of my Scopivo free year?
- You can upgrade to Pro at $19/mo to keep going. The current behavior past day 365 is that the account keeps working with a warning banner; we may add restrictions in the future with at least 14 days' notice. Your data stays yours either way; one-click CSV export from Settings.
Ready to try Scopivo?
Free for your first year. No credit card. Your own Stripe, your own branding. The flat price stays flat the day you hire.