An all-in-one toolkit for freelancers and small agencies: contracts, proposals, invoicing, time tracking, CRM, and more under one per-user subscription.
Bonsai is a broad freelancer toolkit packaged under per-user pricing. Helm is a platform for services businesses priced per workspace, with autonomous AI agents as a first-class primitive. Pick Bonsai if you want a low-starting-cost tool for solo work and small projects; pick Helm if you're scaling a team and want AI running recurring operational work.
Last reviewed: April 18, 2026
Pricing, scope, and what you actually get on day one.
| Helm | Bonsai | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per-workspace | Per-user/month |
| Starting paid price | $49/mo per workspace | $9/user/mo (Basic, annual) |
| Free tier | No | No (7-day trial) |
| Team scale sweet spot | 1-50 services team | Solo / 1-5 freelancer or small team |
| AI approach | Autonomous agents that execute | Assistive AI (drafts, summaries) |
| Elite tier minimum | No seat minimums | Elite tier requires 3-user minimum |
Capability-by-capability breakdown. We describe what's in the product, not what's on a roadmap slide.
| Feature | Helm | Bonsai |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per workspace | Per user/month |
| CRM / accounts | Native, full relationship view | Native |
| Project management | Kanban, list, calendar with dependencies | Project/task list (basic PM) |
| Time tracking | Native, rolls into invoices | Native |
| Invoicing / payments | Native (Stripe) | Native (Stripe, PayPal) |
| Estimates / proposals | Native | Native |
| Contracts / e-sign | Via Composio on Pro+ | Native |
| Rich documents | Native (TipTap) | Limited (notes) |
| Forms / intake | Native | Native (basic) |
| Workflow automation | Native + agents as steps | Limited workflow automation |
| Autonomous AI agents | Pre-built roles that execute | Assistive AI only |
| External integrations | 300+ via Composio | ~30 native |
Both tools have real use cases. Here's when each one wins.
What moves cleanly, how to do it, and the places you'll want to plan ahead.
Clients, projects, invoices, and time entries can be exported from Bonsai and imported via CSV into Helm.
Export clients and projects from Bonsai. Import contacts and projects into Helm. Rebuild proposal templates. Reconnect payment processor (Stripe).
Bonsai-specific features (tax estimation, business banking) don't have a direct Helm equivalent. Most users keep those capabilities in their existing banking/accounting stack.
The questions we hear most from teams evaluating both platforms.
Yes. Bonsai Basic at $9/user/mo is cheaper than Helm Starter at $49/mo. For solo freelancers who just need contracts and invoicing, Bonsai is the better economic choice. Helm's value shows up when you're running a team or want AI agents.
No. Helm is focused on the operational layer of services businesses (CRM, projects, billing, AI). For tax estimation, self-employment tooling, or business banking, keep those in your existing stack (or in Bonsai, if you're using it).
Via Composio integrations (DocuSign, HelloSign) on Pro and Business plans. Not as tightly packaged as Bonsai's native contract flow. For contract-heavy freelancers, this is a real tradeoff.
Helm has no seat minimums. A 2-person team can use Helm on Starter; a 15-person team can use Helm on Pro at a flat price. Bonsai Elite's 3-seat minimum makes team-scale pricing less flexible.
Per-workspace pricing. All 12 apps. AI agents that execute the work.