Compare / Bonsai
Raoura vs Bonsai
Bonsai advertises plans from $9 a month, but the plan that can actually bill a client starts at $19, removing Bonsai's branding starts at $29, and connecting your own Stripe adds 1% to every payment. Raoura is $17 with all of that included. Here is the full math, including the places Bonsai has more product than we do.
Disclosure. Raoura is our product. Read this the way you would read any vendor grading itself, and check Bonsai's own pricing page rather than trusting either of us. Bonsai's prices here were last checked in November 2026.
Side by side
| Raoura | Bonsai | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $17 a month, one plan | Basic $15, Essentials $25, Premium $39, Elite $59 per user a month; $9, $19, $29 and $49 on annual billing; Elite needs 3 users |
| Plan you actually need | The only one | Essentials. Invoicing, proposals, contracts and the client portal start there |
| Fees on payments | Stripe's own rate, nothing added | Bonsai Payments at 2.9% + 30c; your own Stripe or PayPal adds a 1% platform fee on every payment |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card, nothing to cancel | 7 days; a card is requested and the paid plan starts on day 8 unless you cancel |
| Remove vendor branding | Included, with your own domain | Premium, $39 a month or $29 annual |
| Retainers | Monthly or quarterly, sent automatically, optional autopay on the client's saved card through your own Stripe | Retainer and subscription invoices from Essentials |
| Projects | Milestones the client approves and pays one at a time, deliverables that unlock on payment | Tasks, Gantt and workload views on higher tiers |
| Time tracking | A timer in the app; unbilled hours become an invoice in one step | From Basic |
| Expenses and reports | Expenses with receipts, profit view, expected cash, a Tax Season Pack for your accountant | Expense tracking from Essentials |
| Productized services | Fixed packages clients buy from a branded page: one-time, deposit or monthly | Not a Bonsai feature |
| Scheduling | Links out to your existing scheduler | Built in |
| Team seats | None | Per-user pricing on every plan |
| Ownership | Independent | Zoom, since December 2025 |
A year of each
Bonsai plan priced: Essentials, the cheapest plan that can send an invoice.
Raoura
$204
The only plan, any billing
Bonsai, billed monthly
$300
Twelve monthly payments
Bonsai, billed annually
$228
Paid up front
Add 1% of everything you collect through your own Stripe. Removing Bonsai's branding needs Premium at $468 or $348 a year.
Where Bonsai is better
We would rather you hear this from us than discover it after switching.
Teams
Bonsai is priced per user because it supports users. A subcontractor who needs a login, or a two-person studio, is covered by Bonsai and not by Raoura.
Templates
Bonsai's library of proposals, contracts and forms is one of the largest in the category. Raoura ships templates plus an AI draft and lets you import your own documents, but it does not match a library built over a decade.
Scheduling and pipelines
Bonsai books meetings and tracks leads through stages inside the same tool. Raoura captures leads with a form and links out to the scheduler you already pay for.
Maturity
Bonsai has handled more currencies, more edge cases and more tax situations than a tool that launched in 2026.
Where Raoura is better
No platform fee
Bonsai adds 1% on every payment that goes through your own Stripe or PayPal. On $60,000 a year that is $600, for using a payment account you already own. Raoura's price is $204 at any revenue.
White label on the only plan
Bonsai's branding stays on your client portal until Premium, at $468 a year on monthly billing. Raoura's portal carries your logo, colors and domain at $17.
A trial with no card
Fourteen days, nothing on file, nothing to cancel. Bonsai's trial is seven days and the paid plan begins on day eight unless you stop it.
Packages clients can just buy
A service catalog with fixed-price packages, a storefront link and order forms that collect the brief at checkout. Bonsai does not have this.
Independent
Bonsai has belonged to Zoom since December 2025. That may turn out fine. Raoura answers to its customers and nobody else.
Who should pick which
Pick Bonsai if
- You need more than one seat
- You want scheduling and a lead pipeline inside the same tool
- You rely on a big template library and do not mind which tier a feature lives on
- You use Bonsai Payments, so the 1% platform fee never applies to you
Pick Raoura if
- You work alone and expect to keep it that way
- You bill retainers, milestones or hours and want all three on one plan
- You keep your own Stripe account and refuse to pay a percentage to the tool that sends the invoice
- You want a trial with no card and a price that does not change when you add a feature
Questions
Can the $9 Bonsai plan send an invoice?
No. Basic, at $9 annual or $15 monthly, excludes invoicing, payments, proposals, contracts, forms and the client portal. The cheapest Bonsai that can bill a client is Essentials at $19 annual or $25 monthly per user.
Does Bonsai charge a fee on payments?
If you connect your own Stripe or PayPal, Bonsai adds a 1% platform fee on every payment on top of the processor's rate, per its fee schedule. Bonsai Payments has no platform fee but is available in four countries. Raoura adds nothing to Stripe's rate.
Does Raoura have time tracking like Bonsai?
Yes. There is a timer in the app, rates that fall back from the client to your default, and tracked time turns into an itemised invoice in one step.
Is Raoura cheaper than Bonsai for one person?
Yes. Raoura is $204 a year. Bonsai Essentials is $228 on annual billing or $300 monthly, plus 1% of what you collect through your own Stripe, and removing Bonsai's branding needs Premium at $348 or more.
The long version
Try it on your next real proposal
Fourteen days, no card, nothing to cancel. Send one proposal, take one deposit into your own Stripe account, and decide with a real client instead of a feature table. $17 a month after that, flat.