Bonsai vs SmartSuite Comparison
Compare Bonsai vs SmartSuite features, pricing, and more.
Last updated: November 2026
Bonsai
5.2/10
All-in-one client work platform for agencies, consultancies and freelancers that combines projects, time tracking, CRM, proposals, contracts and invoicing.
SmartSuite
7.3/10
SmartSuite is a no-code work management platform that teams use to build project, process and operations solutions with views, automations and AI agents.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 5.2/10 | 7.3/10 |
| Analytics | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Cost | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Customization | 5/10 | 9/10 |
| Ease of Use | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 4/10 | 7/10 |
| Scalability | 4/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 5/10 | 9/10 |
| Support | 4/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | $15/user/mo Basic | $20/user/mo Team |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $150/mo Basic | $200/mo Team |
| Features | ||
| App integrations | ||
| Client collaboration | ||
| Gantt charts | ||
| Reporting | ||
| Scheduling | ||
| Task lists | ||
| Task management | ||
| Time tracking | ||
| Collaboration tools | Not listed | |
| Dashboards | Not listed | |
| Databases | Not listed | |
| Docs | Not listed | |
| File sharing | Not listed | |
| Kanban boards | Not listed | |
| Spreadsheet interface | Not listed | |
| Team messaging | Not listed | |
| Timeline view | Not listed | |
| Whiteboards | Not listed | |
| Workflow automation | Not listed | |
Bonsai vs SmartSuite cost by team size
Bonsai costs less from 5 users.
| Team size | Bonsai | SmartSuite |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | $15/moBasic | Contact for pricing |
| 5 users | $75/moBasic | $100/moTeam |
| 10 users | $150/moBasic | $200/moTeam |
| 25 users | $375/moBasic | $500/moTeam |
| 50 users | $750/moBasic | $1,000/moTeam |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Bonsai
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: $150/mo vs $200/mo
- Better fit for freelancers (9/10 vs 3/10)
Why choose SmartSuite
- Higher Customization score (9/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Security score (9/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (7/10 vs 2/10)
- Better fit for mid-market (8/10 vs 3/10)
Pros & Cons
Bonsai
Pros
- One tool covers the whole client cycle, from proposal and contract through time tracking to invoice, so small firms need fewer separate tools.
- Annual billing cuts per-user prices sharply, for example from $15 to $9 on Basic.
- Reviewers say the proposal, contract and invoice templates look professional without customization.
- The client portal and client messaging let external clients see tasks and documents.
Cons
- Reviewers say its task and project management features are thin compared with dedicated PM tools.
- Integrations are limited to a few apps and are only available from the Premium tier.
- Users report payment holds and slow or inconsistent support responses.
- Per-seat pricing gets expensive as teams grow, and Elite requires at least 3 users.
SmartSuite
Pros
- The same records can be shown as grid, Kanban, Gantt, timeline, calendar, map and dashboard views without duplicating data.
- Its compliance coverage is unusually strong for the category, with ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA and GDPR audits plus a choice of US or EU data residency.
- Read-only users, commenters and form submitters are free, which lowers the cost of involving stakeholders.
- It ships more than 200 templates and an AI solution builder to speed up setup.
- Reviewers describe the support team as responsive.
Cons
- Team, Professional and Enterprise carry 3-, 5- and 25-seat minimums, and there is no free plan.
- The Team plan allows only 5,000 records per solution, and automation runs plus API calls are hard-capped each month.
- SAML SSO and SCIM are available only on Enterprise and Signature plans.
- There is no team chat or whiteboard, and external access is limited to read-only shared views.
- Reviewers say complex workflows and large data imports take real setup effort, and there are no native desktop apps.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
SmartSuite scores higher on our Project Management criteria: 7.3/10 against 5.2/10 for Bonsai. The largest gap is in Customization: 5/10 for Bonsai and 9/10 for SmartSuite.
Bonsai costs less for 10 users: about $150/mo on its Basic plan, against about $200/mo on its Team plan for SmartSuite, billed monthly.
No, neither Bonsai nor SmartSuite lists a free plan.
Bonsai is the better fit for freelancers: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 3/10 for SmartSuite.
