Best CRM for Freelancers (2026): HoneyBook vs Dubsado vs Bonsai vs Moxie

HoneyBook is built around the client’s side of the experience. You send one interactive file that can hold your services and prices, a contract and an invoice, and the client chooses, signs and pays in one sitting. Every plan includes invoices and payments, proposals and contracts, the full template library, a client portal, a scheduler and lead forms, and HoneyBook’s team will convert your existing documents into templates for free.

Which plan to pick: Starter covers a solo freelancer: unlimited clients and projects, the client portal and up to 2 live lead forms. Move to Essential if you want payments to sync to QuickBooks Online, SMS reminders, up to 10 lead forms, a second team member or no HoneyBook branding. Premium adds unlimited team members, multiple companies and priority support. HoneyBook’s pricing page showed us the $29 starting price but not the Essential and Premium prices, so check those on the page.

Watch out for: two things. Payment processing fees add up on large invoices, so compare card rates with asking for bank transfers (1.5%). And we did not see time tracking in HoneyBook’s plan comparison; if you bill by the hour, check before you buy or pick Bonsai or Moxie.

Dubsado suits freelancers who already know their process and want software to run it. You build forms, email templates and contracts, then, on Premier, chain them into automated workflows: inquiry received, proposal sent, contract signed, deposit invoiced, questionnaire sent a week before kickoff. Every plan includes email integration, invoicing with payment plans, client portals, calendar connection and email and live chat support.

Which plan to pick: Premier at $525 a year for most freelancers, because automated workflows, scheduling, public proposals, bookkeeping integration and unlimited lead forms are the reasons to choose Dubsado. Starter at $335 a year works if you mainly want forms, invoices and portals and will trigger each step yourself. Annual billing saves the equivalent of two months.

Watch out for: setup time. Dubsado’s flexibility means you build more yourself. Use the 21-day trial, which runs on Premier, to set up one complete workflow before you pay.

Bonsai started as a freelancer tool and now leans toward project management, which makes it the strongest pick here if your income depends on hours. Every plan includes time tracking, and Bonsai’s time features include a billable and non-billable split and timesheet reminders. Invoicing starts on Essentials, and Bonsai’s billing features include attaching time entries and expenses to invoices, retainer and subscription invoices and multi-currency billing; check which plan includes each one you need. Essentials also adds proposals and contracts, forms and questionnaires, a client portal, and income and expense tracking.

Which plan to pick: Essentials at $19 a month billed annually is the real freelancer plan; Basic at $9 covers time and tasks only. Premium at $29 adds a deals pipeline for tracking leads, custom fields, profitability reports, branding removal and integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, Zapier, Calendly and Google.

Watch out for: the lead side. The deals pipeline is a Premium feature, so on Essentials Bonsai is more a project and billing tool than a CRM. Bonsai’s free trial is 7 days, the shortest here, so plan your test before you sign up.

Moxie packs the most freelancer jobs into its cheapest plan. Starter, at $120 a year, covers client and project management, invoicing and payments, proposals, quotes and contracts, time tracking, a sales pipeline, a form builder, meeting schedulers and a universal calendar and inbox. That is everything on our list except a client portal, for about the price of a lunch each month.

Which plan to pick: Pro at $240 a year if clients should see a portal under your own brand and domain, or if you want workflow automation, a business phone line (US, Canada and UK) or the QuickBooks integration. Starter if you only need to sell and bill. Teams, at $385 a year, adds up to five team members.

Watch out for: the annual figures are the prices Moxie shows when you pay yearly; monthly billing is available and costs more. Moxie also offers location-based and need-based scholarships if the price is a barrier.