Bonsai's help center lists a 1% fee when you use your own Stripe or PayPal account. Clientary charges nothing on payments. You pay only your processor.
Bonsai prices every plan per user. Clientary's Team plan includes 3 users for $39/mo, and Agency includes 5 for $59/mo.
Run the client portal on your own domain from the Team plan. Bonsai lists white-label and custom domain on its Premium plan and above.
Bonsai is now part of Zoom. Clientary stays focused on one thing: running client work for service businesses.
As listed on each company's website, October 2026.
| Clientary | Bonsai | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat plans that include users | Per user, on every plan |
| Platform fee on your own Stripe or PayPal | None | 1% |
| Client portal on your own domain | Team plan and above | Premium and above |
| Proposals with client-selected packages | Yes | Yes |
| Contracts with multiple signers | Yes, staff and client signers | Client co-signers |
| Retainers | Yes, with running balances and top-ups | Retainer invoices, Essentials and above |
| AI assistant connection | Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and more | Claude, ChatGPT, and more |
No tool is right for everyone. Here's where Bonsai shines.
Bonsai connects to Xero as well as QuickBooks. Clientary syncs with QuickBooks Online.
Bonsai has its own built-in payment processing, Bonsai Payments, if you'd rather not set up a Stripe or PayPal account.
Export your contacts from Bonsai as a CSV and import them into Clientary, with fields matched for you.
Add your services and rates, pick a document theme with your logo, and connect Stripe, PayPal, or Authorize.Net.
Connect Claude or ChatGPT and ask it to set up clients, projects, and retainers from what you exported.
Freelancers, agencies, and firms run their client work on Clientary. Read their stories.
Rated excellent: See why users rave about us
Most of the time I'm paid within minutes of sending an invoice because it's so easy for someone to check that task off their list. Obviously I like this software, but most importantly to me - my clients like it.
Robin H.
Freelance Writer
With recurring invoices, custom templates, time tracking, expense tracking, automated invoice reminders, and so much more, the toolkit they offer has kept us organized and hugely simplified our bookkeeping. I can't count how many times our clients have asked about our 'amazing' invoicing system.
Chris M.
Digital Marketer / Founder
When searching for a client management and invoicing system we researched all the tools for SMBs on the market and tested them out, and Clientary was our hands down choice for ease of use and the ability to easily customize client-facing documentation. And of course the very reasonable subscription fee. As they say themselves, "all the functionality we need, and none that we don't."
Brian N.
Consultant / Executive Coach
For teams that want flat pricing, no fees on their own payment processor, and a portal on their own domain, yes. Clientary covers proposals, contracts, time tracking, invoicing, retainers, and payments.
No. Payments go straight to your Stripe, PayPal, or Authorize.Net account, and you pay only your processor's standard fees.
Export your clients as a CSV and import them into Clientary, add your services as products, connect your payment processor, and recreate your templates. An AI assistant can help set up clients and projects.
Try Clientary free for 14 days. No credit card required.
See Pricing and SignupSources. Bonsai details were checked on Bonsai's website and the pages below in October 2026, and may have changed since: Bonsai pricing, Bonsai payment fees, Bonsai MCP announcement. Bonsai is a trademark of its owner, who is not affiliated with Clientary.
Comparing other tools? See Clientary vs HoneyBook, Clientary vs Dubsado, Clientary vs FreshBooks, Clientary vs Harvest, Clientary vs DocuSign, or all comparisons.
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