Happy Hours vs Bonsai
Bonsai is an all-in-one client platform, with invoicing from its second tier up. Happy Hours does time, expenses, invoices, and payments, all in one $10/month plan.
14 days, no credit card.
Happy Hours
$10/month
Everything included
- Plans
- One plan, every feature
- Timesheets & reports
- Included
- Expenses
- Bank sync and AI receipt reading
- ACH fee on a $3,000 invoice
- $5 (0.8%, capped)
- Free trial
- 14 days, no credit card
- Best for
- Solo freelancers and consultants
Bonsai
$25/user/month
Essentials, Bonsai’s first plan with invoicing ($19 billed annually)
- Plans
- Basic, Essentials, Premium, and Elite
- Timesheets & reports
- Premium plan, $39/user/month ($29 billed annually)
- Expenses
- Bank sync, with receipts uploaded by hand
- ACH fee on a $3,000 invoice
- $30 (1%, no cap)
- Free trial
- 7 days
- Best for
- Studios that want CRM, proposals, and contracts in one tool
Happy Hours and Bonsai, feature by feature
Bonsai does more things; Happy Hours does fewer, and includes all of them. Here’s how the overlap compares, and which Bonsai plan each feature needs.
| Feature | Happy Hours | Bonsai |
|---|---|---|
| Time tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Timesheet view | Yes. Weekly grid, with copy from last week | *Yes, but only in higher tiers or with usage fees. Premium plan and up |
| Calendar view | Yes. Click or drag out blocks of time | No |
| Timesheet approvals | No. Built for one person, so there’s no one to approve | No |
| Expense tracking | Yes | *Yes, but only in higher tiers or with usage fees. Essentials plan and up |
| Automatic receipt parsing | Yes. AI reads receipt photos and PDFs | No. Receipts are uploaded, then entered by hand |
| Automatic bank & card transaction import | Yes. Bank and card sync via Plaid | *Yes, but only in higher tiers or with usage fees. Bank sync on Essentials and up |
| Project management | Yes | Yes |
| Unlimited projects & customers | Yes. No caps and no usage fees | Yes |
| Time & expense contracts | Yes | *Yes, but only in higher tiers or with usage fees. Hourly budgets on Essentials and up |
| Fixed-price contracts | Yes. With milestones | *Yes, but only in higher tiers or with usage fees. Fee budgets on Essentials and up |
| Task granularity | No. Time is tracked per project | Yes |
| Budgeting | Yes | *Yes, but only in higher tiers or with usage fees. Essentials plan and up |
| Hours budgets | Yes | *Yes, but only in higher tiers or with usage fees |
| Dollar budgets | Yes | *Yes, but only in higher tiers or with usage fees |
| Retainers | Yes. Monthly retainers that reset each month | *Yes, but only in higher tiers or with usage fees |
| Estimates | Yes | *Yes, but only in higher tiers or with usage fees. Proposals on Essentials and up |
| Convert approved estimates to invoices | Yes. Or into projects | *Yes, but only in higher tiers or with usage fees |
| Invoicing | Yes | *Yes, but only in higher tiers or with usage fees. Essentials plan and up |
| Pre-fill line items from time & expenses | Yes | *Yes, but only in higher tiers or with usage fees |
| Customizable invoice templates | †Yes, but limited preset options. Four templates with your logo | †Yes, but limited preset options |
| Multi-currency | No. US dollars only | *Yes, but only in higher tiers or with usage fees. Essentials plan and up |
| Client portal | Yes. No login needed for your clients | *Yes, but only in higher tiers or with usage fees. Essentials plan and up |
| Online payments | Yes. Card and ACH through Stripe | *Yes, but only in higher tiers or with usage fees. Cards 2.9% + $0.30, ACH 1% |
| Capped ACH fee | Yes. 0.8%, capped at $5 per payment | No. 1% with no cap: $30 on a $3,000 invoice |
| Financial insights | Yes | Yes |
| Basic profitability & accounts receivable | Yes. Profit by project and customer, plus receivables aging | *Yes, but only in higher tiers or with usage fees. Profitability reports on Premium and up |
| Per-project time reports for any date range | Yes | Yes |
| Expense reports with attached receipts | Yes. PDF reports for any project and date range | No |
| Customizable in-depth financial reports | No | No |
Scroll the table sideways to compare
- *Included, but only in higher tiers or with usage fees.
- †Limited preset options, not fully customizable.
Feature data current as of October 2026.
The key differences
Bonsai started out as a tool for freelancers and has grown into a platform for small studios and agencies: CRM, proposals, contracts, scheduling, projects, and invoicing, spread across four plans. Happy Hours is built for the solo freelancer or consultant who wants the money side done well: time, expenses, budgets, invoices, and payments, in one plan.
Pricing: one plan vs four tiers
Bonsai’s plans are priced per user. Basic is $15 per month ($9 billed annually) and covers time tracking and projects, but not invoicing, online payments, or expenses. Those start on Essentials at $25 per month ($19 billed annually). Timesheets, time reports, and profitability reports need Premium at $39 per month ($29 billed annually).
Happy Hours is $10/month for everything, including the timesheets, reports, and bank sync that Bonsai puts on higher plans. No tiers, no add-ons, and no limits on projects, customers, or invoices. See pricing.
Lower fees on bank transfers
Both let clients pay online by card or bank transfer, and both charge 2.9% + $0.30 for cards. The difference is ACH. Bonsai charges 1% with no cap, so a $3,000 invoice costs $30 and a $10,000 one costs $100. Happy Hours charges 0.8%, capped at $5, whatever the invoice total.
Payments go into your own Stripe account, and clients pay from a link without creating an account. More on online payments.
Expenses and receipts
Bonsai’s Essentials plan syncs bank transactions, and you upload receipts and fill in the details. Happy Hours syncs your bank and cards through Plaid too, and its AI receipt reading fills in the details from a photo or PDF. Billable expenses, with an optional markup, flow onto your next invoice, and you can send clients a PDF expense report with the receipts attached. More on expense tracking.
Time tracking and budgets
Happy Hours gives you a calendar view and a weekly grid for entering time, plus hour budgets, dollar budgets, and monthly retainers with warnings before you go over. In Bonsai, budgets start on Essentials and the weekly timesheet view on Premium, and Bonsai has no calendar view for time. More on time tracking and budgeting.
When Bonsai is the better choice
We’d rather you pick the right tool. Bonsai is the better fit if:
- You want proposals and e-signature contracts, or client forms and scheduling, in the same tool as your invoices.
- You run a studio or agency with a team, a sales pipeline, and task boards.
- You’re based outside the US, or bill clients in other currencies. Happy Hours is US-only and invoices in US dollars.
Switching from Bonsai
Book a free setup call and we’ll import your clients and projects from Bonsai and walk you through sending your first invoice. Then try everything free for 14 days, no credit card needed.
Happy Hours vs Bonsai FAQ
Is Happy Hours cheaper than Bonsai?
Yes. Happy Hours is $10/month with everything included. Bonsai’s Basic plan ($15 per user per month, or $9 billed annually) doesn’t include invoicing, online payments, or expenses; those start on Essentials at $25 per user per month ($19 billed annually), and timesheets and profitability reports need Premium at $39 ($29 billed annually).
Does Happy Hours have proposals and contracts like Bonsai?
Not in the same way. Happy Hours has estimates: build one from four PDF templates, mark it approved, and turn it into a project or an invoice. A project’s contract sets how you bill it, time & expense or fixed price. There are no proposals, e-signature contracts, forms, or scheduling, so if you need those, Bonsai covers more ground.
What does it cost to accept ACH payments in each?
In Happy Hours, bank transfers cost 0.8%, capped at $5, so a $3,000 invoice costs $5 to collect. Bonsai charges 1% for ACH with no cap, which is $30 on the same invoice. Card payments are 2.9% + $0.30 in both.
How long is the free trial?
Happy Hours gives you 14 days with every feature and no credit card. Bonsai’s trial is 7 days.
Can I move my clients and projects from Bonsai to Happy Hours?
Yes. Book a free setup call and we’ll import your clients and projects from Bonsai, set up your first project, and walk you through your first invoice.
Can I use Happy Hours outside the US?
Not yet. Happy Hours invoices and takes payments in US dollars, for US businesses. Bonsai’s payments work in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, so it’s the better fit outside the US today. If you’re interested in our international beta, get in touch.