Proposals · head to head
17hats vs Prospero
17hats
Proposals
Small business client workflow with quotes, contracts, invoices and automated follow up sequences
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
Prospero
Proposals
Single-plan proposal writer built for freelancers rather than sales teams
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: 17hats the interface is visibly older than newer competitors, which matters because the client facing documents are part of how a small business presents itself.; Prospero there is no product catalogue or configure-price-quote logic, so a business selling configurable products with rules and approvals prices every document by hand, with the error rate that implies.
- They diverge on capability: 17hats covers Workflow automation, Prospero covers Template library by discipline.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which 17hats and Prospero actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Proposals).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in 17hats
- Workflow automation
- Quotes and contracts
- Invoicing and payments
- Lead capture forms
- Questionnaires
- Bookkeeping basics
- Calendar and time tracking
Only in Prospero
- Template library by discipline
- Electronic signature
- Reusable content blocks
- Open tracking
- Pricing tables
- Custom branding
- Multi-currency and multi-language
- Unlimited proposals
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
17hats
- A photographer or event professional running the same booking sequence dozens of times a yearnot Prospero
- Automating deposit invoices and reminders so that chasing payment stops being a weekly tasknot Prospero
- Capturing enquiries through a public form that starts a quote and contract workflow without manual entrynot Prospero
- A sole trader who wants client records, contracts and basic bookkeeping in one place rather than threenot Prospero
Prospero
- A freelancer sending a few proposals a month who wants them to look professional without hiring a designernot 17hats
- Consultants who reuse the same scope and terms language and want it written once and storednot 17hats
- Anyone currently sending proposals as PDF attachments who wants open tracking and a signaturenot 17hats
- Very small studios where the entire sales process is one person and a calendarnot 17hats
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
17hats
- The interface is visibly older than newer competitors, which matters because the client facing documents are part of how a small business presents itself.
- The workflow builder takes real time to learn and configure, so the automation benefit arrives weeks after purchase rather than on the first day.
- A consultancy where no two engagements are alike gets little from the workflow engine, which is most of what the price pays for.
- It is built around a single operator, so a business adding staff or subcontractors runs into structural limits rather than a higher tier.
- Payments run through third party gateways, so card processing fees apply in addition to the subscription and should be included when comparing cost per booking.
Prospero
- There is no product catalogue or configure-price-quote logic, so a business selling configurable products with rules and approvals prices every document by hand, with the error rate that implies.
- Team features are shallow: no real approval chain, no content locking to stop junior staff editing legal terms, and no per-role permissions, so it stops scaling as soon as more than two people write proposals.
- Analytics report that the proposal was opened rather than how long the client spent on each section, so you lose the buying-signal data the sales-oriented tools in this category are sold on.
- Integration coverage is thin next to PandaDoc or Proposify, so pushing an accepted proposal into a CRM or accounting system usually means Zapier and manual field mapping you maintain yourself.
- The vendor is very small, which is what keeps the price low, but feature requests move slowly and there is no enterprise support commitment to point at if the service is unavailable in the middle of a deal.
Pricing, plan by plan
17hats
On request- 17hats$undefined/year
- Quotes, contracts and electronic signature
- Invoicing and online payment
- Workflow automation sequences
Prospero
On request- Prospero$undefined/month
- Single plan with unlimited proposals
- Electronic signature included
- Discount for annual billing
Which should you pick?
Choose 17hats if
- You need workflow automation.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want quotes and contracts.
Choose Prospero if
- You need template library by discipline.
- You also want electronic signature.
Questions people ask
- Is 17hats or Prospero better?
- Neither clearly leads. 17hats starts at On request and Prospero at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, 17hats or Prospero?
- 17hats starts at On request and Prospero at On request.
- Does 17hats or Prospero run on more platforms?
- 17hats runs on Web, iOS, Android. Prospero runs on Web.
- What is 17hats best used for?
- 17hats is most often used for a photographer or event professional running the same booking sequence dozens of times a year, automating deposit invoices and reminders so that chasing payment stops being a weekly task, capturing enquiries through a public form that starts a quote and contract workflow without manual entry, a sole trader who wants client records, contracts and basic bookkeeping in one place rather than three. Of those, a photographer or event professional running the same booking sequence dozens of times a year and automating deposit invoices and reminders so that chasing payment stops being a weekly task are not what Prospero is typically brought in for.
- What can 17hats do that Prospero cannot?
- 17hats covers Workflow automation, Quotes and contracts, Invoicing and payments, Lead capture forms. Prospero covers Template library by discipline, Electronic signature, Reusable content blocks, Open tracking.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
17hats: What is the main reason to choose it?
The workflow engine. If your bookings follow the same sequence every time, that sequence can be automated once and reused.
Prospero: Does it include electronic signature?
Yes. The client signs in the browser at the end of the proposal and you are notified when they do.
17hats: Is it worth it for bespoke consulting work?
Rarely. Without repeatable engagements the automation, which is the main value, has nothing to automate.
Prospero: Is it suitable for a sales team?
No. There is no pipeline, no approval workflow and no quoting engine. It is built for one person writing their own proposals.
17hats: Does it handle bookkeeping?
At sole trader level. It is not a replacement for accounting software once complexity grows.
Prospero: Why is no price listed here?
The vendor publishes current pricing and it is among the cheapest in this category, but the plan structure changes, so check the figure at source rather than trusting a cached one.
17hats: Can I add team members?
It is designed for a single operator, and multi person use is awkward rather than supported properly.
Prospero: Can it handle proposals in other currencies?
Yes. It supports multiple currencies and languages, which matters for freelancers taking clients abroad.
17hats: How long before it saves time?
Not immediately. Budget for a configuration period before the workflow automation starts paying back.
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