Is 17hats or Cone better?

Neither clearly leads. 17hats starts at On request and Cone at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, 17hats or Cone?

17hats starts at On request and Cone at On request.

Does 17hats or Cone run on more platforms?

17hats runs on Web, iOS, Android. Cone 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 Cone is typically brought in for.

What can 17hats do that Cone cannot?

17hats covers Workflow automation, Quotes and contracts, Invoicing and payments, Lead capture forms. Cone covers Engagement letters, Electronic signature, Recurring billing, Direct debit collection.

Proposals · head to head

17hats vs Cone

17hats

Proposals

Small business client workflow with quotes, contracts, invoices and automated follow up sequences

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

Cone

Proposals

Proposal to payment software for accounting and bookkeeping firms, with engagement letters and direct debit

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

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.; Cone the product is shaped around accountancy engagements, so a freelancer or agency outside professional services pays for engagement letter and compliance features they will never open.
They diverge on capability: 17hats covers Workflow automation, Cone covers Engagement letters.
Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which 17hats and Cone actually diverge.

Attributes where 17hats and Cone differ
Attribute	17hats	Cone
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web

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 Cone

Engagement letters
Electronic signature
Recurring billing
Direct debit collection
Scope creep flagging
Service line templates
Client onboarding tasks

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 Cone
Automating deposit invoices and reminders so that chasing payment stops being a weekly tasknot Cone
Capturing enquiries through a public form that starts a quote and contract workflow without manual entrynot Cone
A sole trader who wants client records, contracts and basic bookkeeping in one place rather than threenot Cone

Cone

A bookkeeping practice moving clients from ad hoc invoicing onto signed recurring fee agreementsnot 17hats
An accountancy firm that needs engagement letter wording attached to every proposal for compliance reasonsnot 17hats
A practice losing revenue to out of scope work that is never billed because nobody notices itnot 17hats
Standardising pricing across a firm so that partners stop quoting the same service at different ratesnot 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.

Cone

The product is shaped around accountancy engagements, so a freelancer or agency outside professional services pays for engagement letter and compliance features they will never open.
Recurring collection depends on which payment rails are supported in your country, and direct debit coverage varies enough that the headline benefit may not apply to your client base.
Practice management integration is shallower than the incumbents, so client records often exist in two systems and have to be reconciled.
Pricing is not published, which makes it hard to compare against a general proposal tool without entering a sales process first.
As a younger vendor in a market that consolidates through acquisition, roadmap continuity carries more risk than choosing an established practice software supplier.

Pricing, plan by plan

17hats

On request

17hats$undefined/year
- Quotes, contracts and electronic signature
- Invoicing and online payment
- Workflow automation sequences

Cone

On request

Cone$undefined/year
- Proposals and engagement letters
- Electronic signature
- Recurring billing and direct debit mandates

Which should you pick?

Choose 17hats if

You need workflow automation.
You work on Web, iOS, Android.
You also want quotes and contracts.

17hats review

Choose Cone if

You need engagement letters.
You also want electronic signature.

Cone review

Questions people ask

Is 17hats or Cone better?: Neither clearly leads. 17hats starts at On request and Cone at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, 17hats or Cone?: 17hats starts at On request and Cone at On request.
Does 17hats or Cone run on more platforms?: 17hats runs on Web, iOS, Android. Cone 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 Cone is typically brought in for.
What can 17hats do that Cone cannot?: 17hats covers Workflow automation, Quotes and contracts, Invoicing and payments, Lead capture forms. Cone covers Engagement letters, Electronic signature, Recurring billing, Direct debit collection.

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.

Cone: Is this only for accountants?

It is designed for accounting and bookkeeping firms. Other professional services firms use it, but general freelancers will find most of it irrelevant.

17hats: Is it worth it for bespoke consulting work?

Rarely. Without repeatable engagements the automation, which is the main value, has nothing to automate.

Cone: Does it handle recurring fees?

Yes, and that is the main reason firms adopt it. Acceptance creates the fee schedule and the collection mandate together.

17hats: Does it handle bookkeeping?

At sole trader level. It is not a replacement for accounting software once complexity grows.

Cone: How are payments collected?

Through supported card and direct debit providers, whose processing fees apply on top of the subscription.

17hats: Can I add team members?

It is designed for a single operator, and multi person use is awkward rather than supported properly.

Cone: What is scope creep flagging?

It compares work performed against the scope agreed in the proposal and surfaces the difference so it can be billed rather than absorbed.

17hats: How long before it saves time?

Not immediately. Budget for a configuration period before the workflow automation starts paying back.

Cone: Is pricing published?

Not in a form that can be quoted reliably. Expect a sales conversation before you can compare it on cost.

17hats vs Cone

17hats

Cone

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in 17hats

Only in Cone

What people use each for

17hats

Cone

Where each one falls short

17hats

Cone

Pricing, plan by plan

17hats

Cone

Which should you pick?

Choose 17hats if

Choose Cone if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on 17hats

More on Cone

Keep looking

Other head to heads