Freelancers · head to head
Freelancer.com vs Bonsai
Freelancer.com
Freelancers
Find the best freelancers for any job online
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
Bonsai
Freelancers
All-in-one business management for freelancers and agencies
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Freelancer.com freelancers pay 10% or $5 (whichever is greater) on fixed-price projects, plus a further 15% fee on Preferred Freelancer Recruiter projects; Bonsai elite plan, the only tier with custom permissions, timesheet locking and Xero integration, requires a 3 user minimum at $49/user/month
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Freelancer.com and Bonsai actually diverge.
| Attribute | Freelancer.com | Bonsai |
|---|
Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Freelancers).
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Freelancer.com
- Freelancers pay 10% or $5 (whichever is greater) on fixed-price projects, plus a further 15% fee on Preferred Freelancer Recruiter projects
- International wire withdrawal costs $25 and card/PayPal transactions add $0.30 plus 2.3%
Bonsai
- Elite plan, the only tier with custom permissions, timesheet locking and Xero integration, requires a 3 user minimum at $49/user/month
- Invoices, proposals, contracts and the client portal are withheld from the entry Basic plan and only unlocked on Essentials at $19/user/month
- Monthly billing costs noticeably more than annual, for example $15/user/month versus $9/user/month annually on Basic
- Free trial is limited to 7 days
Pricing, plan by plan
Freelancer.com
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Freelancer.com review.
Bonsai
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Bonsai review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Freelancer.com if
Nothing in the data separates Freelancer.com from Bonsai on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Choose Bonsai if
Nothing in the data separates Bonsai from Freelancer.com on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Questions people ask
- Is Freelancer.com or Bonsai better?
- Neither clearly leads. Freelancer.com starts at On request and Bonsai at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Freelancer.com or Bonsai?
- Freelancer.com starts at On request and Bonsai at On request.
- Does Freelancer.com or Bonsai run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.