Is Cone or Indy better?

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

Which is cheaper, Cone or Indy?

Indy has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Cone and Free for Indy.

Does Cone or Indy run on more platforms?

Cone runs on Web. Indy runs on Web, iOS, Android.

Can I use Indy for free?

Yes. Indy has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cone starts at On request.

What is Cone best used for?

Cone is most often used for a bookkeeping practice moving clients from ad hoc invoicing onto signed recurring fee agreements, an accountancy firm that needs engagement letter wording attached to every proposal for compliance reasons, a practice losing revenue to out of scope work that is never billed because nobody notices it, standardising pricing across a firm so that partners stop quoting the same service at different rates. Of those, a bookkeeping practice moving clients from ad hoc invoicing onto signed recurring fee agreements and an accountancy firm that needs engagement letter wording attached to every proposal for compliance reasons are not what Indy is typically brought in for.

What can Cone do that Indy cannot?

Cone covers Engagement letters, Electronic signature, Recurring billing, Direct debit collection. Indy covers Contract library, Proposals, Invoicing, Time tracking.

Proposals · head to head

Cone vs Indy

Cone

Proposals

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

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

Indy

Proposals

Freelance workflow suite covering proposals, contracts, invoices and time tracking with a usable free tier

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Indy has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: 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.; Indy the free tier caps documents per month, and an active freelancer passes those caps quickly enough that the free plan is a trial in practice rather than a permanent option.
They diverge on capability: Cone covers Engagement letters, Indy covers Contract library.
Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cone and Indy actually diverge.

Attributes where Cone and Indy differ
Attribute	Cone	Indy
Starting price	On request	Free
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	Web	Web, iOS, Android

Identical on both: pricing model (quote), 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 Cone

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

Only in Indy

Contract library
Proposals
Invoicing
Time tracking
Task and calendar
Client portal
Free tier

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cone

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

Indy

A new freelancer who needs a real signed contract before there is revenue to fund a subscriptionnot Cone
Testing whether an all in one freelance bundle suits your workflow before committing money to onenot Cone
Part time or side project freelancing with low monthly document volume that stays inside the free capsnot Cone
Replacing an unsigned emailed quote with a proposal that converts into a contract and an invoicenot Cone

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

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.

Indy

The free tier caps documents per month, and an active freelancer passes those caps quickly enough that the free plan is a trial in practice rather than a permanent option.
Project management and task tracking are shallow, so anyone running several concurrent projects will keep a separate tool and lose the single system benefit.
Reporting on income, utilisation and profitability is thin next to a dedicated accounting or time tracking product.
Payments are processed by a third party gateway, so the card fee applies on top of the subscription and materially changes the cost per invoice on small jobs.
As with every bundle, leaving means separating proposals, contracts, time and invoices out of one export, which is harder than replacing a single purpose tool.

Pricing, plan by plan

Cone

On request

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

Indy

Free

Indy$undefined/year
- Free tier with monthly document limits
- Proposals, contracts and invoices
- Time tracking and tasks

Which should you pick?

Choose Cone if

You need engagement letters.
You also want electronic signature.

Cone review

Choose Indy if

You need contract library.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, iOS, Android.
You also want proposals.

Indy review

Questions people ask

Is Cone or Indy better?: Neither clearly leads. Cone starts at On request and Indy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cone or Indy?: Indy has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Cone and Free for Indy.
Does Cone or Indy run on more platforms?: Cone runs on Web. Indy runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Indy for free?: Yes. Indy has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cone starts at On request.
What is Cone best used for?: Cone is most often used for a bookkeeping practice moving clients from ad hoc invoicing onto signed recurring fee agreements, an accountancy firm that needs engagement letter wording attached to every proposal for compliance reasons, a practice losing revenue to out of scope work that is never billed because nobody notices it, standardising pricing across a firm so that partners stop quoting the same service at different rates. Of those, a bookkeeping practice moving clients from ad hoc invoicing onto signed recurring fee agreements and an accountancy firm that needs engagement letter wording attached to every proposal for compliance reasons are not what Indy is typically brought in for.
What can Cone do that Indy cannot?: Cone covers Engagement letters, Electronic signature, Recurring billing, Direct debit collection. Indy covers Contract library, Proposals, Invoicing, Time tracking.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Indy: Is the free tier actually usable?

Yes, for real signed contracts and invoices, but it caps documents per month and active freelancers hit that fairly quickly.

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.

Indy: Does it take a percentage of invoices?

The payment gateway charges its standard card fee. That is separate from the subscription and should be modelled per invoice.

Cone: How are payments collected?

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

Indy: Can it manage several concurrent projects?

Only lightly. The task and project features are the weakest part of the product.

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.

Indy: Are the contracts legally sound?

They are standard freelance templates with editable clauses. They are a starting point, not legal advice for your jurisdiction.

Cone: Is pricing published?

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

Indy: Who is it wrong for?

Agencies, anyone with subcontractors, and freelancers who need real project management or detailed profitability reporting.

Cone vs Indy

Cone

Indy

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Cone

Only in Indy

What people use each for

Cone

Indy

Where each one falls short

Cone

Indy

Pricing, plan by plan

Cone

Indy

Which should you pick?

Choose Cone if

Choose Indy if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Cone

More on Indy

Keep looking

Other head to heads