This article, Top 5 HoneyBook Alternatives for Freelancers (2022), was published on the Millo.co blog. Thanks for reading!

A freelance business is mainly composed of time spent in creative/client work and time spent in administrative work. 

Many freelancers discover early in their journey that the administrative side of things can easily “eat” your productive time if you are not conscious and careful.

Products like HoneyBook were born with this problem in mind. 

What is HoneyBook?

HoneyBook is an all-in-one client and business management solution created for freelancers.

These solutions came to life mainly because freelancers are usually a jack of all trades in their business. They are the accountant, the collection department, customer service, and a lot more.

How do you do all of that on your own while keeping sane? You use an all-in-one platform like HoneyBook.

Since according to an Economic News Release by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics there are 70.4 million freelancers in the U.S. alone, it isn’t a surprise to know that there’s plenty of business and client management solutions available for such professionals.

I will dive into the best five HoneyBook alternatives for freelancers.

Top 8 HoneyBook Alternatives

1) Hectic

Hectic is a tool that claims to help freelancers solve this massive need for control and order.

It allows freelancers to manage and grow their business by putting all their fronts into one app. 

Yes, from project management to accounting, customer service, invoicing, and a lot more – it can be all done with Hectic (you will still have to clean your own office, though).

Hectic is a tool entirely focused on freelancers.

Yes, you and me. It was made for the typical and the not-so-typical freelancers.

And this is not an ad. After testing it for a while, I can tell it is true, and it was no surprise to me that one of Hectic’s core values is to “Put Freelancers First.”

Pros

• An all-in-one solution
• Made for freelancers
• Very affordable, with zero hidden costs
• Easy to use

Cons

• Some features may be “too simple” if you are looking for very niche-focused solutions

Pricing

Hectic has three plans. Their Essentials plan is forever free and it doesn’t require a credit card, but it’s a real plan and not just a very-limited trial.

The second tier, their most popular plan, is $11.99 per month. They have a third plan focused on Teams of up to 10 members, and custom pricing for bigger teams.

2) Bonsai

As a freelancer, there are many tasks that you may not know how to do or that are boring, exhausting, etc. They are all part of running your business, so you have to deal with them in some way or another. That could be collecting payments, proposals, accounting, etc.

Bonsai was built to help freelancers handle these tasks without dying in the attempt.

Be more productive by minimizing the time you spent on this administrative work, make more money, and feel better about your freelance journey.

Pros

• High quality product
• Built and designed specifically for freelancers
• Very comprehensive tool

Cons

• Budget can be a constraint for some freelancers
• Payment processing may include extra fees in some regions outside the US

Pricing

Bonsai’s pricing starts at $24 per month, with a free trial, and a free plan available.

3) Bloom.io

Bloom.io is a suite that combines the best tools, to either get started with a freelance business, grow it, or just operate it.

Average freelancers use at least 10 different platforms to run their business.

From invoicing to messaging, and building their website, this practice increases costs considerably as well as time invested.

Bloom.io helps freelancers solve this cost and productivity problem with a solid set of tools to run and scale any freelance business.

Pros

• You get a TON of value for the price
• Bloom implements true innovation in many of its features
• The tool is made for creatives and freelancers
• Free plan available

Cons

• No email marketing
• Lacks team collaboration (multi-user functionality coming soon)

Pricing

Bloom.io has a free plan that supports many of its features for one project. After that you can get a start package for $39 per month (if you pay yearly) or $49 monthly.

4) Plutio

Plutio was designed to help freelancers manage their projects, proposals, and invoices in one place.

It allows freelancers to track their work time manually or automatically and share it with their clients. It also works very well if you manage a small team of subcontractors.

Plutio makes project management simple with features like file sharing, project statuses, notes, and custom fields. E-signing of documents, email reminders, customizable templates, file storage, permission management, are also included.

Pros

• Plutio is very easy to use and to integrate with other tools that are part of your workflow.
• Their customer service is great and they are constantly improving their product
• Mobile app available

Cons

• The visual part of the interface may be too simple for some people, plus, this part of the product is not improved often

Pricing

Plutio’s prices start at $19 per month and there’s a free trial available.

5) 17hats

Another important alternative is 17hats. 

With similar features to the previous mentions, 17hats is focused on automating, optimizing, and delegating so that freelancers can focus more on their craft than on the busy work.

17hats electronic signature, document sharing, and communication features work to eliminate the need for paperwork and exhausting back and forth with clients.

Get your time back and focus on the work that makes you the money.

Pros

• It gets new features added often
• Integrates smoothly with several solutions

Cons

• It’s not the best fit for teams or bigger companies
• The visual distribution of its workspaces could be improved considerably

Pricing

7 day trial available. Plans start at $25 per month (yearly) and $45 per month if you prefer to pay each month.

How to decide between HoneyBook alternatives

Now that you know more of the top options available, it’s time to decide.

My best advice would be to:

1) Evaluate your processes

Regardless of if you are choosing your first client management tool or looking to move to a new one, the decision should not be dictated by the newest trend or the fanciest option in the market.

Take some time to assess your needs and try to match them with an option that would satisfy them. Ask yourself something like, “What features do you need the most and which software is the best at it?”

2) Consider your budget and long-term goals

Don’t be quick to choose a client management tool if you haven’t considered the financial aspect behind your decision.

This is an expense you will need to cover constantly for months or even years to come, so it would be ideal to pick up a tool that you’d be comfortable paying for many months.

Hint: the pricing may change depending on the number of projects, or team members, so be sure to consider your long-term plans if you think that’s necessary.

3) Sign-up for a free trial (if possible)

Many tools have a free plan or a full-access free-trial available. Use them!

They were created for you to know, test, and understand the actual experience behind those products.

Free trials help you:

• Decide with certainty if the product is what you need
• Test the features that you will need the most
• See if the pricing is a good fit for the value you get
• Do this and more without paying the subscription fees

Conclusion

If you don’t manage your clients’ projects properly, they will leave. Because of that it would be good to consider a project management tool like HoneyBook or any of its alternatives.

HoneyBook is a very complete tool to communicate with your clients, manage contracts, invoices, proposals, keep track of new leads, etc.

If you’re reading this article you’re probably looking for an alternative to it.

If that’s the case then we’ve given you a list of the top 8 best alternatives for client management.

The editor’s choice is Hectic. From project management to accounting, customer service, invoicing, and a lot more – it can be all done using Hectic, even on their forever free plan.

Feel free to try it. Consider if it aligns with your process, budget, and long-term goals and let’s go!

I hope that your business gets a big boost in retention and customer satisfaction by the implementation of the client management tool that you choose.

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