Belvak vs Bonsai
Bonsai is an excellent all-in-one tool for freelancers and very small studios. Belvak covers the same client work and adds employee management, recruitment, and maintenance contracts for growing teams.
Built for teams, not solo
Belvak includes employee management with four salary pay schedules and role-based permissions, so a growing team runs on it. Bonsai serves freelancers and small teams, but is lighter on employee management and permissions for a growing headcount.
Maintenance contracts with renewals
Belvak handles ongoing service agreements with per-period billing and a 15-day renewal window, ideal for AMC-style retainers. Bonsai covers retainers but has no dedicated maintenance-contract renewal flow.
Built-in recruitment and multi-currency
Belvak adds a recruitment ATS with CV extraction and multi-currency invoicing for cross-border work. Bonsai focuses on the freelancer workflow rather than hiring or extensive currency handling.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
An honest side by side. Bonsai has real strengths for solo work; the difference shows up as a team grows.
| Feature | Belvak | Bonsai |
|---|---|---|
| Project Management | Yes | Yes |
| Invoicing & Payments | Yes | Yes |
| Recurring Invoices & Retainers | Yes | Yes |
| Proposals Pipeline | Yes | Yes |
| Contracts with e-signature | No | Yes |
| Time Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Client CRM | Yes | Yes |
| Expense Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| US tax assistant features | No | Yes |
| Maintenance Contracts (renewals) | Yes | No |
| Employee Payroll Schedules | Yes | No |
| Recruitment (ATS) | Yes | No |
| Role-Based Team Permissions | Yes | Partial |
| Multi-Currency Invoicing | Yes | Partial |
| Best Fit | Service teams | Freelancers and small teams |
Competitor details verified 2026-07-14.
Choose Belvak if...
- You are a team, not a solo freelancer, and need employee management
- You want salary pay schedules for your staff
- You run maintenance contracts or retainers with renewal windows
- You hire and want a built-in recruitment ATS
- You invoice clients across borders in multiple currencies
- You need role-based permissions for a growing team
Choose Bonsai if...
- You are a solo freelancer or a 2 to 3 person studio
- You need contracts with built-in e-signatures
- You rely on US-centric tax assistant features
- You want a workflow tuned tightly for independent work
- You do not need payroll, hiring, or maintenance contracts
Outgrowing Bonsai?
Bonsai lets you export data such as clients and invoices. There is no one-click importer, but as your studio grows our team helps you bring that data into Belvak so you can start from your real records.
Belvak vs Bonsai: frequently asked questions
Is Belvak a good Bonsai alternative?
Yes, if you are growing past solo work into a small service team. Belvak keeps the proposals, invoicing, time tracking, and client CRM that Bonsai does well, and adds employee management with salary pay schedules, a recruitment ATS, and maintenance contracts. Bonsai remains a strong pick for freelancers and small teams.
Who is Bonsai built for versus Belvak?
Bonsai is built for freelancers and very small agencies, with excellent proposals, contracts, and invoicing for one person or a tiny studio. Belvak is built for teams of 5 to 50 people that need to manage employees, hiring, and ongoing service contracts alongside client work.
What does Bonsai have that Belvak does not?
Bonsai offers contracts with built-in e-signatures, which Belvak does not have, plus US-oriented tax assistant features and a workflow tuned tightly for solo freelancers. If e-signature contracts or US tax helpers are essential, Bonsai is stronger there.
What does Belvak have that Bonsai does not?
Belvak adds employee management with four salary pay schedules, a recruitment ATS with CV extraction, maintenance contracts with per-period billing and renewal windows, multi-currency invoicing, and role-based team permissions. These are aimed at teams rather than solo freelancers.
Does Belvak handle recurring invoices and retainers like Bonsai?
Yes. Belvak supports recurring and one-off invoices, and its maintenance contracts cover ongoing retainers with per-period billing and a renewal window. Bonsai also handles recurring invoices and retainers well, so both work for repeat billing; Belvak adds the contract renewal layer on top.
Can I migrate from Bonsai to Belvak?
Bonsai lets you export data such as clients and invoices. There is no one-click importer, but our team helps you bring that data into Belvak so you can start from your real records.
From solo tool to team platform
Belvak keeps the client work Bonsai does well and adds payroll, recruitment, and maintenance contracts for teams that are growing.