HoneyBook is great for freelancers, photographers, and even planners. But, if your agency needs scaling, for white-label and adding more team members, you’ll have to pay $129/month. Whereas, these should be managed within $100/month or less.
Due to high pricing plans, freelancers and agencies are looking for HoneyBook alternatives that offer them more for a lower price.
Considering key features and functionalities, we found the top 5 alternatives to HoneyBook for productized service-based agencies, freelancers, and professionals. These alternative client portal software come with more features at relatively low price points.
Quick List of Top HoneyBook Alternatives
- Agency Handy: All-in-one agency portal for client management, team collaboration, billing, and productized services.
- Bonsai: Freelancer-friendly CRM with proposals, contracts, retainer tracking, and financial reporting.
- ManyRequests: Client portal and service catalog platform for creative and marketing agencies with branded email and file feedback.
- Moxie: Lightweight freelancer suite for proposals, time tracking, project tasks, and automated scheduling.
- Plutio: Customizable business hub for solo professionals and small teams with forms, contracts, and Kanban project views.
What are the Reasons to Consider the HoneyBook Alternative?
Most growing agencies opt for a HoneyBook alternative due to the following reasons –
Geographical Limitations
HoneyBook is only available to businesses in the USA and Canada. If you’re looking to expand your client base beyond North America, this software isn’t for you.
Customization Limits
HoneyBook comes with specific customizations, including forms and various templates. However, if you want full customization for both the admin side and the client portal, you should consider an alternative, customized client portal.
Invoicing Issues
Your client can’t send you payment through popular payment gateways like Stripe, Wise, etc. If this matters to your client base, look for an alternative.
Not Suitable for Agencies with a Large Team
HoneyBook’s prime target customers are mostly solo entrepreneurs and freelancers. Thus, agency and team-focused benefits aren’t available to that extent.
Lacks Subscription Management
If your productized business has subscription-based pricing, you would want a complete client management portal to manage subscriptions as well. HoneyBook doesn’t come with this feature.
Email Issues
Emails sent from HoneyBook often end up in spam folders. This inconvenience can lead to poor lead management, poor client satisfaction, and miscommunication.
Pricing
HoneyBook’s pricing on all plans increased by up to 89%. Users don’t get much value for what they pay for. Competitors provide more features and benefits at relatively cheaper price points.
If the above-mentioned factors matter for your business or work, you should definitely go for an alternative.
5 Best HoneyBook Alternatives for Freelancers and Agencies
Considering where HoneyBook has limitations as a complete client management portal software, we found the following tools to fill the gaps without charging much.
Here’s a quick comparison table to give you a brief idea of the tools –
Feature | Agency Handy | Bonsai | ManyRequests | Moxie | Plutio |
Starting Price (Monthly) | $19 | $15 | $99 | $12 | $19 |
Service Catalog | Multi-package | Basic | Catalog view | No | In proposals |
Subscription Management | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Project Management | Kanban | Kanban | Basic | Task-based | Kanban |
File Feedback & Annotation | Annotate | Basic | Annotate | Basic | Notes |
Team Members (Max) | 30 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 100 |
To help you decide the best alternative for your work or agency, we extensively reviewed and wrote about the benefits and limitations that these tools come with.
1. Agency Handy
Agency Handy is a strong alternative to HoneyBook, particularly with features such as white-labeling, a service catalog, organized project management, lead management, subscription management, and a customizable client portal. Considering price points, all plans of Agency Handy are more affordable.
Agency Handy allows you to create customized, one-off, or subscription-based services as you like.
You can embed the service catalog on your website (portfolio!) or share it on social media, too.
Your clients can make payments through PayPal, Stripe, Wise, cards, and ACH accounts. Agency Handy doesn’t take charge on payment like HoneyBook.
Agency Handy puts your emails directly to your clients’ primary inbox folder. Don’t have to deal with sending emails to clients’ spam folders, which is common with HoneyBook.
HoneyBook is primarily designed for small teams. Agency Handy is engineered for agencies of all sizes. You can add up to 30 team members for more efficient operations.
You can use HoneyBook only from the USA and Canada. Agency Handy doesn’t put such geo-restrictions for you and your clients.
Key Features of Agency Handy
Here are the key features of Agency Handy that stand out are as follows –
Service Catalog
Agency Handy comes with a multi-package service catalog feature. You can list your services with descriptions and pricing options. This service catalog is embed-able, meaning you can embed on your service website if you have any.
Client Onboarding
Onboarding new clients is straightforward with Agency Handy. You can create custom order forms and intake questionnaires. These forms capture all essential details upfront, including multiple-choice questions, text fields, and file uploads. You don’t have to go back and forth with clients asking for their information.
White-label Branding
With Agency Handy, you can white-label your entire workspace including the client portal with your brand logo and color accents. Everything from onboarding forms, invoices, and client portal, your clients will experience a branded environment.
Unlike HoneyBook, you don’t have to pay a premium to get this must-have feature for agencies.
Project Management
Agency Handy uses intuitive Kanban-style boards for managing projects. These visual boards let you see tasks that are pending, ongoing, and completed at a glance. This keeps everything organized and on track. No need to give countless replies to clients’ emails regarding project updates.
Team Collaboration
You can set up user roles and permissions for team members. This ensures that everyone knows their tasks and responsibilities, all within the same platform. This keeps everything centralized, and makes collaboration smoother.
Client Portal
Your clients receive a dedicated portal that you can customize to reflect your brand. They can track the progress of their projects in real-time, provide feedback, and approve directly within the portal, helping to speed up the workflow.
Invoicing and Payments
Invoicing is quick and hassle-free with Agency Handy. You can create professional invoices and set up recurring billing for ongoing services.
Files, Feedback, and Approval
You can edit, make comments, and even leave annotations and remarks right on files. This makes communication clear between your team and the client.
All documents are stored in one place, organized by project. The platform also tracks different versions of files. In case anything goes wrong with one particular version, you can restore to the previous version.
For storing files, you’ll get 100 GB, 2 TB, and 10 TB storage in the plans.
Reporting and Analytics
Agency Handy offers detailed reporting and analytics tools that provide insights into your agency’s performance. You can quickly see which projects are the most profitable and assess team productivity.
This significantly helps you make the right decisions for future operations and management.
Pros
- Automates client onboarding to billing
- Customizable forms
- Lead management nurtures leads
- Real-time project updates
- Customizable client portal
- Multi-currency support
- All pricing plans come with complete white-label branding
- Time tracking for internal team
- Custom domains and custom emails can be added for
- Separate workspace for multiple brands
Best Use Cases of Agency Handy
Agency Handy suits best for the following use cases –
Small to Large Agencies
Whether you own a small or large agency, Agency Handy offers plans to add 5 to 30 team members for assigning clients’ projects and management. Additionally, the features it comes with, such as a multi-package service catalog, real-time updates, and a highly customizable client portal, significantly benefit agencies of all sizes.
Freelancers
What most freelancers want is to manage unlimited clients and projects, white-label to give clients a branded experience, and CRM functionalities in a client portal software. Agency Handy is one of the most affordable options for freelancers for these needs.
Photography Agencies
Agency Handy also serves as a solid HoneyBook alternative for photographers. You can list your services for photography, photo editing, and video editing with different plans and pricing.
Event Management Companies
You can rely on Agency Handy to track the progress of the whole event – if the banners are done and printed, whether members are invited, what about the food, etc. Delegate team members and oversee the whole thing with Agency Handy.
Video Editing Agencies
Video editing agencies will benefit from Agency Handy’s specialized tools for task management and client approvals. Additionally, you can receive direct feedback from clients, allowing you to deliver the final piece on time.
What Users Say About Agency Handy
AppSumo: 4.5 out of 5
“Had a technical issue with my account and reached out to support. I got an answer right away from Hasib. You were really helpful and instantly fixed the problem. Knowing that I have a person on the other side actually fixing things if something goes wrong is a big plus for me.
Besides that, the combined features that Agency Handy has can be bought individually here on AppSumo for a way higher price than the Tier1. So money is well spent here.“ – StoicSamurai
Trustpilot: 4 out of 5
“Highly recommend. Agency Handy is perfect for any type of creative studio, they offer a lot of features which will make your agency actually complete. You won’t regret it.” – Michel Pronk
G2: 4.9 out of 5
“I had some challenges while setting up my account and they are able to fix it up. Also, they are serious with the project by listening to customer feedback and incorporating them in their development.
Their founder is also helpful, since day one, Rashik has been assisting whenever I contact him for help. I will definitely recommend the tool and it’s also affordable compared to other competing products.” – Franklin N.
Agency Handy Pricing Plans
- Freelancer at $19/month
- Team Starter at $99/month
- Business Pro at $199/month
Why Should You Choose Agency Handy Over HoneyBook?
HoneyBook might work fine for solo freelancers with light project loads, but as soon as your business grows, it starts to fall short. Here’s why Agency Handy is a worthwhile upgrade over HoneyBook –
Features HoneyBook Lacks | How Agency Handy Solves It |
Limited white-labeling only in the Premium plan | All plans come fully white-labeled, even at $19/month |
No native service catalog | Showcase services with a customizable multi-package catalog |
Payment fees eat into your profit | No transaction fees |
Can’t scale teams easily | Add up to 30 team members, set roles, and assign projects |
No ticket system | Built-in ticketing for fast client communication and task escalation |
Geolocation restricted to US/Canada | Available globally—no restrictions |
2. Bonsai
Best for freelancers and small agencies
If you work as a freelancer or have a small team of up to 3 members, where you mostly have to deal with contracts, proposals, project management, and a client portal, Bonsai can be a great alternative. Plus, you will get financial insights to pinpoint the progress of your small agency.
Automated CRM Workflow
The most selling point of Bonsai is its flawless client onboarding and invoicing procedures. You can send custom-made forms and contracts to your leads.
Bonsai further automates the process, like scheduling a meeting, sending agreements, order forms with project details, and generating invoices.
Project Management
Compared to HoneyBook, Bonsai’s project management tool is a lot better with a Kanban board view. You can organize projects as per status, assign your team, and add all details about the project, including tasks, files, bills, time-tracking, etc.
White-label Branding – Remove “Powered by”
Bonsai lets you white-label your brand throughout the platform and client portal at just $29/month. But, HoneyBook charges $59 for their white-label feature.
Reports
You can send clients reports based on projects you’ve worked on for them. Also, Bonsai gives you financial reports based on how much clients pay you and how much you pay your team.
Bonsai also comes with the following features
- Unlimited projects
- Service library
- Custom forms and templates
- Zapier, QuickBooks, Hubspot, Xero integration
- Expense and income tracking
- Profit and productivity reports
- Real-time product updates
- Client collaboration
Pros
- Provides valuable business insights
- Detailed project management
- Great integration support
- Automates client onboarding
- Tracks profit and revenue
Cons
- Subscriptions can’t be managed
- Not suitable for mid-sized agencies
Bonsai Pricing
Basic
- $15/month billed monthly
- $9/month billed yearly
Essentials
- $25/month billed monthly
- $19/month billed yearly
Premium
- $39/month billed monthly
- $29/month billed yearly
3. ManyRequests
Best for mid-sized agencies up to 10 members
On paper, ManyRequests and HoneyBook seem quite similar. But, while we were using it, the overall experience was a bit different. If you serve a wide range of clients in various industries, ManyRequests would be worthwhile considering HoneyBook.
Service Catalog
The key differentiating factor between these tools is that with ManyRequests you can list your services and put them into a catalog. This is ideal if you have to showcase your wide variety of services. Customers often land on a page for one particular service, and end up paying for multiple.
Custom Email
Even though HoneyBook offers white-label branding at a lower cost, Manyrequest includes a custom email domain from which your emails look branded and more professional. Emails sent from HoneyBook often land in spam boxes.
If you have to send a lot of emails to potential clients, don’t settle for HoneyBook. Manyrequests is the go-to option in this case.
File Feedback and Annotation
Both these client communication software allow you to comment and send messages to clients and vice versa. But, when it comes to file feedback, ManyRequests lets you leave annotations and remarks as well.
ManyRequests also offers following features –
- Unlimited clients
- Custom domain
- Zapier and Quickbook integration and more
- Time-tracking
- API access
Pros
- Easy to track project management
- Custom forms
- Showcases service in a catalog view
- White-label client portal
- Ideal for team and client collaboration
- File feedback is more straightforward
- Custom email
Cons
- Interface is less friendly than HoneyBook
Manyrequests Pricing
Starter
- $99/month billed monthly
- $79/month billed yearly
Core
- $149/month billed monthly
- $119/month billed yearly
Pro
- $399/month billed monthly
- $319/month billed yearly
Free trial is available
4. Moxie
Best for freelancers
HoneyBook is for small businesses. Whereas Moxie is ideal for freelancers and solo entrepreneurs. Moxie might not come with a handful of features like its counterpart, but it packs everything you need as a freelancer.
Automates Sales Pipeline
As a CRM for freelancers, Moxie automates your sales pipeline. If someone fills out your form, Moxie sends a customized reply within 5 minutes and invites you to book a Zoom call using your schedule link. You make really good first impressions on clients.
Sends Proposals, Quotes, and Contracts
Moxie comes with pre-built proposals to get things started with. You can further customize it as per your needs. Templates are always there if you need to send a quick proposal to clients.
Team Collaboration
You can add up to 5 team members with Moxie. If you own a small team or a few interns, this feature would really help to get the extra leverage when managing your projects through interns or a team.
Moxie also includes the following features –
- Time-tracking
- Task-based client portal
- Workflow automation
- Zapier and QuickBooks integration
- API access
- White-label branding with custom domain
- Support ticketing
Pros
- Manages freelance projects really well
- Easy task creation
- Tracks the total work time of particular projects
- Automates client welcome messages and scheduling
- Easy to use
Cons
- Not efficient enough for a small team
Moxie Pricing
Starter
- $12/month billed monthly
- $10/month billed yearly
Pro
- $25/month billed monthly
- $20/month billed yearly
Teams
- $40/month billed monthly
- $32/month billed yearly
Free trial available for all Moxie plans
5. Plutio
Best for freelancers and small agencies
Plutio is designed to keep freelancers’ and small agencies’ needs in mind. Comes with a neat and clean interface, even new freelancers would find it easy to use. In terms of pricing, it’s more affordable than HoneyBook.
Custom Forms
When onboarding a new client, you want to keep all information about that client in one place. Plutio offers customizable forms with different input fields, embeds, payment details, and signatures.
Customized Proposals
To make sure your proposals stand out, Plutio offers limitless customizations like you can design the proposal including logo, add custom fields needed for your services.
Also, in the proposal, you can add your service packages with pricing to make things straightforward before signing. Once proposals are approved, Plutio automatically creates projects using your preferred templates.
Project Management
You can manage projects using their advanced project management tool that comes with a Kanban board. With HoneyBook, you don’t have such a well-organized management system.
Adding team members, clients, and files required for projects will be effortless. Your team and client can have conversations and give comments as feedback on deliverables.
Client Portal
Your customers get a fully customizable and granular client portal. You will have access to let them see what you want to show. They will see project updates, tracked time, billing, and invoice information, add notes, and much more.
Compared to HoneyBook, this client portal is much better in terms of use and functionality.
Other notable features of Plutio include:
- Unlimited clients
- Up to 100 team members
- White-label branding
- Customized contracts and agreements
- Schedule meetings and appointments
- Invoicing and payments
- Time tracking
- File management
Pros
- User-friendly interface
- At a glance, updates on projects from the project management board
- Customizable forms, contracts, proposals, and agreements
- Automates proposal acceptance and task creation
- Easy file management with folders
Cons
- Doesn’t have a lead management feature
- Limited mobile experience
Plutio Pricing
- Solo: $19/month
- Studio: $39/month
- Agency: $99/month
All plans have a free trial period. No credit cards needed.
So, Which One is the Best HoneyBook Alternative?
Considering white-label and removing “Powered by”, custom email, custom domain, adding more team members, superb lead and project management, Agency Handy is the best HoneyBook alternative. In terms of pricing, Agency Handy costs much less than HoneyBook.
Features | HoneyBook | Agency Handy |
Starter Price | $36/month | $19/month |
Global Access | US and Canada only | Worldwide |
Team Member Limit | Max 2 on Essentials | Up to 30 users |
Payment Gateways | HoneyBook-only, with fees | Stripe, Wise, PayPal – no fees |
Client Portal Customization | Basic | Full branding and domain control |
Subscription Management | ❌ | ✅ |
Task & Project Views | List-only | Kanban + List + Status tracking |
File Feedback | Chat only | On-file annotations with version history |
Support | Regular support | Priority support |
Wrapping Up
Whether you want to up-scale your agency or it’s the pricing that’s bothering you, in any case, Agency Handy stands out as the best HoneyBook alternative.
You can white-label branding at an insanely low price, add more team members, and have advanced features for leads, a client portal, and client communication.
FAQs
1. Which client portal tool is best for agencies with multiple services and team members?
If you run an agency with multiple service lines and a growing team, Agency Handy is your best bet. It supports multi-package service catalogs, branded client portals, real-time task boards, and allows up to 30 team members.
2. Does HoneyBook offer white-label branding on all plans?
No. White-label is only available on HoneyBook’s Premium plan ($129/month). If you want your brand to show across the client portal, forms, and invoices, Agency Handy offers this only at $19/month.
3. What’s the most affordable alternative to HoneyBook?
Moxie starts at just $12/month and covers the basics: proposals, contracts, time tracking, and task-based client portal. But if you want full team support, project views, branded portals, and subscription billing, Agency Handy gives you more value at $19/month.
4. Can I manage subscriptions and recurring billing with these tools?
Only Agency Handy includes built-in subscription management with automated invoicing and multiple payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, Wise). Other tools like Bonsai, Moxie, and Plutio don’t support subscriptions natively.
5. Which tool has the best project management features for creative teams?
For full project visibility, Plutio and Agency Handy offer Kanban boards, task tracking, and client feedback loops. HoneyBook limits you to list views with no real task visualization, and Moxie works better for solo workflows than multi-member teams.