Bonsai is software for freelancers. Forge builds custom software for people businesses.
Bonsai is a solid all-in-one for a solo creative running a handful of clients - proposals, contracts, invoices, a light portal. It strains once you're an agency with a team, several service lines and a real client roster. Forge doesn't hand you another suite to configure: we build custom software for people businesses - agencies, accountants, lawyers, consultants, recruiters - and look after it. Onboarding, client portals, reporting, all built around the apps you already use.
Nothing technical on your side · we build it and look after it · runs on your own accountsForge isn’t another tool to configure. We build the tool you actually need and look after it.
Bonsai fits the freelancer. Forge fits the agency.
Bonsai is genuinely good at what it's built for: one person, a few clients, one workflow. If that's you, it's a sensible, affordable choice and we'd tell you to keep it.
Agencies are different. Different clients need different workflows, the team spans several tools, and someone spends hours every week moving information between them. Forge builds the custom tools that take that work off your people - client onboarding, branded portals and status pages, reports, syncs - and looks after them on a monthly plan.
A team that does the work, not another tool.
We build it - you don't configure anything
You don't buy a tool and then spend weeks setting it up. We find the manual work slowing your team down, then design, build and test the tools that give those hours back. Nothing technical on your side.
We look after it, too
It runs on your own accounts, so you own it. We monitor it, fix it when a connected tool changes and update it when your process changes - all part of your run plan. Nobody in your firm becomes the part-time admin.
Works with the tools you already have
ClickUp, Trello, Google Sheets, Slack, your CRM, your invoicing tool. We build the links between them, so your team keeps working where it works today - no migration project.
Made for how you actually work
Client onboarding, reporting, branded client portals and status pages, time and margin tracking, AI assistants for the team - built around your clients, your process and your terminology. AI drafts, people decide.
Published pricing, no per-seat fees
A run plan from $2,000 a month (Starter, Growth or Embedded) with your first build included, 3-month minimum, AI usage at cost. Your price doesn't climb as your team grows.
Starts with a 2-week ops audit
We map where your team's hours go and put a number on it, then recommend what to build first. The $2,500 audit is credited to your first month.
Forge vs Bonsai
| Forge | Bonsai | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Custom software built for your firm, looked after on a monthly plan | An all-in-one business suite for freelancers |
| Who does the work | We do - we build it, then monitor, fix and improve it on your own accounts | You set up Bonsai's templates and workflows |
| Your existing tools | Kept - we build around the apps your team already uses | Your work moves into Bonsai |
| Client-facing | Branded portals, status pages and reports, fed automatically | Bonsai-branded portal (white-label is extra) |
| When your process changes | Tell us in plain English - we update and test it | Bend your process to their templates |
| Pricing model | A run plan from $2,000 a month with your first build included - no per-seat fees | Per user, with add-ons |
| Getting started | A 2-week ops audit ($2,500, credited to your first month), then a monthly run plan | Sign up and configure |
Glossary & calculators
Free agency concepts and tools from Forge - plain-English definitions and instant calculators.
Compare other tools, see Forge in action.
The Bonsai alternative your agency can actually hand off.
Start with a 2-week ops audit. We’ll show you where your team’s time is going, then build the tools that win it back and look after them on a monthly plan.