Choose Trakkar over Bonsai if you want one tool for time tracking, projects, HR, and GST invoices and quotations created in Trakkar. Trakkar Premium is $5/user/month (₹120/user/month + GST in India), with no setup fee.
More detail
This page compares Trakkar and Bonsai for teams that bill clients for their time. Trakkar Premium is $5/user/month (₹120/user/month + GST in India), with time tracking, attendance, leave, invoicing, projects, and a client portal included and no add-on stack. Bonsai from $24–$49/month (not per-user). Trakkar sends GST invoices with client GSTIN and a tax rate you choose, and project profitability against each project's fixed value is built in. If Bonsai already covers how you bill, it may be all you need. If you want hours, invoices, and HR in one plan, that's what Trakkar is built for. Screenshots are on by default in the desktop app, admins can turn them off for anyone, and they aren't the main pitch.
TL;DR: Trakkar vs Bonsai
Trakkar is a workforce platform for service teams at $5/user/month (₹120/user/month + GST in India), with time tracking, attendance, leave, GST invoicing and a client portal. Bonsai freelancer business management. If your team runs Bonsai next to separate HR and invoicing tools, Trakkar brings those into one place.
What each tool does
Official positioning and what you get on each vendor's published plans.
Trakkar combines a desktop time tracker, attendance and leave management, project and task workflows, invoicing, and a client portal, built for agencies and client-service teams.
Desktop time tracker for Windows and macOS, with idle time flagged, screenshots and app usage
Attendance, shifts, holidays, leave, WFH, and overtime
Tasks and projects on a Kanban board and a timeline view, with custom workflows and daily standups
Invoices, quotations, client address book, and unpaid invoices by days late
Client portal where clients see tasks and hours and download invoices
Bonsai bundles contracts, proposals, invoicing, and time tracking for freelancers and solo consultants.
From $24–$49/month (not per-user)
Monthly cost by team size
Prices in USD at list rates. In India, Trakkar Premium is ₹120/user/month + GST.
Monthly cost by team size
Team size
Trakkar
Bonsai
Annual savings
1 user
$5/mo
~$24/mo
~$228/yr saved
5 users
$25/mo
~$24/mo
—
10 users
$50/mo
~$24/mo
—
25 users
$125/mo
~$24/mo
—
50 users
$250/mo
~$24/mo
—
Prices in USD at list rates. In India, Trakkar Premium is ₹120/user/month + GST.
Plan-by-plan pricing
Trakkar Premium
₹120/user/month + GST
Time tracking and screenshots. ₹114 on 6 months, ₹108 on 12 months.
Time tracking and screenshots
Attendance, shifts, leave, and holidays
Tasks and projects
Invoicing, quotations, and client portal
BonsaiBonsai
Plan
Price
Starter
$24/mo
Professional
$39/mo
Business
$49/mo
Feature comparison
Sourced where each vendor publishes it; Trakkar rows reflect Premium.
Time tracking & productivity
How each platform captures billable hours and measures team output.
Time tracking & productivity
Capability
Trakkar
Bonsai
Desktop time tracking
Included
Check vendor
Manual time entry and approved time corrections
Included
Check vendor
Async daily standups
Included
Check vendor
Idle time flagged
Included
Check vendor
Cost rates, budget and margin per project
Included
Check vendor
Projects & tasks
Task management, workflows, and delivery visibility.
Projects & tasks
Capability
Trakkar
Bonsai
Tasks, checklists & attachments
Included
Check vendor
Kanban, Gantt & custom workflows
Included
Check vendor
Recurring tasks & task pool
Included
Check vendor
HR, attendance & leave
Leave types, shifts, holidays, WFH, and overtime, including Indian presets.
HR, attendance & leave
Capability
Trakkar
Bonsai
Clock-in/out on web and mobile
Included
Check vendor
Reusable shifts & holiday calendar
Included
Check vendor
Leave requests, balances & balance history
Included
Check vendor
WFH & overtime workflows
Included
Check vendor
HR lifecycle (onboarding/offboarding)
Included
Check vendor
Billing, invoicing & client work
GST invoices, quotations, payments, and client transparency.
Billing, invoicing & client work
Capability
Trakkar
Bonsai
GST invoices with your client's GSTIN (India)
Included
Check vendor
Quotes tracked to acceptance & invoice
Included
Check vendor
Partial payments & TDS tracking
Included
Check vendor
Client portal (tasks, hours, invoices)
Included
Check vendor
Unpaid invoices grouped by days late
Included
Check vendor
Fair time tracking
Screenshots and app usage in the desktop app, on by default and set per person.
Fair time tracking
Capability
Trakkar
Bonsai
Screenshots (desktop)
Included
Check vendor
App & website usage (desktop)
On by default
Check vendor
Screenshots set per person
Included
Check vendor
Client portal access
Included
Check vendor
Platform and getting started
Pricing transparency, apps, and getting started.
Platform and getting started
Capability
Trakkar
Bonsai
Transparent flat per-user pricing
Included
Check vendor
Free trial (no credit card)
Included
Check vendor
Desktop apps (Windows/Mac)
Included
Check vendor
Mobile apps (iOS/Android)
Included
Check vendor
Automations
Included
Check vendor
Detailed comparison by topic
Pricing & total cost of ownership
Trakkar Premium is $5/user/month (₹120/user/month + GST in India) with time tracking, screenshots, attendance, leave, invoicing, and client portal included. That's $100/month at list price for a 20-person team (₹2,400/month + GST in India), paid upfront for 6 months (5% off) or 12 months (10% off), with no per-module upsells.
Bonsai
Bonsai pricing: From $24–$49/month (not per-user). Most teams also pay for separate invoicing, HR, or monitoring tools, pushing total cost well above the listed per-user price.
One platform instead of a stack
Built for Indian billing: client GSTIN on invoices, the tax rate you pick, invoice numbers that restart each Indian financial year, TDS recorded at payment, India holiday presets, and your own custom holidays.
Bonsai
Bonsai covers one slice of the workflow. Trakkar bundles time tracking with screenshots, projects, attendance and leave, invoicing, and a client portal in a single per-user price. GST invoices and quotations are created in Trakkar too, so there is no separate invoicing tool to buy.
Feature depth & tool consolidation
One dashboard replaces a time tracker, attendance system, leave manager, invoicing tool, and client portal. Tasks run on a Kanban board, where you drag cards between your own status columns, and a timeline (Gantt-style) view shows tasks by project. Each project can have its own workflow, with your own statuses and the moves you allow between them, plus ready-made HR automations. The async daily standup fills itself in from yesterday's tasks and time. For people changes, there are onboarding and offboarding checklists, and when someone leaves, their work is handed over to a colleague.
Bonsai
Bonsai bundles contracts, proposals, invoicing, and time tracking for freelancers and solo consultants. Freelancer-focused, weak for teams Teams using Bonsai often maintain a separate stack for billing and HR.
Onboarding & switching
Self-serve signup at web.trakkar.in with a 14-day free trial, no credit card needed. Import your clients from Excel or CSV, invite your team by email or invite link, and set up leave types, shifts, and screenshot policies. Book a demo at trakkar.in/demo to see how it compares with Bonsai.
Bonsai
Bonsai onboarding varies by plan tier. Enterprise plans may require sales calls and longer implementation, especially for PSA tools like Scoro or Kantata.
Strengths on both sides
Where Trakkar wins
Scales from freelancer to 200-person agency
GST invoicing and leave management
Team monitoring and client portal
Where Bonsai wins
Contract and proposal templates
Integrated time tracking and invoicing
Tax preparation assistance (US)
Freelancer-focused UX
Common Bonsai limitations and who each tool fits
Common Bonsai limitations
Freelancer-focused, weak for teams
No employee monitoring
US tax focus with limited invoice tax configuration
Expensive per solo user vs Trakkar team pricing
Choose Trakkar if…
Freelancers growing into agencies who need team features
Choose Bonsai if…
US solo freelancers needing contract templates
How to switch from Bonsai to Trakkar
Export your client list, and any timesheet history you want to keep, from Bonsai (CSV or native export).
Sign up for a free Trakkar trial at web.trakkar.in. No credit card required.
Import your clients from Excel or CSV and invite your team. Set up leave types, shift templates, attendance rules, and screenshot policies.
Connect billing: set your invoice details, tax rates, and invoice number prefix, then create your first invoice.
Enable the client portal per project and run both tools in parallel for one billing cycle before switching.
Book a free demo at trakkar.in/demo if you want a guided walkthrough with the founding team.
Bonsai suits US solo freelancers with contracts and US tax. Trakkar suits growing agencies that need invoicing, team management, and monitoring at $5/user (₹120/user/month + GST in India).
Is Trakkar a good Bonsai alternative?
Yes. Trakkar replaces Bonsai for teams that want time tracking, projects, attendance, leave, invoicing, and a client portal in one product at $5/user/month (₹120/user/month + GST in India).
How much does Bonsai cost compared to Trakkar?
Bonsai: From $24–$49/month (not per-user). Trakkar Premium is $5/user/month, so 10 people come to $50/month at list price, paid upfront for 6 or 12 months. In India, Trakkar bills in INR at ₹120/user/month + GST.
Can I migrate from Bonsai to Trakkar?
Yes. Export your client list from Bonsai as CSV where available. Trakkar imports clients from Excel or CSV, and you invite your team by email or invite link. Book a free 30-minute demo at trakkar.in/demo to see the setup.
What is the main difference between Trakkar and Bonsai?
Trakkar is a workforce platform for agencies and client-service teams. It covers time tracking, attendance, leave and GST invoicing, with a client portal, at $5/user/month (₹120/user/month + GST in India). Bonsai is freelancer business management. Many agencies run Bonsai next to separate HR and invoicing tools, and Trakkar brings those into one place.
Which is better for agencies: Trakkar or Bonsai?
Trakkar suits agencies that want time tracking, attendance, a client portal and GST invoicing in one place. Bonsai may suit you better if US solo freelancers needing contract templates.
Does Trakkar include screenshots like Bonsai?
Trakkar includes screenshots in the Windows and macOS desktop app at $5/user/month (₹120/user/month + GST in India). They're on by default, and admins can turn them off for anyone and set each person's interval (every 10 minutes by default).
Does Bonsai support GST invoicing?
Bonsai is a dedicated invoicing product, and tax-compliant invoicing is its core job. The difference is scope: Trakkar puts invoices in the same platform that runs time tracking, attendance, leave, and projects, with the tax rate you pick (GST supported for India), so there is no separate delivery stack to keep in sync.
