How Aeto compares to the alternatives.
Most tools cover one or two pieces of the freelance workflow — time tracking, or invoicing, or project management. Aeto connects all three, on Mac, web, and Chrome, at $10/month.
Harvest
Harvest is a solid time tracking and invoicing tool built for teams. If you also need project management, a Mac menu bar timer, and a Chrome Extension — and prefer a tool built for solo freelancers — see how Aeto compares.
Aeto vs Harvest →HoneyBook
HoneyBook is built around proposals, contracts, and the client acquisition experience. If you are past the proposal stage and need project management, task-level time tracking, and invoicing, see how Aeto compares.
Aeto vs HoneyBook →Bonsai
Bonsai has pivoted from solo freelancers toward teams and agencies. If you want a focused tool for managing projects, tracking time, and invoicing — without the CRM, proposals, and agency overhead — see how Aeto compares.
Aeto vs Bonsai →Notion
Notion is a powerful workspace for notes, docs, and project management — but it has no time tracking and no invoicing. If you are using Notion to manage client work and relying on other tools to track time and bill, see how Aeto compares.
Aeto vs Notion →Aeto vs. the Competition.
Most tools have some of the pieces. Very few have all of them — built for a solo freelancer.
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| Aeto | Plutio | HoneyBook | Dubsado | Bonsai | Moxie | Harvest | Toggl | Clockify | FreshBooks | Paymo | Timely | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price / mo | $10 | $19 | $29+ | $20+ | $9+ | $12+ | $12/user | $9+ | Free+ | $19+ | Free+ | $9–22/user |
| Billing | ||||||||||||
| Time tracking | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI / passive auto-tracking | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ |
| Task-level time → invoice | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Flat fee + internal time tracking | ✓ | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Invoicing | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ~ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| Payment tracking / ledger | ✓ | ~ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | ✓ | ~ | – |
| Expense tracking | – | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | ✓ | ~ | – |
| Proposals | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | – | – | ~ | – |
| Contracts / e-sign | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Project management | ||||||||||||
| Project management | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | ~ | ✓ | – | – | – | ~ | ✓ | ~ |
| Kanban board | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | ~ | ✓ | – | – | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Task-level deadlines | ✓ | ~ | – | – | – | ✓ | – | – | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Deadline notifications | ✓ | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Workload home screen | ✓ | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ~ |
| Platform | ||||||||||||
| Web app | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Chrome Extension | ✓ | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – |
| Native desktop app | ✓ | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | ✓ |
| Menu bar / system tray timer | ✓ | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | – |
| Mobile app | – | – | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Client-facing | ||||||||||||
| Client portal | – | ✓ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | – | – | – | – | ~ | – |
| White-label portal | – | ✓ | ~ | ~ | – | ~ | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| CRM / lead pipeline | – | ~ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Aeto: Mac desktop app requires Apple Silicon (M1+) and macOS 12+. Menu bar timer is Mac-exclusive. Web app and Chrome Extension work on all platforms.
Bonsai: Has pivoted toward teams and agencies. Time tracking and invoicing require higher-tier plans on some configurations.
Toggl / Clockify invoicing: Available on paid tiers only. Both are primarily free-tier time trackers, not invoicing tools.
All prices: Per-user pricing for one user, monthly equivalent. Verified at time of writing.