Top 10 Plutio Alternatives to Manage your Business

In this review we will list the best alternatives to Plutio, an all-in-one business management tool.

Business management tools like Plutio help you manage your clients, projects, invoices, proposals, contracts, files and more.

Whether you run a solo freelance business or an agency with multiple team members, the appeal of those tools is to provide a great client experience, bill clients, follow up through projects, and having everything in one place.

While we also run our own all-in-one agency management tool we've taken the time to review in the most unbiased way the alternatives available.

Let's start!

Running a larger freelance business or need an alternative specifically built agencies? ManyRequests is an all-in-one modern agency management software. Start your 14-day free trial today.

What is Plutio?

Plutio is an “all-in-one” business management software to run your entire business.

It is especially popular among freelancers and small business owners.

However, the biggest downside we have found with Plutio is that while there are many features, some features lack depth of development.

For example, the project management and collaboration tools do not have intake forms, or auto-assigning tasks to team members, or extensive search filters to sort through tasks.

So while Plutio is great for smaller businesses and has an extensive feature list, you might get into scaling issues.

Plutio pricing and free trial:

One of the upsides of Plutio is its affordability. Pricing starts at $15/month for most features.

There is also a 14-day free trial.

Main Plutio Features:

• CRM
• Invoicing
• Project management
• Proposals
• Scheduling
• Forms & Surveys
• Time tracking

Pros:

• Their interface is very sleek and easy to use.
• The founder of the tool, Leo Bassam, is constantly releasing new features and is often in touch with the community.
• It features templates so you can save time when making contracts and proposals.

Cons:

• Some users in their reviews noted that the tool could be easier to use for some clients as well.
• As we have mentioned before, the tool has a lot of features but do not seem as developed.
• It seems mostly geared towards freelancers. If you run an agency and have a lot of internal collaboration, the tool might not be the best suited for that purpose.

1. ManyRequests

ManyRequests is an all-in-one agency management and client portal software.

The tool is built specifically for agencies and service-based businesses that want to manage client requests, accept payments, and have a fully customizable client portal, all in one place.

Best for: Agencies that want a software to manage client requests, payments, intake forms, and automations.

ManyRequests Pricing and Free trial:

Pricing starts at $59/month for the Starter plan, $129/month for the Plus plan, and $249/month for the Ultimate plan.

Main ManyRequests features:

• Client portal
• Client requests management
• Checkout and intake forms
• Invoicing

Pros:

• The user interface is very modern and clean. It makes it very easy to implement for your business.
• The tool is fully white label. You can use your own domain, email, logo, branding.
• You can automate everything with Zapier and connect with your existing tools.
• New integrations are released regularly.
• Fast support (same business day) and custom features are available to fully fit your workflow.
• Built specifically for agencies

Cons:

• The app features several integrations (including Zapier) but doesn’t have a public API (yet)
• Doesn’t support translations yet, however this is part of their roadmap.

2. Dubsado

Dubsado is a business management tool which is popular among freelancers, agencies and creative businesses such as photographers, wedding organizers, and coaches.

If you need a complete overview of the differences between Plutio and Dubsado, we have written a comparison between them here.

Best for: Freelancers, small agencies, and creative businesses such as photographers and wedding organizers.

Dubsado Pricing and Free trial:

Pricing starts at $35/month (or $300/year) and there is an unlimited free trial up to 3 clients.

Main Dubsado Features:

• Project and client management
• Forms
• Invoicing
• Scheduling
• Automations
• Client portal
• Workflows

Pros:

• It has a lot of features and customizations available.
• You can also use the tool for free up to 3 clients which is great if you’re starting.

Cons:

• Some user reviews noted that there can be quite a learning curve to start using the tool and the user interface can be cluttered at times.
• There’s also no mobile app.

3. HoneyBook

HoneyBook is a client management software for small businesses.

Best for: Small creative businesses such as photographers, wedding organizers, and graphic design agencies that need scheduling, bookings, and proposals and estimates.

HoneyBook Pricing and Free trial:

Pricing starts at $9/month (with up to $10k in transactions) and there is a 7-day free trial.

Main HoneyBook Features:

• Invoicing
• Proposals
• Contracts
• Scheduling

Pros:

• You can track projects in a visual way from start to finish.
• Its UI is sleek and very easy to use.
• It also features a mobile app which is both available on iOS and Android to help you manage your business on the go.

Cons:

• The biggest downside of HoneyBook is the lack of payment integrations. There is no Stripe or PayPal integration and you are tied to using their own payment gateway.
• There’s only a 7-day trial, which might be too short to fully test the tool.

4. Bonsai

Bonsai is an all-in-one business management tool for freelancers.

Best for: Freelancers and solopreneurs.

Bonsai Pricing and Free trial:

Bonsai pricing starts at $19/month and there is a 14-day free trial.

Main Bonsai Features:

• Invoicing
• Contracts
• Proposals
• Time tracking
• Forms
• Tasks
• Accounting

Pros:

• It’s a very feature rich.
• It also has a comprehensive tax and accounting system (which you must purchase as add-on), which can save you a lot of time.
• They have an iOS and Android app as well.

Cons:

• The tool is geared towards freelancers. If you have a lot of team members or tasks it might not be the best suitable tool to run an agency.

5. SuiteDash

SuiteDash is a client portal software that helps you manage your entire business.

Best for: Freelancers or agencies that need a client portal with a lot of customization options.

SuiteDash Pricing and Free trial:

SuiteDash pricing starts at $19/month and there is a 14-day free trial.

Main SuiteDash Features:

• CRM
• Proposals
• Invoicing
• Project managemnet
• Schedule
• Forms
• File sharing

Pros:

• It has all the features you need. Invoicing, proposals, contracts, recurring billing, projects, automations, integrations.
• You can set up advanced workflows.
• It offers advanced customization options.
• It has a mobile app which can help you manage your business on the go.

Cons:

• The UI/UX can seem cluttered at times and old.
• The amount of features can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re just starting your business.
• The learning curve to use the software can be high as well.

6. ClickUp

ClickUp is a project management tool that is very popular among agencies.

Best for: Agencies or freelancers that want a very complete project management tool with different views and customizations.

ClickUp Pricing and Free trial:

ClickUp pricing starts at $9 per user per month ($5 per user if paid yearly), and there is also a free forever plan with unlimited users but with a 100mb limit.

Main ClickUp Features:

• Project management
• Knowledge base
• Goals
• Time management
• Comments and chat

Pros:

• Extensive project management tool with different views (Kanban, list views, roadmap, …)
• Very affordable

Cons:

• It is not a client facing tool: There is no CRM and no client portal.
• It doesn't have billing or invoicing. So you will have to pay for an extra tool to accept payments from clients.
  

7. Trello

Trello is a very popular project management tool that was built with simplicity in mind. The Kanban way of managing projects is the flagship feature of this software.

Best for: Agencies that are starting out, have a few clients or want a Kanban-like workflow.

Trello Pricing and Free trial:

Trello has a free plan (with unlimited team members, unlimited storage, and up to 10 boards), and a paid plan which starts at $10/month per user (this comes with additional features such as dashboard and timeline views, advanced storage, and larger file upload limit among other features)

Main Trello Features:

• Project management with Kanban boards
• Dashboard / timeline views (for paid plans only)
• iOS and Android apps
• Integrations (such as Slack integration)

Pros:

• Simplicity: If you run a simple agency or have a few clients, Trello might just do the job. In addition, it’s very easy to use for clients and they have a user friendly mobile app.
• Cost effective. Trello’s free plan is really great to get started and the paid plan starts at just $10/month per user.

Cons:

• Also its simplicity: Trello lacks many features you may want to use as an agency owner (such as billing, intake forms, client portal)
• The Kanban board is great but might become messy once there is a lot of clients / projects. It might be difficult to juggle between all projects, files, clients.

8. 17Hats

17Hats is a small business management tool that focuses on automation.

It features projects, scheduling, a CRM, invoicing, reporting, contracts, client portal, as well as various automations and workflows.

Best for: Small businesses that want to automate part of their work.

17Hats Pricing and Free trial:

Pricing starts at $15/month up to $60/month depending on how many documents and lead captures you have. There are also different modules you can activate for an additional monthly fee (Time tracking, Advanced scheduling, and Recurring billing).

Main 17Hats Features:

• Project management
• Scheduling
• CRM
• Invoicing
• Reporting
• Contracts
• Client portal
• Automations and workflows
• three

Pros:

• The automations are really powerful. You can use a feature to trigger another action so that you can save time.
• There is a free CRM if you’re just getting started with your business.
• There is a mobile app to manage your business on the go.

Cons:

• If you have a lot of contracts, quotes, or documents the pricing can quickly add up. However you can purchase extra documents starting at 25 for $10.

9. Paperbell

Paperbell is one of the newcomer software for managing a coaching business.

Best for: Coaching businesses as it's a tool built specifically for coaches.

PaperBell Pricing and Free trial:

PaperBell pricing starts at $50/month (or $40/month if billed yearly)

In addition, Paperbell is free for your first client which is great if you're just starting your coaching business.

Main PaperBell Features:

• Payments
• Scheduling
• Client management
• Contract signing
• Group coaching
• Digital products
• Client questionnaires
• Payment plans

Pros:

• It focuses only on coaches and has all the features you need to run a successful coaching business such as selling digital products, group coaching, as well as payment plans.

Cons:

• No major cons except being a new software so it might still be lacking some features you need. However, it is built by software veteran Laura Roeder (the founder of Meet Edgar) and more awesome features should be released soon.

10. Bloom

Bloom is another software that focuses on the creative freelancer market.

It features order forms, scheduling, project management, workflows, lead management, contracts, CRM, as well as a website portfolio.

Best for: Creative freelancers (designers, architects, illustrators, and other artists)

Bloom Pricing and Free trial:

Pricing starts at $49/month (or $39/month if you choose a yearly plan) but there is also a free plan that is limited to one project.

Main Bloom Features:

• Order forms
• Scheduling
• Project management
• Workflows
• Lead management
• Contracts
• CRM
• Website portfolio

Pros:

• Bloom has two nice features which are website portfolio and image gallery. This helps you showcase your work and services in a beautiful and professional way to your clients.
• The user interface feels really modern and user friendly.
• It also has an iOS app if you want to manage your business on the go.

Cons:

• It doesn’t have proposals or quotes. Only contracts.
• The project management feature is very basic and lacks built in client communication.
• Pricing is a little bit higher than other freelancers tools.

Wrapping up... What's the best alternative to Plutio?

First of all, it depends on the features you need to run your business, and how you use those features.

For example, if you're a freelancer that sends a lot of proposals, invoices, Dubsado, Bonsai, and HoneyBook are great alternatives.

If you're running an agency, tools like ManyRequests or ActiveCollab that have built-in tools such as client collaboration, and payments are great choices.

Secondly, it is also important to consider what type of business you're running. For example, if you run a coaching business, tools like Paperbell are built specifically for this. Whereas if you're a freelancer selling creative services, tools like Bloom.io are built specifically for creative freelancers.

Finally, the best is to try a few tools. A lot of the tools mentioned in this article have either free trials or a free forever plan. See if your team likes them or not, and try it internally or with a few clients and see what works best for your agency or freelance business.