Bonsai Alternative for Creative Agencies
Creative agencies orchestrate complex projects that span strategy, copywriting, design, photography, video, and production — often with a mix of in-house talent and freelance specialists. Bonsai was built for individual freelancers managing their own client relationships, not for agencies coordinating multi-discipline creative teams across overlapping projects. AgencyPro provides the production management, resource allocation, and creative workflow tools that growing creative agencies need.
If you're a Creative agency looking for an alternative to Bonsai, you're not alone. Many Creative teams switch when they outgrow Bonsai's capabilities — particularly around built for solo freelancers, not agency teams. AgencyPro is purpose-built for agencies like yours, combining project management, client portals, and billing into one platform.
Why Creative Agencies Struggle with Bonsai
Bonsai cannot coordinate multi-discipline teams — a campaign involving strategists, copywriters, designers, and producers requires external tools for any real collaboration
No resource allocation across projects means creative directors can't see who's available when staffing new pitches or projects
Creative production workflows with review cycles, approvals, and handoffs between disciplines don't fit Bonsai's simple task model
Managing a mix of in-house staff and freelance specialists on the same project is not supported in Bonsai's single-user architecture
Why Creative Agencies Switch to AgencyPro
Multi-Discipline Production Management
Creative agencies juggle strategy, copy, design, photo, video, and production on a single project. AgencyPro lets you structure projects with discipline-specific phases, handoff points, and parallel workstreams so that your creative director can see the entire production pipeline instead of Bonsai's disconnected task list.
Cross-Project Resource Allocation
Your senior designer is on three projects, your copywriter just wrapped one, and you have a new pitch coming in. AgencyPro's resource planning shows team capacity across all active projects in real time, letting you staff intelligently. Bonsai has no concept of resource allocation because it doesn't understand multi-project, multi-person operations.
Creative Review & Approval Workflows
Creative work requires structured review cycles — internal creative review, client presentation, revision rounds, final approval. AgencyPro supports these workflows natively with approval gates, revision tracking, and client portal reviews that Bonsai's flat task completion model cannot replicate.
Hybrid Team Management
Creative agencies often blend full-time staff with freelance specialists for photography, illustration, or production. AgencyPro supports both team types with appropriate access levels, billing rates, and project visibility — managing the mixed workforce that Bonsai was never designed to support.
AgencyPro vs Bonsai: Key Feature Comparison
Production Workflows
Multi-phase creative production with discipline-specific stages, handoff points, and dependency management.
Resource Allocation
Cross-project team capacity planning with visual workload views for creative directors and project managers.
Approval Gates
Structured internal and client review stages with formal approval or revision requests at each phase.
Hybrid Team Support
Manage in-house staff and freelance specialists on the same projects with role-appropriate access and billing.
Creative Brief Management
Structured intake briefs tied to project plans ensuring creative teams start with clear direction.
Cross-Project Dashboards
Agency-wide views of all active projects, team utilization, deadlines, and revenue across the creative portfolio.
Key Features for Creative Agencies
Production Workflows
Multi-phase creative production with discipline-specific stages, handoff points, and dependency management.
Resource Allocation
Cross-project team capacity planning with visual workload views for creative directors and project managers.
Approval Gates
Structured internal and client review stages with formal approval or revision requests at each phase.
Hybrid Team Support
Manage in-house staff and freelance specialists on the same projects with role-appropriate access and billing.
Creative Brief Management
Structured intake briefs tied to project plans ensuring creative teams start with clear direction.
Cross-Project Dashboards
Agency-wide views of all active projects, team utilization, deadlines, and revenue across the creative portfolio.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can AgencyPro manage both our internal team and freelance contractors?
Yes. AgencyPro lets you add team members with different roles and access levels. Full-time staff see their assignments across all projects, while freelance specialists see only the projects they're involved in. You can set different billing rates and track costs separately for accurate project margin calculation.
How does AgencyPro handle the creative review process?
Projects can include approval gates at defined stages — like internal creative director review before client presentation, then client approval before production. At each gate, reviewers can approve, request revisions, or leave detailed feedback. The entire history is documented and accessible.
We currently use Bonsai for contracts and a separate PM tool — can AgencyPro replace both?
That's exactly the consolidation AgencyPro provides. Proposals, contracts, project management, time tracking, team coordination, client communication, and invoicing all live in one platform. Most creative agencies switching from Bonsai plus a separate PM tool save both money and operational complexity.
Is AgencyPro suitable for a 6-person creative agency?
AgencyPro is ideal for that size. You're large enough that Bonsai's solo-user design is actively hurting your operations, but small enough that you need an all-in-one solution rather than enterprise tools. AgencyPro scales with you as you grow to 15, 30, or more people.
Switching from Bonsai Is Easier Than You Think
Switching from Bonsai to AgencyPro is straightforward. Our team helps migrate your projects, client data, and workflows so nothing falls through the cracks. Most Creative teams are fully operational within a week.
Bonsai Alternatives for Other Industries
Other Alternatives for Creative Agencies
Learn more about AgencyPro for Creative Agencies
View the Creative Agencies use case page →Upgrade Your Creative Agency's Operations
Replace Bonsai's freelancer toolkit with AgencyPro's production management, team coordination, and creative workflows built for multi-discipline agencies.