SaaS alternative · Freelancer

Replace Bonsai.
One .xlsx file. Paid once.

Bonsai runs about $19/mo — that's $228/yr for as long as you keep paying. The Quarterly Tax Estimator is one Excel file you pay $11 for once. Over 10 years you keep roughly $2,269.

Side-by-side

	Bonsai	Quarterly Tax Estimator
Cost	~~$19/mo · $228/yr~~	$11 once
10-year cost	~~$2,280~~	$11
Format	Web app · mobile app	.xlsx file · Excel / Sheets / Numbers
Your data lives	On their server	On your computer
Works offline	No	Yes
Cancel = lose access?	Yes	No — own forever
Edit any formula?	No	Yes — every cell
What's inside	Closed platform	11 sheets · 600 live formulas
Live bank sync	Usually yes	No — manual entry
Phone-first workflow	Yes	Limited — desk-and-keyboard

Honest read: if you mostly use Bonsai for live bank sync and phone tracking, stay where you are. If you use it for the weekly numbers and dashboards it shows you — the Excel workbook does that part for $11.

What you'd be switching to

Freelancer · · .xlsx

Quarterly Tax Estimator

Replaces Keeper / Bonsai Tax (~$20/mo). SE tax (15.3% × 0.9235), federal effective rate, state tax, and IRS safe-harbor floor (110% prior year) per quarter. Built-in deductions log with category + business %. Designed for solo 1099/SE filers — not a tax-prep replacement, the quarterly estimate workhorse.

$11 paid once See it →

1 other gridmoo workbook also replaces pieces of Bonsai:

Rate Calculator & Project Profitability $11

Switch in 3 steps

01

Export your data from Bonsai

Most apps have an export-to-CSV option in Settings. Grab the last 12 months at minimum so your historical trends carry over.
02

Paste it into the workbook

Open Quarterly Tax Estimator in Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers. Drop your CSV into the input sheet. The dashboards recompute automatically.
03

Cancel Bonsai

You're saving ~$228 a year, forever. Your data lives on your computer now.

Things people ask

Will an Excel workbook really do everything Bonsai does?

No — that's honest. Bonsai has features a spreadsheet can't match (live bank sync, mobile app, AI assistance). What the workbook does is the core math you actually use weekly. If you're paying $19/mo mostly for features you never open, switching saves you $228/yr. If you genuinely use the platform-specific features, stay where you are.

What's the catch with paying $11 once vs $19/mo?

No catch. The workbook is a .xlsx file you download and own. There's no expiry, no account, no cloud lock-in. You enter your own data manually — that's the friction trade. Over 10 years you'd pay Bonsai roughly $2,280. The workbook costs $11 once, so you keep ~$2,269.0.

What spreadsheet apps does it open in?

Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and Apple Numbers — all three open .xlsx natively. Google Sheets and Apple Numbers are free. You don't need an Excel subscription.

How do I switch from Bonsai?

Three steps: (1) export your historical data from Bonsai as CSV, (2) open the gridmoo workbook and paste the data into the input sheets, (3) cancel your Bonsai subscription. Most users finish the switch in 30–60 minutes.