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startbuddi vs Plutio: an honest comparison

Plutio is an all-in-one app for freelancers and agencies, with projects, proposals, contracts, invoices, time tracking, scheduling, forms and a client portal on every plan, priced by active clients and contributors rather than features; startbuddi covers the same client work alongside a shared inbox, marketing, bookings with deposits and Paystack payments, so pick Plutio for its project depth, white-labelling and apps, and startbuddi if you want client work and customer conversations in one place with a free plan to start.

We make startbuddi, so we're biased. We've tried to be fair: we list where Plutio is stronger, every fact about Plutio links to its source, and anything we couldn't confirm on their own site is marked "not published". Checked in September 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.
startbuddi

startbuddi is best for

Service businesses that want client work, bookings, invoices and an inbox together

Plutio logoPlutio

Plutio is best for

Freelancers and agencies who want projects, proposals, invoices and a client portal in one app

At a glance

Best for
startbuddiService businesses that want client work, bookings, invoices and an inbox together
PlutioFreelancers and agencies who want projects, proposals, invoices and a client portal in one app
Free plan
startbuddiYes, the Free plan
PlutioNone on the published plans
First paid plan
startbuddiStarter, $29 a month
PlutioCore, $19 USD per month, billed monthly (about $15 a month billed yearly)
Checked
startbuddiPrice book, October 2026
PlutioSeptember 2026

Where each one is stronger

The short version. Plutio first, because it does some things better than we do.

Plutio logoPlutio is stronger at

Everything on every planPlutio gives each plan the same core features, including the client portal, and plans differ by active clients, contributors, storage and extras.
Project depthtasks have Kanban boards, lists, calendars and Gantt charts, with an AI assistant that can plan projects and draft proposals.
Integrations and APIevery plan lists unlimited integrations and unlimited API access; startbuddi's API is not available yet.
White-label and SSOwhite-labelling is an add-on on Core and Pro and included on Max, which also includes single sign-on.
AppsPlutio has apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and Windows; startbuddi is web only.

startbuddi is stronger at

Free planyou can stay on startbuddi's Free plan with bookings, a form, invoicing and contacts; Plutio offers a 7-day trial, after which an unpaid account can't create new projects or invoices.
No active-client capstartbuddi plans are limited by contacts and seats, not by how many clients are active at once.
Customer conversations in one inboxWhatsApp, email, SMS, website chat, Instagram and Facebook messages sit on the same client record as invoices and deals.
Paystack for African paymentsclients pay invoices and booking deposits by card, bank transfer or USSD through Paystack, or by card through Stripe.
Marketing on the same contact listemail, WhatsApp and SMS campaigns on paid plans use the contacts your forms and bookings collect.

Feature by feature

Each Plutio value links to where we found it. Anything their site doesn't state is marked "not published".

startbuddi and Plutio, feature by feature
FeaturestartbuddiPlutio
Free planFree: 1 seat, 250 contacts, 5 invoices a month Yes 7-day free trialSource (opens in a new tab)
Proposals and contracts with e-signatureOne built-in proposal template Yes Yes, unlimitedSource (opens in a new tab)
Invoices and online payments Paystack, Stripe Stripe, PayPal, SquareSource (opens in a new tab)
Client portalFree lets you build and preview a portal, not invite clients Paid plans Every planSource (opens in a new tab)
Projects and tasksBoard, list and calendar views Yes Kanban, lists, calendars, GanttSource (opens in a new tab)
Time trackingBillable hours tracked; no one-click time-to-invoice Yes YesSource (opens in a new tab)
SchedulingBooking pages with deposits on every plan Yes YesSource (opens in a new tab)
Forms Yes YesSource (opens in a new tab)
Workflow automations Starter plan and up 900 to 50,000 actions a monthSource (opens in a new tab)
Active clientsContact limits from startbuddi's plans table Contacts: 100 Free, 1,000 Starter 9 on Core, unlimited on Pro and MaxSource (opens in a new tab)
White-label No Add-on on Core and Pro, included on MaxSource (opens in a new tab)
Mobile apps Web only IPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, WindowsSource (opens in a new tab)

What each one looks like

Real screens, captured by us or taken from the official press kit, each dated.

startbuddi: Deals on the sales pipeline
startbuddi · Deals on the sales pipeline. Captured from our own account, personal details blurred.
startbuddi: Contacts with their full history
startbuddi · Contacts with their full history. Captured from our own account, personal details blurred.
startbuddi: One inbox for email, WhatsApp and chat
startbuddi · One inbox for email, WhatsApp and chat. Captured from our own account, personal details blurred.

Plutio's own screens are on Plutio's website. We don't show another company's product without a dated capture from a trial or its press kit.

Pricing side by side

List prices as each company publishes them. We never convert currencies.

See startbuddi pricing

startbuddi

  • FreeFree
  • Starter$29 a month
  • Growth$79 a month
  • Scale$199 a month

Prices in US dollars, billed monthly. From our pricing page, updated 3 Oct 2026.

Plutio logoPlutio

Checked in September 2026. Check Plutio's site for current plans.

Switching from Plutio

What moving across involves.

  1. Export your data from PlutioPlutio's pricing page says you can export everything, even after a trial ends. Download your clients as a CSV file first.
  2. Import your clients as contactsIn startbuddi, go to Customers → Contacts → Import, upload the CSV, map the columns and review before importing.
  3. Rebuild proposals, contracts and formsRecreate proposals and contracts in Money Manager and your intake forms in Forms. There's no automatic importer for Plutio templates or projects.
  4. Set up projects and portalsCreate projects in Work, then add a client portal for each active client and invite them by email link.

Sources

Checked in September 2026. startbuddi prices come from our own price book. Plutio's website.

Questions people ask

Does Plutio have a free plan?

No. Plutio has a 7-day free trial with no card. If you don't subscribe, the account moves to a limited state where you can log in and export, but not create new projects or send invoices.

Does Plutio limit clients?

The Core plan allows 9 active clients and no extra contributors. Pro and Max have unlimited active clients, with 30 contributors on Pro and unlimited on Max.

Can startbuddi turn tracked time into an invoice?

Not in one click yet. Time tracking in Work records billable hours and their value, and you add them to an invoice in Money Manager yourself.

Does startbuddi have a mobile app?

Not a native one. It is a web app that works in a phone's browser, while Plutio has phone, tablet and desktop apps.

Other comparisons

All comparisons
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Try startbuddi alongside Plutio.

Start on the free plan with a copy of your contacts and see how it fits before you decide.

Start freeBook a demo
Free plan available. Every paid plan starts with a 30-day trial.