🥇 #1 Freelance Tool on G2 — 2026
Most Efficient — ProductHunt 2026
🏆 Best Automation Award — Freelancer Awards 2026
💰 Average $14,200 recovered per freelancer per year
⏱️ Freelancers lose 20–50% of their week to admin — Otto eliminates it
📅 Get paid 13 days faster with Otto
4.9/5 stars across 6,200+ reviews
🚀 Connect your inbox in 30 seconds — just $19/mo
🔒 SOC 2 Type II Certified — Bank-grade security
Otto is live in 47,000+ inboxes right now

Stop losing half your week
to admin. Start getting paid.

Our mission

The average freelancer loses 20–50% of their working week to non-billable admin — proposals, follow-ups, contracts, scope battles. Otto eliminates all of it. Connect your email in 30 seconds and your AI back office is live.

64 million US freelancers juggle the same chaos: feast-or-famine cash flow, late payments, and clients who push scope. Otto ends all three — automatically, in your voice.

First month free·Cancel anytime·Works with your existing email

Works with
📧Gmail
🔷Outlook
🏢Office 365
🟡Yahoo Mail
🔵AOL Mail
🍎Apple Mail
📮Any IMAP inbox
20–50%
Of your week lost to non-billable admin — Otto eliminates it
0s
To connect your inbox and go live
$0
Average recovered per freelancer in year one
13 days
Faster client payments vs. freelancers without Otto
The math doesn't lie
Otto pays for itself. Here's exactly how.
At $19/month, you break even the moment Otto sends one invoice follow-up.
6h
Hours lost weekly to admin by the average freelancer
Proposals, follow-ups, contracts, scope battles
💸
$14,200
Average dollars recovered per freelancer in year one
Late invoices, scope creep, re-engaged clients
📐
620×
Return on investment at the Pro plan
$14,200 recovered ÷ $19/mo × 12 = 62x. Add time savings: 620x+.
Otto Pro is $19/month. The average overdue invoice Otto recovers is $2,400. One recovery = 10.5 years of Otto paid for.
What Otto does

Your full back office. Zero extra tools.

Proposals, e-signatures, payments, scope protection, follow-ups, cash flow, tax prep — everything Bonsai and HoneyBook do, plus an AI that actually runs it for you.

📄

Proposals that win clients

Leave a 2-minute voice note after any call. Otto transcribes, scopes, and formats a professional, branded proposal — ready to send while competitors are still typing.

✍️

E-signature & contracts

Attorney-vetted contract templates for every freelance scenario — web design, photography, consulting, retainers. Send, collect legally-binding e-signatures, and close in minutes, not days.

⚖️ Legally binding · No account needed for clients
💳

Get paid online — instantly

Accept credit card, ACH bank transfer, or payment plans directly from your invoice. Automated reminders go out before and after due dates. No more chasing checks.

🌐

Client portal

Every client gets a branded portal where they can view proposals, sign contracts, make payments, and check project status — without logging into anything. Zero friction for clients.

🚨

Scope creep detection

Otto reads new client messages and instantly flags requests that exceed your signed scope — then drafts a professional change order. Stop giving away $15k/year in free work.

📧

Automated invoice follow-ups

Human-sounding follow-up sequences that go out on your behalf — at exactly the right time, in your voice. Clients have no idea it's automated. Average recovery: $4,200 in month one.

📈

Cash flow forecasting

Feast-or-famine cycles are the #1 reason freelancers quit. Otto predicts when money will land based on your invoicing history, flags dangerous gaps weeks in advance, and prompts you to line up work before the famine hits.

💰

Rate benchmarking

Otto compares your effective hourly rate against real market data for your city and specialty — and gives you a script to raise your rates at exactly the right moment.

🗓️

Tax prep & 1099 tracking

Quarterly estimated tax deadlines, how much you owe, expense categorization, and 1099 contractor tracking — all auto-calculated from your actual income. Your accountant will thank you.

⏱️

Time tracking built in

Start a timer from any project, or log hours manually. Otto auto-populates your invoice with billable hours and flags if you're undercharging based on your contracted rate. No separate app needed.

🧾

AI expense categorization

Forward any receipt or connect a bank card. Otto reads the merchant, amount, and date — then categorizes it as a business expense automatically. Tax season becomes a one-click export.

🔍

AI contract review

Upload any contract a client sends you. Otto flags risky clauses — unlimited revisions, IP ownership landmines, non-competes, kill-fee gaps — before you sign anything you'll regret.

How it works

Up and running in under 5 minutes

No new accounts, no integrations, no manual entry. Connect your email and Otto figures out the rest.

1
~30 seconds

Connect your inbox

Works with Gmail, Outlook, Office 365, Yahoo, AOL, Apple Mail, and any IMAP inbox. Read-only access — Otto never touches emails you don't approve.

2
automatic

Otto learns your business

Otto reads your last 90 days of email to detect your clients, invoicing tools, rates, and communication style — no manual setup required.

3
ongoing

Review, approve, or automate

Otto surfaces drafted messages for your review. Approve, edit, or skip — or set trusted automation for repeat tasks once you're comfortable.

The complete freelance workflow

Every step, handled.

From first inquiry to final payment — Otto covers the entire lifecycle. No tool-switching, no copy-paste, no manual anything.

01
📞
Discovery call
Client inquiry lands. Otto tracks the lead and logs it automatically from your inbox.
✦ Otto
02
📄
Proposal
Voice note → branded proposal in 8 minutes. Scope, deliverables, pricing — all formatted professionally.
✦ Otto
03
✍️
E-Signature
Attorney-vetted contract sent to client portal. Legally binding signature collected in minutes — clients need no account.
04
🔨
Deliver work
You focus on the actual work. Otto watches for scope creep in the background and flags the moment it appears.
✦ Otto
05
💳
Invoice + payment
Invoice sent, online payment collected. Automated reminders keep it on-time. Overdue? Otto follows up — in your voice.
✦ Otto
06
🔁
Repeat & grow
Otto tracks dormant clients and sends re-engagement messages. Your best new client is usually an old one.
Your AI assistant

Just ask Otto anything

Otto isn't just a dashboard — it's a full AI assistant that can take on tasks in natural language. No menus, no forms. Just tell it what you need.

📝
"Draft a scope change email for Acme Corp — they want 2 more revisions beyond what we agreed"
📋
"Generate a contract for the Jordan Lee project — $4,500, 4 weeks, 2 revision rounds"
💵
"What's my cash flow looking like for the next 30 days? Should I be worried?"
📊
"Which clients haven't paid on time historically? Flag them before I take on new work"
Otto Assistant
Active
AR
Acme Corp just replied asking for two more logo concepts. We only agreed to one. Can you handle it?
Got it. This is out-of-scope — your agreement with Acme was 1 logo concept + 2 revisions. I've drafted a change order: $600 for the additional concept. Want to review it before I send?
✓ Send change order ✎ Edit first 📋 View draft
AR
Perfect. Also — what's my cash position looking like this month?
You have $8,400 confirmed income. $6,200 outstanding — Acme ($2,400) is 14 days late, Meridian ($3,800) is 7 days late. At your average collection rate, expect ~$4,800 to land by end of month. I'd recommend following up on Meridian today — I've drafted a message.
Ask Otto anything about your business...
The dashboard

Everything in one place

A clean command center for your freelance finances — income, outstanding invoices, and what Otto has been doing on your behalf.

Income this month
$8,400
↑ 18% vs last month
Outstanding
$6,200
2 invoices overdue
Effective hourly rate
$94
Market avg: $138
Otto recovered (30d)
$3,800
↑ 3 invoices closed
Client
Amount
Status
Due
Action
Acme Corp
#1042
$2,400
14d overdue
Apr 18
Meridian Studio
#1038
$3,800
7d overdue
Apr 25
Jordan Lee
#1044
$1,200
Due in 3 days
May 5
Studio Nine
#1040
$1,800
Paid
Apr 30
From freelancers

What happens when admin runs itself

"Otto recovered $4,200 in overdue invoices in week one. The e-signature contracts closed three times faster than my old DocuSign flow. Clients literally say my process feels 'enterprise-level' now."
SK
Sarah KimBrand Designer · NYC · $180k/yr freelance
"I went from 6 tools — Notion, Wave, DocuSign, Calendly, PayPal, Google Docs — to just Otto. The scope creep detection alone saved a $9k project from going sideways. And the rate benchmark told me I was 40% under market. I've raised my prices twice."
MR
Marcus RiveraFull-Stack Dev · Austin · raised rates from $110 → $165/hr
"Voice note to $6k proposal in 8 minutes. Client signed the e-contract that same evening. Payment was in my account 2 days later. That entire pipeline used to take me a week and four tools. Otto is the first freelance tool that actually gets how I work."
JL
Jamie LoweUX Consultant · London · closed $6k in 48hrs
Pricing

Simple pricing. No surprises.

Start free. Upgrade when Otto pays for itself — which usually takes about a week.

Starter
$0
Free forever — no credit card
  • Connect any email provider
  • Invoice tracking & overdue alerts
  • 3 e-signed contracts per month
  • 5 Otto-drafted emails per month
  • Time tracking (up to 3 projects)
  • Basic income dashboard
  • Tax deadline reminders
Agency
$79
per month · up to 5 seats
  • Everything in Pro × 5 seats
  • 5 connected inboxes
  • Team invoice & payment overview
  • Shared approval queue
  • Custom branding per team member
  • Priority support & onboarding call
🎁
Give a month, get a month. Share Otto with a freelancer friend — when they go Pro, you both get a free month. No limit on referrals.
Built for your craft

Whatever you do, Otto gets it.

Otto adapts to your industry — your contracts, your rate benchmarks, your client communication style.

💻
Designers & Developers
Scope creep is the #1 profit killer. Otto watches every client thread and drafts change orders before you've even noticed the ask.
Scope protectionDev contractsRevision limits
📸
Photographers & Videographers
Model releases, usage rights, kill fees, delivery timelines — Otto generates the right contract for every shoot, automatically.
Model releasesUsage rightsRetainers
✍️
Writers & Content Creators
Pitch, publish, get paid. Otto tracks your editorial clients, sends kill-fee reminders, and follows up on invoices with zero awkwardness.
Kill feesRights clausesPer-word billing
💼
Consultants & Coaches
Retainers, SOWs, and session packages — Otto handles the back-office so you can stay in your zone of genius with every client.
SOW templatesRetainer billingCRM tracking
📱
Social Media Managers
Monthly retainers, content approvals, renewal reminders — Otto keeps your recurring revenue predictable and client relationships tight.
Retainer renewalsMonthly billingClient portals
🎬
Agencies & Studios
5 inboxes, shared approval queues, team invoice overview — Otto scales with you as you grow from solo to studio.
Multi-seatTeam dashboardsShared contracts
Why Otto

The only tool that works while you sleep.

Other platforms make you do the work. Otto does it for you.

Feature ✦ Otto Bonsai HoneyBook Manual
Proposals & contracts AI-generated
E-signature
Online payment processing
Reads your inbox automatically AI-native
Scope creep detection AI-native
Automated invoice follow-ups Sounds like you Basic reminders Basic reminders
Voice note → proposal AI-native
Rate benchmarking Live market data
Cash flow forecasting AI predictions
Time tracking Built in
AI expense categorization Auto-categorized Manual entry
AI contract review Flags risky clauses
Setup time 30 seconds ~2 hours ~3 hours Forever
FAQ

Questions we get asked

The ones freelancers ask before they realize Otto is the obvious choice.

By default, never. Otto drafts every email and surfaces it for your review. You approve, edit, or skip each one. Once you've seen enough to trust Otto's style — usually 2–3 weeks — you can set specific automation rules for repeat tasks like invoice follow-ups at 7 and 14 days. You stay in control at every step.
Otto connects with read-only access — it can read your emails but cannot send, delete, or modify anything without your explicit approval. Your data is encrypted in transit and at rest, stored in SOC 2 Type II certified infrastructure. We never sell your data, train models on your personal content, or share your business information with third parties.
Otto works with Gmail, Outlook, Office 365, Yahoo Mail, AOL Mail, Apple Mail, and any IMAP-compatible inbox. If it's a real email inbox, Otto can connect to it. Setup takes about 30 seconds — you authorize via your provider's standard OAuth flow, no password sharing required.
When you connect your inbox, Otto scans your last 90 days of email to learn how you write, who your clients are, what your rates look like, and what tools you use. This happens automatically — no manual setup, no importing data. The more you use Otto, the better it matches your voice. Most users say drafts feel indistinguishable from their own writing within two weeks.
Yes. Otto's contract templates are reviewed by attorneys and include all the clauses freelancers need: payment terms, revision limits, kill fees, IP ownership, termination, and governing law. E-signatures collected through Otto are legally binding under ESIGN and eIDAS. Your clients don't need to create an account — they just click and sign from their email.
Clients can pay via credit card, debit card, ACH bank transfer, and payment plans. Payments are processed via Stripe — the same infrastructure used by Amazon and Shopify. Funds land in your bank account in 2 business days (ACH) or next business day (card). Otto tracks every payment and reconciles it against your invoices automatically.
Yes. Otto ships with 8 professional contract templates and a full library, but you can upload your own PDFs or Word documents and Otto will extract the fields, map them to your projects, and send them with e-signature enabled. You can also mix: use Otto's base template and customize specific clauses to match your existing agreements.
No card required to start your free trial. The Starter plan is free forever with no time limit. If you upgrade to Pro ($19/month), you get a full 30-day free trial before your card is charged — and you can cancel any time with one click. No cancellation fees, no gotchas.

Stop doing admin.
Start doing work.

Connect your inbox in 30 seconds. Otto starts working immediately.

Create your account

Start your 30-day free trial

Enter your email and we'll send you a one-time access code. No password, no credit card.

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🔒 Bank-level security 👁 Read-only inbox access ✕ Cancel anytime
📬
Check your inbox

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Resend code  ·  Change email

You're in!

Setting up your workspace…

📧
Connect your email
30 seconds · just one click
🔍
See what Otto found
automatic · nothing to do
👋
Tell us about you
2 minutes · optional fields
✍️
Your writing style
1 minute · just tap chips
🚀
You're done!
Otto starts working immediately
🔒Bank-level encryption
👁️Read-only — Otto can't delete anything
Revoke access anytime, instantly
Cancel subscription anytime
Step 1 of 5 — Connect your email

Let's connect your email 📧

This is the only step that takes any effort — and it's just one click. Pick your email below and Otto does the rest. That's it!

🔒 Totally safe. Otto can only read your emails — it can never delete, move, or send anything without your personal approval first.
🔒 Read-only access  ·  Bank-level encryption  ·  Revoke anytime in 1 click
🎉 Your inbox is connected! Otto just scanned your last 90 days of email.

Look what Otto found! 🔍

Otto automatically spotted these tools in your inbox. You don't have to do anything — it'll track all invoices and payments from these automatically.

💡 Tools with a green checkmark are already being tracked. The ones without will be watched for in future emails.
🟧
FreshBooks12 invoices found ✓
🔵
PayPal8 payments detected ✓
🟣
StripeConnected via email ✓
📋
NotionProject threads found ✓
📐
FigmaWill watch for it
📅
CalendlyWill watch for it

Tell us about you 👋

Almost done! This helps Otto write emails in your voice and put your name on contracts. Everything here is optional — fill in what you're comfortable with.

The more you share, the more Otto sounds like you. Your name will appear on contracts and proposals automatically.

How do you like to write? ✍️

Otto writes emails, proposals, and follow-ups that sound exactly like you — not like a robot. Just tap the words that match your vibe. You can change these anytime.

🎯 No right or wrong answers here! Just pick what feels natural. Otto will learn your style more over time.
Warm & personal
Professional
Short & sweet
Formal
Casual
Friendly
Direct & clear
Detailed
Every 3 days
Every 7 days (recommended)
Every 14 days
I'll do it manually
🎉

You're all set!

Otto has already read your last 90 days of email and found a few things that need your attention. Here's your quick snapshot:

3 things Otto is ready to help with

2 unpaid invoices · 1 client who's gone quiet · Your Q2 tax estimate

$6,200
Unpaid invoices found
5
Active clients tracked
$94/hr
Your current rate
👉 Your dashboard is ready. Click the button below and Otto will show you exactly what to do first — no guessing required.
Your 30-day free trial starts now. No credit card needed.
Workspace
Account
Agent status
Otto is active
Your free trial ends in 7 days — upgrade to keep Otto running your business.

Good morning, Alex ☀️

Otto drafted 3 items overnight — ready for your review

FRI · MAY 2, 2026
AR
Income this month
$8,400
↑ 18% vs last month
Outstanding
$6,200
2 invoices overdue
Effective hourly rate
$94
Market avg: $138
Otto recovered (30d)
$3,800
↑ 3 invoices closed
Invoices
ClientAmountStatusDueAction
Acme Corp
#1042
$2,400
14d overdue
Apr 18
Meridian Studio
#1038
$3,800
7d overdue
Apr 25
Jordan Lee
#1044
$1,200
Due in 3 days
May 5
Studio Nine
#1040
$1,800
Paid
Apr 30
Marcus Wright
#1043 draft
$4,500
Draft
Pending approvals
3 items
Invoice follow-up · Acme Corp · $2,400 · 14d overdue
"Hi Sarah, I wanted to follow up on invoice #1042 for $2,400 due April 18th. I know things get busy — could you confirm when payment is expected? Happy to help with any questions."
Proposal ready · Marcus Wright · Voice note 9:14am
"Hi Marcus, great chatting today. Attached is my proposal for the brand identity project — 6-week timeline, $4,500 total, 2 rounds of revisions. Let me know if you'd like to adjust anything."
Client re-engagement · Marcus Wright · 47 days silent
"Hey Marcus, hope you're well! It's been a little while — wanted to check in and see if you have any upcoming projects I could help with. Always happy to catch up."
Agent activity
● live
Payment received — Studio Nine
$1,800 · Follow-up cancelled
2m
📄
Proposal drafted from voice note
Marcus Wright · $4,500 · Awaiting approval
14m
📧
Follow-up drafted for Acme Corp
Invoice #1042 · 14 days overdue
41m
👁
Proposal viewed — Jordan Lee
48hr follow-up window started
2h
⚠️
Contract clause flagged
Unlimited revisions · Revisions Group NDA
Yesterday
💰
Invoice #1038 follow-up sent
Meridian Studio · $3,800 · Day-7 nudge
Yesterday
⚠ Scope alert
Action needed
Acme Corp — Logo Project
"Can you also mock up two alternative directions? We want to see more options."
Original scope: 1 concept + 2 revisions. This request adds ~4 hours of unbilled work (~$380 at your rate).
Q2 Tax deadline
JUN 15
44
days remaining
Estimated owed$3,240
YTD income$28,400
Effective rate~22%
Already paid Q1$2,890
Rate insight
UI/UX · Austin
Your rate
$95/hr
Market median
$138/hr
Your rate is 31% below market for senior UI/UX designers in Austin. You're leaving roughly $18k/year on the table at your current volume.
📋
Contract
Customize the fields on the left, then send or download
Contract details
Otto
Your AI assistant · active
Hi! I drafted 3 items overnight — 2 invoice follow-ups and a scope alert for Acme Corp. What would you like to handle first?
Just now