Comparison guide
Handl vs Cushion: Getting Paid vs Planning Ahead Different Tools for Different Problems
Cushion and Handl are not really competitors — they solve different problems in the freelancer workflow. Cushion is a scheduling and income forecasting tool. It helps you visualise your availability, plan when to take on new work, and forecast your income based on your schedule. It answers: am I going to be busy enough next month?
Handl is a billing automation platform. It handles milestone invoicing, automated payment reminders, scope change management, and client portals. It answers: am I going to get paid for the work I have already done?
If you need both planning and billing, they complement each other. But they solve fundamentally different parts of the freelance business puzzle.
Quick verdict
Cushion helps you plan when to work. Handl helps you get paid for that work. They solve different problems — Cushion is scheduling and income forecasting, Handl is billing automation.
Side by side
How they stack up
Handl
Best for: Agencies and freelancers who need to automate the billing process — milestone invoicing, payment reminders, scope management, and client portals.
Cushion
$12–$36
per month
Best for: Solo freelancers who want to visualise their schedule, forecast income, and plan availability across multiple clients.
- Freelancer: 1 user
- Studio: 3 users
- Agency: unlimited
- Visual availability forecasting
- Revenue forecasting
- Schedule-based capacity planning
Feature by feature
Handl vs Cushion: feature comparison
Feature | Handl | Cushion |
|---|---|---|
Milestone-based billing | ✅ | ❌ |
Automated payment reminders (AI) | ✅ | ❌ |
Client portal | ✅ | ❌ |
Change order management | ✅ | ❌ |
Visual schedule / timeline | ❌ | ✅ |
Income forecasting | ✅ From pipeline | ✅ From schedule |
Availability planning | ❌ | ✅ |
Invoicing | ✅ Full automation | ⚠️ Basic (higher plans) |
Starting price | $29/mo flat | Free / $8/mo |
Per-seat pricing | ❌ Flat rate | ❌ Flat rate |
A closer look at Cushion
Cushion was created by a freelance designer who wanted a simple way to visualise his schedule and forecast income. The tool remains focused on that core use case: a visual timeline showing your projects, availability gaps, and projected income.
Pricing is straightforward: Free (limited projects), Freelancer at $8/month, Studio at $24/month, and Agency at $42/month. All flat-rate, not per-user. The pricing is modest, which aligns with the tool's focused scope.
Cushion's strength is the visual schedule. You can see at a glance when projects start and end, where availability gaps exist, and what your income looks like for the coming months. For freelancers who struggle with feast-or-famine cycles, this forward visibility is genuinely valuable.
Where Cushion does not overlap with billing tools: it does not send invoices, does not process payments, does not chase overdue clients, and does not manage project scope. It has basic invoicing features on higher plans but they are minimal compared to dedicated billing tools. Cushion is about planning, not execution.
Strengths
What are our strengths?
- Milestone billing. Tie invoices to project deliverables. Cushion has minimal invoicing, not milestone-based.
- AI-driven payment reminders. Automatic, intelligent follow-ups. Cushion does not chase payments at all.
- Client portal. Clients view proposals, invoices, and project status. Cushion has no client-facing features.
- Change order management. Track and bill for scope changes. Cushion has no scope management.
- PM tool integrations. Connect Jira, Asana, Monday directly. Cushion has limited integrations.
- Digital signatures. Get proposals signed in the billing workflow. Cushion does not handle proposals.
- Accounting sync. Native Xero and MYOB integration. Cushion does not sync with accounting software.
- Full billing automation. End-to-end from proposal to payment collection. Cushion's invoicing is an afterthought.
- Visual schedule timeline. See your projects, availability, and capacity at a glance. Genuinely one of the best schedule visualisation tools for freelancers.
- Availability planning. Know when you have gaps and can take on new work. Prevents double-booking and helps avoid feast-or-famine.
- Income forecasting from schedule. See projected income based on scheduled work. Helps with financial planning months ahead.
- Very affordable. Starting at $8/month for the Freelancer plan. One of the cheapest tools in the freelancer space.
- Beautiful design. The UI is clean, minimal, and genuinely pleasant to use. Designed by a freelancer for freelancers.
- Flat-rate pricing. Like Handl, no per-user charges. The plan covers your team.
- Focused scope. Does one thing well rather than trying to do everything. The schedule view is best-in-class for its niche.
- Free plan. Functional free tier for freelancers managing a small number of projects.
Which one is for you?
When to choose each tool
Choose Handl if your main problem is getting paid, not planning when to work. If invoicing is manual, payments are late, scope creeps without documentation, and you spend time on billing admin instead of billable work — Handl automates all of that.
Handl is also the right choice if you need a full billing platform, not just a planning tool. Proposals, milestone invoicing, payment reminders, client portals, and accounting sync — these are the features that make the billing process hands-off.
And for teams, Handl's billing collaboration features matter. Multiple people can manage projects, invoices, and client relationships. Cushion is primarily designed for individual schedule management.
Cushion is the right choice if your main challenge is planning and visibility. If you struggle with knowing when you are free, forecasting your income, or avoiding gaps between projects, Cushion's visual timeline solves that problem elegantly.
It is also the right pick if you already have a billing tool and just need scheduling. Cushion complements invoicing tools rather than competing with them. Use Handl for billing and Cushion for scheduling — they solve different problems.
And at $8/month for the Freelancer plan, Cushion is low-risk. If you want to try better schedule visibility without committing to a full platform, it is an easy experiment. The free plan lets you test it with limited projects before paying anything.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Handl and Cushion together?
Yes — they solve different problems. Use Cushion for schedule planning and availability forecasting. Use Handl for billing automation and payment collection. They complement each other well.
Does Cushion replace Handl?
No. Cushion is a scheduling and forecasting tool. It has minimal invoicing on higher plans, but it is not a billing automation platform. If you need milestone invoicing, payment reminders, or scope management, you need Handl.
Is Cushion good for agencies?
Cushion works for small agencies who need schedule visibility. The Agency plan at $42/month supports team scheduling. For billing needs, agencies typically need a dedicated tool like Handl.
Does Cushion have payment reminders?
No. Cushion does not chase payments. It focuses on scheduling and income forecasting. Payment automation is Handl's domain.
Which is better value?
Different tools, different value. Cushion at $8/month solves scheduling. Handl at $29/month solves billing. If billing is costing you more time and money than scheduling, Handl has the better ROI.
The verdict
Cushion and Handl are not really in competition. Cushion is a scheduling and income forecasting tool — it helps you plan your work and see what is coming. Handl is a billing automation platform — it helps you get paid for the work you deliver.
If your main pain is not knowing when you are free, struggling with feast-or-famine income cycles, or lacking visibility into your upcoming schedule — Cushion at $8/month is a smart, affordable solution.
If your main pain is chasing payments, managing scope creep, and spending too much time on manual invoicing — Handl at $29/month is built specifically for that.
For freelancers who struggle with both planning and billing, using both tools together is a reasonable approach at $37/month combined. Try Handl free for 14 days at handl.works.
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