TL;DR

Moxie is friendly and freelancer-first; COLO gives you the same welcome plus deeper client-facing project management.
Free-forever Solo plan on COLO; Moxie's usable plan is paid.
Portal on your own domain, with your business name in the URL.
A growth path to a small studio without changing platforms.

Why freelancers switch from Moxie to COLO

Moxie (formerly Hectic) has built real affection with solo creatives — designers, writers, coaches, and consultants — with an opinionated freelancer-first surface and a warm community. The templates read well without much editing and the tool does not pretend to be enterprise software. If your business is genuinely single-operator with a steady book of clients, Moxie is comfortable.

The switching driver is depth on the two things freelancers grow into: project management the client can actually see, and a portal that carries your brand rather than the vendor's. Moxie's project surface is a private to-do for you; COLO's is a client-visible plan with milestones, approvals, and files. Moxie's portal is hosted; COLO's client portal sits on your own custom domain. Same welcoming feel, ceilings raised.

Feature comparison — Moxie vs COLO

Feature	Moxie	COLO
Free plan for solo operator	Trial only	Free-forever Solo plan
Proposals	Yes	Yes — proposals
Contracts & e-signature	Yes	Yes — contracts
Invoicing & payments	Yes	Yes — invoicing & payments
Project management	Basic — to-do	Client-visible tasks, milestones — project management
Client portal	Hosted, vendor-branded	On your own custom domain — client portal
Sub-contractor collaboration	Limited	Included in workspace-flat pricing
Time tracking	Native	Native, invoice-tied
In-workspace chat	Basic	Native chat
Pricing model	Tiered	Free Solo + flat workspace on paid tiers

Pricing comparison

Moxie — tiered plans, single operator focus.

Entry: single user, core features.
Higher tiers: add features and multi-user.

COLO — free Solo, then flat workspace.

Solo: free-forever, no card, no trial timer.
Pro: flat workspace with multiple users.
Grow: flat workspace with expanded seats.

Verify with each vendor.

When to pick COLO over Moxie

Free forever for a solo operator.
Real client-visible project management with milestones and approvals.
Portal on your own custom domain.
Workspace-flat pricing as you add teammates.
A growth path to a small studio without changing tools.

When to STAY with Moxie

You love Moxie's opinionated freelancer surface. That is a real feature.
The Moxie community is part of the value. It genuinely is.
You are firmly single-operator with predictable volume.

Migration guide — moving from Moxie to COLO

Export contacts, projects, time entries, invoices as CSV.
Download signed contracts and proposals as PDFs.
Open a COLO workspace and import CSVs; attach PDFs to matching client records.
Recreate your top templates — two or three proposals, one contract, one intake form.
Reconnect your payment processor and test one live invoice. See getting paid guide.
Run both tools in parallel for two to four weeks while retainer cycles clear.
Update payment and portal links to COLO.

FAQ

Is there a free plan for solo operators? Yes — COLO's free-forever Solo plan.

Does COLO replace Moxie end-to-end? For most solo operators, yes. The one caveat is Moxie's community, which is not a feature COLO can replicate directly.

How long does migration take? Data import in an afternoon; parallel running for two to four weeks.

Will signed Moxie contracts remain valid? Yes — e-signed contracts remain legally valid regardless of platform.

Can I add a sub-contractor without extra cost? On COLO's paid workspace-flat plans, yes.

Can I white-label the portal? Yes — the client portal lives on your own custom domain.

Does COLO have time tracking? Yes — native, per-project, invoice-tied.

Can I keep QuickBooks alongside COLO? Yes — pair COLO with QuickBooks for accounting.

Does COLO have in-workspace chat? Yes — native chat per client.

What if I want to move back? Full CSV export is available at any time.

Ready to switch?

Open a free COLO workspace and import your Moxie data.

Start free on COLO · See features · See pricing