TLDR (Summary)
Copilot (now Assembly) focuses on client portals and messaging but lacks time tracking, project boards, proposals, and affordable white-labeling. Plutio is a fully branded platform where proposals, projects, time tracking, invoicing, and client portals are all connected. When a proposal gets signed, the project creates itself with tasks, tracked hours flow into invoices, and clients check progress from a branded portal at your custom domain.
Project management that Copilot doesn't have
Copilot has basic task tracking with no Kanban boards, no Gantt charts, no task dependencies, and no project templates. Plutio has all four built in.
Copilot's task management lets team members create task lists and assign them, but tasks can't be reordered manually (a common G2 complaint), there are no visual project views, and there's no way to set dependencies between tasks or phases. Multi-phase projects like website builds or marketing campaigns need a separate tool like Asana or Monday on top, which adds $11-27/month and creates a gap between where the project lives and where the client communication happens.
Plutio's project management starts with Kanban boards and adds what Copilot is missing: Gantt timelines that show dependencies between tasks, milestones that mark phase transitions, recurring tasks, and templates that create entire project structures from a single click.
The bigger difference is how project work connects to billing. In Plutio, time tracked on a task feeds into an invoice line item, a completed milestone triggers a client notification, and project status updates in the client portal without sending a separate email. Copilot keeps messaging and invoicing in the same portal, but the actual project work (tasks, timelines, deliverables) lives in a separate tool, which means clients and team members are constantly switching between platforms to get the full picture.
Plutio's project management connects tasks to time tracking, invoicing, and client portals, so the work and the business run from the same place.
Invoicing that connects to tracked hours, not just a payment link
Copilot has invoicing and subscription billing, but there's no time tracking to connect, so hourly billing requires manual line items every cycle. Plutio's invoicing pulls tracked hours into invoices automatically.
In Plutio, invoices populate from a date range with every tracked hour, task name, and rate already filled in. Recurring invoices auto-send on schedule with late payment reminders built in. Payment processing through Stripe, PayPal, or bank transfer happens inside the same platform.
Copilot processes payments through Stripe at 2.9% plus $0.60 per transaction (3.4% plus $0.60 for Amex). Invoices exist as standalone documents disconnected from project work. Freelancers billing hourly need to track time in a separate app, then manually create each invoice line item based on what the tracker recorded. For agencies managing 10-20 active clients, that disconnect means hours of admin every billing cycle just moving numbers between tools.
The real gap is the connection. In Copilot, invoicing and project work live in separate worlds. A freelancer finishes a week of client work, opens Toggl to check hours, then opens Copilot to manually create an invoice with those numbers. In Plutio, the invoice already knows what happened because time tracking, the project, and billing share the same data. One click generates the invoice with every hour, task name, and rate pre-filled.
Plutio's invoicing turns tracked hours into paid invoices without copying numbers between apps.
Proposals that create projects automatically
Copilot has contract e-signatures but no proposal builder. In Plutio, a signed proposal creates the project, attaches the contract, and activates the client portal in one step.
Plutio's proposal builder includes drag-and-drop sections, pricing tables with selectable options, and built-in e-signatures. Clients review the scope, choose their package, and sign from any device. When the signature goes through, Plutio creates the project with pre-configured tasks and deadlines based on the proposal scope.
Contracts attach to proposals and projects, so the signed scope stays connected to the actual work. The client portal activates with branded access, and the first invoice can generate directly from the approved pricing.
Copilot supports contracts through its forms and e-signature features, but there's no proposal builder with pricing tables, no interactive scope selection, and no automatic project creation from a signed document. After a contract gets signed in Copilot, the freelancer manually creates tasks, sets up the project timeline, and configures portal access, steps that Plutio handles automatically from the signed proposal.
In Plutio, a signed proposal becomes a live project with contracts, tasks, and client portal access, all from one signed document.
Time tracking built into every project
Copilot has no time tracking at all. Freelancers billing hourly need Toggl, Harvest, or Clockify on top, then manually create invoice line items each billing cycle.
Plutio's time tracking runs inside every project. A built-in timer starts from any task with one click, or hours get logged manually with notes and rates attached. Billable and non-billable hours stay separated so only client-facing work hits the invoice.
At invoice time, tracked hours convert to line items with the task name, duration, and hourly rate already filled in. There's no guesswork and no reconciling from memory or scattered spreadsheets at the end of the month.
Time reports break down hours by project, client, or date range. The data shows exactly where billable hours went and which projects ran over budget, all from the same place where the projects and invoices live. Team timesheets give managers a cross-project view of everyone's hours, making capacity planning and workload balancing part of the same workflow instead of a separate spreadsheet exercise.
Every hour tracked in Plutio turns into an invoice line item without manual entry or app switching.
Client portals with project visibility and white-labeling from day one
Copilot's client portal shows messages, invoices, and files, but clients can't view task progress, Kanban boards, or project milestones. Plutio's portals give clients a branded workspace for the entire project.
Plutio's client portals are branded with a custom logo, colors, and domain on every plan. Clients log in and see project progress alongside milestones, shared files, outstanding invoices, and messages.
Copilot requires the Professional plan ($149/month) for a custom domain and the Advanced plan ($399/month) for full white-labeling. Plutio Pro includes white-labeling with custom domains at $49/month, and even the Core plan ($19/month) includes branded portals with logo and color customization. The pricing gap is significant: white-labeling in Copilot costs 8x what Plutio charges for the same capability, and Copilot's portal still doesn't show task progress or project milestones even at the $399/month tier.
The portal replaces email chains, status update requests, file-sharing workarounds, and "just checking in" messages. Clients see what's happening without asking, and freelancers don't stop working to write update emails or compile status reports.
Plutio's client portals replace status update emails with a branded space where clients track progress, share files, and pay invoices.
With Plutio we don't jump between apps anymore! Everything from projects to invoicing is finally connected in one fully-branded app.
How to switch from Copilot to Plutio
Most freelancers switch between projects, finishing active work in Copilot while starting new clients on Plutio.
- Start a free trial: Plutio offers 14 days of full access with no credit card required. Every feature, including projects, invoicing, proposals, time tracking, and client portals, works from day one.
- Import client contacts: Export contacts from Copilot and import them into Plutio as CSV. Client names, emails, and details carry over in minutes.
- Set up a project template: Create one project template with the standard task list, milestones, and deliverable structure. Every new project starts from the template instead of manual setup.
- Start new clients on Plutio: Send the next proposal from Plutio. When the client signs, the project creates automatically with the template structure, portal access, and contract attached.
- Finish Copilot projects where they are: Active work stays in Copilot until completion. Running both platforms in parallel avoids disrupting client relationships mid-project.
- Cancel Copilot: Once all active projects wrap up, downgrade or cancel the Copilot subscription. Export any remaining data as backup.
Copilot rebranded to Assembly in September 2025, which means navigating new URLs (copilot.com now redirects to assembly.com) and updated branding across every client touchpoint. For freelancers already considering a change, the rebrand creates a natural transition point since the disruption of updating bookmarks, logins, and client-facing references is already happening.
The switch happens between projects, not mid-project. New clients start on Plutio while Copilot projects finish naturally.
