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Accounting & Finance · head to head

Airbase vs Bench

Airbase logo

Airbase

Accounting & Finance

The first all-in-one spend management platform

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Bench logo

Bench

Accounting & Finance

America's largest bookkeeping service for small businesses

From
$299/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Airbase airbase was acquired by Paylocity; its pricing page now redirects to paylocity.com/pricing and the product is marketed as 'Airbase, a Paylocity Company' within Paylocity's HCM platform rather than as a standalone product.; Bench recent bankruptcy and acquisition by Employer.com creates uncertainty about product roadmap and support continuity
  • They diverge on capability: Airbase covers Corporate cards, Bench covers Dedicated bookkeeper.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbase and Bench actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbase and Bench differ
AttributeAirbaseBench
Starting price$29/month$299/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Founded20172012

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting & Finance).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Airbase

  • Corporate cards
  • Bill payments
  • Expense management
  • Procurement
  • Approvals
  • NetSuite
  • Sage Intacct
  • QuickBooks

Only in Bench

  • Dedicated bookkeeper
  • Monthly financial statements
  • Bank reconciliation
  • Tax preparation
  • Expense categorization
  • Stripe
  • PayPal
  • Square

Both cover

  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Airbase

  • Spend managementnot Bench
  • Expense reportingnot Bench
  • Vendor paymentsnot Bench

Bench

  • Bookkeeping outsourcingnot Airbase
  • Tax preparationnot Airbase
  • Financial reportingnot Airbase

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Airbase

  • Airbase was acquired by Paylocity; its pricing page now redirects to paylocity.com/pricing and the product is marketed as 'Airbase, a Paylocity Company' within Paylocity's HCM platform rather than as a standalone product.

Bench

  • Recent bankruptcy and acquisition by Employer.com creates uncertainty about product roadmap and support continuity
  • Higher starting cost at $299/month compared to self-service accounting software like Wave or QuickBooks Online
  • Requires manual connection of financial accounts and ongoing coordination with bookkeeping team, less automated than software-first solutions
  • Tax services limited to US income tax returns; no support for complex entity structures or multi-state taxation
  • History of burning through capital rapidly, raising concerns about long-term business sustainability

Pricing, plan by plan

Airbase

$29/month
  • StandardFree
    • Corporate cards
    • Expense reports
    • Bill pay
  • Premium$10/month
    • Advanced approvals
    • NetSuite sync
    • Procurement
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom workflows
    • API access
    • Dedicated support

Bench

$299/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Bench review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Airbase if

  • You need corporate cards.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want bill payments.
Airbase review

Choose Bench if

  • You need dedicated bookkeeper.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want monthly financial statements.
Bench review

Questions people ask

Is Airbase or Bench better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbase starts at $29/month and Bench at $299/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbase or Bench?
Airbase starts at $29/month and Bench at $299/month.
Does Airbase or Bench run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Ios, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Airbase best used for?
Airbase is most often used for spend management, expense reporting, vendor payments. Of those, spend management and expense reporting are not what Bench is typically brought in for.
What can Airbase do that Bench cannot?
Airbase covers Corporate cards, Bill payments, Expense management, Procurement. Bench covers Dedicated bookkeeper, Monthly financial statements, Bank reconciliation, Tax preparation. Both handle Web support, Ios support, Android support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bench: What happened to Bench Accounting?

Bench shut down abruptly on December 27, 2024, filing for bankruptcy in Canada with $65 million in debt. The company was acquired by Employer.com on December 30, 2024, and resumed operations in January 2025 under new ownership.

Source
Bench: What are Bench's current pricing plans?

Bench offers Bookkeeping at $299/month (billed annually) and Bookkeeping + Tax at $599/month (billed annually). Both include automated bookkeeping, real-time financial statements, and a dedicated team of bookkeepers.

Source
Bench: Does Bench include tax preparation services?

The Bookkeeping plan includes monthly bookkeeping and year-end tax-ready financial statements. The Bookkeeping + Tax plan adds one-on-one income tax consulting and annual income tax return filing.

Source
Bench: How does Bench's bookkeeping work?

Bench combines proprietary software with human bookkeepers. You connect your financial accounts to automate data entry, and Bench's team handles bookkeeping and provides year-end tax-ready statements. Customers can reach their dedicated team within 24 hours.

Source
Bench: Can I access real-time financial data with Bench?

Yes, Bench provides real-time reporting, allowing you to access or download updated income statements and balance sheets at any time.

Source
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Related pages

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