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Airbase vs Census

Airbase logo

Airbase

Software

The first all-in-one spend management platform

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Census logo

Census

Software

The reverse ETL infrastructure for data activation

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Census has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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.; Census census was folded into Fivetran Activations, per the vendor: "Previously, this was called a sync in Census", and its own pricing page redirects to Fivetran pricing rather than showing Census plans
  • They diverge on capability: Airbase covers Corporate cards, Census covers Reverse ETL.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbase and Census actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbase and Census differ
AttributeAirbaseCensus
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Api
Founded20172020

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Census

  • Reverse ETL
  • Data syncing
  • Transformation
  • Real-time activation
  • Error handling
  • Monitoring
  • Analytics
  • 150+ destinations

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Airbase

  • Spend managementnot Census
  • Expense reportingnot Census
  • Vendor paymentsnot Census

Census

  • Syncing customer data from a warehouse into marketing and sales tools (reverse ETL)not 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.

Census

  • Census was folded into Fivetran Activations, per the vendor: "Previously, this was called a sync in Census", and its own pricing page redirects to Fivetran pricing rather than showing Census plans
  • Free Fivetran Activations tier caps at 3,500 monthly active rows

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

Census

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Basic syncing
    • Limited destinations
  • Pro$250/month
    • Advanced syncing
    • Email support
  • Enterprise$1500/month
    • Unlimited syncing
    • Dedicated support

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 Census if

  • You need reverse etl.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want data syncing.
Census review

Questions people ask

Is Airbase or Census better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbase starts at $29/month and Census at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbase or Census?
Census has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Airbase and Free for Census.
Does Airbase or Census run on more platforms?
Airbase runs on Web, Ios, Android. Census runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Census for free?
Yes. Census has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Airbase starts at $29/month.
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 Census is typically brought in for.
What can Airbase do that Census cannot?
Airbase covers Corporate cards, Bill payments, Expense management, Procurement. Census covers Reverse ETL, Data syncing, Transformation, Real-time activation. Both handle Web support.
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