Softwr

Accounting & Finance · head to head

Airbase vs Expensify

Airbase logo

Airbase

Accounting & Finance

The first all-in-one spend management platform

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Expensify logo

Expensify

All industries

Expense management for receipts, bills & more

From
$5/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.; Expensify minimal offline expense entry capabilities hamper use in areas with unstable internet
  • They diverge on capability: Airbase covers Bill payments, Expensify covers SmartScan receipts.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbase and Expensify actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbase and Expensify differ
AttributeAirbaseExpensify
Starting price$29/month$5/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
CategoryAccounting & FinanceAll industries
Founded20172008

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

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

  • Bill payments
  • Expense management
  • Procurement
  • Approvals
  • Sage Intacct
  • SOC 2 Type II
  • Web support
  • Ios support

Only in Expensify

  • SmartScan receipts
  • Expense reports
  • Reimbursements
  • Travel booking
  • Mileage tracking
  • Multi-currency
  • Real-time syncing
  • Sage

Both cover

  • Corporate cards
  • NetSuite
  • QuickBooks
  • Xero
  • Slack
  • PCI DSS

What people use each for

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

Airbase

  • Spend managementnot Expensify
  • Expense reporting
  • Vendor paymentsnot Expensify

Expensify

  • Expense reporting
  • Receipt managementnot Airbase
  • Travel expensesnot Airbase
  • Corporate card managementnot Airbase
  • Reimbursementsnot Airbase

Both are used for expense reporting, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

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.

Expensify

  • Minimal offline expense entry capabilities hamper use in areas with unstable internet
  • OCR receipt data extraction requires manual review and correction for accuracy
  • Per-user pricing model increases costs for larger organizations

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

Expensify

$5/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Expensify review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Airbase if

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

Choose Expensify if

  • You need smartscan receipts.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want expense reports.
Expensify review

Questions people ask

Is Airbase or Expensify better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbase starts at $29/month and Expensify at $5/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbase or Expensify?
Airbase starts at $29/month and Expensify at $5/month.
Does Airbase or Expensify run on more platforms?
Airbase runs on Web, Ios, Android. Expensify runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Airbase best used for?
Airbase is most often used for spend management, expense reporting, vendor payments. Of those, spend management and vendor payments are not what Expensify is typically brought in for.
What can Airbase do that Expensify cannot?
Airbase covers Bill payments, Expense management, Procurement, Approvals. Expensify covers SmartScan receipts, Expense reports, Reimbursements, Travel booking. Both handle Corporate cards, NetSuite, QuickBooks, Xero.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Expensify: How does Expensify capture receipts?

Expensify uses SmartScan technology with OCR to automatically extract data from receipt images, reducing manual data entry. Users can photograph receipts with their phone to quickly create expense entries.

Source
Expensify: What reimbursement methods does Expensify support?

Expensify supports ACH reimbursement via direct deposit after setting up a direct deposit account. Next-day reimbursement is available, or standard processing takes 3-5 business days.

Source
Expensify: How does Expensify offline mode work?

Expensify has limited offline capabilities. Users can capture receipts offline, but data syncs when internet connectivity is restored. Full functionality requires online access.

Source
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Airbase

More on Expensify

Keep looking

Other head to heads