Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Airbase vs Metronome

Airbase logo

Airbase

Accounting

The first all-in-one spend management platform

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Metronome logo

Metronome

Accounting

Infrastructure for usage-based billing and monetization

From
On request
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.; Metronome no published pricing on homepage, requires sales contact
  • They diverge on capability: Airbase covers Corporate cards, Metronome covers Real-time usage metering.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbase and Metronome actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbase and Metronome differ
AttributeAirbaseMetronome
Starting price$29/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionUsage-based and custom
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, API
Founded2017Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting).

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 Metronome

  • Real-time usage metering
  • Multiple pricing models
  • Flexible pricing implementation
  • Customer-facing dashboards
  • Revenue analytics
  • Pricing experimentation
  • Multi-dimensional pricing
  • Stripe integration

What people use each for

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

Airbase

  • Spend managementnot Metronome
  • Expense reportingnot Metronome
  • Vendor paymentsnot Metronome

Metronome

  • Implementing usage-based billing for SaaS productsnot Airbase
  • Managing complex enterprise pricing modelsnot Airbase
  • Testing pricing changes and monetization strategiesnot Airbase
  • Real-time revenue analytics and trackingnot Airbase
  • Integration with payment processors and accounting systemsnot 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.

Metronome

  • No published pricing on homepage, requires sales contact
  • Limited documentation of feature comparison between plans
  • Startup plan pricing is transaction-based and may become expensive at scale
  • Enterprise customers need custom contracts with dedicated support
  • Integration ecosystem appears limited compared to some competitors

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

Metronome

On request
  • Startup$null/variable
    • Real-time usage metering
    • Multiple pricing models
    • Flexible pricing implementation
  • Custom$null/custom
    • All Startup features
    • Invoicing integrations with Salesforce, NetSuite
    • Cloud marketplace integration (AWS, Azure, GCP)

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 Metronome if

  • You need real-time usage metering.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want multiple pricing models.
Metronome review

Questions people ask

Is Airbase or Metronome better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbase starts at $29/month and Metronome at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbase or Metronome?
Airbase starts at $29/month and Metronome at On request.
Does Airbase or Metronome run on more platforms?
Airbase runs on Web, Ios, Android. Metronome runs on Web, API.
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 Metronome is typically brought in for.
What can Airbase do that Metronome cannot?
Airbase covers Corporate cards, Bill payments, Expense management, Procurement. Metronome covers Real-time usage metering, Multiple pricing models, Flexible pricing implementation, Customer-facing dashboards.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Airbase: What is Airbase and why is no pricing published on its website?

Airbase is a Paylocity Company offering unified expense management across finance, HR, and IT functions. Pricing is not published on the Airbase website and customers must contact Paylocity directly for a quote.

Source
Metronome: What pricing does Metronome charge for its platform?

Metronome charges based on billing volume (0.8% per transaction) and event ingestion ($0.04 per 1,000 events). Custom plans with dedicated support are available for larger deployments.

Source
Airbase: Does Airbase integrate with Paylocity?

Yes, Airbase is owned by Paylocity and integrates with Paylocity's human resources and payroll systems for unified financial management.

Source
Metronome: Does Metronome work with payment providers other than Stripe?

The Startup plan includes native Stripe integration. Custom plans can integrate with additional payment processors and accounting systems including Salesforce, NetSuite, and cloud marketplaces.

Source
Airbase: How do I get pricing information and schedule a demo for Airbase?

Airbase directs customers to contact Paylocity or explore interactive product tours, but specific pricing rates must be obtained directly from the sales team. The company does not publish rate information publicly.

Source
Metronome: Can I test pricing changes before deploying them to all customers?

Yes, Metronome provides continuous pricing experimentation capabilities that allow you to test and roll out pricing changes across customer cohorts safely.

Source
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