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Accounting · head to head

Airbase vs Microsoft Excel

Airbase logo

Airbase

Accounting

Spend management combining corporate cards, bill payment and expense claims, now part of Paylocity

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Microsoft Excel logo

Microsoft Excel

Accounting

Spreadsheet software for data analysis and visualization

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Microsoft Excel has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Airbase card issuing and bill payment are built around United States entities and United States bank accounts, so a group with subsidiaries abroad keeps running local card and payment processes alongside and does not get the single ledger of spend that justified the purchase.; Microsoft Excel free tier limited to 5 GB cloud storage and web-only access
  • They diverge on capability: Airbase covers Corporate cards, Microsoft Excel covers Advanced formulas.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbase and Microsoft Excel actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbase and Microsoft Excel differ
AttributeAirbaseMicrosoft Excel
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWindows, Macos, Web, Ios, Android
Founded20171975

Identical on both: 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
  • Virtual cards per vendor
  • Bill payment
  • Expense reimbursement
  • Unified approval policy
  • Purchase intake and procurement
  • Automated coding
  • Receipt collection

Only in Microsoft Excel

  • Advanced formulas
  • Pivot tables
  • Data visualization
  • Charts and graphs
  • Conditional formatting
  • Data analysis tools
  • Macro automation
  • Collaboration features

What people use each for

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

Airbase

  • A company that has outgrown one shared company card and needs per person and per subscription cards with real limitsnot Microsoft Excel
  • A finance team where supplier invoices arrive in an inbox and approval is whoever replies, with no record afterwardsnot Microsoft Excel
  • A controller trying to close the month without rebuilding card and expense coding from statements every timenot Microsoft Excel
  • An organisation that wants spend approved before it is committed rather than discovered when the invoice arrivesnot Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel

  • Financial modelingnot Airbase
  • Data analysisnot Airbase
  • Budget planningnot Airbase
  • Reportingnot Airbase
  • Business intelligencenot Airbase
  • Statistical analysisnot Airbase

Where each one falls short

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

Airbase

  • Card issuing and bill payment are built around United States entities and United States bank accounts, so a group with subsidiaries abroad keeps running local card and payment processes alongside and does not get the single ledger of spend that justified the purchase.
  • The value depends on nearly all spend flowing through the platform, which makes partial adoption almost worthless and means the rollout is a change management exercise across every budget holder rather than a finance department deployment.
  • Paylocity's acquisition in 2024 reorients the roadmap towards a human capital management suite, so expense reimbursement is likely to be well served while procurement and the more finance specific features compete for attention with payroll and HR priorities.
  • Pricing combines a platform fee with tiering on features and users, and part of the economics rests on interchange rebates from card spend, so a company that puts most of its spend on transfers rather than cards pays the fee without earning the offset.
  • The general ledger sync is a mapping you own, so a chart of accounts change, a new department dimension or a ledger migration means reworking the coding rules, and a bad mapping quietly posts correct approvals to the wrong accounts.

Microsoft Excel

  • Free tier limited to 5 GB cloud storage and web-only access
  • Paid plans have per-user costs increasing significantly with more users
  • AI features like Copilot limited or unavailable on lower-tier plans

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

Microsoft Excel

Free
  • Microsoft Excel (Free)Free
    • Excel for the web
    • Real-time collaboration
    • 5 GB cloud storage
  • Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99/month
    • Desktop Excel app
    • 1 TB cloud storage
    • Single user on up to 5 devices
  • Microsoft 365 Family$12.99/month
    • 1-6 users (AI features for subscription owner)
    • Up to 6 TB cloud storage (1 TB per person)
    • Each user up to 5 devices
  • Microsoft 365 Premium$19.99/month
    • 1-6 users
    • Extensive Copilot feature access
    • Exclusive advanced AI capabilities

Which should you pick?

Choose Airbase if

  • You need corporate cards.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want virtual cards per vendor.
Airbase review

Choose Microsoft Excel if

  • You need advanced formulas.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Macos, Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want pivot tables.
Microsoft Excel review

Questions people ask

Is Airbase or Microsoft Excel better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbase starts at $29/month and Microsoft Excel at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbase or Microsoft Excel?
Microsoft Excel has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Airbase and Free for Microsoft Excel.
Does Airbase or Microsoft Excel run on more platforms?
Airbase runs on Web, Ios, Android. Microsoft Excel runs on Windows, Macos, Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Microsoft Excel for free?
Yes. Microsoft Excel 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 a company that has outgrown one shared company card and needs per person and per subscription cards with real limits, a finance team where supplier invoices arrive in an inbox and approval is whoever replies, with no record afterwards, a controller trying to close the month without rebuilding card and expense coding from statements every time, an organisation that wants spend approved before it is committed rather than discovered when the invoice arrives. Of those, a company that has outgrown one shared company card and needs per person and per subscription cards with real limits and a finance team where supplier invoices arrive in an inbox and approval is whoever replies, with no record afterwards are not what Microsoft Excel is typically brought in for.
What can Airbase do that Microsoft Excel cannot?
Airbase covers Corporate cards, Virtual cards per vendor, Bill payment, Expense reimbursement. Microsoft Excel covers Advanced formulas, Pivot tables, Data visualization, Charts and graphs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Airbase: Does it work for companies outside the United States?

Partially. Some international spend and reimbursement is supported, but card issuing and the payment rails are strongest for United States entities. Confirm coverage for each country you operate in before assuming it replaces local processes.

Microsoft Excel: How much does Microsoft Excel cost?

Microsoft Excel is free as a web app with 5 GB storage. Paid options include Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99/month for desktop apps and 1 TB storage, Family at $12.99/month for 1-6 users with 6 TB total storage, and Premium at $19.99/month with extended Copilot access.

Source
Airbase: Does Airbase replace our accounting system?

No. It manages spend and pushes coded transactions into the ledger. QuickBooks, NetSuite or whatever else you use stays.

Microsoft Excel: Is there a free version of Excel?

Yes, Excel for the web is free and includes sharing, real-time collaboration, and 5 GB cloud storage accessible on web, iOS, and Android without subscription.

Source
Airbase: What changed after the Paylocity acquisition?

Ownership and roadmap direction. The product continues, now positioned alongside Paylocity's payroll and HR products. If procurement is your main reason to buy, ask directly about investment in that module.

Microsoft Excel: What is the difference between Microsoft 365 Family and Premium tiers?

Family tier at $12.99/month supports 1-6 users with 6 TB total storage and standard features. Premium tier at $19.99/month allows extensive Copilot feature access and exclusive advanced AI capabilities including image creation and audio generation.

Source
Airbase: How is it priced?

A platform subscription with tiers, plus usage and user dimensions, partly offset by rebates on card spend. Because the rebate depends on card volume, model your own mix of card versus transfer spend before accepting a payback figure.

Airbase: Can we use it for accounts payable only?

You can, but the approval consistency argument weakens considerably. Most of the reported benefit comes from cards, bills and reimbursements sharing one policy and one coding process.

Airbase: Will our auditors accept the approval records?

The per transaction record of approver, receipt and coding is generally what auditors want to see for spend testing. Agree the sampling approach with them early, particularly around any spend that still happens outside the platform.

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