Accounting & Finance · head to head
Airbase vs Namely

Airbase
Accounting & Finance
The first all-in-one spend management platform
- From
- $29/month
- Rated
- -

Namely
Payroll & Benefits
The HR platform that employees love
- From
- $18/employee/month
- Rated
- -
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.; Namely limited customization for complex HR processes: workflows and customization options are limited compared to enterprise solutions
- They diverge on capability: Airbase covers Corporate cards, Namely covers HR Management.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Airbase and Namely actually diverge.
Identical on both: free tier (No), 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
- Corporate cards
- Bill payments
- Expense management
- Procurement
- Approvals
- NetSuite
- Sage Intacct
- QuickBooks
Only in Namely
- HR Management
- Payroll
- Benefits Administration
- Time Off Management
- Performance Management
- Onboarding
- Google Workspace
- Microsoft 365
Both cover
- Slack
- 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 Namely
- Expense reportingnot Namely
- Vendor paymentsnot Namely
Namely
No use cases recorded yet. See the Namely review.
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.
Namely
- Limited customization for complex HR processes: workflows and customization options are limited compared to enterprise solutions
- Payroll limitations: better served for less complex organizations and struggles with complex time-and-attendance or multi-FEIN scenarios
- Missing ATS and surveys: lacks built-in applicant tracking system and pulse survey capabilities
- Slow support response times: pod-based support model has led to slow response times for customers
- Designed for specific market segment: best fit is mid-sized companies with 50-350 employees
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
Namely
$18/employee/monthNo published plan breakdown. See the Namely review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Airbase if
- You need corporate cards.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want bill payments.
Questions people ask
- Is Airbase or Namely better?
- Neither clearly leads. Airbase starts at $29/month and Namely at $18/employee/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Airbase or Namely?
- Airbase starts at $29/month and Namely at $18/employee/month.
- Does Airbase or Namely run on more platforms?
- Airbase runs on Web, Ios, Android. Namely runs on Web.
- 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 Namely is typically brought in for.
- What can Airbase do that Namely cannot?
- Airbase covers Corporate cards, Bill payments, Expense management, Procurement. Namely covers HR Management, Payroll, Benefits Administration, Time Off Management. Both handle Slack, Web support, Ios support, Android support.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Namely: Does Namely support global payroll?
Namely primarily focuses on mid-sized US-based companies with 50-350 employees. While it can handle complex payroll scenarios, it is better served for less complex organizations and does not have extensive global payroll capabilities compared to enterprise platforms.
SourceNamely: What is included in Namely's Premium pricing?
Premium plans cost $18-24 per employee per month plus implementation fees of 10-25% of annual software costs. Plans include payroll, HR, benefits administration, time management, and talent management features.
SourceNamely: Does Namely include performance management features?
Yes, Namely offers customizable performance review modules enabling dynamic, ongoing feedback rather than traditional annual-only reviews. This is one of Namely's standout features.
SourceNamely: How long does Namely implementation typically take?
Namely is designed for mid-sized companies and implementation timelines vary based on complexity. The platform includes implementation fees of 10-25% of annual software costs in addition to monthly per-employee pricing.
SourceRelated pages
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