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Accounting & Finance · head to head

Airbase vs QuickBooks

Airbase logo

Airbase

Accounting & Finance

The first all-in-one spend management platform

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
QuickBooks logo

QuickBooks

All industries

Smart, simple online accounting software for small business

From
$30/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.; QuickBooks chart of Accounts is capped on every QuickBooks Online tier except Advanced; Simple Start, Essentials and Plus all have a limited entry count
  • They diverge on capability: Airbase covers Corporate cards, QuickBooks covers Income & expense tracking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbase and QuickBooks actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbase and QuickBooks differ
AttributeAirbaseQuickBooks
Starting price$29/month$30/month
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Ios, Android, Api
CategoryAccounting & FinanceAll industries
Founded20171983

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), 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 QuickBooks

  • Income & expense tracking
  • Invoicing
  • Payment processing
  • Financial reporting
  • Tax preparation
  • Bank reconciliation
  • Bill management
  • Mobile apps

Both cover

  • PCI DSS

What people use each for

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

Airbase

  • Spend managementnot QuickBooks
  • Expense reportingnot QuickBooks
  • Vendor paymentsnot QuickBooks

QuickBooks

  • Bookkeepingnot Airbase
  • Invoicingnot Airbase
  • Expense trackingnot Airbase
  • Financial reportingnot Airbase
  • Tax preparationnot 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.

QuickBooks

  • Chart of Accounts is capped on every QuickBooks Online tier except Advanced; Simple Start, Essentials and Plus all have a limited entry count
  • Even the top Advanced tier caps bulk invoice uploads at 1,000 transaction lines per batch
  • Payroll is a separate paid add-on billed per employee per month (USD 6 to 10 depending on plan) on top of the base subscription

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

QuickBooks

$30/month
  • Simple Start$30/month
    • Income & expense tracking
    • Invoice & payments
    • Tax deductions
  • Essentials$60/month
    • Everything in Simple Start
    • Bill management
    • Time tracking
  • Plus$90/month
    • Everything in Essentials
    • Inventory tracking
    • Project profitability
  • Advanced$200/month
    • Everything in Plus
    • Dedicated account team
    • 25 users

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 QuickBooks if

  • You need income & expense tracking.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want invoicing.
QuickBooks review

Questions people ask

Is Airbase or QuickBooks better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbase starts at $29/month and QuickBooks at $30/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbase or QuickBooks?
Airbase starts at $29/month and QuickBooks at $30/month.
Does Airbase or QuickBooks run on more platforms?
Airbase runs on Web, Ios, Android. QuickBooks runs on Web, Ios, Android, 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 QuickBooks is typically brought in for.
What can Airbase do that QuickBooks cannot?
Airbase covers Corporate cards, Bill payments, Expense management, Procurement. QuickBooks covers Income & expense tracking, Invoicing, Payment processing, Financial reporting. Both handle PCI DSS.
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