Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Airwallex vs Recurly

Airwallex logo

Airwallex

Accounting

Multi currency business accounts, international payments and card issuing from a licensed payments firm rather than a bank

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Recurly logo

Recurly

Accounting

The subscription management platform built for growth

From
$249/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Airwallex has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Airwallex airwallex is a licensed payments firm rather than a bank, so balances sit in safeguarding accounts at partner banks and are not covered by deposit guarantee schemes, which means a treasury policy that requires insured deposits cannot hold operating cash there.; Recurly starter is $249 a month plus 0.9 percent of billing volume above the first $40K, so the cost rises with revenue rather than with usage
  • They diverge on capability: Airwallex covers Multi currency balances, Recurly covers Subscription billing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airwallex and Recurly actually diverge.

Attributes where Airwallex and Recurly differ
AttributeAirwallexRecurly
Starting priceFree$249/month
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, Api
FoundedUnknown2009

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 Airwallex

  • Multi currency balances
  • Local receiving accounts
  • Foreign exchange conversion
  • International payouts
  • Card issuing
  • Expense management
  • Bill pay
  • Payments gateway

Only in Recurly

  • Subscription billing
  • Revenue recovery
  • Payment gateway optimization
  • Analytics
  • Stripe
  • PayPal
  • Braintree
  • SOC 2

Both cover

  • API

What people use each for

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

Airwallex

  • An exporter invoicing customers in United States dollars and euros who wants to be paid into local details rather than receive wires with correspondent deductionsnot Recurly
  • An agency or software company paying contractors across several countries every month and losing money on bank foreign exchange spreadsnot Recurly
  • An e-commerce seller collecting on multiple marketplaces in different currencies who wants to hold rather than convert on every settlementnot Recurly
  • A startup that needs virtual cards with per subscription limits and cannot get a workable card programme from its local banknot Recurly

Recurly

  • Subscription billing and recurring invoicingnot Airwallex
  • Dunning and failed payment recoverynot Airwallex
  • Trials, plan changes and promotionsnot Airwallex
  • Revenue recognition through the RevRec add-onnot Airwallex
  • Shopify-native subscriptions with subscribe and savenot Airwallex

Where each one falls short

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

Airwallex

  • Airwallex is a licensed payments firm rather than a bank, so balances sit in safeguarding accounts at partner banks and are not covered by deposit guarantee schemes, which means a treasury policy that requires insured deposits cannot hold operating cash there.
  • Available currencies, local account details, card programmes and product features differ by the entity you contract with, so a feature demonstrated to a customer in Australia or Singapore may simply not exist for the same company registered in another country.
  • Onboarding is subject to compliance review and whole categories of business are declined or later offboarded, and because the account may hold operating cash, a compliance freeze during a review is a business interruption rather than an inconvenience.
  • Foreign exchange is quoted as interbank plus a markup, which is cheaper than a high street bank but is still a spread that widens on less liquid pairs and on smaller amounts, so the saving assumed in the business case should be checked against the pairs you actually trade.
  • Support is largely ticket and chat based with account management reserved for larger customers, so when a payment is stuck the resolution path is a queue rather than a named person, which is a poor fit for time critical settlement.

Recurly

  • Starter is $249 a month plus 0.9 percent of billing volume above the first $40K, so the cost rises with revenue rather than with usage
  • All-Access is quoted at under 1 percent of billing volume with a $1M minimum, putting it out of reach of smaller merchants
  • Only one dunning campaign on Starter; multiple campaigns need All-Access
  • SSO, multicurrency and payments orchestration are All-Access only
  • Revenue recognition and the Engage churn tooling are separate add-ons at $850 and $1,600 a month

Pricing, plan by plan

Airwallex

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Airwallex review.

Recurly

$249/month
  • Starter$249/month
    • Automated global subscription billing
    • Flexible plans and static churn-prevention tools
    • 1 dunning campaign
  • All-Access$null/month
    • Everything in Starter plus AI-powered agents and analytics
    • Intelligent churn-prevention with multiple dunning campaigns
    • Advanced pricing and promotions
  • All-Access for Shopify$null/month
    • Intelligent churn-prevention and customized bundles
    • Subscribe and save, prepaid/gift subscriptions
    • Hybrid subscription support and cancel-save flows

Which should you pick?

Choose Airwallex if

  • You need multi currency balances.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want local receiving accounts.
Airwallex review

Choose Recurly if

  • You need subscription billing.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want revenue recovery.
Recurly review

Questions people ask

Is Airwallex or Recurly better?
Neither clearly leads. Airwallex starts at Free and Recurly at $249/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airwallex or Recurly?
Airwallex has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Airwallex and $249/month for Recurly.
Does Airwallex or Recurly run on more platforms?
Airwallex runs on Web. Recurly runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Airwallex for free?
Yes. Airwallex has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Recurly starts at $249/month.
What is Airwallex best used for?
Airwallex is most often used for an exporter invoicing customers in united states dollars and euros who wants to be paid into local details rather than receive wires with correspondent deductions, an agency or software company paying contractors across several countries every month and losing money on bank foreign exchange spreads, an e-commerce seller collecting on multiple marketplaces in different currencies who wants to hold rather than convert on every settlement, a startup that needs virtual cards with per subscription limits and cannot get a workable card programme from its local bank. Of those, an exporter invoicing customers in united states dollars and euros who wants to be paid into local details rather than receive wires with correspondent deductions and an agency or software company paying contractors across several countries every month and losing money on bank foreign exchange spreads are not what Recurly is typically brought in for.
What can Airwallex do that Recurly cannot?
Airwallex covers Multi currency balances, Local receiving accounts, Foreign exchange conversion, International payouts. Recurly covers Subscription billing, Revenue recovery, Payment gateway optimization, Analytics. Both handle API.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Airwallex: Is Airwallex a bank?

No. It holds payment institution, electronic money or equivalent licences in the markets it serves. Funds are safeguarded at partner banks rather than being deposits, and deposit insurance schemes do not apply.

Recurly: What does Recurly's Starter plan cost?

Recurly Starter plan costs 249 USD monthly plus 0.9 percent of billing volume, with the first 40000 USD monthly volume included in the base fee.

Source
Airwallex: Can it replace my business bank account?

For many operating flows it can, but consider what you lose: no deposit protection, no lending relationship, no cash or cheque handling, and some counterparties and government bodies still expect a conventional bank account. Most users run it alongside a bank rather than instead of one.

Recurly: What is the minimum commitment for Recurly's All-Access plan?

All-Access plans require a minimum 1 million USD annual commitment, billed annually at less than 1 percent of billing volume.

Source
Airwallex: Which countries can open an account?

It serves entities registered in a defined list of markets across Asia Pacific, Europe, the United Kingdom, the Middle East and North America, and the list changes. Check for your specific country of incorporation, because the answer determines both eligibility and feature set.

Airwallex: Does it connect to my accounting software?

It integrates with the mainstream cloud ledgers so transactions feed through rather than being imported by hand. Confirm the integration covers all the currencies you hold, since multi currency handling in the ledger is a separate question.

Airwallex: How does the foreign exchange rate compare with a bank?

Materially better than a typical business bank's retail rate on major pairs, because it is quoted as interbank plus a stated markup. The gap narrows on thin currency pairs and small amounts, so test with your real volumes.

Airwallex: Are the cards accepted everywhere?

They are issued on the major networks and behave like ordinary company cards for most spend. Some merchants, particularly for deposits and car hire, treat prepaid style issuance differently, so do not assume parity with a bank credit card.

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