Accounting · head to head
Airwallex vs Soldo
Airwallex
Accounting
Multi currency business accounts, international payments and card issuing from a licensed payments firm rather than a bank
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Soldo
Accounting
Prepaid company card and spend control platform for European businesses
- From
- £21/month
- Rated
- -
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.; Soldo cards are prepaid, so if the central wallet runs low the cards decline in front of a supplier, and treasury has to keep an idle float funded rather than using a credit line.
- They diverge on capability: Airwallex covers Multi currency balances, Soldo covers Prepaid company cards.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Airwallex and Soldo actually diverge.
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 Soldo
- Prepaid company cards
- Card-level budgets
- Receipt capture
- Accounting export
- Multi-currency wallets
- Approval workflows
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 Soldo
- An agency or software company paying contractors across several countries every month and losing money on bank foreign exchange spreadsnot Soldo
- An e-commerce seller collecting on multiple marketplaces in different currencies who wants to hold rather than convert on every settlementnot Soldo
- A startup that needs virtual cards with per subscription limits and cannot get a workable card programme from its local banknot Soldo
Soldo
- A construction firm giving site managers fuel and materials cards with hard per-card limitsnot Airwallex
- A marketing team issuing virtual cards per subscription so a cancelled tool cannot keep billingnot Airwallex
- A UK company that cannot get approved for a credit-based corporate card programmenot Airwallex
- A multi-entity European business needing EUR and GBP wallets without conversion on every purchasenot 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.
Soldo
- Cards are prepaid, so if the central wallet runs low the cards decline in front of a supplier, and treasury has to keep an idle float funded rather than using a credit line.
- The plan fee covers only three users, and per-user charges plus physical card fees mean the real monthly cost is several times the advertised headline for a team of twenty.
- It does not extend credit, so it gives no working capital benefit and no card rewards of the kind US charge card issuers use to offset their cost.
- Sole traders and some business types are not accepted, which catches out small consultancies expecting to sign up online.
- Coverage is European; a company with US or Asian subsidiaries will need a second card programme and a second expense workflow for them.
Pricing, plan by plan
Airwallex
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Airwallex review.
Soldo
£21/month- Standard$21/month
- Three users included
- Around £7 per additional user per month
- Physical card issuance fee around £5, virtual around £1
- Plus$33/month
- Three users included
- Around £11 per additional user per month
- Advanced approval and multi-currency features
- Enterprise$undefined/month
- Quoted pricing
- Custom card volumes and entity structures
- Dedicated account management
Which should you pick?
Choose Airwallex if
- You need multi currency balances.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want local receiving accounts.
Choose Soldo if
- You need prepaid company cards.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want card-level budgets.
Questions people ask
- Is Airwallex or Soldo better?
- Neither clearly leads. Airwallex starts at Free and Soldo at £21/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Airwallex or Soldo?
- Airwallex has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Airwallex and £21/month for Soldo.
- Does Airwallex or Soldo run on more platforms?
- Airwallex runs on Web. Soldo runs on Web, iOS, Android.
- Can I use Airwallex for free?
- Yes. Airwallex has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Soldo starts at £21/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 Soldo is typically brought in for.
- What can Airwallex do that Soldo cannot?
- Airwallex covers Multi currency balances, Local receiving accounts, Foreign exchange conversion, International payouts. Soldo covers Prepaid company cards, Card-level budgets, Receipt capture, Accounting export.
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.
Soldo: Is Soldo a credit card?
No. It is prepaid electronic money. You fund a wallet and cards spend from it, so there is no credit line and no interest-free period.
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.
Soldo: What licence does Soldo hold?
Soldo is authorised as an electronic money institution, including UK, Irish and Italian entities, which is why it can issue cards without a sponsor bank in those markets.
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.
Soldo: What does it really cost for twenty users?
Take the plan fee, add the per-user rate for the seventeen users beyond the included three, then add card issuance fees per physical card.
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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