Accounting · head to head
Airwallex vs Spendbase
Airwallex
Accounting
Multi currency business accounts, international payments and card issuing from a licensed payments firm rather than a bank
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Spendbase
Accounting
SaaS and cloud spend management that charges a share of the savings it finds rather than a licence
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- 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.; Spendbase charging a share of savings gives the vendor an interest in defining savings generously, and the customer cannot verify a counterfactual price it never saw.
- They diverge on capability: Airwallex covers Multi currency balances, Spendbase covers Subscription visibility.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Airwallex and Spendbase actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web), 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 Spendbase
- Subscription visibility
- Discount marketplace
- Virtual cards
- Cashback
- Renewal management
- Savings-share billing
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 Spendbase
- An agency or software company paying contractors across several countries every month and losing money on bank foreign exchange spreadsnot Spendbase
- An e-commerce seller collecting on multiple marketplaces in different currencies who wants to hold rather than convert on every settlementnot Spendbase
- A startup that needs virtual cards with per subscription limits and cannot get a workable card programme from its local banknot Spendbase
Spendbase
- A startup with no procurement function that wants renewal dates and subscription owners in one placenot Airwallex
- A company with heavy Azure or cloud spend that can use pre-negotiated credit allocationsnot Airwallex
- Issuing virtual cards per subscription so a forgotten trial cannot renew silentlynot Airwallex
- A finance lead who wants software cost reduction without hiring anyone to do itnot 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.
Spendbase
- Charging a share of savings gives the vendor an interest in defining savings generously, and the customer cannot verify a counterfactual price it never saw.
- The savings share is reported at around 25 percent but is not published on the pricing page, so the actual commercial terms only appear in a contract.
- Spendbase is both a banking provider and your software negotiator, so a company using both concentrates operating cash and vendor relationships in one small, young company.
- Banking is delivered through partners rather than held directly, meaning deposit protection and service continuity depend on those partners rather than on Spendbase.
- It is scoped for startups and small companies, so organisations needing approval workflows, purchase orders or ERP integration will find it thin against a real procurement platform.
Pricing, plan by plan
Airwallex
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Airwallex review.
Spendbase
Free- Digital bankingFree
- No monthly fee per user
- Up to 100 virtual cards
- EUR and GBP account details
- Spend management$undefined/year
- Everything in the free tier
- Reported share of roughly 25 percent of savings achieved
- 200 percent return guarantee against a deposit
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 Spendbase if
- You need subscription visibility.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want discount marketplace.
Questions people ask
- Is Airwallex or Spendbase better?
- Neither clearly leads. Airwallex starts at Free and Spendbase at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Airwallex or Spendbase?
- Airwallex starts at Free and Spendbase at Free.
- Does Airwallex or Spendbase run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Airwallex for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- 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 Spendbase is typically brought in for.
- What can Airwallex do that Spendbase cannot?
- Airwallex covers Multi currency balances, Local receiving accounts, Foreign exchange conversion, International payouts. Spendbase covers Subscription visibility, Discount marketplace, Virtual cards, Cashback.
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.
Spendbase: Is Spendbase free?
The card and banking tier is genuinely free with no per-user fee. The spend management service is paid from a share of the savings it finds, reported at around 25 percent.
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.
Spendbase: How is a saving calculated?
The methodology is not published. Agree the baseline, the measurement period and what counts as a saving in writing before signing.
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.
Spendbase: Does Spendbase hold my money?
Banking is provided through regulated partners including Moorwand in the UK and EEA and Sutton Bank in the US, with Mastercard issuing the cards.
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.
Spendbase: Is it suitable for an enterprise?
No. There are no purchase orders, approval hierarchies or ERP integration; it is built for startups.
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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