Accounting · head to head
Basware vs Payhawk
Basware
Accounting
Invoice automation and e-invoicing compliance across a large number of national mandates
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
Payhawk
Payroll
Modular spend management combining corporate cards, accounts payable, procurement and travel
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Basware the e-invoicing compliance breadth that justifies the price is worthless to a company operating in a single country, where cheaper AP automation tools will do the same work.; Payhawk buying the full stack of Travel, Accounts Payable, Cards and Procurement separately costs more than a single suite price, since each module carries its own flat monthly fee.
- They diverge on capability: Basware covers Invoice capture, Payhawk covers Corporate cards.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Basware and Payhawk actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Basware
- Invoice capture
- Matching
- Approval workflow
- E-invoicing compliance
- Supplier network
- Payment execution
- Spend analytics
- ERP integration
Only in Payhawk
- Corporate cards
- Accounts payable automation
- Procurement module
- Travel booking
- ERP integrations
- Multi-entity consolidation
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Basware
- A multinational needing compliant electronic invoicing across Italy, Poland, France and Mexico without building each mandate itselfnot Payhawk
- A shared service centre processing hundreds of thousands of invoices a year that needs touchless processing rates measured and improvednot Payhawk
- A group standardising accounts payable across subsidiaries running different ERP systemsnot Payhawk
- A finance function trying to capture early payment discounts that are currently lost to slow approval cyclesnot Payhawk
Payhawk
- A multi-entity European business wanting one system for cards, expenses and payables across currenciesnot Basware
- A finance team that wants to price spend management before a sales call rather than negotiating blindnot Basware
- A company wanting only accounts payable automation without paying for card issuing it does not neednot Basware
- A mid-market business standardising ERP-integrated expense reporting ahead of a fundraise or auditnot Basware
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Basware
- The e-invoicing compliance breadth that justifies the price is worthless to a company operating in a single country, where cheaper AP automation tools will do the same work.
- Implementation is a substantial integration project involving ERP connectors, supplier onboarding and country-by-country compliance configuration, and it is priced and timed accordingly.
- The user interface is dated next to newer accounts payable products, and approvers outside finance find it unintuitive, which slows the very cycle times the system is bought to improve.
- Supplier onboarding onto the network is the hidden effort: the touchless processing rate depends on how many suppliers actually send electronic invoices, and that is a change management programme, not a software setting.
- Growth by acquisition, including Glantus, has left overlapping analytics capability and integration work still in progress, so buyers should check which components share a data model today.
Payhawk
- Buying the full stack of Travel, Accounts Payable, Cards and Procurement separately costs more than a single suite price, since each module carries its own flat monthly fee.
- The unlimited-seats model is a poor fit for a company issuing cards to only a handful of employees, since the fixed module price does not scale down.
- Card issuing depends on Payhawk's own banking partners rather than a company's existing bank, so switching away later means reissuing cards and re-training staff on a new tool.
- Procurement is a separate paid module rather than a built-in feature, so a company evaluating "Payhawk" from marketing material may be looking at capability it has not actually bought.
- International card acceptance and FX handling vary by market, and companies with material spend outside Europe report gaps compared to global card issuers.
Pricing, plan by plan
Basware
On request- Basware$undefined/year
- Invoice automation, matching and approval
- E-invoicing compliance across national mandates
- Supplier network connectivity
Payhawk
On request- Travel$299/month
- Integrated travel booking
- Unlimited employee seats
- Accounts Payable$349/month
- Invoice capture and approval routing
- Unlimited document processing
- Cards and Expenses$449/month
- Unlimited card transactions
- Multi-entity expense management
- Procurement$499/month
- Purchase request and approval workflow
- Vendor management
Which should you pick?
Choose Basware if
- You need invoice capture.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want matching.
Choose Payhawk if
- You need corporate cards.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want accounts payable automation.
Questions people ask
- Is Basware or Payhawk better?
- Neither clearly leads. Basware starts at On request and Payhawk at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Basware or Payhawk?
- Basware starts at On request and Payhawk at On request.
- Does Basware or Payhawk run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- What is Basware best used for?
- Basware is most often used for a multinational needing compliant electronic invoicing across italy, poland, france and mexico without building each mandate itself, a shared service centre processing hundreds of thousands of invoices a year that needs touchless processing rates measured and improved, a group standardising accounts payable across subsidiaries running different erp systems, a finance function trying to capture early payment discounts that are currently lost to slow approval cycles. Of those, a multinational needing compliant electronic invoicing across italy, poland, france and mexico without building each mandate itself and a shared service centre processing hundreds of thousands of invoices a year that needs touchless processing rates measured and improved are not what Payhawk is typically brought in for.
- What can Basware do that Payhawk cannot?
- Basware covers Invoice capture, Matching, Approval workflow, E-invoicing compliance. Payhawk covers Corporate cards, Accounts payable automation, Procurement module, Travel booking.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Basware: Should we buy Basware if we only operate in one country?
Probably not. Its main advantage is multi-country e-invoicing compliance. In a single jurisdiction, cheaper AP automation gives you the same result.
Payhawk: Is Payhawk pricing really public?
Yes, module pricing (Travel, Accounts Payable, Cards and Expenses, Procurement) is published starting at 299 to 499 dollars a month per module, or bundled as Payhawk Complete.
Basware: Does it handle mandatory e-invoicing regimes?
Yes, and that is the core reason to choose it. It covers a wide set of national mandates as a service rather than an integration project you run yourself.
Payhawk: Does it charge per seat?
No, each module includes unlimited employee seats; the fixed monthly fee does not increase with headcount.
Basware: What drives the price?
Invoice volume, number of countries and modules. It is quoted, and implementation with ERP connectors and supplier onboarding is separate.
Payhawk: Can we buy just one module?
Yes, modules are sold separately, so a company can buy Accounts Payable without Cards or Procurement.
Basware: What determines the return?
The share of invoices arriving electronically. Touchless rates depend on supplier adoption, so budget for a supplier onboarding programme, not just the software.
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