Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Bench vs Soldo

Bench logo

Bench

Accounting

America's largest bookkeeping service for small businesses

From
$299/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Soldo logo

Soldo

Accounting

Prepaid company card and spend control platform for European businesses

From
£21/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Bench recent bankruptcy and acquisition by Employer.com creates uncertainty about product roadmap and support continuity; 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: Bench covers Dedicated bookkeeper, Soldo covers Prepaid company cards.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bench and Soldo actually diverge.

Attributes where Bench and Soldo differ
AttributeBenchSoldo
Starting price$299/month£21/month
Pricing modelUnknownPer user per month
Founded2012Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), 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 Bench

  • Dedicated bookkeeper
  • Monthly financial statements
  • Bank reconciliation
  • Tax preparation
  • Expense categorization
  • Stripe
  • PayPal
  • Square

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.

Bench

  • Bookkeeping outsourcingnot Soldo
  • Tax preparationnot Soldo
  • Financial reportingnot Soldo

Soldo

  • A construction firm giving site managers fuel and materials cards with hard per-card limitsnot Bench
  • A marketing team issuing virtual cards per subscription so a cancelled tool cannot keep billingnot Bench
  • A UK company that cannot get approved for a credit-based corporate card programmenot Bench
  • A multi-entity European business needing EUR and GBP wallets without conversion on every purchasenot Bench

Where each one falls short

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

Bench

  • Recent bankruptcy and acquisition by Employer.com creates uncertainty about product roadmap and support continuity
  • Higher starting cost at $299/month compared to self-service accounting software like Wave or QuickBooks Online
  • Requires manual connection of financial accounts and ongoing coordination with bookkeeping team, less automated than software-first solutions
  • Tax services limited to US income tax returns; no support for complex entity structures or multi-state taxation
  • History of burning through capital rapidly, raising concerns about long-term business sustainability

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

Bench

$299/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Bench 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 Bench if

  • You need dedicated bookkeeper.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want monthly financial statements.
Bench review

Choose Soldo if

  • You need prepaid company cards.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want card-level budgets.
Soldo review

Questions people ask

Is Bench or Soldo better?
Neither clearly leads. Bench starts at $299/month and Soldo at £21/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bench or Soldo?
Bench starts at $299/month and Soldo at £21/month.
Does Bench or Soldo run on more platforms?
Bench runs on Web, Ios, Android. Soldo runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Bench best used for?
Bench is most often used for bookkeeping outsourcing, tax preparation, financial reporting. Of those, bookkeeping outsourcing and tax preparation are not what Soldo is typically brought in for.
What can Bench do that Soldo cannot?
Bench covers Dedicated bookkeeper, Monthly financial statements, Bank reconciliation, Tax preparation. Soldo covers Prepaid company cards, Card-level budgets, Receipt capture, Accounting export.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bench: What happened to Bench Accounting?

Bench shut down abruptly on December 27, 2024, filing for bankruptcy in Canada with $65 million in debt. The company was acquired by Employer.com on December 30, 2024, and resumed operations in January 2025 under new ownership.

Source
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.

Bench: What are Bench's current pricing plans?

Bench offers Bookkeeping at $299/month (billed annually) and Bookkeeping + Tax at $599/month (billed annually). Both include automated bookkeeping, real-time financial statements, and a dedicated team of bookkeepers.

Source
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.

Bench: Does Bench include tax preparation services?

The Bookkeeping plan includes monthly bookkeeping and year-end tax-ready financial statements. The Bookkeeping + Tax plan adds one-on-one income tax consulting and annual income tax return filing.

Source
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.

Bench: How does Bench's bookkeeping work?

Bench combines proprietary software with human bookkeepers. You connect your financial accounts to automate data entry, and Bench's team handles bookkeeping and provides year-end tax-ready statements. Customers can reach their dedicated team within 24 hours.

Source
Bench: Can I access real-time financial data with Bench?

Yes, Bench provides real-time reporting, allowing you to access or download updated income statements and balance sheets at any time.

Source
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