All industries · head to head
Bill.com vs Oyster
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Bill.com limited customization of approval workflows and user permissions for complex business needs; Oyster employer of Record is $699 per employee per month, with the discount tied to annual billing
- They diverge on capability: Bill.com covers AP automation, Oyster covers Global Employment.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Bill.com and Oyster actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Bill.com
- AP automation
- AR automation
- Payment processing
- Approval workflows
- Document management
- Vendor management
- Cash flow insights
- Mobile approvals
Only in Oyster
- Global Employment
- Payroll
- Benefits
- Compliance
- Contractor Management
- Time Off
- Expenses
- BambooHR
Both cover
- QuickBooks
- NetSuite
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Bill.com
- Invoice processingnot Oyster
- Bill paymentsnot Oyster
- Vendor paymentsnot Oyster
- Cash flow managementnot Oyster
- Financial automationnot Oyster
Oyster
- Hiring employees abroad without setting up a local legal entitynot Bill.com
- Onboarding and paying international contractorsnot Bill.com
- Getting country specific employment compliance advice for distributed teamsnot Bill.com
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Bill.com
- Limited customization of approval workflows and user permissions for complex business needs
- Limited international payment capabilities compared to specialists like Tipalti
- Customer support response times are slow, with agents often lacking product expertise
Oyster
- Employer of Record is $699 per employee per month, with the discount tied to annual billing
- A refundable deposit is required before an EOR engagement starts
- Contractor management is free for 30 days then $29 per contractor per month
- HR advisory through People Partner Services is billed at $300 per hour on top of the subscription
- A currency conversion fee applies when you pay Oyster in a currency other than the contract currency
- Payments are accepted only by direct debit or wire in USD, EUR, GBP or CAD
Pricing, plan by plan
Bill.com
Free- Essentials$49/month
- Core AP and AR functionality
- Manual CSV import/export
- Team$65/month
- Automatic 2-way sync with QuickBooks Online, Xero
- Corporate$89/month
- Procurement features
- Custom approval policies
- Sync with NetSuite, Dynamics
Oyster
Free- Contractor$29/month
- Contractor Payments
- Compliant Contracts
- Invoicing
- Employee$599/month
- Global Employment
- Payroll
- Benefits
Which should you pick?
Choose Bill.com if
- You need ap automation.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want ar automation.
Choose Oyster if
- You need global employment.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want payroll.
Questions people ask
- Is Bill.com or Oyster better?
- Neither clearly leads. Bill.com starts at Free and Oyster at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Bill.com or Oyster?
- Bill.com starts at Free and Oyster at Free.
- Does Bill.com or Oyster run on more platforms?
- Bill.com runs on Web. Oyster runs on Web, Ios, Android.
- Can I use Bill.com for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Bill.com best used for?
- Bill.com is most often used for invoice processing, bill payments, vendor payments, cash flow management. Of those, invoice processing and bill payments are not what Oyster is typically brought in for.
- What can Bill.com do that Oyster cannot?
- Bill.com covers AP automation, AR automation, Payment processing, Approval workflows. Oyster covers Global Employment, Payroll, Benefits, Compliance. Both handle QuickBooks, NetSuite, Web support.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Bill.com: What payment methods does Bill.com support?
Bill.com supports ACH transfers, checks, corporate cards, and international transfers. ACH payments cost $0.59 per transaction, checks cost $1.99, and card payments incur a 2.9% fee.
SourceBill.com: Does Bill.com offer a free tier?
Yes. Bill.com offers a free Spend & Expense plan for access to credit lines from $1,000-$5M with corporate cards, budgets, and expense tracking.
SourceBill.com: Which accounting systems does Bill.com integrate with?
Bill.com integrates with QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Enterprise, Oracle NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics, and Xero, with automatic two-way syncing on most plans.
SourceRelated pages
Other head to heads
- Bill.com vs QuickBooks
- Bill.com vs Ramp
- Bill.com vs Airbase
- Bill.com vs Melio
- Bill.com vs Wise Business
- Bill.com vs ADP
- Bill.com vs Brex
- Bill.com vs Expensify
- Bill.com vs Fyle
- Bill.com vs Payoneer
- Bill.com vs Pleo
- Bill.com vs Sage 50
- Bill.com vs SAP Concur
- Bill.com vs Spendesk
- Bill.com vs Stampli
- Bill.com vs Tipalti
- Bill.com vs Xero
- Bill.com vs Zoho Books
- Bill.com vs Gusto
- Bill.com vs Paycom
- Bill.com vs ADP Workforce Now
- Bill.com vs Zenefits
- Bill.com vs Ceridian Dayforce
- Bill.com vs Sage Intacct
- Bill.com vs UKG Pro
- Bill.com vs Namely
- Bill.com vs Papaya Global
- Bill.com vs Paychex Flex
- Bill.com vs Paylocity
- Bill.com vs Remote
- Bill.com vs TriNet
- Bill.com vs Velocity Global
- Oyster vs QuickBooks
- Oyster vs Ramp
- Oyster vs Airbase
- Oyster vs Melio
- Oyster vs Wise Business
- Oyster vs ADP
- Oyster vs Brex
- Oyster vs Expensify
- Oyster vs Fyle
- Oyster vs Payoneer
- Oyster vs Pleo
- Oyster vs Sage 50
- Oyster vs SAP Concur
- Oyster vs Spendesk
- Oyster vs Stampli
- Oyster vs Tipalti
- Oyster vs Xero
- Oyster vs Zoho Books
- Oyster vs Gusto
- Oyster vs Paycom
- Oyster vs ADP Workforce Now
- Oyster vs Zenefits
- Oyster vs Ceridian Dayforce
- Oyster vs Sage Intacct
- Oyster vs UKG Pro
- Oyster vs Namely
- Oyster vs Papaya Global
- Oyster vs Paychex Flex
- Oyster vs Paylocity
- Oyster vs Remote
- Oyster vs TriNet
- Oyster vs Velocity Global