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Software · head to head

BlackLine vs Plaid

BlackLine logo

BlackLine

Software

Finance & accounting automation

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Plaid logo

Plaid

Software

The safer way to connect financial accounts

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: BlackLine listed on UK G-Cloud 13 at £1,150 to £2,160 per user per year for the public sector, with no free trial offered, per BlackLine's Finance Operations Management Solution pricing document; Plaid no dollar amount is published for any product, and the pricing page states no per request rate or minimum commitment
  • They diverge on capability: BlackLine covers Account reconciliation, Plaid covers Bank account linking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BlackLine and Plaid actually diverge.

Attributes where BlackLine and Plaid differ
AttributeBlackLinePlaid
Pricing modelsubscriptionusage-based
PlatformsWebApi, Web, Ios, Android
Founded20012013

Identical on both: starting price ($29/month), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 BlackLine

  • Account reconciliation
  • Journal entries
  • Task management
  • Variance analysis
  • Financial close
  • SAP
  • Oracle
  • NetSuite

Only in Plaid

  • Bank account linking
  • Transaction data
  • Identity verification
  • Income verification
  • Asset reports
  • Venmo
  • Robinhood
  • Coinbase

Both cover

  • ISO 27001
  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

BlackLine

  • Financial closenot Plaid
  • Reconciliationnot Plaid
  • Continuous accountingnot Plaid

Plaid

  • Connecting bank accounts to an application for balances and transactionsnot BlackLine
  • Verifying account ownership and income for payments or lendingnot BlackLine

Where each one falls short

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

BlackLine

  • Listed on UK G-Cloud 13 at £1,150 to £2,160 per user per year for the public sector, with no free trial offered, per BlackLine's Finance Operations Management Solution pricing document

Plaid

  • No dollar amount is published for any product, and the pricing page states no per request rate or minimum commitment
  • Three different billing models apply depending on the product, being one time per connected account, monthly per connected account, and per successful API call
  • That mix means total cost depends on which products are combined rather than on a single unit
  • Discounted rates require the Growth plan, which is a 12 month commitment

Pricing, plan by plan

BlackLine

$29/month
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Custom pricing
    • Account reconciliation
    • Task management

Plaid

$29/month
  • Pay-as-you-goFree
    • Bank connections
    • Transaction data
    • Account verification

Which should you pick?

Choose BlackLine if

  • You need account reconciliation.
  • You also want journal entries.
BlackLine review

Choose Plaid if

  • You need bank account linking.
  • You work on Api, Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want transaction data.
Plaid review

Questions people ask

Is BlackLine or Plaid better?
Neither clearly leads. BlackLine starts at $29/month and Plaid at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BlackLine or Plaid?
BlackLine starts at $29/month and Plaid at $29/month.
Does BlackLine or Plaid run on more platforms?
BlackLine runs on Web. Plaid runs on Api, Web, Ios, Android.
What is BlackLine best used for?
BlackLine is most often used for financial close, reconciliation, continuous accounting. Of those, financial close and reconciliation are not what Plaid is typically brought in for.
What can BlackLine do that Plaid cannot?
BlackLine covers Account reconciliation, Journal entries, Task management, Variance analysis. Plaid covers Bank account linking, Transaction data, Identity verification, Income verification. Both handle ISO 27001, Web support.
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Related pages

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