Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Cledara vs Creem

Cledara logo

Cledara

Accounting

Software subscription management with a virtual card per application, priced from £100 a month

From
£100/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Creem logo

Creem

Accounting

All-in-one payment and compliance platform for software companies

From
$3.9/percent
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cledara control only extends to subscriptions paid on a Cledara card, so anything billed by invoice, bank transfer or a legacy company card is invisible to the system and undermines the inventory it promises.; Creem per-transaction fee model scales with volume, potentially expensive for high-frequency transactions
  • They diverge on capability: Cledara covers Virtual card per subscription, Creem covers Global payments processing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cledara and Creem actually diverge.

Attributes where Cledara and Creem differ
AttributeCledaraCreem
Starting price£100/month$3.9/percent
Pricing modelPer month by number of applicationsPer-transaction flat rate
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Cledara

  • Virtual card per subscription
  • Cancel by card
  • Application inventory
  • Approval workflow
  • Invoice collection
  • Accounting export
  • Spend optimisation module
  • IT management and compliance modules

Only in Creem

  • Global payments processing
  • Automated tax compliance
  • Subscription billing
  • Revenue distribution
  • Digital product support
  • Fraud protection
  • AI business assistant
  • Affiliate platform

What people use each for

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

Cledara

  • A finance team that cannot say what software the company pays for because everything is on three people's company cardsnot Creem
  • A company that keeps paying for tools nobody uses and cannot get the vendor to process a cancellationnot Creem
  • A startup wanting approval on new software purchases before the first charge rather than at the auditnot Creem
  • A finance function that spends days each month chasing SaaS invoices for the accountantnot Creem

Creem

  • SaaS subscription billing and managementnot Cledara
  • Digital product distribution with license keysnot Cledara
  • Global payment processing across 100+ countriesnot Cledara
  • Revenue sharing among co-founders and affiliatesnot Cledara
  • Automated tax compliance for international salesnot Cledara

Where each one falls short

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

Cledara

  • Control only extends to subscriptions paid on a Cledara card, so anything billed by invoice, bank transfer or a legacy company card is invisible to the system and undermines the inventory it promises.
  • Tier limits are set by number of applications rather than headcount, and twenty applications on the Basic plan is fewer than most companies of fifty actually run, so buyers often land on a higher tier than the entry price suggests.
  • The modules that turn it from a payment layer into a management platform, spend optimisation, IT management and compliance, are each priced at £150 to £200 a month, comparable to the base plan itself.
  • Usage data is inferred from payment and integration signals rather than deep application telemetry, so its judgement of whether a tool is underused is weaker than a discovery product built on single sign-on and API usage.
  • It is a card issuer as well as a software vendor, which adds financial counterparty considerations and means a change in its banking arrangements would affect how the company pays every one of its suppliers.

Creem

  • Per-transaction fee model scales with volume, potentially expensive for high-frequency transactions
  • Limited to software and digital product companies, not suitable for physical goods
  • AI business assistant availability and capabilities not fully detailed
  • Requires using Creem as Merchant of Record, limiting white-label options
  • Mobile app only available in beta for iOS and Android

Pricing, plan by plan

Cledara

£100/month
  • Basic$100/month
    • Up to 20 software applications
    • Virtual card per subscription
    • Application inventory and approvals
  • Premium$undefined/month
    • Up to 75 software applications
    • Typically 51 to 150 staff
    • 1% cashback in the first year, capped at the subscription cost
  • Pro$undefined/month
    • For organisations above roughly 150 staff
    • Scoped individually
    • 1% cashback in the first year, capped at plan cost
  • Add-on modules$200/month
    • Spend Optimization £200 a month or £1,500 a year
    • IT Management £150 a month or £1,500 a year
    • Software Compliance £150 a month or £1,500 a year

Creem

$3.9/percent
  • StandardFree
    • 3.9% + $0.40 per transaction
    • No setup fees
    • No monthly fees

Which should you pick?

Choose Cledara if

  • You need virtual card per subscription.
  • You also want cancel by card.
Cledara review

Choose Creem if

  • You need global payments processing.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want automated tax compliance.
Creem review

Questions people ask

Is Cledara or Creem better?
Neither clearly leads. Cledara starts at £100/month and Creem at $3.9/percent, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cledara or Creem?
Cledara starts at £100/month and Creem at $3.9/percent.
Does Cledara or Creem run on more platforms?
Cledara runs on Web. Creem runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Cledara best used for?
Cledara is most often used for a finance team that cannot say what software the company pays for because everything is on three people's company cards, a company that keeps paying for tools nobody uses and cannot get the vendor to process a cancellation, a startup wanting approval on new software purchases before the first charge rather than at the audit, a finance function that spends days each month chasing saas invoices for the accountant. Of those, a finance team that cannot say what software the company pays for because everything is on three people's company cards and a company that keeps paying for tools nobody uses and cannot get the vendor to process a cancellation are not what Creem is typically brought in for.
What can Cledara do that Creem cannot?
Cledara covers Virtual card per subscription, Cancel by card, Application inventory, Approval workflow. Creem covers Global payments processing, Automated tax compliance, Subscription billing, Revenue distribution.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cledara: What does it cost?

Basic is £100 a month for up to 20 applications, with Premium covering up to 75 and Pro above that. Add-on modules are £150 to £200 a month each, and annual payment saves 16%.

Creem: What are Creem's transaction fees compared to competitors?

Creem charges a flat 3.9% plus 40 cents per successful transaction with no additional setup, monthly, or hidden fees. For a $5,000 transaction volume, Creem estimates $235 in fees compared to Lemon Squeezy at $565 ($400 + $165).

Source
Cledara: Does it find software we did not tell it about?

Only what passes through its cards or connected integrations. Subscriptions paid by invoice or another card stay hidden, which is the main limitation of the model.

Creem: Does Creem handle international tax compliance?

Yes. Creem automatically handles VAT, GST, and sales tax filing and remittance as a Merchant of Record across 50+ countries, eliminating manual tax compliance work.

Source
Cledara: How does cancelling work?

You cancel the virtual card for that subscription, which stops the payment. It does not remove your contractual obligation, so check notice periods.

Creem: Can I use Creem for subscription billing?

Yes. Creem provides subscription management with billing, dunning, and a customer portal. Revenue splits are included for distributing earnings to co-founders and affiliates.

Source
Cledara: Is the application limit by users or by tools?

By tools. Twenty on Basic, seventy-five on Premium. Count your actual subscriptions before assuming the entry price applies to you.

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