Accounting · head to head
freee vs Spendbase
freee
Accounting
Japanese integrated cloud accounting software for sole proprietors and corporations
- From
- 980/month
- Rated
- -
Spendbase
Accounting
SaaS and cloud spend management that charges a share of the savings it finds rather than a licence
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Spendbase has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: freee pricing varies significantly across multiple product categories and tiers; Spendbase charging a share of savings gives the vendor an interest in defining savings generously, and the customer cannot verify a counterfactual price it never saw.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which freee and Spendbase actually diverge.
Identical on both: platforms (Web), 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 freee
Nothing recorded that Spendbase does not also cover.
Only in Spendbase
- Subscription visibility
- Discount marketplace
- Virtual cards
- Cashback
- Renewal management
- Savings-share billing
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
freee
- Filing Japanese tax documents electronically each yearnot Spendbase
- Calculating payroll and year-end adjustments automaticallynot Spendbase
- Creating opening documents without visiting tax officenot Spendbase
- Tracking company expenses across departments centrallynot Spendbase
Spendbase
- A startup with no procurement function that wants renewal dates and subscription owners in one placenot freee
- A company with heavy Azure or cloud spend that can use pre-negotiated credit allocationsnot freee
- Issuing virtual cards per subscription so a forgotten trial cannot renew silentlynot freee
- A finance lead who wants software cost reduction without hiring anyone to do itnot freee
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
freee
- Pricing varies significantly across multiple product categories and tiers
- Some corporate tiers (Advance) reach ¥39,780+/month
Spendbase
- Charging a share of savings gives the vendor an interest in defining savings generously, and the customer cannot verify a counterfactual price it never saw.
- The savings share is reported at around 25 percent but is not published on the pricing page, so the actual commercial terms only appear in a contract.
- Spendbase is both a banking provider and your software negotiator, so a company using both concentrates operating cash and vendor relationships in one small, young company.
- Banking is delivered through partners rather than held directly, meaning deposit protection and service continuity depend on those partners rather than on Spendbase.
- It is scoped for startups and small companies, so organisations needing approval workflows, purchase orders or ERP integration will find it thin against a real procurement platform.
Pricing, plan by plan
freee
980/month- freee會計 Starter$980/month
- Individual business owner accounting tier
- freee會計 Corporate Solo$2980/month
- Corporate accounting tier
- freee人事労務$400/month per employee
- HR and payroll module per-employee pricing
- freee勤怠管理$300/month per employee
- Attendance tracking per-employee
Spendbase
Free- Digital bankingFree
- No monthly fee per user
- Up to 100 virtual cards
- EUR and GBP account details
- Spend management$undefined/year
- Everything in the free tier
- Reported share of roughly 25 percent of savings achieved
- 200 percent return guarantee against a deposit
Which should you pick?
Choose freee if
Nothing in the data separates freee from Spendbase on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Choose Spendbase if
- You need subscription visibility.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want discount marketplace.
Questions people ask
- Is freee or Spendbase better?
- Neither clearly leads. freee starts at 980/month and Spendbase at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, freee or Spendbase?
- Spendbase has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at 980/month for freee and Free for Spendbase.
- Does freee or Spendbase run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Spendbase for free?
- Yes. Spendbase has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. freee starts at 980/month.
- What is freee best used for?
- freee is most often used for filing japanese tax documents electronically each year, calculating payroll and year-end adjustments automatically, creating opening documents without visiting tax office, tracking company expenses across departments centrally. Of those, filing japanese tax documents electronically each year and calculating payroll and year-end adjustments automatically are not what Spendbase is typically brought in for.
- What can freee do that Spendbase cannot?
- Spendbase covers Subscription visibility, Discount marketplace, Virtual cards, Cashback.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
freee: What is freee's accounting software pricing?
Individual business owners start at ¥980/month for Starter, while corporate accounting begins at ¥2,980/month for Solo Corp, with prices extending to ¥39,780+/month for Advance plans.
SourceSpendbase: Is Spendbase free?
The card and banking tier is genuinely free with no per-user fee. The spend management service is paid from a share of the savings it finds, reported at around 25 percent.
freee: Does freee charge per employee for HR and payroll?
Yes, freee人事労務 (HR/Payroll) costs ¥400-¥1,100 per employee per month, and freee勤怠管理 (Attendance) costs ¥300 per employee per month.
SourceSpendbase: How is a saving calculated?
The methodology is not published. Agree the baseline, the measurement period and what counts as a saving in writing before signing.
freee: Are there free freee products?
Several freee products are completely free, including freee開業 (Business Opening), freee請求書 (Invoicing), freeeカード (Card), and certain features like payroll rules creation.
SourceSpendbase: Does Spendbase hold my money?
Banking is provided through regulated partners including Moorwand in the UK and EEA and Sutton Bank in the US, with Mastercard issuing the cards.
freee: Does freee offer a free trial?
Freee offers a 30-day free trial for its accounting software and provides annual payment discounts on most plans.
SourceSpendbase: Is it suitable for an enterprise?
No. There are no purchase orders, approval hierarchies or ERP integration; it is built for startups.
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