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Accounting · head to head

Medius vs Paperbell

Medius logo

Medius

Accounting

Accounts payable automation and supplier payments for mid-market finance teams, Marlin Equity owned

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Paperbell logo

Paperbell

Proposals

Packaged offer, contract, scheduling and payment flow built for coaches selling sessions rather than projects

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Medius the sourcing, contract and procurement modules are considerably less developed than the AP core, so buying Medius as a full source-to-pay suite means accepting weak upstream tooling.; Paperbell it only models packaged session based work, so anyone selling project scoped deliverables will find the proposal side too rigid to use.
  • They diverge on capability: Medius covers Invoice capture and coding, Paperbell covers Package based offers.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Medius and Paperbell actually diverge.

Attributes where Medius and Paperbell differ
AttributeMediusPaperbell
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb
CategoryAccountingProposals

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), 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 Medius

  • Invoice capture and coding
  • Matching and exception handling
  • Fraud and anomaly detection
  • Supplier payments
  • Approval workflow
  • ERP integration

Only in Paperbell

  • Package based offers
  • Contract signature
  • Payment plans
  • Session counting
  • Scheduling
  • Intake questionnaires
  • Client portal

What people use each for

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

Medius

  • A mid-market finance team where most spend arrives as an invoice with no purchase order to match againstnot Paperbell
  • A group with several legal entities on different ERPs that wants one AP process across all of themnot Paperbell
  • Reducing invoice fraud exposure with automated detection of supplier bank detail changesnot Paperbell
  • Replacing a scanning bureau and a shared AP inbox with automated capture and exception-based reviewnot Paperbell

Paperbell

  • A coach selling a fixed six session package who is currently using three separate tools to sell itnot Medius
  • Replacing a scheduling subscription, an e signature subscription and an invoicing tool with one accountnot Medius
  • Selling coaching packages on instalments where remaining sessions must be tracked against paymentnot Medius
  • A therapist or consultant who needs an intake questionnaire attached to the purchase rather than emailed afterwardsnot Medius

Where each one falls short

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

Medius

  • The sourcing, contract and procurement modules are considerably less developed than the AP core, so buying Medius as a full source-to-pay suite means accepting weak upstream tooling.
  • Pricing is quote-only and driven by invoice volume, so a business with many low-value invoices pays disproportionately relative to the spend being controlled.
  • Payments are billed on transaction volume separately from the AP subscription, which is easy to omit from a cost comparison against a licence-only AP tool.
  • Private equity ownership since 2017 has produced an acquisition-driven product line, so payments and adjacent capability come from bought-in technology rather than the original platform.
  • ERP integration depth varies sharply by system, and organisations on less common or heavily customised ERPs face integration work that lengthens the implementation.

Paperbell

  • It only models packaged session based work, so anyone selling project scoped deliverables will find the proposal side too rigid to use.
  • There is no time tracking, project management or task system, so any work between sessions is managed somewhere else entirely.
  • Payments run through a third party gateway, so the card processing fee applies on top of the subscription and is easy to leave out of a comparison.
  • The flat account price is attractive at scale but poor value for a coach with two or three clients, who is subsidising capacity they do not use.
  • Customisation of the client facing pages is limited, so a coach with a strong brand will find the purchase flow looks like every other Paperbell account.

Pricing, plan by plan

Medius

On request
  • Medius AP Automation$undefined/year
    • Two packaged AP automation tiers
    • Priced by invoice volume and entity count
    • Sourcing, contracts and procurement modules sold separately

Paperbell

On request
  • Paperbell$undefined/year
    • Unlimited clients on a flat account price
    • Packages with contract, payment and scheduling
    • Payment plans and subscriptions

Which should you pick?

Choose Medius if

  • You need invoice capture and coding.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want matching and exception handling.
Medius review

Choose Paperbell if

  • You need package based offers.
  • You also want contract signature.
Paperbell review

Questions people ask

Is Medius or Paperbell better?
Neither clearly leads. Medius starts at On request and Paperbell at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Medius or Paperbell?
Medius starts at On request and Paperbell at On request.
Does Medius or Paperbell run on more platforms?
Medius runs on Web, iOS, Android. Paperbell runs on Web.
What is Medius best used for?
Medius is most often used for a mid-market finance team where most spend arrives as an invoice with no purchase order to match against, a group with several legal entities on different erps that wants one ap process across all of them, reducing invoice fraud exposure with automated detection of supplier bank detail changes, replacing a scanning bureau and a shared ap inbox with automated capture and exception-based review. Of those, a mid-market finance team where most spend arrives as an invoice with no purchase order to match against and a group with several legal entities on different erps that wants one ap process across all of them are not what Paperbell is typically brought in for.
What can Medius do that Paperbell cannot?
Medius covers Invoice capture and coding, Matching and exception handling, Fraud and anomaly detection, Supplier payments. Paperbell covers Package based offers, Contract signature, Payment plans, Session counting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Medius: Is Medius a procurement suite or an AP tool?

Primarily an AP automation platform with procurement modules attached. If sourcing is your main requirement, look elsewhere.

Paperbell: Is it priced per client?

No. It is a flat account price with unlimited clients, which is unusual in this category and is the main economic argument for it.

Medius: Who owns Medius?

Marlin Equity Partners, which acquired it in 2017 and has funded several bolt-on acquisitions since.

Paperbell: Does it take a cut of my payments?

The card processor takes its standard fee. Confirm the current subscription price with the vendor and model the processing fee separately.

Medius: How is it priced?

By quote, driven by invoice volume and entity count, with payments billed separately on transaction volume.

Paperbell: Can I use it for project work?

Not well. It is built around packages of sessions, and project scoped proposals do not fit that shape.

Medius: Does it replace our ERP?

No. It sits alongside the ERP and posts approved invoices into it.

Paperbell: Do I still need a scheduling tool?

No. Scheduling is built in, and replacing a separate scheduling subscription is part of the cost case.

Paperbell: Can I brand the client pages?

Only lightly. Deep brand customisation is not available.

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