Softwr

Accounting & Finance · head to head

Melio vs Recurly

Melio logo

Melio

Accounting & Finance

Simple business payments

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Recurly logo

Recurly

Accounting & Finance

The subscription management platform built for growth

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Melio has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Melio go (free) plan limited to one user only; Recurly starter is $249 a month plus 0.9 percent of billing volume above the first $40K, so the cost rises with revenue rather than with usage
  • They diverge on capability: Melio covers Vendor payments, Recurly covers Subscription billing.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Melio and Recurly actually diverge.

Attributes where Melio and Recurly differ
AttributeMelioRecurly
Starting priceFree$29/month
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Mobile appWeb, Api
Founded20182009

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting & Finance).

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 Melio

  • Vendor payments
  • Card to check
  • Payment scheduling
  • Approval workflows
  • QuickBooks sync
  • QuickBooks
  • Xero
  • FreshBooks

Only in Recurly

  • Subscription billing
  • Revenue recovery
  • Payment gateway optimization
  • Analytics
  • API
  • Stripe
  • PayPal
  • Braintree

Both cover

  • SOC 2
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Melio

  • Accounts payable automationnot Recurly
  • Bill management and payment schedulingnot Recurly
  • Multi-vendor payment processingnot Recurly
  • Invoice receivables and payment collectionnot Recurly

Recurly

  • Subscription billing and recurring invoicingnot Melio
  • Dunning and failed payment recoverynot Melio
  • Trials, plan changes and promotionsnot Melio
  • Revenue recognition through the RevRec add-onnot Melio
  • Shopify-native subscriptions with subscribe and savenot Melio

Where each one falls short

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

Melio

  • Go (free) plan limited to one user only
  • ACH charges £0.50 per transaction beyond monthly allowance (5-50 free depending on plan)
  • Card payment fees range from 2.9% to 2.9% plus £75 maximum
  • International payments limited to select currencies only
  • NetSuite integration only available in Unlimited plan (£80/month minimum)

Recurly

  • Starter is $249 a month plus 0.9 percent of billing volume above the first $40K, so the cost rises with revenue rather than with usage
  • All-Access is quoted at under 1 percent of billing volume with a $1M minimum, putting it out of reach of smaller merchants
  • Only one dunning campaign on Starter; multiple campaigns need All-Access
  • SSO, multicurrency and payments orchestration are All-Access only
  • Revenue recognition and the Engage churn tooling are separate add-ons at $850 and $1,600 a month

Pricing, plan by plan

Melio

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Melio review.

Recurly

$29/month
  • CoreFree
    • Basic billing
    • Revenue recovery
    • Analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Melio if

  • You need vendor payments.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile app.
  • You also want card to check.
Melio review

Choose Recurly if

  • You need subscription billing.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want revenue recovery.
Recurly review

Questions people ask

Is Melio or Recurly better?
Neither clearly leads. Melio starts at Free and Recurly at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Melio or Recurly?
Melio has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Melio and $29/month for Recurly.
Does Melio or Recurly run on more platforms?
Melio runs on Web, Mobile app. Recurly runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Melio for free?
Yes. Melio has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Recurly starts at $29/month.
What is Melio best used for?
Melio is most often used for accounts payable automation, bill management and payment scheduling, multi-vendor payment processing, invoice receivables and payment collection. Of those, accounts payable automation and bill management and payment scheduling are not what Recurly is typically brought in for.
What can Melio do that Recurly cannot?
Melio covers Vendor payments, Card to check, Payment scheduling, Approval workflows. Recurly covers Subscription billing, Revenue recovery, Payment gateway optimization, Analytics. Both handle SOC 2, Web support.
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