Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Mercury vs Recurly

Mercury logo

Mercury

Accounting

Banking for startups

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Recurly logo

Recurly

Accounting

The subscription management platform built for growth

From
$249/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Mercury has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Mercury treasury access requires a $250,000 balance held with Mercury; 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: Mercury covers Business checking, Recurly covers Subscription billing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mercury and Recurly actually diverge.

Attributes where Mercury and Recurly differ
AttributeMercuryRecurly
Starting priceFree$249/month
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Api
Founded20192009

Identical on both: 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 Mercury

  • Business checking
  • Savings accounts
  • Virtual cards
  • Team management
  • API access
  • QuickBooks
  • Xero
  • FDIC insured

Only in Recurly

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

Both cover

  • Stripe
  • SOC 2
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Mercury

  • Business banking and payments for startupsnot Recurly
  • Managing treasury, invoicing and corporate cards from one accountnot Recurly

Recurly

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

Where each one falls short

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

Mercury

  • Treasury access requires a $250,000 balance held with Mercury
  • Non USD international wires carry a 1% conversion fee
  • Choosing OUR wire coding, which covers intermediary bank charges, costs $15 per wire
  • ACH invoicing is $1 per transaction on Mercury Plus and only free on the $299 a month Pro plan
  • Advanced and recurring invoicing require Mercury Plus at $29.90 a month

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

Mercury

Free
  • Mercury (Free)Free
    • ACH payments
    • Domestic wires
    • Real-time payments
  • Mercury Plus$29.9/month
    • Invoice ACH debits
    • Recurring invoices
    • Invoicing API (500/month)
  • Mercury Pro$299/month
    • All Plus features
    • Relationship manager
    • Free ACH invoice debits

Recurly

$249/month
  • Starter$249/month
    • Automated global subscription billing
    • Flexible plans and static churn-prevention tools
    • 1 dunning campaign
  • All-Access$null/month
    • Everything in Starter plus AI-powered agents and analytics
    • Intelligent churn-prevention with multiple dunning campaigns
    • Advanced pricing and promotions
  • All-Access for Shopify$null/month
    • Intelligent churn-prevention and customized bundles
    • Subscribe and save, prepaid/gift subscriptions
    • Hybrid subscription support and cancel-save flows

Which should you pick?

Choose Mercury if

  • You need business checking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want savings accounts.
Mercury review

Choose Recurly if

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

Questions people ask

Is Mercury or Recurly better?
Neither clearly leads. Mercury starts at Free and Recurly at $249/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mercury or Recurly?
Mercury has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Mercury and $249/month for Recurly.
Does Mercury or Recurly run on more platforms?
Mercury runs on Web, Ios, Android. Recurly runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Mercury for free?
Yes. Mercury has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Recurly starts at $249/month.
What is Mercury best used for?
Mercury is most often used for business banking and payments for startups, managing treasury, invoicing and corporate cards from one account. Of those, business banking and payments for startups and managing treasury, invoicing and corporate cards from one account are not what Recurly is typically brought in for.
What can Mercury do that Recurly cannot?
Mercury covers Business checking, Savings accounts, Virtual cards, Team management. Recurly covers Subscription billing, Revenue recovery, Payment gateway optimization, Analytics. Both handle Stripe, SOC 2, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Mercury: Is Mercury business banking free?

Mercury's base banking tier is free and includes ACH payments, domestic wire transfers, real-time payments, Bill Pay, and QuickBooks/Xero automations at no monthly cost.

Source
Recurly: What does Recurly's Starter plan cost?

Recurly Starter plan costs 249 USD monthly plus 0.9 percent of billing volume, with the first 40000 USD monthly volume included in the base fee.

Source
Mercury: What does Mercury Plus add beyond the free tier?

Mercury Plus costs $29.90 per month and adds invoice ACH debits, recurring invoice capabilities, invoicing API with 500 calls per month, unlimited 1099 filings, and access to partner benefits.

Source
Recurly: What is the minimum commitment for Recurly's All-Access plan?

All-Access plans require a minimum 1 million USD annual commitment, billed annually at less than 1 percent of billing volume.

Source
Mercury: Does Mercury charge monthly account fees?

No, Mercury states there are no minimum account balance requirements, overdraft fees, required monthly fees, or account opening fees. The free tier includes essential business banking, with paid tiers available for additional features.

Source
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