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Accounting · head to head

Airbase vs Ramp

Airbase logo

Airbase

Accounting

Spend management combining corporate cards, bill payment and expense claims, now part of Paylocity

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ramp logo

Ramp

Accounting

The corporate card that helps you spend less

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Ramp has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Airbase card issuing and bill payment are built around United States entities and United States bank accounts, so a group with subsidiaries abroad keeps running local card and payment processes alongside and does not get the single ledger of spend that justified the purchase.; Ramp procurement module unavailable on Free plan; available as add-on on Plus
  • They diverge on capability: Airbase covers Virtual cards per vendor, Ramp covers Expense management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbase and Ramp actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbase and Ramp differ
AttributeAirbaseRamp
Starting price$29/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Mobile apps
Founded20172019

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), 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 Airbase

  • Virtual cards per vendor
  • Bill payment
  • Expense reimbursement
  • Unified approval policy
  • Purchase intake and procurement
  • Automated coding
  • Receipt collection
  • General ledger sync

Only in Ramp

  • Expense management
  • Bill pay
  • Accounting automation
  • Spend insights
  • QuickBooks
  • NetSuite
  • Xero
  • Sage Intacct

Both cover

  • Corporate cards

What people use each for

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

Airbase

  • A company that has outgrown one shared company card and needs per person and per subscription cards with real limitsnot Ramp
  • A finance team where supplier invoices arrive in an inbox and approval is whoever replies, with no record afterwardsnot Ramp
  • A controller trying to close the month without rebuilding card and expense coding from statements every timenot Ramp
  • An organisation that wants spend approved before it is committed rather than discovered when the invoice arrivesnot Ramp

Ramp

  • Corporate expense management and automationnot Airbase
  • Accounts payable automation with AI invoice processingnot Airbase
  • Multi-currency travel and policy managementnot Airbase

Where each one falls short

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

Airbase

  • Card issuing and bill payment are built around United States entities and United States bank accounts, so a group with subsidiaries abroad keeps running local card and payment processes alongside and does not get the single ledger of spend that justified the purchase.
  • The value depends on nearly all spend flowing through the platform, which makes partial adoption almost worthless and means the rollout is a change management exercise across every budget holder rather than a finance department deployment.
  • Paylocity's acquisition in 2024 reorients the roadmap towards a human capital management suite, so expense reimbursement is likely to be well served while procurement and the more finance specific features compete for attention with payroll and HR priorities.
  • Pricing combines a platform fee with tiering on features and users, and part of the economics rests on interchange rebates from card spend, so a company that puts most of its spend on transfers rather than cards pays the fee without earning the offset.
  • The general ledger sync is a mapping you own, so a chart of accounts change, a new department dimension or a ledger migration means reworking the coding rules, and a bad mapping quietly posts correct approvals to the wrong accounts.

Ramp

  • Procurement module unavailable on Free plan; available as add-on on Plus
  • Workday and Oracle Fusion integrations limited to Enterprise tier only
  • Multi-entity functionality requires Plus tier or higher
  • Local card issuance in 30+ countries limited to Enterprise tier
  • Advanced ERP integrations require higher tier selection

Pricing, plan by plan

Airbase

$29/month
  • StandardFree
    • Corporate cards
    • Expense reports
    • Bill pay
  • Premium$10/month
    • Advanced approvals
    • NetSuite sync
    • Procurement
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom workflows
    • API access
    • Dedicated support

Ramp

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited physical and virtual corporate cards
    • Receipt collection and matching
    • AI-powered OCR invoice capture
  • Plus$15/month
    • All Free plan features
    • Auto-lock cards for compliance violations
    • 24/7 phone support
  • Enterprise$null/year
    • All Plus plan features
    • Custom pricing
    • Workday and Oracle integrations

Which should you pick?

Choose Airbase if

  • You need virtual cards per vendor.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want bill payment.
Airbase review

Choose Ramp if

  • You need expense management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile apps.
  • You also want bill pay.
Ramp review

Questions people ask

Is Airbase or Ramp better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbase starts at $29/month and Ramp at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbase or Ramp?
Ramp has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Airbase and Free for Ramp.
Does Airbase or Ramp run on more platforms?
Airbase runs on Web, Ios, Android. Ramp runs on Web, Mobile apps.
Can I use Ramp for free?
Yes. Ramp has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Airbase starts at $29/month.
What is Airbase best used for?
Airbase is most often used for a company that has outgrown one shared company card and needs per person and per subscription cards with real limits, a finance team where supplier invoices arrive in an inbox and approval is whoever replies, with no record afterwards, a controller trying to close the month without rebuilding card and expense coding from statements every time, an organisation that wants spend approved before it is committed rather than discovered when the invoice arrives. Of those, a company that has outgrown one shared company card and needs per person and per subscription cards with real limits and a finance team where supplier invoices arrive in an inbox and approval is whoever replies, with no record afterwards are not what Ramp is typically brought in for.
What can Airbase do that Ramp cannot?
Airbase covers Virtual cards per vendor, Bill payment, Expense reimbursement, Unified approval policy. Ramp covers Expense management, Bill pay, Accounting automation, Spend insights. Both handle Corporate cards.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Airbase: Does it work for companies outside the United States?

Partially. Some international spend and reimbursement is supported, but card issuing and the payment rails are strongest for United States entities. Confirm coverage for each country you operate in before assuming it replaces local processes.

Ramp: How much does Ramp Plus plan cost?

Ramp Plus plan costs $15 USD per user per month plus a platform fee based on team size. Annual billing provides a 20% discount compared to monthly billing.

Source
Airbase: Does Airbase replace our accounting system?

No. It manages spend and pushes coded transactions into the ledger. QuickBooks, NetSuite or whatever else you use stays.

Ramp: What accounting systems does Ramp integrate with?

Ramp Free and Plus plans integrate with QuickBooks Online and Xero. Plus plan adds access to additional ERP systems, and Enterprise plan supports Workday, Oracle, and advanced options.

Source
Airbase: What changed after the Paylocity acquisition?

Ownership and roadmap direction. The product continues, now positioned alongside Paylocity's payroll and HR products. If procurement is your main reason to buy, ask directly about investment in that module.

Ramp: Does Ramp offer a free plan?

Yes, Ramp Free plan includes unlimited corporate cards, AI invoice capture, receipt collection, multiple payment methods, QuickBooks and Xero integrations, and 24/7 chat support. No pricing is charged for the Free tier.

Source
Airbase: How is it priced?

A platform subscription with tiers, plus usage and user dimensions, partly offset by rebates on card spend. Because the rebate depends on card volume, model your own mix of card versus transfer spend before accepting a payback figure.

Airbase: Can we use it for accounts payable only?

You can, but the approval consistency argument weakens considerably. Most of the reported benefit comes from cards, bills and reimbursements sharing one policy and one coding process.

Airbase: Will our auditors accept the approval records?

The per transaction record of approver, receipt and coding is generally what auditors want to see for spend testing. Agree the sampling approach with them early, particularly around any spend that still happens outside the platform.

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