# Alternatives to BILL

> Source: https://tickmarkbooks.com/bill/alternatives/ (re-verified)
> Updated: 31 October 2026

## At a glance

| Name | Best for | Starts at | A month at 100 transactions | Better than BILL at | Checked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [BILL](https://tickmarkbooks.com/bill.md) | Small and midsize businesses and accounting firms automating bill approvals and payments | Free, then $49 a seat a month | Does not apply | — | 28 October 2026 |
| [Zoho Books](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zoho-books.md) | Small businesses and startups that want one ledger plus the wider Zoho app suite | Free, then $20 a month | $20 | Cost for a solo freelancer, Ledger included | 26 October 2026 |
| [FreeAgent](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freeagent.md) | UK sole traders and small limited companies filing their own VAT and Self Assessment | From about $13 a month | About $25 | Cost for a solo freelancer, Ledger included | 26 October 2026 |
| [Puzzle](https://tickmarkbooks.com/puzzle.md) | A US startup on Mercury, Brex, Ramp, Stripe and Gusto that wants to replace QuickBooks | Price not established | $30 | Ledger included, Categorizes transactions | 26 October 2026 |
| [Stampli](https://tickmarkbooks.com/stampli.md) | Finance teams with high invoice volume, many approvers and several entities | On quote | — | Categorizes transactions, People check the books | 26 October 2026 |
| [Booke AI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/booke-ai.md) | A business or bookkeeping firm already on QuickBooks Online or Xero | Price not established | $156 | Categorizes transactions, Getting your books out | 26 October 2026 |
| [Pilot](https://tickmarkbooks.com/pilot.md) | A US startup or small business that wants its books done for it in QuickBooks Online | Price not established | $137 | Categorizes transactions, People check the books | 26 October 2026 |
| [SimpleAI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/simpleai.md) | Accounting firms and finance teams processing high volumes of invoices and bank statements | From $79 a month | $106 | Cost for a solo freelancer, What the AI costs | 27 October 2026 |
| [Expensify](https://tickmarkbooks.com/expensify.md) | Small finance teams that want receipts, cards and reimbursements feeding one ledger | Free, then $5 a seat a month | Does not apply | Cost for a solo freelancer, Notice before a price rise | 26 October 2026 |
| [Melio](https://tickmarkbooks.com/melio.md) | US small businesses and accounting firms paying vendor bills by card or bank transfer | Free, then $25 a month | Does not apply | Cost for a solo freelancer, Your accountant can sign in | 26 October 2026 |

“About” figures are converted at the European Central Bank rate of 30 October 2026.

The ones people open most here come first, then the closest matches.

## Shortlist

### 1. Zoho Books

Cloud accounting ledger with Zia AI, bank feeds, sales tax and 1099 e-filing, from $20 a month.

**Where it improves on BILL:**
- [Cost for a solo freelancer: yes — A freelancer with bank feeds and receipt capture needs the Standard plan at $20 per organization a month billed monthly, since bank feeds start there.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/)
- [Ledger included: yes — Zoho Books is the accounting ledger itself, so no QuickBooks or Xero subscription sits underneath it; the plan fee covers invoicing, banking, journals and the reports.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/)
- [What the AI costs: yes — included — the AI page carries no separate price and the receipt autoscan allowance is part of the subscription, from 50 scans a month on Free to 1,000 on Premium and above.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/)

**Trade-offs against BILL:**
- [Pays your bills: partial — Bills and vendor approvals are in the paid plans, but paying vendors by ACH with two- and three-way matching is the separate BillPay add-on at $59 a month billed annually ($69 monthly).](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/)

[View Zoho Books](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zoho-books)

### 2. FreeAgent

UK cloud accounting with HMRC filing, bank feeds and AI receipt capture, priced per business type.

**Where it improves on BILL:**
- [Cost for a solo freelancer: yes — A freelancer pays the Sole trader plan: £19 a month (about $25) plus VAT at the regular rate, £9.50 (about $13) for the first six months, with bank feeds and receipt capture included and no per-transaction charge.](https://www.freeagent.com/pricing/)
- [Ledger included: yes — FreeAgent is the accounting ledger itself: it keeps the books, builds the accounting reports and files the returns, so no QuickBooks or Xero subscription sits underneath it.](https://www.freeagent.com/features/accounting-software/)
- [Notice before a price rise: yes — The terms of service promise at least 60 days' advance notice of a price or payment-term change, and a chance to decide whether to carry on before any increase.](https://www.freeagent.com/company/terms/)

**Trade-offs against BILL:**
- [Pays your bills: partial — Bills are captured, recorded and tracked as accounts payable inside FreeAgent, but actually paying them is left to partner products in its own Payment solutions directory rather than done in the product.](https://www.freeagent.com/features/expenses/)
- [Files 1099s: no — The vendor's own inventory of what can be filed from FreeAgent is End of Year accounts, Payroll, Self Assessment and VAT, all to HMRC or Companies House; US contractor forms are not among them.](https://support.freeagent.com/hc/en-gb/articles/15539041420178-What-can-you-file-using-FreeAgent)
- [Several businesses: no — One account holds one business: the vendor's guidance for someone running two businesses assumes a separate FreeAgent account, and so a separate subscription, for each.](https://support.freeagent.com/hc/en-gb/articles/7996920939794-Record-inter-business-transactions)

[View FreeAgent](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freeagent)

### 3. Puzzle

AI-native accounting software with optional bookkeeper services for startups and small businesses.

**Where it improves on BILL:**
- [Ledger included: yes — It is the ledger; no QuickBooks or Xero needed. Puzzle is a double-entry general ledger of its own, sold as a QuickBooks replacement (Core card: 'Your QuickBooks replacement').](https://puzzle.io/legal/faq)
- [Categorizes transactions: yes — Categorizes by itself and learns from you. Every plan auto-categorizes ('Up to 98% auto-categorization' on Starter).](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/6986850-rules-and-categories)
- [People check the books: partial — Only with a paid service; software plans: you check. On the software plans (Starter, Core, Complete, Scale) you close the books yourself, and Puzzle support does not do bookkeeping.](https://puzzle.io/pricing)

**Trade-offs against BILL:**
- [Reads receipts and bills: partial — Reads an uploaded receipt; no stated matching. You can attach documents to a transaction or bill.](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/15138987-month-end-close-with-ai-close)
- [Pays your bills: partial — Records bills; payment through Ramp or Bill.com. Bills can be entered, imported by CSV or synced from Ramp and Bill.com, matched to payments and shown in AP aging.](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/9165703-faq-accounts-payable)
- [Accuracy the vendor claims: partial — Up to 98% categorized; no basis given. The pricing page claims 'Up to 98% auto-categorization' on every plan and '98% accuracy' for Complete; the page's structured data says '98%+ accuracy'; the help center says PuzzleBot auto-categorizes 90-95% of a company's transactions.](https://puzzle.io/pricing)

[View Puzzle](https://tickmarkbooks.com/puzzle)

### 4. Stampli

Procure-to-pay workspace for invoices, vendors, payments and card spend, with AI coding and routing.

**Where it improves on BILL:**
- [Categorizes transactions: yes — Billy applies your coding patterns to the fields of the accounting system you run, and reviewed corrections feed back into later suggestions; a person still confirms before posting.](https://www.stampli.com/billy/)
- [People check the books: yes — Review is explicitly yours: Billy prepares work and routes exceptions, and the vendor says authorized people keep approvals, posting and payment release.](https://www.stampli.com/billy/)
- [Several businesses: yes — One account can run several companies, with each company's vendors, accounts, approvals and records kept apart; the comparison shows entities and locations as unlimited.](https://www.stampli.com/erp/quickbooks/)

**Trade-offs against BILL:**
- [Platforms: partial — web is the main place it runs, with mobile approvals and a mobile capture flow for receipts and mileage; the vendor never names Windows, Mac, iOS or Android.](https://www.stampli.com/expenses/)
- [For accounting firms: partial — There is a partner program for accounting firms built on referrals and revenue sharing, not a console where a firm runs many clients under its own branding.](https://www.stampli.com/partners/)
- [Sign up without a sales call: no — There is no sign-up or checkout: buying starts with a quote request or a demo booking, and onboarding is run with a named success contact.](https://www.stampli.com/pricing/)

[View Stampli](https://tickmarkbooks.com/stampli)

### 5. Booke AI

An AI bookkeeper that works inside QuickBooks Online and Xero to categorize transactions and match documents.

**Where it improves on BILL:**
- [Categorizes transactions: yes — Daily, and learns from your approvals and fixes. It processes new QuickBooks Online and Xero bank-feed transactions in a daily run, categorizes them from the client's own history, sends low-confidence ones to your team, and uses each approval or correction for later categorizations.](https://booke.ai/quickbooks-online)
- [Getting your books out: yes — Books stay in your ledger; 30 days to export the rest. The ledger never leaves QuickBooks Online or Xero, so the general ledger and reports stay with you.](https://booke.ai/data-handling)
- [Several businesses: yes — Each business adds $129 a month, on one bill. Several businesses sit on one subscription; each is priced at the per-business rate ($129 a month monthly, $116 a month billed annually), prorated when added mid-period and joined to the combined charge at renewal.](https://booke.ai/pricing)

**Trade-offs against BILL:**
- [Sends invoices: partial — Matches payments to ledger invoices; sends none. It matches incoming payments to invoices that already exist in QuickBooks Online or Xero, including multi-invoice payments.](https://booke.ai/quickbooks-online)
- [Accuracy the vendor claims: no — No accuracy figure; claims up to 80% of feed work. No categorization accuracy figure is published.](https://booke.ai/bookkeeping-ai)
- [NetSuite: no — not Desktop or NetSuite.](https://booke.ai/bookkeeping-ai)

[View Booke AI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/booke-ai)

### 6. Pilot

A bookkeeping and tax service for startups that pairs software-driven dashboards with human financial advisors.

**Where it improves on BILL:**
- [Categorizes transactions: yes — AI categorizes and learns your patterns. The AI Accountant categorizes transactions, reconciles accounts and identifies vendors.](https://pilot.com/platform/ai-accountant)
- [People check the books: partial — Bookkeeper reviews on Core; Essentials is AI only. Essentials is described as AI doing the work ('AI categorizes transactions, reconciles accounts, and closes books monthly'), with support by in-app message.](https://pilot.com/pricing)
- [Stripe: yes — Stripe, Shopify, Gusto yes](https://pilot.com/platform/integrations)

**Trade-offs against BILL:**
- [Pays your bills: partial — Bill payment is an add-on; Core manages 10 bills. Accounts payable is not in the bookkeeping plans by default.](https://pilot.com/faq)
- [Sends invoices: partial — Invoicing is an add-on service. Pilot has no invoicing feature in its bookkeeping plans.](https://pilot.com/faq)
- [Accuracy the vendor claims: no — No accuracy figure published. No accuracy figure for the AI on any page read.](https://pilot.com/why-pilot)

[View Pilot](https://tickmarkbooks.com/pilot)

### 7. SimpleAI

AI agents that extract, classify and reconcile accounting documents, then publish them into Xero or QuickBooks.

**Where it improves on BILL:**
- [Cost for a solo freelancer: yes — A one-person business can start on NOVA's Starter plan at S$39 a month for 30 document credits, one entity and three users; the SAAM accounting module's own entry plan is US$79 a month plus the Xero or QuickBooks subscription it publishes into.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en/solutions/nova)
- [What the AI costs: yes — credits: the AI is the product and is in every plan, but what you process is metered in credits at one credit per document and one per bank statement page, with extra credits sold in capped packs.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en/pricing)
- [Categorizes transactions: yes — It classifies extracted entries by itself and the vendor says it improves from repeated corrections, custom prompts and your historical transactions rather than from fixed rules.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en)

**Trade-offs against BILL:**
- [Pays your bills: partial — Bills are captured and classified and every plan includes an approval workflow, but the agent's documented end point is publishing entries into your accounting software, not paying suppliers.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en)
- [Sends invoices: partial — Sending invoices belongs to the other product lines, not SAAM: NOVA handles invoices and AR aging conversationally, and the e-Invoicing module issues Peppol invoices for Singapore, while SAAM only extracts AR documents.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en/solutions/nova)
- [Accuracy the vendor claims: partial — The vendor claims high precision in extraction and classification and says accuracy improves with your corrections, but it publishes no accuracy percentage and no description of how any figure was measured.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en/contact)

[View SimpleAI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/simpleai)

### 8. Expensify

Receipt scanning, company cards, bill pay and reimbursements that feed QuickBooks, Xero or NetSuite.

**Where it improves on BILL:**
- [Cost for a solo freelancer: yes — One person can run receipts, mileage and expense reports on the free Submit plan, and a paid workspace with reimbursements and accounting sync starts at $5 per member a month.](https://www.expensify.com/pricing)
- [Notice before a price rise: yes — The terms of service promise fifteen days' notice before the next billing cycle whenever the price of a service package changes.](https://www.expensify.com/terms)
- [What the AI costs: yes — included - the vendor states the AI is not a module or add-on and carries no extra charge on either paid plan or the free one.](https://use.expensify.com/ai-disclosure)

**Trade-offs against BILL:**
- [Contract and cancelling: partial — Collect is sold only month to month on pay-per-use, so you can stop whenever, but the discounted Control rates require a 12-month commitment to a chosen subscription size you cannot shrink mid-term.](https://help.expensify.com/articles/new-expensify/billing-and-subscriptions/explore-plans-subscriptions-and-pricing/Understand-Expensify-Pricing)

[View Expensify](https://tickmarkbooks.com/expensify)

### 9. Melio

Bill pay and invoicing for US small businesses, with AI bill capture and QuickBooks, Xero and NetSuite sync.

**Where it improves on BILL:**
- [Cost for a solo freelancer: yes — A freelancer can run bills and invoices for $0 a month on the free Go plan, which covers five ACH payments, bill capture and unlimited invoicing; extra ACH payments cost $0.50 each.](https://melio.com/pricing/)
- [Your accountant can sign in: yes — An external accountant can be added as a user role on Core and up, and firms themselves get Melio's Unlimited plan free, so the firm seat costs nothing.](https://melio.com/accounting-firms/)
- [Several businesses: yes — Several companies can live in one Melio account, one per NetSuite OneWorld subsidiary, though the vendor never publishes what an extra entity costs.](https://melio.com/integrations/netsuite/)

**Trade-offs against BILL:**
- [Users included: partial — Go is one user only; Core and Boost include one user and charge $10 a month per additional user, and only the $80 Unlimited plan includes unlimited seats.](https://melio.com/pricing/)
- [Accuracy the vendor claims: no — Melio publishes no accuracy figure for its AI; it labels Agent Mel Beta and tells users to double-check, and its only numbers are time saved and volume processed.](https://melio.com/ai-agent/)
- [Files 1099s: partial — W-9 collection with TIN matching and 1099 e-filing are included from the $25 Core plan, but the filing itself happens through a sync to Tax1099, not inside Melio.](https://melio.com/1099-and-w9-management/)

[View Melio](https://tickmarkbooks.com/melio)