Airbase Reviews: 4.8/5 — Highly Rated
Airbase is a modern finance and expense management platform that automates and streamlines financial processes. It offers a suite of features that include virtual cards, spend management, and real-time expense tracking. Additionally, Airbase integrates with various other business tools such as payroll, accounting, and invoicing systems, making it a one-stop-shop for all finance needs.
| Capabilities |
API
|
|---|---|
| Segment |
Small Business
Mid Market
Enterprise
|
| Deployment | Cloud / SaaS / Web-Based, Mobile Android, Mobile iPad, Mobile iPhone |
| Training | Documentation |
| Languages | English |
Airbase is now Airbase by Paylocity, and airbase.com/pricing redirects to Paylocity’s pricing page. Paylocity completed the $325 million acquisition on 1 October 2024, and the product has been absorbed into its HCM platform. That single fact matters more than any feature comparison, because virtually every review you will find describes a standalone company that no longer sells to you on its own terms.
- What it is: A spend management platform covering corporate cards, bill pay, expense management, and procurement, now part of Paylocity.
- Best for: Mid-market companies that also want Paylocity’s payroll and HR, so spend and payroll sit on one platform.
- Pricing: No longer published separately. Airbase’s pricing page now serves Paylocity’s, which is quote-only via a demo request form.
- The honest catch: Older reviews, comparisons, and pricing guides describe pre-acquisition Airbase and should not be relied on.
What Happened to Airbase
Paylocity announced its agreement to acquire Airbase on 4 September 2024 and completed the deal on 1 October 2024 for approximately $325 million, funded through its revolving credit facility. Both companies confirmed the completion publicly.
The strategic logic was explicit: Paylocity sells HR and payroll, Airbase sold spend management, and the combination lets a company manage payroll and non-payroll spend on one platform. Paylocity described the goal as a single pane of glass across all company spending, with real-time visibility and a faster financial close.
The practical consequences for a buyer in 2026 are concrete. The airbase.com homepage now identifies the product as “Airbase by Paylocity”. The pricing page redirects to paylocity.com. And Paylocity does not publish prices — its pricing page is a demo request form asking for your employee count, job title, and business zip code.
The product has not been discontinued. But it is no longer a standalone purchase in the way it was, and the evaluation you run should be an evaluation of Paylocity.
What Airbase Does
The underlying capability is well regarded and was the reason for the acquisition price:
- Corporate cards with policy controls applied at the point of purchase.
- Bill pay and AP automation, which was Airbase’s strongest area and a genuine differentiator against card-first competitors.
- Expense management with receipt capture, coding, and reimbursement.
- Procurement and intake, covering purchase requests and approvals before spend happens.
- Approval workflows across all of the above, which is what distinguished it from simpler card products.
- Accounting integration for close automation.
That combination — cards plus AP plus procurement in one approval framework — is what mid-market finance teams valued, and it remains the substance of what Paylocity now sells under the Airbase name.
Airbase Pricing
There is no published Airbase pricing to report. Its pricing URL serves Paylocity’s page, which offers “Request Pricing with a Free Demo” and collects your details rather than displaying rates.
This is a meaningful downgrade in transparency for evaluation purposes. Pre-acquisition, Airbase published tiered plans. Now:
- Every price is quoted. You cannot compare Airbase against Ramp or Brex without a sales conversation, and both of those publish or offer free entry tiers.
- Pricing is likely bundled with Paylocity. The commercial logic of the acquisition is cross-selling into HCM customers, so quotes may be structured around the wider platform rather than spend management alone.
- Your negotiating position is weaker. With no list price and no comparable public figures, you have no anchor.
- Ask directly whether Airbase can be bought standalone, and on what terms, before investing time in a demo. That is the question the website no longer answers.
Who Should Use Airbase Now
- Existing Paylocity customers. The clearest case by a distance. If your payroll and HR already run on Paylocity, adding spend management on the same platform is exactly the integration the acquisition was built to deliver.
- Companies evaluating Paylocity anyway. Bundling spend management into that decision may produce a better commercial outcome than buying separately.
- Mid-market finance teams needing AP depth. Airbase’s bill pay and procurement capability genuinely exceeds what card-first competitors offer.
It fits poorly for companies that want spend management alone, where Ramp and Brex are simpler to buy and publish more; for startups, where both of those have free entry tiers; and for anyone unwilling to enter a sales process to learn a price.
Honest Pros and Cons
Strengths
- Genuinely strong AP and procurement. The deepest part of the product and the reason it commanded $325 million.
- Unified approval workflows. Cards, bills, and purchase requests under one policy framework.
- Now integrated with payroll. A real advantage if you run Paylocity, and the whole point of the deal.
- Backed by a larger company. Paylocity brings scale and stability a standalone spend startup could not.
- Mid-market fit. Built for companies with real finance processes rather than a founder with a card.
Limitations
- No published pricing at all. Quote-only through Paylocity’s demo form.
- No longer straightforward to buy standalone. The commercial model now points toward the HCM platform.
- Existing reviews are out of date. Almost everything written about Airbase predates the acquisition.
- Competitors are free at entry. Ramp and Brex both offer $0 tiers; Airbase does not.
- Integration is still settling. Product direction under new ownership takes time to become clear.
Airbase Alternatives and How It Compares
- Ramp is the leading independent alternative, free at entry, with strong AP capability and a savings-oriented positioning.
- Brex is free at entry too, though it was itself acquired by Capital One in April 2026 — worth knowing that both major alternatives now sit inside larger financial institutions.
- Bill.com focuses specifically on accounts payable, which was Airbase’s strongest area, and is often the closest functional match.
- SAP Concur is the enterprise incumbent for expense and travel, heavier and more expensive.
- Zoho Expense is dramatically cheaper for expense reporting alone, with published pricing.
- Rippling offers a comparable payroll-plus-spend combination if the unified platform is what appeals.
For a broader survey, browse our expense management directory.
The Verdict
Airbase was a good product and remains one, but in 2026 the question is not whether Airbase is worth buying — it is whether Paylocity is. The acquisition completed on 1 October 2024, the pricing page now belongs to Paylocity, and the commercial model has shifted from a standalone spend management purchase to a module within an HCM platform. Evaluate it on that basis and you will not be surprised later.
For existing Paylocity customers this is straightforwardly good news. Spend management on the same platform as payroll is a genuine operational advantage, the AP and procurement capability is stronger than most card-first competitors offer, and the integration is precisely what the $325 million was spent to achieve. If Paylocity already runs your payroll, this should be on your shortlist and may well win.
For everyone else, be deliberate. Ramp and Brex are both free at entry and considerably easier to evaluate, and Bill.com covers the AP strength that was Airbase’s best feature. The absence of any published pricing means you cannot compare without a sales process, which is a real cost in itself. Before booking a demo, ask directly whether Airbase can still be purchased standalone and on what terms — that is the question the website no longer answers, and the answer determines whether this is a shortlist candidate or a Paylocity upsell.
One practical caution that applies to research rather than the product: treat any Airbase review, comparison, or pricing guide that does not mention Paylocity as out of date. A great deal of what is published still describes the independent company and its former published plans, and none of that is what you would be buying.
FAQ
Was Airbase acquired?
Yes. Paylocity announced a definitive agreement on 4 September 2024 and completed the acquisition on 1 October 2024 for approximately $325 million, funded through its revolving credit facility. Both companies confirmed completion publicly. The product now trades as “Airbase by Paylocity” and its pricing page redirects to Paylocity’s website.
How much does Airbase cost?
There is no published price. Airbase’s pricing URL now serves Paylocity’s pricing page, which is a demo request form collecting your business email, employee count, and job title rather than displaying rates. Pre-acquisition Airbase published tiered plans, but those figures no longer reflect what is on offer, and any current cost has to be obtained through a sales conversation.
Is Airbase still available as a standalone product?
It has not been discontinued, and the capability still exists under the Airbase name. But the commercial model now runs through Paylocity, whose strategic rationale for the purchase was combining payroll and non-payroll spend on one platform. Whether a standalone purchase remains straightforward is a question worth asking Paylocity directly before beginning an evaluation.
What are the best alternatives to Airbase?
Ramp and Brex are the leading independent alternatives, both free at entry and much easier to evaluate without a sales process — though Brex was itself acquired by Capital One in April 2026. Bill.com is the closest match for Airbase’s accounts payable strength. Zoho Expense is far cheaper for expense reporting alone, and SAP Concur is the enterprise option.
Should I trust older Airbase reviews?
Treat them with caution. Most published reviews, comparisons, and pricing guides describe the independent company as it operated before October 2024, including plan structures and prices that no longer apply. If a review does not mention Paylocity, it predates the acquisition and does not describe what you would actually be buying today.
Compare Airbase with other popular tools in the same category.
I like that we can request individual virtual cards and share that via email
I do not like that we do not get an email notification when we need to upload a receipt. I'd prefer that we get some email notice that a charge has gone through so we know we need to upload receipts.
It's allowing me to expense rewards and recognition items myself. It gives me more control of the finances and how they are charged.
I like how Airbase is constantly improving and is agile enough to take our feedback and add it to their product. They have improved so much over the few years we have had them. I look forward to their future improvements. The user interface looks a lot better than some competitors. I also enjoy the virtual card capabilities.
We are still waiting on some additions to the product that would make our connection to NetSuite easier. Also the reporting out of Airbase can be a little challenging.
We are using Airbase for almost all of our AP needs. We process all of our invoices and expenses through Airbase and then sync the transactions over to NetSuite.
Airbase has a super clean UI and is easy to use both as an approver. Employees love that they can submit their reimbursements on the mobile app. Its completely changed the game for our Expense management.
Airbase is generally pretty outstanding. The only gripe I have with it is sometimes it requires manual work to get the locations in for employee reimbursements.
Airbase makes reviewing and approving employee reimbursements a breeze. Employees have a seamless process to upload their reimbursements and it makes the approval process much easier. Being able to set up approval delegates for our executives has been a blessing, and it keeps everyone happy.
I like the assigning buckets and notifications you receive. Being able to complete the action via email or going directly into the app makes the process smooth!
Sometimes the search DB functionality isn't as accurate. I see the invoice, but when I go back and search, it doesn't always appear. Overall though it's great!
We specialize in influencer with an emphasis to be able to pay our brands content creators on our platform as well. In addition to outside vendors we work directly with our in house agency also receives numerous requests for content creator payments. Being able to funnel, triage and approve those requests efficiently saves us so much time!
I like that Airbase starts to match and fill out some of the details of your receipts, and I like the virtual cards.
The UX is sometimes confusing. I find Expensify's site more user-friendly. Getting to your receipt inbox (which is my primary use) takes too many clicks IMO. Also, the emails about being near my limit for cards that get charged monthly is annoying. I obviously set the limit with a minimal buffer for those recurring expenses, so naturally, if there is a monthly limit, I will get an email about how it's close to the spending limit. Same for annual limits as well. I also notice that when I email receipts to my receipt inbox, many of them duplicate, sometimes 3-4x, and it requires more work for me to go in and remove them. It would be great for expenses like Uber/Lyft, where there may be multiple expenses, to be able to type the purpose of the expense ("Lyft to the office"/Lyft to the airport") in my email when I send the receipt to my receipt inbox. It would be much easier to distinguish the receipts I email in and sort them later in the app instead of having to think twice about the purpose when I log into Airbase to submit the expense.
Digitizing my corporate expenses so I don't have to fill out an excel spreadsheet. Airbase saves my company time, and ensures we fill out all needed information when submitting expenses.
I enjoy being able to email receipts to my account so I can grab them at another date.
Its annoying to not be able to make expense reports when coming back from a trip. Everything has to be submitted seperately.
They are creating a modern expense system which is much better than what I have used
Ease of use, simplicity, and convenience
To be honest - for the time I used it, I did not have any issues
Virtual/Physical Cards + the app make this the most intuitive and convenient expense system I have used for work. Upload everything from your phone instantly
Replaces the traditional credit card. Fairly easy to manage, gives credit card user the opportunity to code their expenses, and warehouses receipts obtained by users.
The UI is clunky. The dashboard is split into multiple avenues where it's challenging to find precisely what you're looking for. Data could be presented better. Filtering and report creation could be expanded and improved upon.
Airbase is a giant corporate aspirin to corporate credit cards. Airbase enables the credit card user to do the heavy lifting and relieves the accountant in some manner.
I definitely appreciate how easy to navigate the UI is.
Honestly, the website is pretty straight forward.
I need to get reimbursed for work pretty frequently.
In general it is easy to request, easy to access
Some restaurants or vendors will not accept an online CC when paying onsite.
Having access to a corporate card (I do not own one normally)
Expenses are quick and easy when we need to submit receipts. My supervisor is notified immediately and no follow- up is needed.
I would like for a mobile version to accessible in order to submit expenses on the go or be able to split expenses with colleagues.
Some documents are difficult to upload at times.
Straightforward to submit receipts and good AI to autofill fields.
Phone app crashes often while submitting expenses
Allows me to approve my reports' expenses quickly and submit my own
Simple to use and navigate. Easy to upload receipts and information. Can also track where things are at (approval, payment, etc).
I don't think there is anything that I dislike? I think it is easy to manage and use.
Airbase is solving reimbursements from our company and making it easy to see where in the process our reimbursement is at, without having to worrying.
- How easy it is to create a virtual card - Simplicity to track the expenses
- Communication between team members is often confusing (there are times where I don't know where a specific request is, waiting for my manager's approval, etc)
Managing my expenses mostly during business trips. It also helps me expensing materials like books or training courses at my company.
The ease of use to submit receipts for reimbursements - which is my most frequent use of AirBase
Sometimes, it can take a bit a time to recieve the reimbursement- but that could also be on manual issue with getting approval.
Getting reimbursement for valid company purchases. Its very simple and leaves no "gray-areas".
Airbase is easy to use. It integrates with our email easily. We use it to submit receipts.
There is nothing to dislike about it. I enjoy using it at the moment!
Airbase helps me to submit receipts to my company in an easy way. I can take pictures and submit, and forgot about it!
UI is really great. Excellent organization of information and clarity of what fields need to be addressed. I love the reimbursement queues, so I have a clear picture of what I have submitted, what is approved, and a timeline for reimbursement. Being able to forward receipts from my inbox while on the go is great.
The Mobile web experience is pretty terrible. The app is nice, but it doesn't have all the same functionality as the desktop. Not being able to change the currency in when scanning a receipt with the app is a nightmare, and I just give up and upload a photo of the receipt when I get back to the hotel. Receipt scanning in general still has a long way to go. Splitwise does a better job than Airbase. My boss constantly misses notifications about PO approvals in her inbox.
Doing expenses with our previous software was tedious, slow, and oblique. Airbase has a much better interface and way better process transparency. I feel way less nervous about putting a large expense on my card knowing how soon I will get my money back. virtual CCs are very handy.
Airbase makes it easy to track spending.
I like most of the features, sometimes uploading a receipt takes a while.
Airbase allows us to track where we are spending and organize receipts.
The ease of uploading receipts makes it easy to categorize expenses
Doesn't automatically change a second receipt option to the maximum allowable amount. (i.e. Maximum allowable amount in a category is $100. First receipt is $42. Second receipt is $60. The second receipt is rejected. Would be simpler if it said on second receipt "Maximum reimbursment reached. $58 will be refunded).
Easy expense tracking!
That I can easily have money to use to help members of the business
Nothing, it's a great service and easy to use.
Solving problems with members living situations. Being able to help in an emergency is very beneficial.
Airbase is such a helpful tool that we have just started using over the last 5 months. I like that we now have access to a spending tool that we can also use to manage our accounting. Prior to Airbase, things were far more manual and accounting automation has definitely been a benefit.
The international piece would be the most inefficient aspect of Airbase. We have had some challenges with getting our international vendors onto Airbase, the system does not allow for vendors to enter their payment details, so in cases where we receive an invoice without payment details we have to go back and forth with the vendor on getting this updated. Secondly, we can't process international employee reimbursements in Airbase, that is another setback and it would be nice to have that functionality since we are able to actually pay international vendors. Thirdly, I'd say having a llive daily ledger balance that we can reconcile to our general ledger would be helpful, rather than having to wait until the end of the month to get this in. Lastly, reporting enhancements and the ability to modify the amortization periods would also be helpful. Currently, we can not post prior periods amortization for bills we receive after the month end closes, instead we have to manually book true-up entries. We are also not able to export the reimbursement transactions in excel or csv. It would be nice to have more versitility in the Airbase reporting to accomodate more variety in reporting views. One last thing, perhaps if there was an enhancement where we receive a notification everytime a new employee has been added to Airbase or sync from our HR system. That would be helpful in managing their profiles, or allow the direct manager to set up or request to have their profile set up.
Airbase is allowing for most of our spend to be in one centralized place, this has been crucial in eliminating multiple systems that we had to use in the past. I also see benefits in the accounting automation but would have liked more detailed training and guidnace in setting this up during the implementation process. It feels as though a lot of that has been learned via trial and error rather than proactively addressing these things.
Airbase consolidates varuious aspects of spend into one area - so you're no longer jumping between three platforms in order to handle it all. Virtual cards are easy to set up and handle from requesting to transferring ownership with reporting concepts fairly easy to understand for non-financial oriented teams.
While there are a lot of features are available, it seems like there's a lot of nuances involved that seem to hint they're not fully thought out or fleshed out yet. You can do x/y/z but only in these situations. Or you can pull these reports, but to fine-tune it to what you want is in the roadmap.
Consolidated spending which allows for more transparency within the company - both in knowing what we spend on as a company and for users to know what their team is using more specifically.
I think Airbase is excellent for managing physical cards. I like the feature that locks an employee card if there is a receipt noncompliance. Airbase will warn admins and the users if they are 1 day away from the card lock, and will also email users when the card is actually locked. This holds employees accountable for submitting receipts. It is also helpful that all spending is on one platform- physical cards, virtual cards, reimbursements, and invoices.
There are a few areas for improvement. The first is the reporting module is based on a cash basis, not accrual. This makes it hard for users to filter through to understand what invoices are hitting the current financial posting period. Departmental reporting also needs to be improved as users cannot see all transactions within their department if the spend owner is not in their department. This does not give them complete visibility of all spend in the period. Additionally, employees are not able to split transactions if their transaction relates to multiple expense accounts. This is taxing as only the accounting team can do this split.
Airbase has allowed us to consolidate our spend into one platform, instead of having a credit card platform, expense reimbusement platform and invoice platform. It also allows us to give employees access to submit their receipts on an ongoing basis instead of just at the end of the month.
The virtual cards make it easy for different departments to request and approve spending. The user interface is pretty intuitive to navigate. We also get 1.75% cashback on virtual card purchases, which goes a long way given the volume of transactions across the company.
Airbase is integrated into our ERP (QuickBooks Desktop). We lost some visibility into individual expenses in QBD since the invoice and most info is housed in Airbase. In addition, sometimes there are lag times or sync issues when getting Airbase transactions reflected in QBD. These issues can slow down our reporting and makes it feel like we need to "babysit" transactions that still need to sync to QBD.
Airbase has helped streamline our A/P process. Entering invoices is largely automated and Airbase remembers expense accounts/GL tags/expense owners/etc. from past transactions.
Having physical and virtual credit cards makes for a more controlled and simplified expense manager, with functional workflow capabilities and a cashback bonus with card usage. Bill payment is equally convenient.
G/L Integration is the real issue. Reconciling with Xero, our accounting system, has been a bear. Makes any benefits to the entire system hardly worth it. Needs some intelligence around coding transactions for the G/L. Certainly repeat transactions should recognize the G/L expenses's vendor name and automatically categorize and code the transactions.
By centralizing spend, we can easily control expense limits, card terminations/suspensions and onboarding new employees. We're also able to make ACH payments on bills, which is an added bonus. The cashback reward is the cherry on top.
1. Full AP Functionality in single service (Invoices & POs, VCCs, corporate cards) 2. Clean user interface is easy for business partners 3. Quick response time from customer support 4. Quick integration and implementation 5. New product enhancements are improving user experience
1. Reporting functionality is very limited, and performing routine AP functions (ie. NetSuite AP Aging Recon to Airbase difficult, cannot quickly export all open invoices for a single vendor) 2. Lacks functionality to be SOX compliant (e.g. new vendor approval process) 3. Requires a high level of engagement from AP Manager to maintain the accuracy of coding 4. Managing the Corporate Card System is very time-intensive 5. Prefunded Account Reconciliation process is very difficult That being said, they are consistently improving the product. As of now, I just cannot recommend it for a larger public company
Airbase integrated multiple systems into 1 platform, which reduced the need to manage multiple systems (e.g. invoice management, corporate card, expense management)
Expense Management Tool for the entire organization. Seems to work well for accounting team. Physical and virtual cards.
Unreliable receipt scanning. Receipt depository does not connect with card transactions at times and does not allow for the attachment of the receipt from the repository if the exact figures are not detected on the OCR scan. Lack of details typically found on a credit card statement or online banking when using a physical or virtual card. Unclear dispute transaction options and lack of protections provided from traditional credit cards.
Product updates are slow and product roadmap lacks transparency
The UI is helpful, quite quick, and unambiguous.
I've had some issues with international actions that blocked me and I had to reach out to customer service.
Spending with a company credit card, tracking expenses
The ability to code to projects quickly and upload receipts on the mobile app is very helpful. The approval flows allow you to process payments which have multiple approvers easily and seemlessly.
Sometimes the app glitches a bit, additioanlly when you are on a long trip, if you forget to upload a receipt right away, your card can be locked as it only gives you 5 days, which can sometimes be hard.
Processing invoices and issuing payments. It's extremely helpful to keep our AP team on task. Additioanlly allowing my contractors/vendors to see status, as well as the ability for users in the company to see current status of the invoices they have submitted allows us to give real time information to our vendors when they inquire about payment.
info required is always sufficient, don't need to add additional info later
mobile app could a simpler interface and process for approval could be more transparent
it allows me to input my receipts for expense so I can be reimbursed quickly