Airbase vs Ottimate (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Airbase and Ottimate share a 1.8 GPA, neither has a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on whether you care more about features, where Airbase grades higher, or platforms, where Ottimate does.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Which one is for you
Pick Airbase if
- Fits if you want expenses, cards and payables from one finance vendor
- Works for finance teams that already use Paylocity
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: Airbase is now a Paylocity company and the site points to Paylocity for Finance
- Watch out: no prices are published, only a demo request
- Skip it if you want a free plan or a trial, as neither is listed
Pick Ottimate if
- Fits if you run multi-location restaurants, retail or healthcare and process many supplier invoices
- Works for AP teams that want GL codes predicted for each line
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you can't see a price, as there is no pricing page
- Too light for expenses on their own, as they sit on top of the payables product
- Tight if you want a trial, as no free plan or trial is listed
- Watch out: the integration pages cover Dynamics, Sage, Acumatica, NetSuite and QuickBooks, so check yours is there
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAAirbaseWeak | 1.8GPAOttimateWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo prices are published and the Paylocity pages need a demo request. It sits in the middle by default. | CNo price is published, so we leave it at the middle of the category's $7.50, $12 and $20 figures. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free: no free plan and no trial are on record for this listing. | FNo free plan and no trial; the site tells buyers to contact the team. |
| Features | BExpense management, corporate cards, AP automation, guided procurement, spend analytics and fraud detection. | CInvoice capture and coding, PO checks, duplicate flags, vendor payments and employee spend. Expenses and cards are described as additions to the payables workflow. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Cards, approvals and accounting links are set up by the company. | CNo store rating on record. Invoice workflows and accounting connections to set up first. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only on the listing, with no integrations named. | BWeb plus iOS and Android apps, with five accounting integrations on record. |
| Best for | spend management, now Paylocity for Finance | invoice coding and approvals for restaurants and retail |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Airbase and Ottimate. How we grade
Where they differ
In commonWebWorkflow automationExpense trackingBill payCompany cards
At a glance
| Airbase | Ottimate | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Paylocity | Ottimate |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Airbase
- Airbase is now a Paylocity company, and the site points to Paylocity for Finance.
- No prices are published, and the Paylocity pages need a demo request.
- Product details here come from short pages that load mostly through JavaScript.
- Check whether new customers buy Airbase or Paylocity for Finance.
Ottimate
- No prices are published; the pricing page does not exist and the site points to contacting the team.
- It is built around accounts payable first; expense and card features are described as add-ons to that workflow.
- Integration pages list Microsoft Dynamics, Sage, Acumatica, NetSuite and QuickBooks, and link to more.
Key features
Airbase
- Expense management
- Listed first among Paylocity's finance products, covering employee expenses and policy compliance.
- Corporate cards
- Company cards sit alongside expenses in the finance product list.
- AP automation
- Paylocity lists AP automation and vendor management as part of finance.
- Guided procurement
- A purchase-intake product that feeds the same spend records.
- Spend analytics and fraud detection
- Capabilities listed under Paylocity for Finance include spend analytics, fraud detection and accounting automation.
Ottimate
- Invoice capture and coding
- Scans invoices in multiple formats, including handwritten details, and predicts GL codes for each line item.
- Approvals and PO checks
- Routes invoices through automatic approval workflows and checks prices and quantities against POs, receipts or cost files.
- Risk flags
- Flags possible duplicate invoices and suspicious charges, and tracks spend across locations to spot supplier cost increases.
- Vendor payments
- Schedules payments around due dates and cash position and pays vendors from one platform, with approvals kept in place.
- Employee spend
- Employees file one report covering out-of-pocket costs, mileage and card charges, and finance can issue and track spend cards.
- Mobile app
- The iOS and Android app can upload and code invoices, approve payments, schedule payments and view spend reports.
Plans
Airbase
Pricing could not be confirmed. See airbase.com.
Ottimate
Pricing could not be confirmed. See ottimate.com.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Airbase or Ottimate?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Airbase has no price we could confirm, and Ottimate has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Airbase or Ottimate?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Airbase nor Ottimate has a free plan.
Which platforms do Airbase and Ottimate run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Ottimate lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.