Bench vs Pilot (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Pilot grades higher than Bench: 1.8 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Bench grades higher on features. Pilot grades higher on the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Bench
Bookkeeping done by an assigned bookkeeper, with optional tax filing
Pilot
Done-for-you bookkeeping, tax and CFO services for small companies
Which one is for you
Pick Bench if
- Fits if you'd rather pay someone to do the monthly books than do them yourself
- Makes sense if you're a small US business that also wants tax filing from the same provider
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're a small outfit: $399 a month for the base plan and $649 with tax filing
- Skip it if you want a free plan or a trial, because there's neither
- Not for you if your business is outside the US
- Watch out: monthly tax pricing needs a 12-month commitment, and bigger QuickBooks plans start at $999 a month
- Watch out: Bench paused operations in December 2024 and resumed in January 2025 under Employer.com
Pick Pilot if
- Fits if you're a small company that wants someone else to do the books and file the tax
- Makes sense if you run on Stripe, Shopify or Mercury
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if your spending grows: Core rises with monthly expenses, $499 a month at $30,000
- Not for you if you want to keep your own books, as it's a service
- Skip it if you want accrual books on the cheapest plan, as Essentials is cash-basis
- Watch out: tax filing starts at $1,000 or more a year for a single-member LLC and must be bought with bookkeeping
- Watch out: companies above $200,000 a month in expenses get a custom plan
How we grade them
| 1.6GPABenchWeak | 1.8GPAPilotWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$199 a month for Light and $399 for the base plan, against $26 in the middle for this category. A person does the work, but that's still the dearest tenth. | D$99 a month for Essentials and $299 for Core on annual billing ($399 monthly), against $26 in the middle. It's a service, but that's still the dearest tenth. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial on the pricing page. The 20% discount only comes with paying for 12 months at once. | DThe site header mentions a free trial, but the pricing page doesn't say how long it lasts or what it covers. No free plan. |
| Features | BMonthly books, year-end financials, tax filing, catch-up work and a QuickBooks Online option from one provider. The listing shows no gap in the bookkeeping job. | CAI-assisted bookkeeping, tax filing, CFO services and reports. Essentials is cash-basis only, accrual needs Core, and tax has to be bought with bookkeeping. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It's a service, so you hand over account access and answer your bookkeeper's questions instead of learning software. | CNo store rating on record. You hand over bank and card data and the work is done for you. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, for US businesses only. It reads your accounts, and works inside QuickBooks Online on the QBO plans. | BWeb, with Bill.com, Stripe, Shopify, Mercury, Chargebee, Recurly, Melio and Airtable. |
| Best for | hands-off monthly bookkeeping for US businesses | done-for-you bookkeeping for small companies |
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: Bench and Pilot. How we grade
Price against what you get
Bench starts at $199 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Pilot starts at $99 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Pilot starts $100 a month lower. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 16 score higher than Bench for less, and 16 score higher than Pilot for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Pilot also covers dashboards.
At a glance
| Bench | Pilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $199 per month, billed monthly (Bookkeeping Light) | $99 per month for up to $100,000 in monthly expenses |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Bench Accounting | Pilot.com Inc. |
| Price read from | bench.co | pilot.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Bench
- Bench serves U.S.-based businesses; it is a service with a monthly fee, not software you run yourself.
- The base Bookkeeping plan is $399 a month, and Complexity 3 QuickBooks plans start at $999 a month.
- Monthly tax pricing needs a 12-month commitment bought at least 3 months before the filing deadline.
- Bench paused operations in December 2024 and resumed in January 2025 under Employer.com.
Pilot
- It is a service, not self-serve software: you hand the books to Pilot instead of keeping them yourself.
- Tax filing starts at $1,000+ a year for a single-member LLC and must be bought with Pilot bookkeeping.
- Core pricing climbs with monthly expenses, and companies above $200,000 a month get a custom plan.
- The pricing page does not say how long the free trial offered in the site header lasts.
Key features
Bench
- Assigned bookkeeper
- Each business is matched with a bookkeeper who reconciles accounts transaction by transaction and can be reached by phone, message or video call.
- Monthly books and year-end financials
- Plans deliver up-to-date monthly books and year-end tax-ready financial statements, with reviews by multiple bookkeepers each month.
- Business tax filing
- The tax plans add filing of business income tax returns by licensed tax professionals, with up to four advisory calls a year.
- Catch-up bookkeeping
- Past months that were never reconciled can be cleaned up; the page says catch-up for the current year is free with an annual plan.
- Work inside QuickBooks Online
- A separate QBO plan has Bench's bookkeepers work in your existing QuickBooks account instead of Bench's own software.
- Read-only account access
- Bench says it connects to financial accounts with read-only access to import transactions for bookkeeping.
Pilot
- AI-assisted bookkeeping
- Transactions from bank and credit card feeds are categorized by AI, reconciled and closed each month; Core adds a human bookkeeper.
- Tax filing
- Federal and state returns for LLCs, partnerships, S-corps and C-corps, sold as a yearly service on top of Pilot bookkeeping.
- CFO services
- Monthly, bi-weekly or weekly calls with a finance lead, plus a budget and forecast model, from $1,750 a month on the Basic tier.
- Reports and dashboards
- Financial reports delivered on the 10th business day on Core, or the 6th on Custom, with dashboards and AI answers about past transactions.
- Operations services
- Bill payments, invoicing and payroll work can be added, priced from an estimate based on monthly volume.
Plans
Bench
Bookkeeping Light$199
per month, billed monthly
Monthly books for micro businesses with $250K a year or less in revenue; 20% off with annual payment.
Bookkeeping$399
per month, billed monthly
Monthly books, year-end tax-ready financials and unlimited contact with your bookkeeper; $3,830 a year if paid annually.
Bookkeeping + Tax$649
per month, billed monthly
Bookkeeping plus business income tax filing and up to four tax advisory calls a year; $6,230 a year if paid annually.
Full-service tax$300
per month, 12-month commitment
Tax filing and year-round advisory without bookkeeping; $2,880 a year if paid annually.
QBO Bookkeeping: Complexity 1$399
per month, billed monthly
Cash-basis books kept inside your own QuickBooks Online, up to 500 transactions a month.
QBO Bookkeeping: Complexity 2$699
per month, billed monthly
Cash or accrual books in your QuickBooks Online, up to 2,000 transactions a month.
Pilot
Essentials$99
per month, for up to $100,000 in monthly expenses
Cash-basis books from bank and card data, monthly close, year-end package for your tax preparer and in-app support.
Core$299
per month, up to $15,000 expenses, billed annually ($399 monthly)
Adds a US-based bookkeeper, accrual or cash basis and a custom chart of accounts. Price rises with expenses: $499 a month at $30,000.
CustomCustom
For larger or more complex companies: existing QuickBooks file, AR, AP, payroll administration and CFO advisory. Sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
Bench
- Annual discount
Save 20% on a 12-month plan
Bench's pricing page lists 20% off its bookkeeping, tax and QuickBooks plans when you pay for 12 months at once.
Pilot
- Other savings
Discount on Core for pre-revenue startups
Pilot says startups that are still pre-revenue can contact it for a discount on the Core plan.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Bench or Pilot?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Pilot is cheaper to start with: $99 a month, against $199 a month for Bench. Bench starts at $199 per month, billed monthly (Bookkeeping Light), and Pilot starts at $99 per month for up to $100,000 in monthly expenses.
Which has a free plan, Bench or Pilot?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Bench nor Pilot has a free plan.
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.