BILL vs Melio
We give BILL a 2.6 GPA and Melio a 2.8, out of 4.0. BILL grades higher on features and ease of use. Melio grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
BILL
Bill pay, invoicing and free company cards for small businesses
Melio
Bill pay and invoicing for small US businesses, with a free plan
How we grade them
| 2.6GPABILLGood | 2.8GPAMelioGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DGraded against its bill pay alternatives. A ten-person company paying 20 supplier bills by ACH pays $60.80 a month on Essentials: $49 for one user plus $11.80 in fees at $0.59 each. Nickel, Ramp and Brex send ACH free, and two-way QuickBooks or Xero sync needs Team at $65. | BGraded against its bill pay alternatives. A ten-person company paying 20 supplier bills a month pays $7.50 on the free Go plan: 5 free ACH payments, then $0.50 each. Core at $20 a month yearly makes all 20 free. That beats BILL and Plooto, but Nickel and Ramp send ACH for nothing. |
| Free plan and trial | CSpend & Expense is free: Divvy cards, budgets, receipts and reimbursements, though card and payment fees still apply. Bill pay and invoicing, the main job, need a paid plan, and the trial is offered in most cases with no length given. | BGo is free for good: one user, 5 free ACH payments a month, card, check and wire payments, invoices and up to 10 QuickBooks or Xero syncs. The paid plans are free for the first 90 days with no card needed. |
| Features | BThe whole job: a bills inbox with approval rules, payments by ACH, check or card, local-currency transfers to 130+ countries, invoices with auto-pay, Divvy cards with budgets, AI bill coding from Team and purchase orders on Corporate. | CBill pay is done fully: AI bill capture, approvals on paid plans, payments to 80+ countries, invoices, W-9s and 1099s. It's the smaller job, though, and Melio issues no cards: its expense tool works with cards you already hold. |
| Ease of use | A4.86 from 48,758 App Store ratings, the top band. There are approval rules and an accounting link to set up first, but people clearly get on with it once that's done. | B4.6 from 1,485 App Store ratings. Bills come into their own inbox and get read for you, though you'll want the accounting sync set up early. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, syncing with QuickBooks Online, Xero, NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Dynamics and Acumatica, with an API. No desktop app is listed, and Essentials swaps data with QuickBooks and Xero by CSV only. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with QuickBooks Online and Desktop, Xero, NetSuite, Tax1099 and Amazon Business. No desktop app is listed, and NetSuite sync needs Unlimited at $64 a month. |
| Best for | bill pay with approvals and free company cards | paying a handful of supplier bills for free |
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: BILL and Melio. How we grade
Price against what you get
BILL starts at $49 a month for each person and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Melio starts at $20 a month and scores 2.7.
BILL scores higher, and starts $29 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other spend and bill pay tools on the chart, none scores higher than BILL for less, and 7 score higher than Melio 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
- BILL starts at $49 per user / month for AP & AR, billing term not stated. Melio starts at $20 per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly).
- BILL also covers company cards.
At a glance
| BILL | Melio | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $49 per user / month for AP & AR, billing term not stated | $20 per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | BILL Spend & Expense: corporate cards, budgets, expense tracking and reimbursements with no subscription or per-user fee. Card and payment fees still apply. | Go: 1 user, 5 free ACH payments a month ($0.50 each after), payments by card, check or wire, international payments, invoices and payment links, and up to 10 QuickBooks or Xero syncs. |
| Free trial | Free trial of the AP & AR plans "in most cases"; length not stated | First 90 days of Core, Boost or Unlimited free, no credit card needed; then the account moves to Go |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | BILL Operations, LLC | Melio Solutions Inc. |
| Price read from | bill.com | melio.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
BILL
- Small businesses that pay many supplier bills by ACH or check
- Accounting firms running bill pay for several clients
- Teams that want free company cards next to their bill pay
Melio
- US small businesses that want to pay suppliers by card or ACH
- Owners who pay a few bills a month and want a free plan
- Accounting firms paying bills for clients
Worth knowing
BILL
- Payments carry fees on every plan: $0.59 per ACH payment, $1.99 per mailed check, $19.99 per USD wire abroad, and 2.9% to pay a bill by card.
- The Essentials plan exchanges data with QuickBooks and Xero only by CSV file; automatic two-way sync starts on Team, and NetSuite or Sage Intacct needs Enterprise.
- Spend & Expense is provided by Divvy Pay LLC, the Divvy Card is issued by its bank partners, and credit lines depend on approval.
- Every Essentials and Team user pays the full seat price; cheaper approver-only seats come with Corporate and Enterprise.
Melio
- ACH payments beyond the plan's free allowance cost $0.50 each, checks $1.50, wires $10 and paying a bill by card 2.9%.
- International USD transfers cost a flat $20 (fast ones 1%, $30 to $95); local-currency payments carry a currency conversion rate instead.
- Melio does not issue cards: the expense tool works with the cards a business already holds. Pay over time loans are made by Lead Bank.
- Melio says it serves businesses across the United States; extra users cost $10 a month ($8 yearly) on Core and Boost.
Key features
BILL
- Accounts payable
- Bills arrive in one inbox, are routed through approval rules and are paid by ACH, check, virtual card or card, with W-9s collected by an agent.
- Invoices and receivables
- Send one-off or recurring invoices, chase them with automatic reminders, and get paid by ACH or card with auto-charge and auto-pay.
- Spend & Expense with the Divvy Card
- Corporate cards with budgets and spending rules. Receipts are captured by photo or text message and matched to transactions.
- International payments
- Pay suppliers in more than 130 countries, in their local currency with no BILL fee beyond the exchange rate, or by USD wire.
- AI bill coding
- From the Team plan, the Invoice Coding Agent fills in line-by-line accounting codes on incoming bills.
- Procurement
- Purchase requests, purchase orders, tolerance rules and 2-way matching, included on Corporate and an add-on below it.
Melio
- Pay bills any way
- Pay by ACH, paper check, wire or same-day transfer, or put a bill on a credit or debit card even when the vendor only takes bank payments.
- Bill capture and approvals
- Bills arrive in a dedicated inbox or by upload and are read by AI. Paid plans route them through approvals by amount, vendor or user.
- Invoices and payment links
- Every plan sends invoices and payment links. Customers pay by card or bank transfer, and the card fee can be passed on to them.
- International payments
- Pay vendors in more than 80 countries in US dollars or their local currency, by bank transfer or Visa and Mastercard.
- Expense receipts
- Connect the cards a business already uses; each purchase triggers a text or email asking for the receipt, which is coded and synced to Xero or QuickBooks.
- Accounting sync and 1099s
- Two-way sync with QuickBooks Online and Xero from Core, QuickBooks Desktop from Boost and NetSuite on Unlimited, with W-9 collection and 1099s through Tax1099.
Plans
BILL
Spend & Expense$0
BILL Divvy Card, budgets, receipt capture, reimbursements and credit lines from $1,000 to $5M, subject to approval.
Essentials$49
per user / month, billing term not stated
Bill entry and approvals, payments by ACH, card or check, invoicing, W-9 collection. Syncs with accounting software by CSV only.
Team$65
per user / month, billing term not stated
Adds automatic two-way sync with QuickBooks and Xero, AI bill coding, custom user roles and cash flow forecasting.
Corporate$89
per user / month, billing term not stated
Adds custom approval policies, purchase orders and requests, cheaper approver-only users, single sign-on and multi-entity books.
EnterpriseCustom
Adds sync with NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Dynamics and QuickBooks Enterprise, 2- and 3-way matching, dual control and premium phone support.
Melio
Go$0
1 user and 5 free ACH payments a month. Pay by ACH, card, check or wire, capture bills with AI, send invoices and payment links.
Core$20
per month for 1 user, billed annually ($25 billed monthly)
20 free ACH payments a month, QuickBooks Online and Xero sync, batch payments, approvals, W-9s and 1099 sync. Extra users $8 a month ($10 monthly).
Boost$44
per month for 1 user, billed annually ($55 billed monthly)
50 free ACH payments a month, advanced user roles, QuickBooks Desktop sync, classes and locations, and phone support. Extra users $8 a month ($10 monthly).
Unlimited$64
per month for unlimited users, billed annually ($80 billed monthly)
Unlimited free ACH payments and users, NetSuite sync, premium phone support and onboarding.
PlatinumCustom
Invite-only, for businesses paying over $300,000 a month by card: custom transaction and card fees, API access and an account manager.
Ways to pay less
BILL
No public discounts listed.
Melio
- Annual discount
Save 20% with yearly billing
Core costs $20 a month billed yearly instead of $25, Boost $44 instead of $55 and Unlimited $64 instead of $80; extra users drop from $10 to $8.
