Botkeeper vs Canopy (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Canopy grades higher than Botkeeper: 1.6 against 1.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Canopy grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Botkeeper
Automated bookkeeping platform sold to accounting firms
Which one is for you
Pick Botkeeper if
- Fits if you run an accounting firm with 10 or more clients to keep books for
- Works for firms that want categorization and reconciliation done by software
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you're a business keeping your own books, as it's sold to accounting firms
- Pricey if you have only a few clients: $134 a license for 1 to 4, $98 for 5 to 9
- Skip it if you want to try before paying, because there's no free trial
- Watch out: licenses are software only, and extra services and support upgrades cost more
Pick Canopy if
- Fits if you run a tax or accounting firm and want clients, documents and billing in one place
- Makes sense if your firm already uses QuickBooks Online or Microsoft 365
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want software for your own books, because this manages a firm and not a ledger
- Pricey if you have many staff: it's per user, from $74 to $149 a month
- Skip it if you want a free plan or trial, since neither is listed
- Watch out: Tax Resolution is $50 per user a month and Close Automation is $10 per connected client a month on top
How we grade them
| 1.4GPABotkeeperWeak | 1.6GPACanopyWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$134 a license a month for 1 to 4 licenses on annual billing, one license per client. That's about five times the $26 middle; the $53 rate needs 25 or more clients. | D$74 a user a month billed annually ($93 monthly), just under where the category's dearest tenth begins. Capacity planning and custom reporting need Plus at $109. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial. Monthly billing can be cancelled, but an annual plan commits you for the full year. | FNo free plan and no trial on the pricing page. |
| Features | CCategorization, bank reconciliation, journal entries and a close tracker. The licenses are software only, and extra services are bought separately. | CClient portal, e-sign, workflows, time and billing, and an AI assistant. It runs a firm and doesn't keep a business's books, and Tax Resolution is a paid add-on. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. A firm has to onboard every client entity as its own license. | CNo store rating on record. A firm has to set up clients, workflows and billing before it pays off. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, and no integrations are listed on the pages we read. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, plus QuickBooks Online, Microsoft 365, Gmail, Zapier and others. No desktop app. |
| Best for | accounting firms automating client bookkeeping | practice management for accounting and tax firms |
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: Botkeeper and Canopy. How we grade
Price against what you get
Botkeeper starts at $53 a month for each person and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Canopy starts at $74 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Canopy scores higher, and starts $21 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 39 score higher than Botkeeper for less, and 16 score higher than Canopy 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
- Botkeeper also covers bookkeeping.
- Canopy also covers time tracking and invoicing.
At a glance
| Botkeeper | Canopy | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $53 per license / month at 25+ licenses, billed annually ($59 billed monthly) | $74 per user / month, billed annually ($93 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Botkeeper | Canopy |
| Price read from | botkeeper.com | getcanopy.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Botkeeper
- It is sold to accounting firms, with one license per client entity, not to a business keeping its own books.
- The listed licenses are software only: the firm manages and administers the work, and extra services are bought separately.
- There is no free trial; monthly billing can be cancelled anytime, while an annual plan commits for the full year.
- Support is tiered, and the licenses include standard support with paid upgrades.
Canopy
- Pricing is per user, so cost scales with firm headcount; the page says annual billing saves 20% against monthly.
- Capacity planning and custom reporting need Plus, and advanced workflows and billing need Premium.
- Add-ons are priced separately: Tax Resolution is $50 per user a month, and Close Automation is $10 per connected client a month.
- Tax Workflow Automation starts at $34 per client credit, billed annually.
Key features
Botkeeper
- Transaction categorization
- Machine learning categorizes transactions and posts to the ledger only when confidence is high; lower-confidence items go to a review queue.
- Automated bank reconciliation
- Fetches statements, reconciles accounts and flags exceptions so the preparer reviews only what does not match.
- Journal entry automation
- Drafts journal entries and runs an end-of-month review with anomaly detection to support a faster close.
- Firm dashboard and close tracker
- Firm Insights and Close Tracker show automation performance and close status across all clients or for a single client.
- Client collaboration tools
- An Activity Hub, task and workflow tools, document storage and a password manager keep client requests in one place.
Canopy
- Client portal and messaging
- Clients get a portal, a mobile app and secure messaging for sending documents, questionnaires and organizers.
- Workflow and engagements
- Recurring task workflows, engagement letters and proposals, and tax workflow automation keep firm work on a schedule.
- Time, billing and payments
- Tracks time, invoices clients, collects payments and shows realization rates; group billing combines entities on one invoice.
- Tax resolution tools
- Pulls IRS transcripts, tracks notices and auto-fills more than 200 federal and state forms, as a paid add-on.
- Coworker AI
- An AI assistant included on every plan with monthly credits per user; the pricing page lists it as in open beta.
Plans
Botkeeper
1 - 4 Licenses$134
per license / month, billed annually ($149 billed monthly)
Software-only entity licenses for firms with a few clients; one license covers one client.
5 - 9 Licenses$98
per license / month, billed annually ($109 billed monthly)
Same features as every tier at a lower per-license rate.
10 - 24 Licenses$71
per license / month, billed annually ($79 billed monthly)
The tier the pricing page marks as most popular.
25+ Licenses$53
per license / month, billed annually ($59 billed monthly)
Lowest per-license rate, for firms that onboard 25 or more client entities.
Canopy
Standard$74
per user / month, billed annually ($93 billed monthly)
CRM, document management and e-sign, client portal, task workflows, invoicing and payments, and the Coworker AI.
Plus$109
per user / month, billed annually ($136 billed monthly)
Adds user roles and access controls, more client intake capacity, capacity planning and custom reporting.
Premium$149
per user / month, billed annually ($186 billed monthly)
Adds advanced workflows and automation, advanced billing scenarios and deeper reporting.
EnterpriseCustom
Tailored plan for large firms; the page says it is likely not a fit below roughly a 200-person firm.
Ways to pay less
Botkeeper
- Annual discount
Save 10% with annual billing
The pricing page shows annual billing at 10% below the monthly per-license rate and gives volume tiers up to 25+ licenses.
Canopy
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
The pricing page says annual billing saves 20%, for example Standard at $74 instead of $93 per user a month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Botkeeper or Canopy?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Botkeeper is cheaper to start with: $53 a month for each person, against $74 a month for each person for Canopy. Botkeeper starts at $53 per license / month at 25+ licenses, billed annually ($59 billed monthly), and Canopy starts at $74 per user / month, billed annually ($93 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Botkeeper or Canopy?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Botkeeper nor Canopy has a free plan.
Which platforms do Botkeeper and Canopy run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Canopy 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.