Cledara vs Zip (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Zip grades higher than Cledara: 1.8 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Zip grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Cledara
SaaS subscription management with virtual cards for finance teams
Which one is for you
Pick Cledara if
- Fits if you want one place for software renewals and cards
- Works for finance teams that use Xero, QuickBooks or NetSuite
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are small: $75 a month covers up to 20 apps
- Tight if you have many apps, as Premium is capped at 75
- Not for you if you want travel or general expenses, as it covers software only
- Watch out: Cledara Agent jobs are $200 a month each, and some modules $150 a month
Pick Zip if
- Fits if purchase requests and approvals are the pain, more than expense claims
- Works for large teams with a procurement function
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you can't see a price, as the site only offers a demo
- Too light for expense reports, as it is built for procurement and payments
- Watch out: Vendor Cards and Global Payments are add-ons, not part of the core product
- Watch out: vendor card spend limits, merchant locks and receipt requirements apply to cards issued through the add-on
How we grade them
| 1.6GPACledaraWeak | 1.8GPAZipWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$75 a month for up to 20 apps against a category middle of $12, and the dearest tenth starts at $60. Add-ons are extra, and a single user pays the same. | CNo price is published; the site only offers a demo request. Middle by default against the category's $7.50, $12 and $20. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free: no free plan and no trial are on record for this listing. | FNo free plan and no trial on record, so nothing to try before paying. |
| Features | CSoftware directory, virtual cards, approvals and accounting sync. But it covers software spend only, and plans cap the number of apps. | CPurchase request intake, procure-to-pay, AI agents for invoices, payments and vendor cards. It is a procurement tool, and Vendor Cards and Global Payments are listed add-ons. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Cards, approvals and accounting links need connecting. | CNo store rating on record. Intake forms, approvals and integrations to build. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only on the listing, with Xero, QuickBooks, NetSuite, Okta and HubSpot. | BWeb only on record, with seven integrations and an API. |
| Best for | SaaS subscription management with virtual cards | purchase requests and procure-to-pay at big 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: Cledara and Zip. How we grade
Where they differ
- Cledara also covers reports and expense tracking.
- Zip also covers bill pay.
At a glance
| Cledara | Zip | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $75 per month for up to 20 software applications | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Cledara Limited | Zip |
| Price read from | cledara.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Cledara
- Plans are capped by application count: Basic at 20 software applications and Premium at 75.
- Add-ons are priced separately: Cledara Agent jobs are $200 a month each, and Spend Optimisation and IT Management are $150 a month each.
- Cledara covers software spend only; it is not a general expense or travel tool.
- The pricing page showed pounds to our reader; the dollar figures here match the page's own USD price data.
Zip
- No prices are published; the site only offers a demo request, so the cost cannot be compared here.
- Vendor Cards and Global Payments are listed as add-ons, not as part of the core product.
- Vendor card spend limits, merchant locks and receipt requirements apply to the virtual cards issued through that add-on.
Key features
Cledara
- Software directory
- Lists every SaaS and AI tool with its owner, users, cost, renewal date and the card used to pay for it.
- Virtual cards and payments
- Free virtual cards pay for software, with spend limits and budgets per tool, and a way to manage and cancel subscriptions.
- Purchasing and approvals
- Premium adds purchasing and approval workflows and automatic capture and matching of software invoices.
- Accounting sync
- Payments sync to Xero and QuickBooks on every plan, with the right account codes; NetSuite is on Premium.
- Cledara Agent
- An add-on that signs in to connected tools to collect invoices or manage joiners and leavers, with the user approving each change.
- Spend and IT modules
- Optional modules cover usage and seat insights, duplicate-tool and price-increase alerts, and IT access and security risks.
Zip
- Purchase request intake
- Requests are collected as structured data and routed through approval flows, and that data then fills in purchase orders and invoices.
- Procure-to-pay automation
- Handles purchase orders, invoice processing and payments in one workflow, with invoice coding based on the request and PO already captured.
- AI agents for invoices
- Agents answer emails in the AP inbox, extract invoices, code them, flag duplicates and contract mismatches, and route exceptions to the right person.
- Payments and vendor cards
- The product page cites 79+ international payment rails and virtual cards. Vendor Cards is a separate add-on, issued by Celtic Bank and powered by Stripe.
- Integrations and API
- A marketplace lists 100+ integrations for ERP, contract and risk tools. Zip also offers REST APIs, flat-file imports and an MCP server.
Plans
Cledara
Basic$75
per month for up to 20 software applications
Software directory, renewal alerts, spend limits and budgets, free virtual cards, unlimited API access, and Xero and QuickBooks sync.
Premium$200
per month for up to 75 software applications
Adds purchasing and approval workflows, invoice capture, advanced reporting, NetSuite, Okta single sign-on and 1% first-year cashback.
Pro$500
per month and up
A package built to order on top of Premium, adding bank-transfer expense payments and a dedicated implementation manager.
Zip
Pricing could not be confirmed. See zip.com.
Ways to pay less
Cledara
- Annual discount
Save 16% with yearly billing
The pricing page shows a Yearly toggle saving 16%: Basic costs $750 a year and Premium $2,000 a year instead of monthly billing.
Zip
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Cledara or Zip?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Cledara starts at $75 per month for up to 20 software applications, and Zip has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Cledara or Zip?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Cledara nor Zip 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.