Found vs Pilot (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Found if

• Fits if you're self-employed in the US and will run all your business money through one account
• Works for small businesses that pay contractors and want 1099s e-filed from the same app

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want to keep banking elsewhere, as importing other accounts needs Plus at $35
• Not for you if your business is outside the US or you don't have a Social Security number
• Too light for businesses that need full accounting software, since Found is a bank account first
• Watch out: domestic wires are $15 each and paper checks $1 each, cheaper only on Pro at $80 a month
• Watch out: Found Assistant is in beta, Found gives no tax advice, and paid-plan trials charge your Found balance

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

Found

• Found is a bank account, not standalone software: the bookkeeping works on money that runs through it, and other accounts can be imported only on paid plans.
• Only US-based businesses can open an account, and the owner needs a Social Security number.
• Some banking costs extra: domestic wires are $15 each ($10 on Pro) and paper checks $1 each (free on Pro).
• Found Assistant is in beta, and Found says it gives no legal or tax advice.

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.

Found

Business checking and cards

A checking account held at Lead Bank, Member FDIC, with physical and virtual Mastercard debit cards and team cards with spending limits.

Automatic bookkeeping

Card spending is categorized and flagged as write-offs, receipts attach by photo, and P&L, balance sheet and expense reports are kept current.

Taxes set aside

Found estimates taxes in real time and moves money into a Taxes Pocket as you are paid. It generates Schedule C and 1120 or 1120-S forms.

Invoices

Unlimited invoices, scheduled and recurring invoices, estimates and payment requests on every plan.

Contractor payments

Pay contractors by ACH, text or email with no per-contractor fee, collect W-9s and generate and e-file 1099-NECs for free.

Found Assistant

An AI assistant, in beta, that answers questions about your income and taxes and can draft invoices.

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.

Found

• Found$0

  Banking, automatic expense categorizing, receipts, P&L and balance sheet, tax estimates, unlimited invoices and contractor payments.

• Found Plus$35

  per month, billed monthly

  Or $315 a year. Adds imports from up to 10 other accounts, categorizing rules, custom tags, in-app tax payments, 1.50% APY up to $20,000 and priority phone help.

• Found Pro$80

  per month, billed monthly

  Or $720 a year. Adds 2.50% APY on all balances, 1% cash back on card purchases, free checks, cheaper wires and an account manager.

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.

Found

• Annual discount

  Save 25% with yearly billing

  Found Plus costs $315 a year instead of $35 a month, and Found Pro $720 a year instead of $80 a month.

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.