Melio vs Routable (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Melio grades higher than Routable: 2.8 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Melio grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Melio
Bill pay and invoicing for small US businesses, with a free plan
Which one is for you
Pick Melio if
- Fits if you pay a few bills a month and want to do it free
- Works for accounting firms paying bills for clients
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you pay more than 5 bills a month on Go, at $0.50 for each extra ACH payment
- Not for you if you want company cards for your staff, as Melio doesn't issue any
- Pricey if you put bills on a card often, at 2.9% a payment
- Watch out: checks cost $1.50, wires $10, and international USD transfers a flat $20
- Pricey if you add people on Core or Boost, at $8 a user a month yearly, $10 monthly
Pick Routable if
- Fits if you pay hundreds of vendors or contractors each month and need tax forms collected
- Works for finance teams that want payouts to flow back into NetSuite, QuickBooks or Xero
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're a small business, as the plan starts at $1,250 a month
- Pricey if you count the per-transaction fees, which vary by method and speed and aren't listed
- Not for you if you want it running in a day: setup averages 4 weeks
- Watch out: vendors beyond the included 1,000 aren't priced on the page
- Watch out: PO matching, 1099 / 1042-S filing, OFAC monitoring and SSO are add-ons
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAMelioGood | 1.6GPARoutableWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | D$1,250 a month on yearly billing ($1,575 monthly) for up to 1,000 vendors. Expense tools' dearest tenth starts at $60, though this is a payables platform, not an expense app. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | FNo free plan and no trial, and the page shows no way to try it before paying $1,250 a month. |
| Features | 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. | CMass payouts, international payments, vendor onboarding and tax forms, approvals and accounting sync. PO matching, 1099 and 1042-S filing, OFAC monitoring and SSO are add-ons. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo store rating on record. The vendor says implementation and team training average 4 weeks. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWeb with an API for payouts and connections to NetSuite, QuickBooks and Xero. No phone or desktop app listed. |
| Best for | paying a handful of supplier bills for free | paying many vendors and contractors from one place |
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: Melio and Routable. How we grade
Price against what you get
Melio starts at $20 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Routable starts at $1,250 a month and scores 2.3.
Melio scores higher and starts $1,230 a month lower. Of the other spend and bill pay tools on the chart, 7 score higher than Melio for less, and 16 score higher than Routable 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
- Melio also covers invoicing and expense tracking.
- Routable also covers workflow automation and partner payouts.
At a glance
| Melio | Routable | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $20 per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly) | $1,250 per month, billed annually ($1,575 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | 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. | None |
| Free trial | First 90 days of Core, Boost or Unlimited free, no credit card needed; then the account moves to Go | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Melio Solutions Inc. | Routable |
| Price read from | melio.com | routable.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Routable
- On top of the subscription, Routable charges a per-transaction fee that varies by payment method and speed, and the pricing page does not list the amounts.
- Vendors beyond the included 1,000 on Growth and 3,000 on Scale are not priced on the page.
- Several features are add-ons rather than included, such as PO matching, form 1099 / 1042-S filing, OFAC monitoring, SSO/SAML and dedicated Slack support.
- The vendor says implementation and team training average 4 weeks.
Key features
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.
Routable
- Mass payouts
- Send payments one at a time, by CSV upload or through the payouts API, with ACH, check and instant payments over FedNow and RTP.
- International payments
- Pays to 220+ countries and territories in 140+ currencies, in 1-3 business days according to the vendor.
- Vendor onboarding and tax forms
- Vendors enter their own bank and tax details through branded onboarding. W-9 and W-8 collection and 1099 or 1042-S filing are available, some as add-ons.
- Accounts payable automation
- Invoice OCR and AI bill coding, with PO matching and predictive coding on higher tiers or as add-ons.
- Approval workflows
- Standard approval workflows are included in the Growth plan, and advanced workflows come with Scale.
- Accounting sync
- Connects to accounting and ERP systems including NetSuite, QuickBooks and Xero.
Plans
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.
Routable
Growth$1,250
per month, billed annually ($1,575 billed monthly)
Unlimited user seats, accounting and ERP integrations, domestic, international and instant payments, API access. Up to 1,000 vendors included.
ScaleCustom
Everything in Growth plus invoice automation, trainable OCR, PO matching, predictive coding and advanced approval workflows. Up to 3,000 vendors included.
EnterpriseCustom
Everything in Scale, for organizations operating at scale. Quoted through sales.
Ways to pay less
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.
Routable
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
The pricing page shows Growth at $1,250 a month when billed annually, against $1,575 a month billed monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Melio or Routable?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Melio is cheaper to start with: $20 a month, against $1,250 a month for Routable. Melio starts at $20 per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly), and Routable starts at $1,250 per month, billed annually ($1,575 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Melio or Routable?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Melio has a free plan. Routable does not.
Which platforms do Melio and Routable run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Melio 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.