Nickel vs Ramp
We give Nickel a 2.8 GPA and Ramp a 3.6, out of 4.0. Ramp grades higher on the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Nickel
Free ACH invoicing and bill pay for US businesses
Ramp
Corporate cards, expenses, travel and bill pay, with a free plan
How we grade them
| 2.8GPANickelGood | 3.6GPARampExcellent | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AGraded against its bill pay alternatives. A ten-person company paying 20 supplier bills a month by ACH pays $0 on the free Core plan, since ACH carries no fee on any plan. Checks are $2 and wires $25 if you need them, and Plus is $35 a month billed yearly. | AFree and substantial. A ten-person company pays $0 a month on Ramp Free for cards, expenses, travel and bill pay, and the listing gives no fee for ACH bill payments, with same-day ACH free too. Plus is $15 a user, 20% less yearly, plus an unstated platform fee. |
| Free plan and trial | BCore is free with 3 users, unlimited invoices and bills, free ACH, payment links and QuickBooks sync. A small business could live on it. The walls are 3 users and $25,000 a payment, and Plus has a 14-day trial. | AThe Free plan has no user cap on record and covers unlimited cards, receipts by text or Slack, travel booking, bill pay, invoicing, a checking account and QuickBooks or Xero sync. Plus has a 30-day trial. |
| Features | CBill pay and getting paid are done fully, with batch payments, approvals and vendor onboarding. But it's a smaller job than the category's: no expense reports or receipt tools are listed, and Xero or NetSuite need custom work on Pro. | BThe whole job: cards with controls, expenses and reimbursements, travel, bills read by OCR and routed for approval, invoicing and accounting sync. Purchase orders and three-way matching are an add-on, which mostly bigger finance teams will miss. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Paying and getting paid by ACH is simple, but there's QuickBooks to connect and vendors to onboard first. | A4.91 from 47,070 App Store ratings, the top band. Staff can finish an expense by replying to a text, which is about as little effort as it gets. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with native sync to QuickBooks Online and Desktop on every plan. Xero, NetSuite and Salesforce need the custom integration that comes with Pro at $300 a month, and so does the API. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with QuickBooks Online, Xero, NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Dynamics 365, Workday, Slack and Amazon Business. No desktop app is listed, and Workday sync needs Enterprise. |
| Best for | free ACH bill pay and invoicing | cards, expenses and bill pay at no cost |
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: Nickel and Ramp. How we grade
Price against what you get
Nickel starts at $35 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Ramp starts at $15 a month for each person and scores 3.3.
Ramp scores higher and starts $20 a month lower. Of the other spend and bill pay tools on the chart, 8 score higher than Nickel for less, and none scores higher than Ramp 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
- Nickel starts at $35 per month, billed annually ($45 billed monthly). Ramp starts at $15 per user / month, plus a platform fee based on team size.
- Only Ramp lists iOS and Android apps.
- Ramp also covers reports, expense tracking and company cards.
At a glance
| Nickel | Ramp | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $35 per month, billed annually ($45 billed monthly) | $15 per user / month, plus a platform fee based on team size |
| Free plan | Nickel Core: 3 users, unlimited invoices and bills, free ACH, payment links and one payment page, QuickBooks sync and 2% APY on Nickel Balance, with a $25,000 limit per payment. | Ramp Free: unlimited cards, expenses by text or Slack, travel booking, bill pay, invoicing, a checking account, custom reports and QuickBooks Online or Xero sync. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of Nickel Plus | 30-day free trial of Ramp Plus |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Nickel Technology Inc. | Ramp Business Corporation |
| Price read from | nickel.com | ramp.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Nickel
- US businesses that collect large invoices by ACH
- Teams that want to stop paying card fees by moving customers to bank payments
- QuickBooks users who want free bill pay and receivables
Ramp
- US companies that want cards, expenses and bill pay in one free tool
- Finance teams closing books in NetSuite or Sage Intacct
- Businesses that book company travel and want it tied to card spend
Worth knowing
Nickel
- Card payments cost 2.9% (another 1% for international cards), and you choose whether you or the customer pays; mailed checks cost $2 and wires $25.
- The free plan stops at 3 users and $25,000 per payment; Plus lifts that to unlimited users and $1 million.
- Native sync is QuickBooks Online and Desktop only; Xero, NetSuite or Salesforce need custom integration, included on Pro.
- Nickel says it is not a bank: banking services and its Visa commercial card are provided by Grasshopper Bank, N.A.
Ramp
- Plus adds a platform fee based on team size that the pricing page does not state; Enterprise is quoted and billed yearly.
- Ramp says it is not a bank: checking deposits are held at First Internet Bank of Indiana, and its corporate card is issued by Celtic Bank and needs credit approval.
- Purchase orders and three-way matching come as an add-on to Plus or Enterprise; Workday and Oracle Fusion sync need Enterprise.
- Cards are issued in the US, Canada, the UK and the EEA. Filing 1099s costs $0.65 per IRS form, with state filing free.
Key features
Nickel
- Free ACH both ways
- Sending and receiving standard ACH costs nothing on any plan; payments clear in two to three business days, a day faster on paid plans.
- Invoices and payment pages
- Branded payment links, hosted payment pages, QR codes and reminders. Plus adds recurring invoices, saved cards and banks, and autopay.
- Bill pay
- Unlimited bills a month, scheduled ahead or paid in batches, with approval workflows and a secure link that collects vendors' bank and tax details.
- Nickel Balance
- Money received can be held in a Nickel Balance earning 2% APY, where incoming ACH and card payments arrive instantly and expedited ACH is free.
- Penny AI
- From Plus, an AI assistant works from your email inbox, follows up on unpaid invoices and keeps the books reconciled.
- QuickBooks sync
- Native two-way sync with QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop on every plan, including the free one.
Ramp
- Corporate cards
- Unlimited physical and virtual Visa cards with spending controls. On Plus, cards lock themselves when receipts or other policy steps are missing.
- Expenses and reimbursements
- Employees complete expenses by text message or Slack, receipts are matched automatically, and out-of-pocket costs are reimbursed in batches.
- Travel booking
- Book flights, hotels and rental cars under a custom travel policy, with 24/7 phone support for bookings on Plus.
- Bill pay
- Invoices are read by OCR, routed through approvals and fraud checks, and paid by ACH, card, check or wire, with free same-day ACH and wires.
- Invoicing
- Create invoices, follow up with customers automatically and accept payment by ACH, card or check.
- Accounting automation
- QuickBooks Online and Xero sync on every plan. Plus adds NetSuite and Sage Intacct, AI coding for every field and automatic sync of routine spend.
Plans
Nickel
Nickel Core$0
3 users, $25,000 per-payment limit, invoices, bill pay, vendor onboarding, free ACH and QuickBooks Online and Desktop sync.
Nickel Plus$35
per month, billed annually ($45 billed monthly)
Unlimited users, $1M per-payment limit, faster payouts, recurring invoices, autopay, 1099 filing and the Penny AI assistant.
Nickel Pro$300
per month, billed annually ($375 billed monthly)
Adds API access, vendor verification, single sign-on, the option to turn off card payments and a dedicated account manager.
EnterpriseCustom
Multi-entity support, custom ERP and data warehouse integrations, custom per-payment pricing and a dedicated support line.
Ramp
Free$0
Unlimited cards with controls, receipt matching, travel booking, bill pay by ACH, card, check or wire, invoicing, and QuickBooks Online or Xero sync.
Plus$15
per user / month, plus a platform fee based on team size
20% off with yearly billing; the platform fee is not shown. Adds AI expense reviews, coded bill lines, batch payments, NetSuite and multi-entity support.
EnterpriseCustom
Billed annually. Adds Workday and Oracle Fusion integrations and full customization.
Ways to pay less
Nickel
- Annual discount
Save 20% with yearly billing
Nickel Plus costs $35 a month billed yearly instead of $45 monthly, and Nickel Pro $300 instead of $375.
Ramp
- Annual discount
Save 20% on Plus with yearly billing
Ramp says Plus costs 20% less when billed annually than the $15 per user a month shown.
