Pilot vs Zeni (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Pilot grades higher than Zeni: 1.8 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Pilot grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Pilot
Done-for-you bookkeeping, tax and CFO services for small companies
Zeni
AI bookkeeping with a finance team, for startups and small companies
Which one is for you
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
Pick Zeni if
- Fits if you run a venture-backed startup and want a team to handle the books
- Makes sense if you already keep your ledger in QuickBooks Online
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are a small business, at $494 a month and up
- Skip it if you want to start without a sales call, as every plan begins with a demo request
- Watch out: fractional CFO is extra, from $1,599 a month plus a $2,000 setup fee
- Watch out: listed prices are starting points and move with complexity, expenses and revenue
- Not for you if you want the ledger in Zeni, since it sits on top of QuickBooks Online
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAPilotWeak | 1.6GPAZeniWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$99 a month for Essentials and $299 for Core on annual billing ($399 monthly), against $26 in the middle. It's a service, but that's still the dearest tenth. | DFrom $494 a month billed annually ($549 monthly), against $99 for Pilot, $199 for Bench and $25 for Puzzle. It includes a finance team, but the final price still depends on complexity, expenses and revenue. |
| Free plan and trial | DThe site header mentions a free trial, but the pricing page doesn't say how long it lasts or what it covers. No free plan. | FNothing free: no plan and no trial. Every plan starts from a demo request. |
| Features | CAI-assisted bookkeeping, tax filing, CFO services and reports. Essentials is cash-basis only, accrual needs Core, and tax has to be bought with bookkeeping. | CDaily AI categorization and reconciliation, bill pay and reimbursements. The ledger stays in QuickBooks Online, and CFO help is a separate product. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You hand over bank and card data and the work is done for you. | CNo store rating on record. A demo and an onboarding with the finance team come before you use it. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with Bill.com, Stripe, Shopify, Mercury, Chargebee, Recurly, Melio and Airtable. | BA web app that works with QuickBooks Online and offers an AI assistant link through Claude. No phone or desktop apps are listed. |
| Best for | done-for-you bookkeeping for small companies | AI bookkeeping with a finance team, for startups |
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: Pilot and Zeni. How we grade
Price against what you get
Pilot starts at $99 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Zeni starts at $494 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Pilot starts $395 a month lower. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 30 score higher than Pilot for less, and 30 score higher than Zeni 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
- Pilot also covers dashboards.
- Zeni also covers expense tracking and bill pay.
At a glance
| Pilot | Zeni | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $99 per month for up to $100,000 in monthly expenses | $494 per month and up, billed annually ($549 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Pilot.com Inc. | Zeni |
| Price read from | pilot.com | zeni.ai |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Zeni
- Listed prices are starting points: the page says pricing follows bookkeeping complexity, monthly expenses and annual revenue.
- Fractional CFO is sold separately: CFO Lite from $1,599 a month plus a $2,000 setup fee, CFO Premium from $2,990 plus $6,000.
- Zeni's FAQ describes it as working on top of QuickBooks Online, so the ledger stays in QuickBooks.
- Every plan starts from a demo request; there is no self-serve checkout or free trial on the pricing page.
Key features
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.
Zeni
- AI bookkeeping
- Reads bank and card feeds, categorizes transactions, matches receipts and reconciles accounts, with the books updated daily.
- Dedicated finance team
- Every bookkeeping plan includes a controller, a bookkeeping manager and a bookkeeping analyst who review the AI's work.
- Bill pay and reimbursements
- Pays vendor bills and reimburses employees from the same platform; the pricing page says both are free on every plan.
- Fractional CFO
- Budgeting, forecasting and fundraising help, sold as CFO Lite, CFO Premium and Enterprise tiers with setup fees.
- AI assistant access to the books
- Zeni MCP lets people query their books from AI assistants such as Claude, per the Zeni site.
Plans
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.
Zeni
Starter$494
per month and up, billed annually ($549 monthly)
Basic AI bookkeeping for pre-revenue companies, with a dedicated finance team. Final price depends on complexity, expenses and revenue.
Growth$719
per month and up, billed annually ($799 monthly)
Advanced AI bookkeeping for companies with revenue, with a dedicated finance team. Final price depends on complexity and size.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom AI bookkeeping for complex companies, with a dedicated finance team. Quoted by Zeni.
Ways to pay less
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.
Zeni
- Annual discount
Save 10% with annual billing
The pricing page shows annual billing at 10% below the monthly rate for Starter and Growth.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Pilot or Zeni?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Pilot is cheaper to start with: $99 a month, against $494 a month for Zeni. Pilot starts at $99 per month for up to $100,000 in monthly expenses, and Zeni starts at $494 per month and up, billed annually ($549 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Pilot or Zeni?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Pilot nor Zeni 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.