# Puzzle review (2026): is it worth $25 a month, billed yearly? > AI-driven accounting software for startups and small businesses Checked Nov 12, 2026 ยท graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA. Puzzle is web-based accounting software that categorizes transactions with AI, reconciles bank accounts and drafts financial statements, in cash and accrual books. It targets startups and small companies and also sells bookkeeping services that run on top of a subscription. An AI suite and an MCP connection for Claude and ChatGPT are listed. - **Category:** Accounting & Invoicing - **Made by:** Puzzle - **Website:** https://puzzle.io - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Tight if you lean on the AI: 25 lifetime credits on Starter and Core, 100 a month on Complete. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 12, 2026, Puzzle is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $25 per month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly). - **Pricing model:** Free trial - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** Free trial offered; length not stated on the pricing page. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Starter | $25 per month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly) | 1 seat; 85 to 90% of transactions categorized automatically, cash and accrual books, 25 lifetime AI credits. | | Core | $60 per month, billed annually ($72 billed monthly) | 5 seats; adds cash, burn and runway insights, variance analysis, custom chart of accounts and multi-entity. | | Complete | $100 per month, billed annually ($120 billed monthly) | Unlimited seats; adds AI accuracy review and reconciliations, revenue recognition, priority support; 100 AI credits a month. | | Scale | $300 per month, billed annually ($360 billed monthly) | High-volume accounting with subledgers, no transaction or integration limits, backup and restore; 300 AI credits a month. | Read from https://puzzle.io/pricing on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Puzzle before buying. ## Ways to pay less - **12 months for the price of 10** (Annual discount): The pricing page's yearly option charges for 10 months of the monthly price, which is $25 against $30 on Starter. Source: https://puzzle.io/pricing ## Key features - **AI categorization and close:** Categorizes most transactions automatically, reconciles accounts and drafts financial statements; an AI suite adds chat, cowork and close tools. - **Cash and accrual books:** Keeps both bases, with accrual automation for prepaid expenses and fixed assets and revenue recognition on Complete. - **Startup metrics:** Cash, burn, runway and margin insights plus spend and revenue tracking, from the Core plan. - **Integrations:** Connects to Stripe, Mercury, Ramp, Brex, Gusto and other finance tools through live API links. - **Accounting services:** Expert Reviewed and Full Service bookkeeping, priced by monthly expenses and sold only alongside a subscription. - **API and MCP:** An API and MCP server let you connect the books to Claude and ChatGPT. ## Good for - Startups that want runway and burn figures from their books - Founders replacing QuickBooks with a self-serve ledger - Companies that want a bookkeeper to close the books each month ## Worth knowing - Starter allows one seat and Core five; unlimited seats start at Complete. - AI credits are limited: 25 for the lifetime of Starter and Core, 100 a month on Complete. - Bookkeeping services start at $171 a month with Core, for up to $10K in monthly expenses, and need an active subscription. - A QuickBooks migration costs $149 one-time unless catch-up bookkeeping or Full Service is added. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.0 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. Puzzle is AI-driven accounting for startups and small businesses, from $25 a month on annual billing, with cash and accrual books. AI credits are capped (25 for life on Starter and Core), Starter has 1 seat and Core 5, and bookkeeping services start at $171 a month. - **Value for money: C.** $25 a month on annual billing ($30 monthly) for Starter and $60 for Core, close to this category's $26 middle. - **Free plan and trial: D.** A free trial is offered, but the pricing page doesn't say how long it lasts. No free plan. - **Features: C.** AI categorization and close, cash and accrual books, startup metrics, an API and MCP. Multi-entity and variance analysis need Core, and AI credits are limited. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. You connect banks and payment tools and review what the AI books. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web only, with Stripe, Mercury, Ramp, Brex, Gusto, QuickBooks, Claude and ChatGPT, plus an API and MCP. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Puzzle's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among accounting and invoicing tools - Puzzle's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 11 of the 65 other accounting and invoicing tools we grade, and level with 10. - It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 13 of 65) and worst on free plan and trial (D, above 11). - Its paid plans start at $25 a month, against a middle price of $18.09 for the category: 33 of the 54 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 9 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/accounting ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace Puzzle you would be making live feeds from your bank, which take an agreement with each bank or a service that has them. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 44 of the 65 other accounting and invoicing tools grade higher. It costs $300 a year. - You could make: Reports, invoicing and expense tracking: an app builder makes these well. - You could not: Live feeds from your bank, which take an agreement with each bank or a service that has them. - You could not: It plugs into other products, Stripe, Mercury and Ramp among them, and has an API. - You could not: AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Stripe, Mercury, Ramp, Brex, Gusto, QuickBooks, Claude, ChatGPT **Tags:** Bookkeeping, AI features, Reports, Invoicing, Expense tracking, Public API ## Alternatives - [QuickBooks Online](https://toolgpa.com/tools/quickbooks): Cloud accounting from Intuit, from a free plan to 25-user Advanced. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/puzzle-vs-quickbooks) - [Xero](https://toolgpa.com/tools/xero): Cloud accounting for small businesses, with unlimited users. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/puzzle-vs-xero) - [Digits](https://toolgpa.com/tools/digits): AI-native general ledger with bookkeeping, bill pay and invoicing. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/digits-vs-puzzle) - [Bench](https://toolgpa.com/tools/bench): Bookkeeping done by an assigned bookkeeper, with optional tax filing. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/bench-vs-puzzle) - [Pennylane](https://toolgpa.com/tools/pennylane): French accounting, invoicing and business account in one app. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/pennylane-vs-puzzle) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://puzzle.io/pricing - https://puzzle.io Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/puzzle Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).