The 7 best Airbase alternatives for 2024

Airbase is a procure-to-pay platform that allows businesses to manage their entire spend lifecycle, from approvals to payments, in one centralized system. Recently acquired by Paylocity, Airbase has a strong rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars on the software review website G2.

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While customers frequently praise Airbase’s ease of use and simple expense submission workflow, it isn’t without its faults. Some users have reported bugs in Airbase’s mobile app, and others note the platform occasionally fails to recognize the correct currency on receipts. Reviewers also complain that Airbase’s expense search functionality is limited.

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If you’ve encountered similar issues and you’re researching Airbase competitors, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve pulled together a list of highly rated Airbase alternatives, including:

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• Ramp
• Stampli
• Navan
• Brex
• Mesh Payments
• PayEm
• Spendesk

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We chose these tools based on feedback from actual users, as well as the public reviews and ratings shared on G2. Coupled with our own research into each platform’s features, we narrowed our picks to the seven Airbase alternatives below.

Best overall Airbase alternative: Ramp

Ramp is a comprehensive finance operations platform designed to save companies time and money. Our software combines expense management, corporate cards, travel booking, bill pay automation, and AI-powered procurement to help businesses of all sizes streamline their workflows and make better financial decisions.

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Yes, we may be a bit biased in how we view Ramp as an Airbase competitor. But our customer reviews back us up. More than 2,000 verified users have rated Ramp 4.8 out of 5 stars on G2:

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9.4

Meets Requirements

9.4

9.4

Ease of Use

9.5

9.0

Ease of Setup

9.3

9.1

Ease of Admin

9.4

9.4

Quality of Support

9.2

9.4

Good Partner

9.5

9.0

Product Direction

9.7

Source: G2 ratings

Key features

• Comprehensive finance platform: All-in-one platform that combines accounts payable (AP), corporate travel booking, expense management, and procurement with industry-leading corporate cards
• Fast, effective procurement: AI-powered procurement software automates the entire intake-to-pay workflow, helping your business complete the procurement process 8.5x faster
• AP automation out of the box: Ramp Bill Pay uses machine learning to help automate your AP workflow, from invoice receipt to approvals, payments, and three-way matching
• Real-time spend visibility and reporting: Full visibility into all your business spending on one unified platform. Ramp offers real-time financial reporting across departments and categories
• Industry-leading corporate cards: Unlimited physical and virtual corporate cards with built-in expense management features to help you save an average of 5% annually
• AI-powered savings insights: Uncover areas to reduce spend with intelligent recommendations based on millions of financial transactions

Why customers choose Ramp vs. Airbase

One G2 reviewer shared their experience switching between expense management software, ultimately crowning Ramp the clear winner: “I've switched expense management systems twice (once from Brex to Airbase, this time from Brex to Ramp) and have found Ramp to be best-of-breed for startups to mid-market.”

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Overall, users find Ramp to be easier to use, set up, and administrate, citing its expense reporting automation as a particular highlight. Users are also more confident in Ramp’s ability to grow with them, with one reviewer highlighting its pace of innovation as a clear benefit over Airbase.

"Before, month-end close took approximately 10 days. Now, it’s unbelievable—it takes 3–4 days. If we were to export transaction details, it’s really easy to pull a bunch of different metrics. I've had multiple compliments from people I barely even speak with just going out of their way to tell me how easy it is to use Ramp."

– Kay Coolican, Accounting Manager at Clearbit, on switching from Airbase to Ramp

Pricing 

Ramp offers most of its powerful expense management features for free, including bill pay, spend visibility, and unlimited physical and virtual corporate cards. If you need greater control and advanced customizations, Ramp Plus costs $15 per user per month. Ramp also offers enterprise pricing on request—just reach out.

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Stampli

Stampli positions itself as the only finance automation platform centered on accounts payable, so it’s not surprising that it’s a popular choice for AP automation and invoice management. More than 1,300 user reviews have earned Stampli 4.6 out of 5 stars on G2. While its overall score is slightly lower than Airbase’s, the two platforms match up competitively:

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9.4

Meets Requirements

9.1

9.4

Ease of Use

9.3

9.0

Ease of Setup

9.2

9.1

Ease of Admin

9.4

9.4

Quality of Support

9.6

9.4

Good Partner

9.6

9.0

Product Direction

9.5

Source: G2 ratings

Key features

• Automate invoice capture, coding, and approvals
• Vendor management, including onboarding, information-sharing, and documentation
• Two-way and three-way PO matching, plus partial payments and line item adjustments
• Process and pay invoices across departments, offices, companies, or locations
• One-click access to invoice conversations and activities to support audits

Why customers choose Stampli vs. Airbase

Customers frequently praise Stampli for its AP automation features, an area where some reviewers think Airbase falls short. Users also appreciate Stampli’s helpful customer support.

Pricing

Stampli doesn’t publish its pricing information, so you’ll need to contact sales for a quote. Notably, subscriptions are charged monthly, with no option for an annual contract.

Navan (formerly TripActions)

Navan is a T&E management solution that offers two main products: Navan Travel, for corporate travel planning, and Navan Expense Management, which provides traditional expense management features like expense reporting and reimbursements. Formerly known as TripActions, Navan ties Airbase’s overall score of 4.7 out of 5 stars on G2:

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9.4

Meets Requirements

9.5

9.4

Ease of Use

9.5

9.0

Ease of Setup

9.3

9.1

Ease of Admin

9.1

9.4

Quality of Support

9.4

9.4

Good Partner

9.2

9.0

Product Direction

8.9

Source: G2 ratings

Key features

• Integrates with any business credit card so you can keep your existing rewards program
• Automated expense reconciliation helps finance teams track and monitor spend
• Ability to spin up virtual cards tied to each travel itinerary
• Reimbursement support for employees across 45 countries and 25 currencies
• Navan Rewards encourage employees to book cost-effective travel itienraries

Why customers choose Navan vs. Airbase

Reviewers consistently praise Navan’s travel booking functions as a key reason why they chose the platform. Airbase doesn’t provide a native solution for travel booking, though it does offer integrations with some travel management tools.

Pricing

Navan is free for up to 15 users per month. Past that, the subscription costs $15 per user per month. Navan also offers enterprise pricing on request.

Brex

Brex is well-known for its corporate cards, but it also provides expense management, bill pay, and travel booking features. A popular choice for small businesses, Brex has a score of 4.7 out of 5 stars on G2 and beats Airbase in four out of seven rating categories:

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9.4

Meets Requirements

9.3

9.4

Ease of Use

9.5

9.0

Ease of Setup

9.2

9.1

Ease of Admin

9.2

9.4

Quality of Support

9.2

9.4

Good Partner

9.2

9.0

Product Direction

8.8

Source: G2 ratings

Key features

• Unlimited physical and virtual corporate cards issued by Mastercard
• Expense management automation across expense reporting and reimbursements
• Integrations with popular accounting software like NetSuite, QuickBooks, and more
• Bill pay automation with invoice capture and custom approval workflows

Why customers choose Brex vs. Airbase

As an Airbase alternative, G2 reviewers praise Brex’s modern and easy-to-navigate interface. They also prefer the convenience of Brex’s corporate cards to Airbase’s card option.

Pricing

Brex has a free Essentials tier that includes access to their corporate cards and basic expense management features. Premium pricing starts at $15 per user per month. If neither option works for you, Brex also offers quotes for enterprise pricing.

Mesh Payments

Mesh Payments is a travel and expense management platform that offers corporate cards, extensive integrations, and table-stakes features like expense reporting and reimbursements. It’s rated slightly lower than Airbase with 4.6 out of 5 stars on G2, but it holds its own in a head-to-head comparison:

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9.4

Meets Requirements

9.1

9.4

Ease of Use

9.2

9.0

Ease of Setup

9.0

9.1

Ease of Admin

9.2

9.4

Quality of Support

9.2

9.4

Good Partner

9.4

9.0

Product Direction

9.1

Source: G2 ratings

Key features

• Multiple options for travel booking, including integration with your preferred travel management company (TMC)
• Virtual and physical corporate cards with customizable spend controls
• Integrates with any ERP or procurement system, enabling intake-to-pay automation 
• Real-time spend reporting and insights

Why customers choose Mesh Payments vs. Airbase

Mesh Payments is a more popular choice for small businesses, and reviewers found Mesh Payments easier to manage on the admin side. Customers are also slightly more confident in its product direction than Airbase.

Pricing

Mesh Payments has a free Pro plan that offers basic expense management functionality. The Premium plan starts at $10 per user per month and provides access to additional tools to help scale your spend management process. Custom pricing is available on request.

PayEm

PayEm is an end-to-end spend management platform for PO creation, invoice processing, budget control, and more. It breaks even with Airbase on G2 at 4.7 out of 5 stars, but that’s based on a fairly small sample size of around 150 reviews. In a head-to-head comparison, the tools match up evenly:

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9.4

Meets Requirements

9.3

9.4

Ease of Use

9.3

9.0

Ease of Setup

9.0

9.1

Ease of Admin

9.3

9.4

Quality of Support

9.3

9.4

Good Partner

9.5

9.0

Product Direction

9.0

Source: G2 ratings

Key features

• Corporate cards with custom spend controls
• Accounts payable automation with multiple payment options, including card, ACH transfer, and international wire
• Generate purchase orders and process invoices from the same platform
• Budgeting solutions with real-time visibility into how spend is tracking against projections

Why customers choose PayEm vs. Airbase

While there aren’t any PayEm customers who mention Airbase in their G2 reviews, users found PayEm easier to administer overall. Reviewers also note that PayEm has been a good business partner.

Pricing

PayEm doesn’t share its pricing structure. You’ll need to contact them for a custom quote based on your business size and the number of users who need access to the platform.

Spendesk

‍Founded in 2016, Spendesk provides expense management, budgeting, and AP software alongside its corporate cards. In a head-to-head matchup, Airbase comes out ahead in nearly every rating category. But with an overall score of 4.7 on G2, Spendesk still warrants inclusion on our list of Airbase alternatives:

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9.4

Meets Requirements

9.3

9.4

Ease of Use

9.5

9.0

Ease of Setup

8.9

9.1

Ease of Admin

8.9

9.4

Quality of Support

9.1

9.4

Good Partner

8.5

9.0

Product Direction

8.5

Source: G2 ratings

Key features

• Expense reporting automation and simple employee expense reimbursements
• Real-time spending dashboard that displays online and offline transactions
• Invoice automation and approval workflows for more control over invoicing lifecycles
• Single-use virtual cards plus dedicated virtual cards for recurring costs help eliminate the risk of expense fraud

Why customers choose Spendesk vs. Airbase

Spendesk is more popular with European businesses and companies that have a large presence in EMEA. One G2 reviewer liked how Spendesk helped them eliminate manual processes. They also found it simple to submit expenses and request virtual credit cards for online payments.

Pricing

Spendesk offers three different plans, but you’ll have to schedule a demo to get a quote.

Pick the best-rated Airbase alternative

With more than 1,800 5-star reviews on G2, Ramp is the #1 Airbase alternative. Ramp’s comprehensive platform offers all the features modern finance teams need: expense management, travel booking, AP automation, procurement, cash flow visibility, and more.

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Tens of thousands of companies use Ramp to improve their finance operations and grow their business. Watch a demo video and learn why Ramp customers save an average of 5% a year across all spending.