Airbase Review: Overview, Features, Pricing & Alternatives in 2025

No more messy, disconnected spend processes.

If you’re juggling piles of cards, late expense reports, and endless invoice emails, it’s no wonder you’re searching for a platform that actually brings order to spending.

After researching dozens of spend tools, I found that chaotic processes bury your finance team in manual work and constant errors.

Airbase takes a radically different approach by bringing cards, invoices, reimbursements, and approvals together in one unified, automated workflow—none of the patchwork you’re likely used to, with true pre-spend control that stops problems before they start.

In this Airbase review, I’ll share how you can finally take control of every dollar flowing through your company without adding extra effort.

You’ll see an in-depth breakdown of key features, actual user experience, real pricing info, and how Airbase compares to options like Expensify, Bill.com, and Ramp.

You’ll come away knowing the features you need to evaluate spend solutions confidently.

Let’s get into the details.

Airbase Overview

Founded in 2017 and based in San Francisco, Airbase impressed me with its focused mission: to replace your disconnected “spend stack” with a single, unified platform.

From my research, they target mid-market and early-enterprise companies that demand serious financial controls. You’ll find they are built for businesses whose finance teams have clearly outgrown simpler, less comprehensive expense tools.

For this Airbase review, a key development is their investment in Guided Procurement, showing a clear trajectory toward a more comprehensive, proactive spend control solution.

Unlike competitors like Ramp, which often lead with cards, Airbase positions itself as a complete, accounting-focused spend platform. My analysis shows this integrated approach is better for companies prioritizing deep control over cashback rewards.

They work with scaling organizations, typically from 100 to 5,000 employees, whose finance teams require a robust and auditable system to manage all non-payroll spending.

What stood out during my research is their strategic focus on giving your team complete visibility before a purchase is ever made. This directly addresses the market’s shift toward proactive financial oversight.

Now, let’s examine their capabilities.

Airbase Features

Disconnected spend management drains your budget.

Airbase solutions unify your entire non-payroll spend from corporate cards to bill payments. Here are the five core Airbase solutions that help you gain control and visibility over every dollar.

1. Corporate Cards

Tired of shared company credit cards?

Shared cards cause chaos, making tracking and reconciliation a nightmare. You never know who spent what, leading to frustrating month-end closes.

Airbase issues instant virtual or physical cards with real-time limits and rules. From my testing, issuing cards for specific vendors is incredibly easy. This solution captures every transaction instantly, prompting the user for receipts and coding via mobile or email.

This means you get granular control over employee spending, eliminating surprises and speeding up reconciliation significantly across your team.

2. Bill Payments & AP Automation

Manual bill processing slowing you down?

Paper invoices and disconnected approval chains create bottlenecks and errors. You might miss payment deadlines, causing vendor frustration.

This solution automates your entire AP lifecycle from invoice to payment. Airbase uses AI-powered OCR to extract data, then routes invoices through customizable approval workflows. You can schedule payments via ACH, check, or even a virtual card.

What you get is a single, auditable system for all vendor payments, freeing your finance team from tedious, error-prone manual tasks.

3. Employee Expense Reimbursements

Expense reports still a headache?

Out-of-pocket expenses mean collecting receipts, manual data entry, and enforcing policies. It often leads to slow reimbursements and unhappy employees.

Employees submit requests via the mobile app by simply snapping receipt photos. This solution auto-populates details and checks against policies in real-time. Upon approval, funds deposit directly via ACH. Here’s what I found: it’s incredibly straightforward for users.

This simplifies the entire process, ensuring policy compliance and rapid reimbursements, all within your unified spend system.

4. Guided Procurement & Purchase Orders

Need to control spending before it happens?

Uncontrolled purchases lead to budget overruns and surprise invoices. You might be spending more than you realize, impacting your financial planning.

This key Airbase solution provides proactive spend control. Employees initiate requests, triggering a guided intake process and dynamic approval workflow. From my testing, the automated PO generation is powerful. Airbase can also perform two or three-way matching against invoices.

This means you can prevent budget surprises, enforce spending policies proactively, and achieve greater financial discipline across your organization.

5. Accounting Automation & ERP Integration

Tired of manual data syncing with your ERP?

Manually moving spend data to your accounting system is error-prone and time-consuming. Reconciliation becomes a nightmare, costing valuable finance team hours.

Airbase offers deep, API-based integrations with major ERPs like NetSuite. It syncs detailed transaction data, including receipts and GL coding. This is where Airbase shines with amortization schedules. This solution saves accountants hours monthly.

The result is a complete, real-time audit trail from request to reconciliation, dramatically improving financial accuracy and efficiency for your team.

What I love about these Airbase solutions is how they work together to create a single source of truth for all spend. This cohesive approach ensures all non-payroll expenses are tracked, approved, and reconciled within one system, providing unparalleled visibility.

Airbase Pricing

Confused about what you’ll actually pay monthly?

Airbase pricing operates on a custom quote model, meaning you’ll need to contact their sales team for exact figures. This approach ensures your spend management solution is perfectly tailored to your business, optimizing Airbase pricing for your specific needs and scale.

1. Pricing Model & Cost Factors

Custom quotes offer flexible solutions.

Airbase uses a platform fee plus usage-based model, scaling with your organization. Your cost is highly dependent on company size (employees), transaction volume, and chosen modules like corporate cards, bill payments, or guided procurement. Standard, Premium, and Enterprise tiers guide feature sets, but exact figures require direct consultation.

From my cost analysis, this means your spend scales predictably with your actual operational demands, avoiding fixed costs that don’t match usage.

2. Value Assessment & ROI

Is the investment justified?

What I found regarding pricing is that Airbase’s value lies in unifying spend management, eliminating siloed systems and reducing manual work for your finance team. This integrated approach delivers significant ROI by reducing errors and enhancing financial control. You consolidate multiple software subscriptions into one, saving time and simplifying audits.

This helps your budget by providing a single source of truth for all non-payroll spend, streamlining operations.

3. Budget Planning & Implementation

Plan for total cost upfront.

When considering Airbase pricing, remember implementation services, integrations, and training will be part of your total cost of ownership. These aren’t hidden fees but crucial investments to ensure smooth deployment. From my cost analysis, budget upfront for setup to ensure seamless adoption. You’ll need a clear scope of work defined with their sales team.

This helps you avoid unexpected expenses, ensuring your finance team is fully prepared for a successful rollout.

My Take: Airbase’s custom pricing is ideal for mid-market to enterprise businesses outgrowing fragmented spend tools, offering tailored value that consolidates financial operations and drives significant efficiency.

Overall, Airbase pricing provides tailored value for complex spend management needs.

Airbase Reviews

User feedback tells a compelling story.

From my analysis of Airbase reviews across G2 and Capterra, an overwhelmingly positive sentiment emerges, highlighting user satisfaction with its comprehensive spend management platform.

1. Overall User Satisfaction

Users genuinely love this platform.

From my review analysis, Airbase consistently boasts exceptional ratings, typically 4.8-4.9 stars across major platforms. What I found in user feedback is a pervasive sense of satisfaction, primarily due to its ability to unify disparate financial functions. This consolidation greatly simplifies workflows for users.

This strong positive sentiment indicates users deeply value the unified platform and the significant time savings it delivers for their financial operations.

2. Common Praise Points

Unified spend management shines.

Users consistently laud Airbase for its all-in-one approach, integrating corporate cards, AP, and reimbursements into a single system. Review-wise, this eliminates data silos and streamlines month-end closes. I found specific praise for its intuitive design across all user types, especially the mobile app.

This means your finance team can expect fewer reconciliation headaches and higher employee compliance, making spend management far more efficient.

3. Frequent Complaints

Some areas need improvement.

While overwhelmingly positive, Airbase reviews do mention occasional pain points. What stands out in user feedback are reports of slower customer support response times, especially for complex technical issues or lower-tier users. Reporting flexibility also receives some criticism.

These issues, from my perspective, generally appear to be minor frustrations rather than deal-breakers, overshadowed by the platform’s core benefits.

Overall, Airbase reviews consistently paint a picture of significant user satisfaction driven by its unified platform. The overwhelming positive feedback suggests this platform is highly credible for managing your business spend.

Best Airbase Alternatives

Confused about which spend management platform fits?

The best Airbase alternatives include several strong options, each better suited for different business situations and priorities. From my competitive analysis, selecting the right one depends on your core needs.

1. Ramp

Prioritizing savings and simplicity?

Ramp excels for startups or smaller businesses primarily focused on controlling card spend and maximizing savings. What I found comparing options is that Ramp offers exceptional cost-saving features through automated insights, price benchmarking, and high cashback. Its core platform is often free.

Choose this alternative for maximizing card-centric savings and ease of use, not Airbase’s robust AP or procurement capabilities.

2. Bill Spend & Expense (formerly Divvy)

Need real-time budget enforcement?

Bill Spend & Expense shines if your top priority is strict, real-time budget enforcement directly at the point of sale. Alternative-wise, it uniquely declines transactions exceeding budgets, ensuring unparalleled spend control. Its platform is often free for users.

Opt for this when rigid, immediate budget compliance is more crucial than Airbase’s holistic pre-spend workflows or deeper ERP integrations.

3. Bill.com

Focused purely on robust AP automation?

Bill.com is the market leader for accounts payable automation, especially for SMBs and mid-market companies. From my competitive analysis, Bill.com boasts a massive, trusted payment network for bill payments if that is your primary pain point.

Choose this alternative if your main requirement is advanced AP, and you don’t need Airbase’s tightly integrated corporate card program.

4. Navan (formerly TripActions)

Significant business travel needs?

Navan is the undisputed leader in integrated travel and expense management. If your company has complex business travel, Navan provides a superior combined T&E platform, making it an excellent alternative. It uniquely blends booking and expense.

Consider Navan when complex travel booking and expense integration are your core priorities over Airbase’s general non-travel spend functions.

The best Airbase alternatives truly depend on your specific business size and operational priorities. Evaluate each based on your primary pain points and future needs.

Setup & Implementation

Considering an Airbase implementation?

Preparing for an Airbase implementation requires understanding its guided deployment approach. This Airbase review section breaks down what your business can expect and how to prepare for a successful rollout.

1. Setup Complexity & Timeline

It’s not a self-service setup.

Airbase implementation is a structured process guided by a dedicated manager, not a simple DIY project. For smaller integrations like QuickBooks, it takes 2-4 weeks. However, for a full-scale NetSuite or Sage Intacct rollout with custom workflows, expect a 6-12 week project timeline for comprehensive deployment.

You’ll need dedicated project management and clear stakeholder commitment from day one, treating it as a true internal project.

2. Technical Requirements & Integration

IT involvement is a must.

The core technical requirement is a compatible ERP system; Airbase integrates deeply with NetSuite and Sage Intacct for two-way sync. What I found about deployment is your finance team must map charts of accounts and define approval workflows. Expect robust ERP integration work for comprehensive data flow and accurate financial reporting.

Ensure your finance team has clearly defined processes and dedicated time for data mapping and system configuration before starting implementation.

3. Training & Change Management

User adoption needs active planning.

Airbase replaces multiple existing processes, making change management crucial for widespread user adoption. Employees find the mobile app intuitive, easing the learning curve for expense submission and virtual card requests. From my analysis, successful adoption hinges on proactive training for all users, not just finance staff.

Develop a comprehensive training plan and identify internal champions to foster enthusiasm and support across all employee levels.

4. Support & Success Factors

Vendor support is key during rollout.

Airbase provides a dedicated implementation manager, a major strength consistently praised by users for guided onboarding and project flow. Post-implementation, Premium/Enterprise customers have an account manager, though the general support queue can experience delays. Implementation-wise, leveraging this guided support is vital for smooth project progression.

Prioritize clear communication with your Airbase implementation manager and be prepared to escalate critical issues if general support response times slow.

Overall, Airbase implementation is a guided process requiring dedicated internal resources and clear planning to fully leverage its comprehensive spend management capabilities.

Who’s Airbase For

Find your perfect spend management fit.

This Airbase review dives deep into who truly benefits from this platform. I’ll help you quickly assess if your business profile, team size, and use cases align perfectly with its strengths.

1. Ideal User Profile

Consolidating fragmented spend? This is for you.

Airbase shines for mid-market companies (100-5,000 employees) moving beyond basic accounting software, especially those leveraging an ERP like NetSuite. From my user analysis, finance teams seeking pre-spend control over “spend chaos” find it ideal for unifying corporate cards, AP, and expenses.

You’ll see success if your priority is consolidating disparate systems for real-time visibility and automated accounting close processes.

2. Business Size & Scale

Beyond basic tools, ready to scale?

Your business should typically be within the 100 to 5,000 employee range, having outgrown simpler tools like Expensify or Bill.com. What I found about target users is that mid-market and early-enterprise companies struggling with fragmented spend stacks leverage Airbase best.

You’ll assess a good fit if your current operational scale demands unified control and deeper ERP integration, not just basic expense tracking.

3. Use Case Scenarios

Unifying spend, automating finance tasks.

Airbase excels when your primary use case involves consolidating corporate cards, accounts payable, and employee expense reimbursements into one platform. For your specific situation, I found it streamlines month-end close with deep ERP integration and offers robust pre-spend controls, including Guided Procurement.

You’ll determine alignment if your goal is comprehensive spend visibility, enhanced compliance through pre-approvals, and significant accounting automation time savings.

4. Who Should Look Elsewhere

Not for every business.

If you’re a very small business (under 100 employees) or lack a robust ERP system, Airbase might be overkill or too complex. User-wise, I found its customer support can be slower for lower tiers, and custom reporting might not meet advanced BI needs.

Consider simpler tools if basic expense tracking suffices, or dedicated BI platforms if extensive custom analytics are your top priority.

Overall, this Airbase review confirms it’s a powerful tool for mid-market businesses prioritizing spend consolidation. Your success depends on aligning your operational needs with its comprehensive features and readiness for integration.

Bottom Line

Airbase delivers strong value for growing companies.

My Airbase review shows a highly capable spend management platform that unifies operations, making it ideal for mid-market and early-enterprise companies.

1. Overall Strengths

Airbase excels at unification and ease of use.

The platform brilliantly combines corporate cards, accounts payable, and employee reimbursements into a single system, streamlining month-end close processes. From my comprehensive analysis, its intuitive interface boosts employee compliance and simplifies complex financial workflows for non-finance users, leading to higher adoption rates.

These strengths directly translate into significant time savings and enhanced financial visibility, optimizing spend control for your business.

2. Key Limitations

Some areas could benefit from further refinement.

While robust, a minority of users report occasional delays with customer support responses for complex technical issues. Based on this review, custom reporting flexibility could be more advanced compared to dedicated business intelligence tools, potentially limiting deeper analytical insights for some.

These limitations are generally minor for the target audience and often resolvable, but important to factor into your evaluation.

3. Final Recommendation

Airbase earns a strong recommendation for unified spend.

You should choose Airbase if you’re a mid-market or early-enterprise company seeking to replace a disconnected “spend stack” with one cohesive solution. From my analysis, it excels for businesses needing comprehensive pre-spend controls and deep ERP integrations for robust accounting automation.

My confidence in this recommendation is high for organizations prioritizing efficiency and unified spend management capabilities.

This Airbase review confirms its significant value for the right business, making it a compelling choice for streamlined financial operations.