Comparison · Updated September 17, 2026
Melio vs BILL for paying vendors
Melio
B-
Melio is a US business bill-pay and accounts-payable platform founded in 2018 by Matan Bar, Ilan Atias and Ziv Paz, headquartered in New York with an R&D centre in Tel Aviv. It is not a card acquirer: instead of helping you take money from customers, it moves money out to your suppliers, letting you pay any vendor by ACH, cheque, wire or card even when that vendor accepts none of those, and syncing the result into QuickBooks, Xero or NetSuite. Xero announced its acquisition of Melio in June 2025 and completed it on 15 October 2025 for US$2.5 billion upfront in cash and equity, with up to a further US$0.5 billion payable over three years. Xero's announcement put Melio at 80,000 customers, more than US$30 billion of payments processed in FY25 and US$153 million of FY25 revenue. Melio publishes its entire fee schedule, which is rare in this market and the single strongest thing about it. Against that sits a Better Business Bureau rating of F and a large, consistent body of complaints about accounts suspended mid-payment with funds already in transit.
BILL (Bill.com)
B
BILL, still widely known as Bill.com, is the largest US accounts-payable and accounts-receivable payments platform for small and mid-sized businesses: 479,300 businesses, $98 billion of payment volume in the quarter to June 2026 and $1.65 billion of annual revenue, run from San Jose by founder René Lacerte since 2006 and listed on the NYSE since 2019. It charges per user — $49, $65 or $89 a month on the Essentials, Team and Corporate plans, custom for Enterprise — plus per-payment fees that it publishes in full: 59¢ per ACH, $1.99 per mailed cheque, free virtual-card and foreign-currency wires, 2.9% to pay or be paid by card, and 1% (minimum $9.99, maximum $100) to send money instantly. Its Spend & Expense card product, the former Divvy, is free. Licensed as a money transmitter in all 50 states, it is a serious, regulated piece of infrastructure; it is also a subscription business with a complicated fee table, uneven support and a stream of complaints about payments held in transit.
VS
Overview
Melio and BILL both let a US business pay vendors by ACH, check, wire or card from a single dashboard and sync the results to its accounting software. They are not merchant accounts. Melio, owned by Xero since October 2025 and graded B- on Payment Review, prices per account: a free Go plan, then $25, $55 and $80 a month with extra users at $10 each. BILL, a public company graded B, prices per user at $49, $65 and $89 a month. Melio's per-payment fees are lower on the everyday methods — 50¢ ACH against 59¢, $1.50 checks against $1.99, and standard ACH arrives in 3 business days rather than 4 — while BILL is cheaper on expedited checks and connects to more ERPs, including Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics and Acumatica. Melio is the better fit for a small business or a one- or two-person finance function; BILL for a larger team that needs multi-step approvals and an ERP beyond QuickBooks, Xero and NetSuite.
Key Takeaways
- ✓Melio is cheaper to subscribe to: a free plan, then $25 to $80 a month per account with extra users at $10; BILL starts at $49 per user per month, so a three-person team on Corporate pays $267 before any payments.
- ✓Melio is cheaper per payment on the common methods: ACH 50¢ against 59¢ with 5 to unlimited free ACH payments a month by plan, and mailed checks $1.50 against $1.99.
- ✓Melio delivers standard ACH in 3 business days; BILL takes 4, though both offer same-day ACH and instant transfers.
- ✓BILL is cheaper for expedited checks ($14.99 to $24.99 against Melio's $20 fast and $50 overnight) and for same-day ACH above about $1,200, where its flat $11.99 beats Melio's 1%.
- ✓BILL integrates with more accounting systems — Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics and Acumatica as well as QuickBooks, Xero and NetSuite — and both charge 2.9% to fund a payment by card.
Melio
Melio is for a small business, sole proprietor or bookkeeper paying a moderate number of bills a month who wants a free or low flat subscription, the cheapest ACH and check fees, 3-day delivery and a QuickBooks or Xero sync.
BILL (Bill.com)
BILL is for a growing or mid-market finance team that needs role-based approval workflows, an ERP beyond QuickBooks, Xero or NetSuite, and is willing to pay per user for it.
The Verdict
It Depends on Your Needs
Why?
Melio wins on price for a small business: a free tier, flat rather than per-user plans, cheaper ACH and checks, and a day faster standard delivery. BILL wins for a finance team: per-user pricing buys approval workflows and connectors to Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics and Acumatica that Melio does not have, and its public-company footing and A+ BBB grade sit better with a controller than Melio's F. Payment Review grades BILL B and Melio B-, the gap coming from BILL's broader feature set against Melio's cheaper, simpler product and weaker BBB record. Pick by team size and ERP rather than by fees alone.
Feature by feature
Detailed Comparison
Filter Options
Subscription pricing (USD, published rate cards)
| Feature | Melio | BILL (Bill.com) |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | Free (Go: 1 user, 5 free ACH a month) Winner | $49 per user per month (Essentials) |
| Both from the providers' pricing pages as of September 2026. Melio's Go plan has no monthly fee and no accounting sync. BILL also offers a free Spend & Expense card product, but bill pay starts at Essentials. | ||
| Mid-tier plan | $25 a month (Core; $20 billed annually) plus $10 per extra user Winner | $65 per user per month (Team) |
| Melio prices per account with extra seats at $10 a month; BILL prices every seat at the plan rate. | ||
| Top standard plan | $80 a month (Unlimited; $64 billed annually), unlimited users Winner | $89 per user per month (Corporate) |
| Both have a custom-priced tier above this (Melio Platinum, BILL Enterprise). A three-person team pays $80 at Melio and $267 at BILL before any payment fees. | ||
| Free ACH payments included | 5 (Go), 20 (Core), 50 (Boost), unlimited (Unlimited) a month Winner | None; every ACH is 59¢ |
Entry plan
Melio
Free (Go: 1 user, 5 free ACH a month)
Winner
BILL (Bill.com)
$49 per user per month (Essentials)
Both from the providers' pricing pages as of September 2026. Melio's Go plan has no monthly fee and no accounting sync. BILL also offers a free Spend & Expense card product, but bill pay starts at Essentials.
Mid-tier plan
Melio
$25 a month (Core; $20 billed annually) plus $10 per extra user
Winner
BILL (Bill.com)
$65 per user per month (Team)
Melio prices per account with extra seats at $10 a month; BILL prices every seat at the plan rate.
Top standard plan
Melio
$80 a month (Unlimited; $64 billed annually), unlimited users
Winner
BILL (Bill.com)
$89 per user per month (Corporate)
Both have a custom-priced tier above this (Melio Platinum, BILL Enterprise). A three-person team pays $80 at Melio and $267 at BILL before any payment fees.
Free ACH payments included
Melio
5 (Go), 20 (Core), 50 (Boost), unlimited (Unlimited) a month
Winner
BILL (Bill.com)
None; every ACH is 59¢
Best For Your Business
Recommendations based on your business type
Sole proprietor or small business paying a handful of bills a month
Recommended
Melio
Melio's Go plan is free with five ACH payments a month, and Core at $25 adds the QuickBooks or Xero sync; BILL's cheapest plan is $49 per user before a single payment.
Mid-market company on Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics or Acumatica
Recommended
BILL (Bill.com)
BILL connects to those systems on its higher plans; Melio stops at QuickBooks, Xero and NetSuite.
Finance team of five or more with multi-step approvals
Recommended
BILL (Bill.com)
BILL's per-user pricing is expensive at this size, but its approval workflows and audit trail are what the plans buy; Melio's flat Unlimited plan is cheaper but the product is built for smaller teams.
Business that pays suppliers by card to earn rewards or defer cash
Both charge 2.9% to fund a bank-transfer or check payment from a card. Melio adds its delivery fee on top, so it is marginally dearer on checks and wires and identical on ACH.
Business that needs vendors paid quickly and cheaply
Recommended
Melio
Standard ACH arrives in 3 business days at Melio against 4 at BILL, and Melio's instant transfer has no minimum fee and a $75 cap against BILL's $9.99 minimum and $100 cap.
Business that regularly needs overnight checks
Recommended
BILL (Bill.com)
BILL's overnight check is $24.99 and its 3-day check $14.99; Melio charges $50 for overnight and $20 for fast delivery.
Melio: Best for 2 use cases
BILL (Bill.com): Best for 3 use cases
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this comparison
For most small businesses, Melio. Its plans run from free to $80 a month per account with extra users at $10, while BILL charges $49 to $89 per user per month. Melio's ACH is 50¢ against 59¢ and its mailed check $1.50 against $1.99, and every Melio plan includes some free ACH payments. BILL is cheaper only on expedited checks and on same-day ACH for larger payments, where its flat $11.99 beats Melio's 1%.
A standard ACH payment takes 3 business days through Melio and 4 business days through BILL. Both offer same-day ACH (Melio 1% capped at $75, BILL $11.99 flat) and instant transfers at 1% (Melio capped at $75; BILL with a $9.99 minimum and $100 maximum). Mailed checks take longer at both; each sells faster check delivery for an extra fee.
Yes, both sync with QuickBooks Online and Xero, and both connect to NetSuite on their higher plans. Melio's free Go plan has no accounting sync; it starts on the $25 Core plan, with QuickBooks Desktop on Boost and NetSuite on Unlimited. BILL additionally supports Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics and Acumatica, depending on plan. Melio has been owned by Xero since October 2025.
Yes, at both. Melio and BILL each charge 2.9% to fund a payment from a credit or debit card and deliver it to the vendor as an ACH transfer or check. Melio adds its normal delivery fee on top of the 2.9%, which is nothing for ACH but $20 to $50 for a check.
No. Both are bill-pay platforms: they move money from your bank account or card to a vendor and can collect invoices for you, but neither is a merchant account for taking card payments from customers at a checkout. A business that needs to accept cards needs a separate processor.
It is mixed on both sides. Melio scores 3.4 on Trustpilot from about 1,625 reviews but holds an F from the Better Business Bureau for unresolved complaints; BILL holds an A+ from the BBB but scores 1.7 on Trustpilot from about 1,659 reviews, with 41% one-star. The complaints on both are the same — funds held in transit, accounts frozen without warning and slow support — and Payment Review grades BILL B and Melio B-.