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Accounting | Versus

Melio vs QuickBooks Bill Pay: 2023 Comparison

Published September 26, 2023

Published Sep 26, 2023

Tim Yoder, Ph.D., CPA

REVIEWED BY:
Tim Yoder, Ph.D., CPA

Danielle Bauter

WRITTEN BY:
Danielle Bauter

This article is part of a larger series on Accounting Software.

Table of Contents

Melio is known for its streamlined approach to bill payment and vendor management, providing a cost-effective option for businesses looking to optimize their cash flow without platform fees. Meanwhile, QuickBooks Bill Pay is deeply integrated into QuickBooks Online, the industry-leading small business accounting software. While Melio has no platform fees, QuickBooks Bill Pay is $90 per month for unlimited payments, in addition to your monthly subscription to QuickBooks Online (ranges from $30 to $200).

Sponsored Ad Melio has paid for this placement. However, our team of experts approved Melio as an appropriate product and our content remains 100% editorially independent.
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  • $0 monthly fees and free ACH bank transfers
  • Seamless 2-way sync with QBO
  • Approval workflows to stay on top of payments
  • Faster payment and delivery methods

In our comparison of Melio vs QuickBooks, we’ll review the key features and benefits of both providers to help you make an informed decision for your financial management needs. Ultimately, your choice should be driven by the specific needs and priorities of your business, whether it’s simplifying bill payments or managing a wide range of financial tasks:

  • Melio: Great for businesses seeking a free standalone A/P solution that also integrates with QuickBooks Online
  • QuickBooks Bill Pay: Best for businesses seeking a robust accounting software that includes basic bill pay features

QuickBooks Bill Pay is a new service being offered to new QuickBooks Online subscribers. After subscribing to QuickBooks Online, you’ll pick your QuickBooks Bill Pay plan ranging from $0 to $90 per month. As of this writing, QuickBooks Bill Pay is unavailable to current QuickBooks Online subscribers, who may use the older bill pay service included in QuickBooks Online. It appears that at some point, current QuickBooks Online subscribers will be asked to subscribe to a QuickBooks Bill Pay plan.

Melio vs QuickBooks Bill Pay At-a-Glance Comparison

Melio logo.
QuickBooks logo.
Monthly Pricing
$0
$0 to $90 for QuickBooks Bill Pay, plus
$30 to $200 for QuickBooks Online
Number of Users
Unlimited
1 to 25, depending on plan
Distinctive Features
  • Free to pay and receive bank transfers
  • No monthly fee for the platform
  • Optical character recognition (OCR) or artificial intelligence (AI) for billing
  • Automated bill creation
  • Set user roles and permissions
  • Bill approval workflows
  • Integrated into QuickBooks Online bookkeeping software
Accounts Receivable (A/R)
Limited
✓
Accounts Payable (A/P)
✓
✓
Customizable Account Permissions
✕
✓
Approval Workflows
✓
Elite only
Batch Payments
✓
✓
Import/Export Data
✓
✓ 
Mobile App
iOS
iOS and Android
Payment in Multiple Currencies 
✕
✓
Audit Trails 
✕
✓
Vendor Portal 
✕
✕
For More Information

When To Use

  • Businesses seeking A/P software without platform fees: While QuickBooks Online charges a monthly fee, Melio’s platform fees are free. One of Melio’s key advantages is that it doesn’t charge transaction fees for automated clearing house (ACH) bank transfers, which are commonly used for bill payments. If your business has a high volume of payments, this can result in substantial savings compared to platforms that charge per-transaction fees.
  • Businesses with more than five monthly ACH payments seeking an A/R and A/P solution that integrates with QuickBooks: Melio integrates with QuickBooks, allowing businesses to sync their bill payment data with their accounting records seamlessly. This integration can streamline financial management and ensure accurate bookkeeping.
  • Businesses with QuickBooks Online Plus: Melio allows for an unlimited number of seats while QuickBooks Online Plus only allows for five users. Rather than upgrading to QuickBooks Advanced to allow more users, you can integrate Melio with QuickBooks Online Plus and provide access for A/P users to just the Melio account. This will allow you to free up the access for QuickBooks users.

Visit Melio

  • Businesses seeking a complete accounting system: QuickBooks Bill Pay comes embedded in QuickBooks Online, our overall best small business accounting software. It has the ability to create classes and locations for tracking income and expenses and is customizable to specific industries. QuickBooks Online also ranked highly in A/R, A/P, banking, and inventory.
  • QuickBooks Online users with fewer than five monthly ACH transfers: If you sign up for QuickBooks Bill Pay’s free Basic plan, you’ll receive up to five free ACH payments per month, and each additional ACH payment is $0.50 per transaction. This is especially useful for businesses that don’t process that many transactions each month.
  • Businesses with workers who often work remotely: While Melio offers a mobile app, it is only available for iOS devices and it is restricted to A/P features. Meanwhile, QuickBooks Online provides a powerful mobile app for both Android and iOS users, and you can perform many bookkeeping tasks, such as paying bills, creating and sending invoices, receiving payments, and reviewing reports. We ranked it as one of the top mobile accounting apps.

Visit QuickBooks Bill Pay

  • Small businesses on a limited budget seeking accounting software: QuickBooks Online is one of the most expensive software on the market, while Melio isn’t a complete accounting system. For a more affordable solution, we recommend Wave, which is free for accounting and invoicing. We also ranked Wave as one of the leading QuickBooks alternatives, and you can learn more about it in our Wave review.
  • Businesses that send and receive international payments regularly: If your business has a need to make payments in multiple currencies, Wise is an excellent option. It allows you to send your money internationally in local currencies at affordable rates, and you can receive money from abroad. Wise also lets you hold multiple foreign currencies and make foreign currency debit card payments without incurring foreign transaction fees. These features are unavailable with Melio, and QuickBooks Online’s multicurrency capabilities aren’t quite as advanced as Wise. Check out our Wise Business Account review for more information.
  • Businesses seeking access to corporate cards: Neither Melio nor QuickBooks Online offer a corporate card that you can offer to your employees, but Ramp’s corporate card gives you 1.5% cash back with every purchase, and you can control purchases by determining which vendors to allow or exclude on any given card. You can also define amount thresholds and review its automated savings insights. Read our review of Ramp Credit Card to determine if it’s a fit for your business.

If you’re looking for just an A/P platform for your small business, our guide to the best A/P software covers the pricing and features of different solutions. We selected Melio as the best free standalone A/P platform.

Melio vs QuickBooks Bill Pay: Pricing (Melio Wins)

Melio
QuickBooks
Monthly Pricing
$0
QuickBooks Bill Pay:
  • Basic: $0, includes five free ACH payments per month, automated bill creation, and automatic transaction matching
  • Premium: $15, includes everything in Basic plus 40 free ACH payments per month and unlimited 1099 filing
  • Elite: $90, includes everything in Premium plus roles and permissions and bill approval workflows

Extra ACH payments for Basic and Premium are 50 cents per transaction.

In addition to the Bill Pay subscription, users must also have a QuickBooks Online subscription:

  • Simple Start: $30
  • Essentials: $60
  • Plus: $90
  • Advanced: $200
Number of Users
Unlimited
1 to 25, depending on your QuickBooks Online subscription  
Billable Clients
Unlimited
10,000 to 100,000
ePayment/ACH Transaction Fees
$0
$0 to $90 per month for QuickBooks Bill Pay, which ranges from 5 free to unlimited per month
Check Mailing Fee
$1.50 per check payment (first two checks per month are free)  
$1.50 per check payment with QuickBooks Bill Pay
Invoice Mailing Fee
N/A  
N/A
Payment by Debit or Credit Card
2.9% of payment (applies to payer)
N/A
International Wire Transfer (Local Currency)
N/A
N/A
International Wire Transfer (USD)
$20 flat fee or 2.9% when paying with card
N/A
Faster ACH Payments
1% of payment (up to $30) for same day delivery
N/A
Faster Check Payments
$20 flat fee within three business days
 N/A
Free Trial
N/A
✓
For More Information

It is difficult to compare the pricing of QuickBooks vs Melio because Bill Pay and A/P management is just a small part of what QuickBooks offers. The main distinction is that Melio doesn’t charge a platform fee while QuickBooks Online’s monthly fees range from $20 to $200 per month, depending on the number of users and features needed. Also, QuickBooks Online’s Bill Pay free plan is very limited and requires a subscription to QuickBooks Online, which requires additional fees.

Because of its free platform fee and additional A/P services, we selected Melio as the clear winner in this category. However, you’ll probably want accounting software for your business, so be sure to factor that cost into your decision.

Melio offers many services on its standalone platform that are unavailable with QuickBooks Bill Pay, namely payment by debit or credit card, international wire transfers, and faster ACH and check payments.

Melio vs QuickBooks Bill Pay: Features (QuickBooks Bill Pay Wins)

Melio
QuickBooks Bill Pay
A/P and A/R Features
 ✓
✓
Compatible Accounting Software
QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, Business Central
QuickBooks Online  
Connect Bank & Credit Card Accounts
✓
✓
Approval Workflows
✓
Elite only
Batch Payments
✓
✓
Import/Export Data
✓
✓
International Payments
✓
✕
Autocapture Receipts and Bills
✓
✓
Send Invoices & Track Collections
✓
✓
OCR
✓
✓
Mobile App
iOS
iOS and Android
Customizable User Permissions
✕
Elite Only
Audit Trails
✕
✓
Team Collaboration Tools 
✕
✓
Vendor Portal 
✕
✕

When it comes to notable features, QuickBooks Online dominates with the ability to view audit trails, set up customizable account permissions, and access team collaboration tools. You can also send international payments with Melio using US dollars, but this feature isn’t available with QuickBooks Online.

Both providers let you send invoices and track collections, connect your bank and credit card accounts, use OCR, process batch payments, import/export data, and autocapture receipts and bills. Neither QuickBooks nor Melio provide a vendor portal, and while both offer mobile apps, only QuickBooks Online provides access for Android users.

Melio vs QuickBooks Online: A/P (QuickBooks Online Wins)

Melio
QuickBooks Bill Pay
Automatic Bill Capture
 ✓
✓
OCR
✓
✓
Recurring Bills
✓
✓
1099 Contractor Payments
✓
✓
Bill Approvals
✓
✕
Intelligent Virtual Assistant
✕
✓
Print Checks
✕
✓

While both Melio and QuickBooks Online offer robust A/P features, QuickBooks Online provides two features that Melio doesn’t—an intelligent virtual assistant and the ability to print checks directly from the software. Melio, on the other hand, provides for bill approvals, which is unavailable with QuickBooks Online. You can track 1099 contractor payments, capture bills automatically with OCR, and set up recurring bills with both QuickBooks Online and Melio.

Melio vs QuickBooks Online: A/R (QuickBooks Online Wins)

Melio
QuickBooks Online
Recurring Invoices
 ✓
✓
Create & Send Invoices
✓
✓
Add Logo to Invoice
✓
✓
Invoice Customization
✕
✓
Send Estimates & Sales Receipts
✕
✓
Sales Tax Tracking
✕
✓

Melio’s A/R features are limited to sending either recurring or individual invoices, and the only customization option is to upload your logo. QuickBooks offers a variety of customization options that include a variety of templates, changing color or fonts, adding a custom message, and uploading your logo. You can also send estimates and sales receipts to customers, as well as track sales taxes. It is for this reason that we selected QuickBooks Online as the winner in this category.

Melio vs QuickBooks Bill Pay: Ease of Use (Tie)

Melio
QuickBooks Online
Overall Ease of Use
Easy
Easy
Accessibility
Cloud
Cloud
Online Help Section
✓
✓
User-friendly Dashboard
✓
✓

We declared this category a tie because both platforms are intuitive and user-friendly for their intended purposes. Melio may be considered more straightforward because of its limited features, but QuickBooks Online is relatively easy to learn compared to other accounting software. Check out our series of free QuickBooks tutorials for more information.

Melio vs QuickBooks Online: Mobile App (QuickBooks Online Wins)

Melio
QuickBooks Online
Accessibility
iOS
iOS and Android
Pay Bills
✓
✓
Invoice Customers
✕
✓
Send Estimates & Sales Receipts
✕
✓
Assign Expenses to Customers or Projects 
✕
✓
Reconcile Accounts 
✕
✓
Bill/Receipt Scanning 
✕
✓
Mileage & GPS Tracking 
✕
✓
Financial Reports 
✕
✓
Time Tracking 
✕
✕

Melio’s mobile app is very limited, providing access to iOS users only and without access to A/R features. Meanwhile, QuickBooks Online’s powerful app is available on both iOS and Android devices.

You can perform most of the same features on QuickBooks Online’s app as on the web platform. These features include creating and sending invoices, assigning expenses to customers or projects, sending estimates and sales receipts, paying bills, reconciling accounts, bill and receipt scanning, and mileage and GPS tracking. It is because of these features that we selected QuickBooks Online as the winner of this category.

QuickBooks Online vs Melio: Customer Support (QuickBooks Online Wins)

Melio
QuickBooks Online
Customer Support Hours
Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time
Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET
Email Support
✓
✓
Live Chat Support
✓
✓
Searchable Knowledge Base
✓
✓
Online Help Resources
✓
✓
Community Support
✕
✓
Phone Support
✕
✓

QuickBooks Online also wins when it comes to customer support, with access to QuickBooks Online’s support in various forms. While both Melio and QuickBooks Online offer email and live chat support and searchable knowledge base and online help resources, only QuickBooks Online provides community and phone support after you submit an online form.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Melio is a digital payment platform that integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks Online. Current subscribers may still have access to Bill Pay powered by Melio within their QuickBooks Online account. New QuickBooks Online subscribers will have to pay bills through QuickBooks Bill Pay by default, but they can still choose to integrate Melio with their QuickBooks Online account through the QuickBooks App Store.

Yes. Melio primarily focuses on integrating with QuickBooks Online, but it also offers integrations with Xero, FreshBooks, and Business Central.

Yes, QuickBooks Online provides live bookkeeping support in the form of QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping, which starts at $200 per month. You’ll receive access to a team of certified bookkeeping professionals who will provide monthly bookkeeping services and live support through video chat. For more information, read our review of QuickBooks Live.

Yes, you can customize templates for invoices, sales receipts, and reports in QuickBooks Online. You can upload your logo, change colors, and tailor them to your business branding.

Bottom Line

Melio and QuickBooks Online are both valuable tools in the world of business finance, each excelling in its respective niche. Melio’s focus on bill payment automation—both as a QuickBooks integration and standalone platform—and its cost-effective approach make it a compelling choice for businesses seeking streamlined vendor management. However, we selected QuickBooks as the best overall because of its strong accounting features.

About the Author

Danielle Bauter

Find Danielle OnLinkedIn

Danielle Bauter

Danielle Bauter is a writer for the Accounting division of Fit Small Business. She has owned Check Yourself, a bookkeeping and payroll service that specializes in small business, for over twenty years. She holds a Bachelor's degree from UCLA and has served on the Board of the National Association of Women Business Owners. She also regularly writes about business for various consumer publications.