Airbase is quote-only since Paylocity bought it: one 300-person customer paid $55,000 a year for all four modules, plus an $11,000 onboarding fee, in a 2024 Forrester study commissioned by Airbase. Paylocity quotes every contract, and the old Airbase pricing page now opens a Paylocity demo form.
Airbase pricing: key takeaways
- Quote only: Airbase, now part of Paylocity, publishes no price; its pricing page redirects to a Paylocity demo request form.
- Year one: That same 300-employee customer paid $66,000 in year one, with the one-time onboarding fee included.
- Full platform: A 300-employee customer in a 2024 Forrester study paid $55,000 a year for procurement, AP, expenses and cards.
- Onboarding: The same customer paid a one-time $11,000 onboarding fee and spent three months planning and deploying.
- Hidden cost: That rollout also used a $40,000 outside consultant and about 10% of one person's time to run Airbase.
- Tiers: Airbase has sold three tiers, sized for about 200, 500 and several thousand employees, each customised by module.
How much does Airbase cost?
Airbase publishes no price of its own: one 300-employee customer paid $55,000 a year for four modules plus $11,000 to onboard, in a 2024 Forrester study commissioned by Airbase. Paylocity, which now owns the spend analytics platform, quotes every contract and prices by company size and modules.
| Module | What it covers | How it is priced |
|---|---|---|
| Guided Procurement | Intake for purchase requests, role-based approvals, contract insights | Quoted module |
| Accounts Payable Automation | Invoice capture and coding, 2-way and 3-way PO matching, ACH, check, wire or card payments | Quoted module |
| Expense Management | Receipt capture, mileage and travel expenses, reimbursements | Quoted module |
| Corporate Cards | Virtual and physical cards with controls, cash back | Quoted module |
Airbase tiers by company size
Airbase has sold three tiers: Standard for up to about 200 employees, Premium for up to 500 and Enterprise for larger companies, each priced by quote.
- Standard: up to about 200 employees
- Premium: up to 500 employees
- Enterprise: larger companies, into the thousands of employees
- Each tier is customised to the modules you buy, according to Contrary Research
What will Airbase cost for your business?
Airbase quotes every 50-200 employee deal and publishes no price, so the nearest figure on record is $55,000 a year, what a 300-employee firm paid for all four modules. Year one for that firm was $66,000 with the $11,000 onboarding fee. At your size you fall in the Standard tier, so expect less.
| Year-one budget, 50-200 employees | Figure | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Size tier | Standard (up to about 200 employees) | Contrary Research |
| Subscription | Quoted, no published price | Paylocity quote form |
| Onboarding, one-time | $11,000 | One 2024 Forrester customer |
| Year one, all four modules at 300 employees | $66,000 | Forrester; above your size |
| Three-year licence, risk-adjusted | $184,800 | Forrester; above your size |
What drives your quote
Your Airbase quote rises with your company size tier, the modules you add, payment volume, onboarding scope and whether you buy it alone or with Paylocity payroll.
| Driver | What raises it | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Company size tier | Moving from about 200 to 500 employees or more | The employee limit of your tier and the price of the next one |
| Modules | Adding Guided Procurement, AP, Expense or Cards | A price for each module, not one bundle figure |
| Payment volume | Bill payments and reimbursements, which buyers report cost extra | Any fee per ACH, check, wire or reimbursement |
| Onboarding | A wider scope, more integrations or data migration | Onboarding as a fixed one-time fee |
| Paylocity bundle | Buying Airbase alone rather than with payroll or HR | Whether a payroll or HR bundle lowers the price |
Ask Paylocity for these in writing
Get each module's yearly price, your size tier, the onboarding fee, every payment fee, your cash-back rate and the renewal cap in writing before you sign.
- The yearly subscription for each module you will use
- Your size tier and how a headcount jump is billed
- Onboarding scope and fee, including your ERP connection
- Every payment and reimbursement fee
- Your card cash-back rate and how it is paid
- The renewal increase cap
Published prices of the alternatives
Ramp is free, or $15 a user a month on Plus; BILL runs $49 to $89 a user a month; and Procurify's median is $15,000 a year.
| Tool | Published price |
|---|---|
| Ramp | Free; Plus $15 per user a month |
| BILL | $49 to $89 per user a month |
| Procurify | Quoted; median $15,000 a year (Vendr) |
What Airbase charges on top of the subscription
Airbase publishes no payment or card fees, and buyers report extra charges once you add bill payments and reimbursements. Its AP module pays vendors by ACH, check, wire or card. Cards earn cash back instead: the Forrester customer earned 1.75% on $6 million of yearly card spend.
Costs to confirm in the quote
Beyond the subscription, confirm the onboarding fee, any per-payment or reimbursement fees, your card cash-back rate and the price of each extra module.
| Item | What is public | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Onboarding | $11,000 one-time in Forrester's study | A fixed fee for your scope |
| Vendor payments | ACH, check, wire and card supported | Any per-payment fee |
| Reimbursements | Paid to employee bank accounts | Whether they cost extra |
| Corporate cards | Cash back on card spend; 1.75% in Forrester's study | Your cash-back rate in writing |
| Extra modules | Each module quoted | Price per module |
- Contrary Research reports that Airbase earns money from subscriptions plus interchange and transaction fees, so payment volume matters to your quote
- Buyers report that Airbase charges once you add bill payments and reimbursements; ask for those fees in dollars
- Card cash back reduces net cost: in Forrester's study it was worth $84,000 a year after a 20% risk adjustment
How much does Airbase ERP integration cost?
Airbase lists no separate ERP integration price: in Forrester's study, system configuration sat inside the one-time $11,000 onboarding fee, with a $40,000 outside consultant on top for custom work. Airbase is reported to connect to general ledger and ERP systems, HR systems and security tools.
| Connection | What is public | Effect on cost |
|---|---|---|
| General ledger or ERP | Supported, not priced in public | Not priced separately in public |
| Paylocity payroll and HR | Same vendor since the acquisition | Ask about bundle pricing |
| HR and security tools | Supported, not priced in public | Confirm in the quote |
| Custom data flows | Consultant work in Forrester's study | $40,000 consultant in that rollout |
What to confirm about your ERP
Confirm whether your ERP connector, chart-of-accounts mapping and data migration sit inside the subscription and onboarding fee, or are billed on top.
- Whether your accounting system or ERP connector is part of the subscription
- Whether Paylocity payroll and HR data flows in at no extra cost if you also run Paylocity
- Who maps your chart of accounts, departments and custom fields, and whether onboarding covers it
- Whether data migration from your current tool is in the onboarding scope or extra
- How payments sync back to the ledger after Airbase pays a vendor
Airbase implementation cost and setup time
Airbase implementation took one buyer 3 months and cost an $11,000 onboarding fee plus a $40,000 outside consultant. Airbase publishes no timeline of its own. In Forrester's study, that customer used a team of four, and its first-year cost to deploy came to $68,975 before the Airbase licence.
- Months 1-3Plan and deploy: approval rules, policies, integrations, with a team of four (Forrester)
- Year 1Airbase onboarding, with help through the first month-end close
- OngoingAbout 10% of one accounting person to run Airbase, $12,200 a year
| Implementation cost | Forrester customer |
|---|---|
| Airbase onboarding fee | $11,000 |
| Internal planning, one lead at 50% for three months | $15,250 |
| Internal planning, three people at 15% | $13,725 |
| Outside consultant | $40,000 |
| Ongoing admin, 10% of one person a year | $12,200 |
| Year one all-in: $66,000 to Airbase plus $68,975 of rollout costs | $134,975 |
Onboarding covered system configuration, training, process set-up and help through the first month-end close. Agree your approval rules and policies before the clock starts, since that planning took the Forrester customer's team most of the three months.
Modules, Paylocity bundles and contract terms
Airbase is sold as quoted modules within Paylocity for Finance, with no published price for any module or bundle. Adding Guided Procurement, AP Automation, Expense Management or Corporate Cards changes the quote, so price the modules you will need in year two before you sign an annual subscription.
| Cost driver | How it changes the quote |
|---|---|
| Company size | Tiers sized for about 200, 500 and several thousand employees |
| Modules | Each of Guided Procurement, AP, Expense and Cards is quoted |
| Paylocity bundle | Paylocity HCM is priced per employee per month; third parties report $22 to $32 |
| Payment volume | Airbase earns transaction fees as well as subscription revenue |
- Ask whether buying Paylocity payroll or HR changes the Airbase price
- Ask how moving up a size tier is billed when headcount grows
Renewal terms to check before you sign
Airbase publishes no renewal terms, so get a cap on the yearly increase, the term length, exit terms and data export rights in writing, and plan renewal 120 days ahead.
- A cap on the yearly increase at renewal
- Whether the onboarding fee is waived if you add modules later
- Term length and early termination terms
- Data export rights if you leave Paylocity
- Start renewal planning 120 days ahead
What companies actually pay for Airbase
Airbase buyers on record paid $55,000 a year: one 300-employee US firm running all four modules in Forrester's 2024 study. That firm paid $66,000 in year one with onboarding and $184,800 over three years risk-adjusted. Vendr lists no Airbase data, and no other buyer price is public.
| Source | What it reports |
|---|---|
| Forrester study, 300+ employees | $55,000 a year licence, all four modules |
| Forrester study, year one | $66,000 including $11,000 onboarding |
| Contrary Research | Three tiers by employee count, prices not public |
Treat the Forrester figure as one customer's price, not a list price: Forrester notes that pricing varies with company size, use case and the number of users. Paylocity's broader HCM platform is reported by AICentralResources at $22 to $32 per employee per month.
Is Airbase worth the price?
Airbase is worth its price for companies that want cards, expenses, AP and procurement in one quote, and more so for Paylocity payroll customers. With a quote-only price, a three-month rollout and payment costs you must ask about, Airbase alternatives are worth comparing.
Worth it if
- You already run Paylocity for payroll or HR
- You want cards, expenses, AP and procurement from one vendor
- You spend enough on cards for cash back to offset the fee
- You can staff a three-month rollout
Look elsewhere if
- You want a published price before a sales call
- You only need purchase requests, approvals and POs
- Your whole-tool budget is well under the $55,000 one buyer paid
- You do not want to depend on an HR vendor's roadmap
How to get a better Airbase price
Ask Paylocity to price each module separately, fix onboarding as a one-time fee, and list any payment or reimbursement fees. Then confirm your card cash-back rate, whether a Paylocity payroll bundle lowers the price, and how renewals and tier changes are priced before you sign.
Get in writing
- Price per module
- Size tier and employee limit
- Onboarding fee and scope
- Payment and reimbursement fees
- Card cash-back rate
- Renewal increase cap
Ways to pay less
- Start with the modules you need now
- Bundle with Paylocity payroll if you use it
- Run setup with your own team
- Move card spend to earn cash back
- Ask for a multi-year rate lock
Airbase pricing vs alternatives
Airbase is quoted, with one buyer on record at $55,000 a year for four modules. Ramp is free or $15 per user on Plus, BILL runs $49 to $89 per user a month and Procurify's median is $15,000 a year. Zapro pricing has Spark at $699 a month, Growth at $1,999 and Scale on custom terms, all with unlimited users; your ERP or bank pays suppliers.
| Tool | Pricing model | Typical cost | Users priced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbase | Quote by modules and size | $55,000/yr reported | By company size |
| Ramp | Free, then per user | $0; Plus $15/user | On Plus |
| BILL | Per user plans | $49–$89/user/month | Every user |
| Procurify | Quote, Pro users | Median $15,000/yr | Pro users; Basic free |
| Zapro | Flat plans, unlimited users | Spark $699 / Growth $1,999 a month; Scale custom | No per-user fee |
Airbase pricing FAQs
How much does Airbase cost per year?
Airbase has no list price; Paylocity quotes every contract. One 300-employee customer in a 2024 Forrester study commissioned by Airbase paid $55,000 a year for all four modules, plus an $11,000 onboarding fee.
Did Paylocity buy Airbase?
Yes. Paylocity agreed to buy Airbase for about $325 million and has completed the acquisition. Airbase is now sold as Paylocity for Finance, and the old Airbase pricing page redirects to Paylocity's quote form.
What is Airbase payment?
Airbase payments are the bill pay part of its Accounts Payable Automation module. Once an invoice is captured, checked by 3-way matching against the PO and receipt, and approved, Airbase pays the vendor by ACH, check, wire or card. Payment fees are not published.
Does Airbase charge per user?
Not as a simple per-user price. Airbase has sold tiers sized by employee count, for about 200, 500 and several thousand employees, and each tier is customised by the modules you buy. Your quote follows company size and scope.
How long does Airbase implementation take?
About three months in Forrester's study of a 300-employee firm, with a team of four planning and deploying. That company paid Airbase a one-time onboarding fee and used a $40,000 outside consultant on top of its internal time.
What is the Airbase app?
The Airbase app is the mobile side of its expense and card tools. Employees snap a photo of a receipt, which is captured and categorised, and track mileage, travel and card spend. It comes with the Expense Management and Corporate Cards modules, not as a separately priced app.
Sources: Paylocity pricing (airbase.com/pricing); Forrester Total Economic Impact of Airbase; Contrary Research. Prices come from Airbase's own pages where published and from the third-party sources listed, labelled as such. Estimates are not quotes.
