Airwallex vs Payhawk (2026): Pricing, Features & Verdict
Payhawk is our pick, scoring 7.1/10 against 6.9/10 for Airwallex on our Finance Software criteria. Its biggest advantage: higher Compliance score (8/10 vs 6/10). Only Airwallex has a free plan.
Last updated: November 2026
Airwallex
6.9/10
Airwallex is a global business finance platform that combines multi-currency accounts, FX, corporate cards, spend and bill pay, payment acceptance and billing for internationally active companies.
Payhawk
7.1/10
Payhawk is a modular spend management platform combining Visa corporate cards, expense claims, accounts payable, procurement and travel booking for mid-sized and multi-entity companies.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.9/10 | 7.1/10 |
| Scalability | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Analytics | 5/10 | 5/10 |
| Compliance | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Integration | 8/10 | 9/10 |
| Security | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Support | 4/10 | 5/10 |
| Cost | 7/10 | 4/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Ease of Use | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | $12/user/mo Grow | £149/mo Growth programme (UK/EEA) |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Free Explore | £149/mo Growth programme (UK/EEA) |
| Features | ||
| Accounts Payable | ||
| Corporate Cards | ||
| Expense Management | ||
| Multi-currency | ||
| Tax Compliance | ||
| Accountant Access | Not listed | |
| Invoicing | Not listed | |
| Multi-entity Consolidation | Not listed | |
| Online Payments | Not listed | |
| Payroll | Not listed | |
Airwallex vs Payhawk cost by team size
Payhawk costs less from 25 users.
| Team size | Airwallex | Payhawk |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeExplore | £149/moGrowth programme (UK/EEA) |
| 5 users | FreeExplore | £149/moGrowth programme (UK/EEA) |
| 10 users | FreeExplore | £149/moGrowth programme (UK/EEA) |
| 25 users | $300/moGrow | $299/moTravel |
| 50 users | $600/moGrow | $299/moTravel |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Who Airwallex and Payhawk suit
Airwallex fits startups better; Payhawk fits finance teams and mid-market better.
| Audience | Airwallex | Payhawk |
|---|---|---|
| Startups | 9/10The free Explore tier, multi-currency accounts, cards and the T:0 accounting add-on for US startups are aimed squarely at young companies. | 5/10The Growth plan and unlimited employee seats help, but annual contracts and the price floor are less startup-friendly than freemium rivals. |
| Finance Teams | 7/10It offers approval workflows, purchase orders, 3-way matching and ERP sync, but finance teams still need a separate general ledger. | 9/10It is built for controllers and CFO teams that need card controls, AP approvals and ERP sync in one place. |
| Mid-Market | 7/10Grow and Accelerate add NetSuite and Business Central sync, SSO and multiple entities, and Grow allows up to 250 spend users. | 9/10Module pricing from several hundred dollars a month, plus multi-entity add-ons, targets companies that have outgrown simple expense apps. |
| Developers | 7/10Platform APIs cover payments, issuing, payouts and embedded finance, with a sandbox and webhooks. | Not rated |
| E-commerce | 8/10It integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, Amazon, Shopee and other marketplaces, and supports local payment methods and multi-currency settlement. | Not rated |
| Enterprise | Not rated | 7/10It offers SAP, Oracle and Workday connectors, SSO, and PO matching, but very large enterprises may still need deeper procurement suites. |
| Freelancers | 4/10It is built around business entities and team spend, and transaction costs can be high on small transfers. | Not rated |
| Remote Teams | 7/10Multi-currency cards and payouts to over 120 countries make it practical to pay and equip distributed staff. | Not rated |
| SaaS Companies | 8/10The Billing module handles subscriptions, usage-based billing, automatic tax and dunning, so it works for recurring-revenue businesses. | Not rated |
| Small Business | Not rated | 4/10There is a discounted Growth programme for UK and EEA firms under 10 staff, but it is capped and reviewers say the cost is high for small companies. |
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Airwallex
- Has a free plan (Payhawk does not)
- Higher Cost score (7/10 vs 4/10)
- Better fit for startups (9/10 vs 5/10)
Why choose Payhawk
- Higher Compliance score (8/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Integration score (9/10 vs 8/10)
- Better fit for finance teams (9/10 vs 7/10)
- Better fit for mid-market (9/10 vs 7/10)
Pros & Cons
Airwallex
Pros
- FX markups of 0.5% for major currencies and 1% for others are well below typical bank spreads, and domestic USD and CAD transfers are free.
- The free Explore tier already covers unlimited multi-currency cards, expense management, bill pay, invoicing and Xero or QuickBooks sync.
- The integration catalog is broad, covering NetSuite, Business Central, Sage, Odoo, Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce, HubSpot, BambooHR and Workday.
- One platform handles collecting payments, billing subscriptions and paying suppliers, so cross-border businesses can avoid stitching several vendors together.
- The developer documentation covers payments, issuing, payouts and embedded finance APIs, with a sandbox and webhooks.
- Airwallex reports SOC 2 Type II and PCI DSS Level 1 compliance and says it holds around 80 licenses worldwide.
Cons
- Many reviewers on Trustpilot, G2 and Reddit say accounts and funds were frozen during compliance reviews, sometimes for weeks.
- Support gets the lowest marks. Capterra rates customer service 3.4 out of 5, and users describe slow, templated replies.
- There is no built-in general ledger or financial statements, and the accounting hub and budget tracking are still listed as coming soon.
- The Grow plan's platform fee is not published, so total cost is hard to estimate before talking to sales.
- It offers no cash deposits, no ATM access and no branches.
- Regulatory scrutiny in 2025 and 2026 included US congressional letters about data handling and an AUSTRAC-ordered anti-money laundering audit.
Payhawk
Pros
- Unlimited employee seats, card transactions and document processing in every module, so costs do not scale per employee.
- Very broad native integration list, covering NetSuite, Sage Intacct, SAP, Dynamics, Xero, QuickBooks, DATEV and 30+ HR systems, plus a partner API and MCP connector.
- Strong for multi-entity European groups, with regulated card issuing entities in the EEA, UK and US and balances in six currencies.
- AP module includes 2- and 3-way PO matching, segregation-of-duties controls, and e-invoicing support for Peppol, KSeF, SDI and Finvoice.
- Reviewers often say employees find receipt capture and expense submission in the mobile app quick and easy.
Cons
- Trustpilot (2.8/5) and some G2 reviews describe mid-contract price increases, automatic renewals and difficult cancellations.
- Several reviewers report slow or AI-first support, with replies taking days or weeks.
- Annual pricing, unit fees for admin seats and cards, and add-on prices are not published, so you have to get a quote.
- Initial setup of workflows, custom fields and integrations is described as complex, and some reviewers note sync errors with Xero and with foreign currency refunds.
- It is not a general ledger or payroll system, so it needs a separate ERP or accounting package.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Payhawk scores higher on our Finance Software criteria: 7.1/10 against 6.9/10 for Airwallex. The largest gap is in Cost: 7/10 for Airwallex and 4/10 for Payhawk.
Airwallex has a free plan; Payhawk does not list one.
Airwallex is the better fit for startups: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 5/10 for Payhawk.
