Mercury vs Nickel (2026): Pricing, Features & Verdict
Nickel is our pick, scoring 7.1/10 against 7/10 for Mercury on our Finance Software criteria. Its biggest advantage: higher Support score (8/10 vs 5/10). For 10 users, Mercury is free, against $45/mo for Nickel; both Mercury and Nickel have a free plan.
Last updated: November 2026
Mercury
7/10
Online business banking platform for US startups and small companies, combining fee-free checking, corporate cards, invoicing, bill pay, treasury, bookkeeping and payroll.
Nickel
7.1/10
Nickel is a US B2B payments platform for invoice collection and bill pay, with free unlimited ACH, aimed at contractors, suppliers, manufacturers and other industrial businesses.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 7/10 | 7.1/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 4/10 |
| Compliance | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 8/10 | 5/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 8/10 |
| Cost | 8/10 | 9/10 |
| Customization | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Ease of Use | 8/10 | 9/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | $29.90/mo Mercury Plus | $45/mo Plus |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Free Mercury | $45/mo Plus |
| Features | ||
| Accounts Payable | ||
| Invoicing | ||
| Online Payments | ||
| Accountant Access | Not listed | |
| Bank Reconciliation | Not listed | |
| Corporate Cards | Not listed | |
| Financial Reporting | Not listed | |
| General Ledger | Not listed | |
| Multi-currency | Not listed | |
| Payroll | Not listed | |
Mercury vs Nickel cost by team size
Mercury and Nickel cost the same at 1 user; Mercury costs less from 5 users.
| Team size | Mercury | Nickel |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeMercury | FreeCore |
| 5 users | FreeMercury | $45/moPlus |
| 10 users | FreeMercury | $45/moPlus |
| 25 users | FreeMercury | $45/moPlus |
| 50 users | FreeMercury | $45/moPlus |
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 Mercury and Nickel suit
| Audience | Mercury | Nickel |
|---|---|---|
| Small Business | 7/10The free plan suits online-only small businesses, but you cannot deposit cash. | 8/10The free Core plan and free ACH suit small B2B firms already running QuickBooks. |
| Construction | Not rated | 9/10Nickel has industry pages for general contractors and concrete, supports milestone and retainage-style invoicing, and counts Stanley Black & Decker and DeWalt among its investors. |
| Developers | 7/10Every account gets a read-write API. | Not rated |
| E-commerce | 6/10It connects to Amazon, Stripe and PayPal and offers working capital to eligible e-commerce businesses. | Not rated |
| Logistics | Not rated | 7/10Nickel lists freight carriers among its customer examples. |
| Manufacturing | Not rated | 8/10Manufacturers and building-materials suppliers are named as core customers. |
| SaaS Companies | 8/10Stripe integration and API access suit software businesses. | Not rated |
| Startups | 9/10Mercury is built for venture-backed startups, with no fees, treasury, venture debt and an API. | Not rated |
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Mercury
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: Free vs $45/mo
- Higher Integration score (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Analytics score (6/10 vs 4/10)
Why choose Nickel
- Higher Support score (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Compliance score (7/10 vs 6/10)
Pros & Cons
Mercury
Pros
- The core account has no monthly, minimum-balance or domestic wire fees, and it includes unlimited invoices and bill pay.
- Every account gets a read-write API, which is useful for developer-led startups.
- Books puts the ledger, reconciliation and P&L, balance sheet and cash flow reports in the same place as the bank account.
- Accounts can have unlimited team members, with bookkeeper access levels and card-level spend controls.
Cons
- You cannot deposit cash, and there are no branches.
- Foreign funds are converted to USD, with a 1% fee on wires and 3% on card transactions.
- Users say support is hard to reach and that account freeze and closure investigations are slow and vague.
- Treasury yield requires a balance of at least $250K.
Nickel
Pros
- ACH is free with no limit on every plan, including the free tier, which is cheaper than the per-transaction ACH fees many payment processors charge.
- The 2.9% card fee can be passed on to the customer, and card payments can be turned off on paid plans.
- Native two-way sync with both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop.
- Security is documented in detail: SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS, AES-256 encryption, enforceable two-factor authentication and payment approval workflows.
- Reviewers rate it very highly, around 4.9 out of 5 on G2 and SourceForge, with near-perfect scores for ease of use and support.
Cons
- It is not an accounting system and needs QuickBooks or similar for the general ledger and reporting.
- The only native accounting integrations are QuickBooks products; there is no Xero or NetSuite connector.
- API access, webhooks and SSO are only on the $300-a-month Pro plan.
- Vendor portal and 1099 filing are still listed as coming soon.
- It is US-only, banks through Grasshopper Bank, and charges an extra 1% on international cards.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Nickel scores higher on our Finance Software criteria: 7.1/10 against 7/10 for Mercury. The largest gap is in Integration: 8/10 for Mercury and 5/10 for Nickel.
Mercury costs less for 10 users: free on its Mercury plan, against about $45/mo on its Plus plan for Nickel, billed monthly.
Yes, both Mercury and Nickel have a free plan.
