Pilot vs Karbon Pricing (2026)
How do these two stack up on price? Here's what each one costs, what you get, and where the value sits.
Essentials
- Cash-basis bookkeeping using data from your bank and credit cards
- Standard chart of accounts
- Year-end package for your tax preparer
- Instant AI answers about past transactions and current cash flow, plus run scenarios to plan ahead
- Support through in-app messaging
Core
Popular- US-based bookkeeper who handles, explains, and reviews your books
- Cash or accrual-basis bookkeeping that pulls from your bank, credit cards, payroll, AP, inventory, and payment platforms
- Bill management for up to 10 vendor bills per month
- Custom chart of accounts
- Reports on the 10th business day
- Support from your dedicated team in-app, email, and over the phone
Custom
- Keep your existing QuickBooks account and historical data
- Support for complex business structures
- Custom workflows and reporting
- Reports on the 6th business day
- Full accounts receivable
- Full accounts payable
- Payroll administration
- CFO advisory, financial planning, and fundraising support. Connect with your dedicated CFO in-app, by email, phone, or Slack
Team
- Integrated Email
- Team Collaboration Tools
- Workflow and To-Do Lists
- Time Tracking & Budget Reporting
- Billing
- Payments
- Engagements
Business
Popular- Automatic Client Reminders
- Task Automation
- Industry Integrations
Enterprise
- Enterprise Platform
- Dedicated Karbon Contact
- Customization
- Unlimited Usage Limits
Pilot vs Karbon FAQ
- Which one is cheaper?
- Karbon is the cheaper option, starting at $79/mo vs $99/mo for Pilot.
- Can I use either one for free?
- Neither has a free plan.
- How do they charge?
- Different approach here. Pilot uses flat-rate pricing, while Karbon goes with per-seat. That changes the math depending on your team size and usage.
- Which one is a better deal?
- Depends on what you need. Pilot: With no free plan or trial, Pilot isn't competing on accessibility — they're positioning as a premium, done-for-you service aimed at funded startups who'd rather pay a human-backed team than DIY in QuickBooks. The pre-revenue startup discount on Core is a tell: they want high-potential companies locked in early, before they can shop around on price. Karbon: Karbon sits in the premium tier of practice management software — there's no free plan, no trial, and both published tiers run higher than budget alternatives aimed at solo practitioners. This is a bet that mid-size and growing accounting firms will pay up for a polished, all-in-one workflow tool rather than stitching together cheaper point solutions.
Still deciding? See the best Pilot alternatives or the best Karbon alternatives, ranked with verified pricing.
Keep tabs on both.
We'll monitor pricing changes for Pilot and Karbon and let you know when something moves. See how competitor pricing monitoring works.