Found vs Relay Comparison 2026
Found holds one business account and automatically sets tax money aside as income lands, free with no monthly fee. Relay hands over twenty checking accounts on its own free Starter plan, so a creator can split tax, contractors and take-home money by account rather than by a spreadsheet. Found automates the categorising; Relay automates the separating.
Banking, bookkeeping and tax in one account
Business banking with twenty checking accounts
At a glance
- Relay starts cheaper, at $30.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Found | Relay | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $35 | From $30 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial (they differ) | 30 days | 14 days |
| API |
Found
Banking, bookkeeping and tax in one account
Found is a business account for self-employed people with the bookkeeping and the tax set-aside built into it, so expenses categorise themselves as they land and the quarterly estimate is on screen rather than in April. It invoices, pays contractors and files 1099s. The free plan has no monthly fee and no minimum balance, which is the reason to look at it before a bank.
Our note
Wave is free and does the books without touching the banking, so Found only makes sense if you want the account itself to do the categorising. Anybody happy with their existing bank should stay with Wave and keep the $35.
Relay
Business banking with twenty checking accounts
Relay's difference is that it hands you twenty checking accounts rather than one, which is what makes envelope budgeting work on a business rather than on a spreadsheet beside it. Income splits on arrival: tax here, contractors there, what is left is yours. It also issues a stack of cards and connects to the usual bookkeeping tools. The free plan is a real account rather than a trial.
Why people weigh these two
- Relay instead of Found
- Relay covers the banking half with up to twenty checking accounts and a free tier, though you bring your own bookkeeping.
- Found instead of Relay
- Found bundles bookkeeping and tax estimates into the same account rather than Relay's twenty separate checking accounts for manual envelope budgeting.
Which one should you pick
Pick Found for the tax estimate itself: the free plan calculates a running quarterly number and sorts expenses as they land, which Relay's listing does not describe as a feature. Found Plus at $35 a month adds imported transactions from other banks and cards.
Choose Relay if envelope budgeting across many accounts is how you actually think about money, or a team needs its own login. Starter is free with 20 checking accounts, 50 cards and unlimited users, and Relay's own brief says most creators should stay on that free tier rather than pay for Grow's better savings rate.
Common questions
- Which gives more sub-accounts for free?
- Relay does: 20 checking accounts on the free Starter plan, against Found's free plan, which offers up to 10 Pockets for holding money apart from the operating balance.
- Which one automatically calculates a tax estimate?
- Found does, on its free plan, showing what the quarterly payment looks like as income arrives. Relay's listing does not describe an equivalent running tax estimate.
- Which pays a better savings rate?
- It depends on the tier. Relay's top Scale plan pays 3.00% APY against Found Pro's uncapped 2.50%, but Relay's own brief says most creators should not bother paying for the rate difference unless the balance is large enough to notice.
- Are both free plans real accounts rather than trials?
- Yes. Found's free plan has no monthly fee or minimum balance. Relay's Starter plan is described in its own brief as a complete account rather than a trial, also with no monthly fee.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.