Melio vs Relay Comparison 2026
Both cover creator finance and accounting & tax. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
At a glance
- Melio starts cheaper, at $25.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Melio | Relay | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $25 | 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 | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web | Web |
Shaded rows are where the two answers disagree and both listings have answered. A row where one side has not stated a fact is left plain, because silence is not a difference.
Melio
Pay the people who work for you, free
Melio is bill payment for a business too small to have an accounts payable department and too busy to keep writing bank transfers by hand. You schedule what goes out, pay by bank transfer at no cost or by card for a fee, and the recipient gets it however they want it. The free tier is not a trial and covers one user. Batch payments and approval rules are what the paid plans are actually selling.
Our note
Count your monthly payments before upgrading, because the paid tiers are mostly buying ACH volume and seats, and a solo creator paying five people has neither problem. Melio's genuinely useful trick is paying by card when the recipient only takes bank transfers, which buys you thirty days of float for a fee.
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.
Our note
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.