Pay & get paid: Easy bill paying service for businesses.
Grade: A — Score: 95/100
Melio leverages advanced technology to facilitate modern accounts payable processes, allowing businesses to pay bills through various methods including card or bank transfer, and even global payments.
The platform streamlines workflows by automating tasks and providing powerful cash flow management tools, enabling users to maintain control over their financial operations with ease.
With a focus on security, Melio employs industry-leading measures to protect user data and transactions, ensuring a safe payment experience for businesses.
Go: $0/month
Core: $25/month ($20/month billed annually)
Boost: $55/month ($44/month billed annually)
Unlimited: $80/month ($64/month billed annually)
Platinum: Custom pricing (invite-only)
Consider switching to Bill.com: Bill.com offers similar functionalities but may cater more specifically to larger enterprises.
Melio is cheaper for small teams: its free Go plan includes 5 ACH payments per month, and Core starts at $25/month flat regardless of user count (additional users $10/month each). BILL charges $49/user/month for its Essentials plan. However, BILL offers a broader platform that includes accounts receivable, corporate cards (BILL Spend & Expense at $0), and native integrations with Sage Intacct, NetSuite, and Microsoft Dynamics. Melio only syncs with QuickBooks and Xero. For US-based businesses with fewer than 50 monthly payments that primarily use QuickBooks, Melio covers the essentials at a lower cost.
Yes. Xero completed its $2.5 billion acquisition of Melio in October 2025, but Melio continues to operate independently at meliopayments.com. According to Melio's official acquisition FAQ, the platform will keep supporting QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Xero, and any other accounting software its customers use. Xero plans to embed Melio's AP features into its own platform over time, but the standalone Melio product and its QuickBooks integrations remain unchanged.
Yes, this is one of Melio's most distinctive features. You fund the payment with your credit or debit card (2.9% fee), and Melio converts it into an ACH deposit or mailed check that the vendor receives in their preferred format. The vendor never needs a Melio account or card processing setup. This lets businesses earn credit card rewards or defer payment timing while vendors receive standard bank transfers or paper checks. Some card network restrictions apply, and certain payment types (like personal payments or debt transfers) are not permitted.
Melio processes international payments to vendors in 80 countries with support for 15 currencies. Local currency payments typically arrive in 0-1 business days, while USD payments take 1-3 days. International ACH transfers carry a flat $20 fee, or 2.9% plus $20 when funded by card. For comparison, BILL supports 130+ countries and Tipalti covers 196 countries with 120 currencies. Melio's international capabilities are functional for businesses with occasional cross-border needs but are not designed for high-volume global payment operations.
On Core plans ($25/month) and above, Melio lets you request, collect, and validate W-9 forms from contractors and vendors directly within the platform. TIN validation checks the contractor's tax identification number against IRS records. At year-end, Melio syncs vendor payment data with Tax1099 for electronic 1099 filing. Because payment history is already tracked in Melio, the 1099 preparation process pulls from existing records rather than requiring separate data collection.
Melio provides multi-level approval chains that route payments based on amount, vendor, or team member role. Six distinct permission levels allow fine-grained access control, from full Admin to view-only. On the Go (free) plan, a single admin manages all payments. Core ($25/month) adds basic approval workflows. Boost ($55/month) includes custom approval routing with configurable rules, such as requiring two approvals for payments above a specific dollar threshold. The mobile app supports on-the-go review and approval.
Standard Melio ACH payments arrive in 3 business days at $0.50 per transaction (after free monthly allotment). For faster delivery, instant bank transfers arrive within minutes for a 1% fee (up to $75 max). Same-day ACH and card payments process by end of day when scheduled before 2:00 PM ET. Overnight checks cost $50, with slower check options at lower fees. Standard mailed checks arrive in 5-7 business days at $1.50. By comparison, traditional bank bill pay typically takes 4-5 business days for ACH.
Melio offers a free Accountants Dashboard that lets firms manage AP and AR across all client entities from a single login with separate approval workflows per client. Firms pay no subscription fee themselves, and client plans are discounted 30% off standard pricing. As firms onboard more clients, they progress through Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Diamond tiers in Melio's Partner Program, which include additional discounts, premium support, CPE training courses, and co-marketing opportunities. Each client entity syncs independently with its own QuickBooks or Xero company file.