Bench charges a flat $299 to $499 a month, as of July 2026, with its bookkeepers working in Bench’s own proprietary ledger. Bookkeeper360 starts at $399 a month, as of August 2026, with a US-based team working in your own QuickBooks Online or Xero file, plus a $1,000-and-up onboarding project and paid add-ons for payroll, tax, and CFO work. Bench is the cheaper, simpler subscription. Bookkeeper360 costs more but leaves your books in software you control and scales further. Here is the honest comparison.
How does Bench work?
Bench assigns you a bookkeeping team that categorizes and reconciles your accounts monthly inside Bench’s proprietary ledger, then delivers financial statements. Pricing is flat: $299 to $499 a month as of July 2026, with tax filing bundled at the top of that range on the Core + Tax plan, and no separate onboarding fee advertised. The whole design optimizes for hands-off simplicity at a predictable price. Worth knowing as context: on December 27, 2024, Bench abruptly announced a shutdown before Employer.com acquired the business days later, and it operates under that ownership as of mid-2026. The service recovered; the weekend was a reminder that a proprietary ledger is part of what you are buying.
How does Bookkeeper360 work?
Bookkeeper360 is closer to an outsourced accounting department than a packaged subscription. As of August 2026, bookkeeping starts at $399 a month for a monthly close or $599 a month for a weekly cadence, in cash or accrual basis, with a US-based team you reach by phone, email, or the mobile app. Onboarding, including chart of accounts setup and cleanup of prior months, is a separate project starting at $1,000. From there it is a menu: payroll and HR from $200 a month, business tax filing from $1,000 a year, sales tax support, and fractional CFO advisory from $2,000 a month. Crucially, the team works in your own QuickBooks Online or Xero file rather than a proprietary system.
What do they cost side by side?
First year, entry level: Bench runs $3,588 ($299 times 12). Bookkeeper360 runs roughly $5,788 and up ($399 times 12 plus $1,000 onboarding), before any add-ons. If you want tax filing too, Bench’s Core + Tax at $499 a month ($5,988 a year) bundles it, while Bookkeeper360 prices it separately from $1,000 a year. The gap narrows for messier businesses: cleanup, accrual books, payroll coordination, and weekly closes are exactly the add-ons Bookkeeper360 is structured to sell, and stitching equivalents onto Bench is not really its model. For the wider market picture, see what bookkeeping costs a small business.
How do Bench and Bookkeeper360 compare head to head?
| Dimension | Bench (as of July 2026) | Bookkeeper360 (as of August 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $299 to $499/mo, flat | From $399/mo (monthly close) or $599/mo (weekly) |
| Onboarding fee | None advertised | From $1,000 per project |
| Where the books live | Bench’s proprietary ledger | Your own QuickBooks Online or Xero file |
| Accounting basis | Packaged plans | Cash or accrual, monthly or weekly cadence |
| Tax filing | Included on Core + Tax | Add-on from $1,000/yr |
| Payroll and CFO | Not offered | Add-ons from $200/mo and $2,000/mo |
| Ownership history | Dec 2024 shutdown, then acquired by Employer.com | Independent, US-based team |
When is Bench the better fit?
When price and predictability win. A simple service business with clean accounts does not need a weekly close, accrual statements, or a CFO menu, and Bench delivers the monthly essentials for $100 less per month than Bookkeeper360’s floor, with no onboarding project on top. The Core + Tax plan is the tidiest version: one flat fee, books plus filing, done. If your bookkeeping needs genuinely fit in a box, buying the box is rational, and Bench’s box is cheaper.
When is Bookkeeper360 the better fit?
When your books are not simple, or will not stay simple. Accrual-basis statements, weekly visibility, payroll coordination, sales tax across states, and CFO-level advice are all on Bookkeeper360’s menu and none are on Bench’s. The US-based team with phone access matters to some owners. And the quiet structural advantage is where the work happens: your own QuickBooks Online or Xero file. If you outgrow the service, or it disappoints you, the general ledger stays behind in software you already control, and the next accountant starts from your file instead of from an export.
Is there a third option?
Yes, and it is worth a look before signing either contract. AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT can now do the monthly mechanics themselves, on a double-entry ledger you own, through free software like LedgerMCP: importing transactions, categorizing, matching transfers, reconciling, and running reports, with every action logged and reversible. The software is free with unlimited books; optional bank feeds run $9 to $79 a month. The honest tradeoff is involvement: it needs a few minutes of direction and review from you each month, and it does not file taxes. We laid the approach against a human service in AI bookkeeping vs Bench and on the Bench alternative page; whether AI can replace a bookkeeper covers what it cannot do.
Quick answers
Which is cheaper, Bench or Bookkeeper360?
Bench, at the entry point. Bench starts at $299 a month as of July 2026 with no advertised onboarding fee. Bookkeeper360 starts at $399 a month for a monthly close as of August 2026, plus onboarding that starts at $1,000, and add-ons like payroll (from $200 a month) and tax (from $1,000 a year) stack on top.
Where does each service keep my books?
Bench’s team works in Bench’s own proprietary ledger. Bookkeeper360 does the work in standard accounting software, your own QuickBooks Online or Xero file, so if you ever leave, your general ledger is already in a system any accountant can open.
Is Bookkeeper360’s team US-based?
Yes. As of August 2026 Bookkeeper360 advertises a US-based team with support by phone, email, and its mobile app, and offers both cash- and accrual-basis bookkeeping on a monthly or weekly cadence.
Is there an alternative to both?
Yes. AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT can now do the monthly bookkeeping mechanics on a double-entry ledger you own, through free software like LedgerMCP. The software is free with unlimited books, optional bank feeds run $9 to $79 a month, and the tradeoff is a few minutes of your direction each month.
