Bench vs Patriot Accounting

Two accounting tools side by side. Prices are the starting plan a small business would pick, in USD.

Short version

Patriot Accounting costs less for a six-person team.
Bench fits agency or studio, online store.
Patriot Accounting fits trades or contractor.
Bench suits teams past ten people.

Compare	BenchEmployer.com	Patriot AccountingPatriot Software
In one line	A bookkeeping team that does your books each month	Plain US bookkeeping from $20 a month, with payroll from the same company
Starting price	From $199/mo	From $20/mo
Six-person team	$199/mo	$20/mo
Plans	Bookkeeping Light $199/mo (up to $250K revenue/yr); Bookkeeping $399/mo; Bookkeeping + Tax $649/mo; 20% off yearly; catch-up free on yearly plans	Accounting Basic $20/mo (unlimited users); Accounting Premium $30/mo (estimates, recurring invoices, user permissions); 50% off the first 3 months; 30 days free
Pricing model	Paid	Free trial
Free trial	—	30 days
Users	n/a (service)	Unlimited
Both connect to	Stripe Invoicing
Also connects to	Square POS, Gusto, Shopify, BigCommerce, Shoeboxed	Patriot Payroll
Team size	Just me · 2–10 people · 11–50 people	Just me · 2–10 people
Available in	US	US
Phone support	Every plan	Every plan
Live chat	Every plan	Every plan
Support hours	Phone: weekdays 7am to 5pm PST	Phone: 9a.m. - 7p.m. ET, Monday - Friday
Incidents posted	We found no public status page for Employer.com.	2 incidents posted on Patriot Software's status page, which covers all Patriot Software products and regions, in the 90 days to Oct 27, 2026; 2 marked major or critical by Patriot Software. Status page
Capterra score	Not listed	4.8 / 5 from 3,966 reviews
Trustpilot score	4.1 / 5 from 1,355 reviews	Not listed
Fit: Retail shop	65	60
Fit: Restaurant or café	60	55
Fit: Service business	80	82
Fit: Agency or studio	80	70
Fit: Trades or contractor	70	80
Fit: Online store	75	45
Why people pick it	A bookkeeper you can message any time Free catch-up on yearly plans	Low price with US phone support Pairs with Patriot Payroll
Where it falls short	Costs far more than software Service paused in late 2024 before the sale	US only No inventory or multi-currency
	Visit Bench	Visit Patriot Accounting

Six-person prices are what a team of six would pay on the published plans; "Not listed" means those plans don't cover six. How we calculate prices

Bench vs Patriot Accounting

Short version

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