Routable vs. Bill.com vs. Ramp: Which tool is best? [2026]

Choosing a finance automation platform comes down to your primary pain point. If you need highly customizable accounts payable workflows, Routable is built for you. If your priority is deep banking integrations and a mature, all-in-one payment system, Bill.com is the established leader. For companies focused on controlling spend and empowering teams with smart corporate cards, Ramp is the modern expense management solution.

What is Routable?

Routable is a cloud-based accounts payable platform designed to automate and streamline the entire process of paying vendors and contractors. It focuses on simplifying invoice intake, data entry, approval flows, and payment execution. The tool is particularly popular with mid-sized businesses and fast-growing companies that need more flexibility and control over how bills are approved and paid than entry-level tools can offer. It syncs directly with accounting software like QuickBooks, NetSuite, and Xero to eliminate manual data entry and ensure books are always up to date.

What is Bill.com?

Bill.com is one of the most well-known platforms for managing accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR). It functions as a central hub for businesses to process, approve, and pay bills, as well as create and send invoices. Its core strength lies in its extensive network of banking partners and diverse payment options, including ACH, international wires, checks, and virtual cards. Bill.com is designed to serve a wide range of businesses, from small companies to large enterprises, offering a robust, all-in-one solution for both payables and receivables.

What is Ramp?

Ramp is a corporate spend management platform that combines corporate cards, expense management, bill payments, and accounting automation in one solution. Its primary focus is on helping companies control and understand their spending in real time. Ramp issues physical and virtual corporate cards with built-in spending limits and policies, which radically reduces the need for traditional expense reports. While it does offer bill pay features, its main function is to give finance teams visibility and control over employee spending before it happens, not just after.

Comparing Routable vs. Bill.com vs. Ramp

While all three tools help manage company expenses, they solve different core problems. Routable is an AP engine, Bill.com is a payment automation hub, and Ramp is a spend control platform.

Comparison Area

Routable

Bill.com

Ramp

Core Focus

AP automation & complex invoice approvals

AP/AR automation & extensive payment processing

Expense management & spend control

Invoice Processing

Excellent; streamlines entire invoice-to-pay process

Excellent; robust invoice processing for AP and AR

Basic; more focused on receipts from card spend

Payment Methods

ACH, wire, check, virtual cards

ACH, wire, checks, virtual cards, international pay

ACH, corporate cards, bill pay

Bank Integrations

Strong, though fewer direct bank links than Bill.com

Extensive network of direct bank partnerships

Limited to facilitating payments for its platform

Approval Workflows

Highly customizable multi-step approvals

Robust, rule-based routing for AP and AR

Primarily basic expense approvals pre-spend

Corporate Cards

No

Yes, via Divvy (a Bill.com company)

Core feature with built-in controls and limits

Expense Management

No

Yes, via Divvy

Advanced real-time tracking from card swipes

Pricing Model

Custom quotes (starts ~$500/month)

Tiered subscription plus transaction fees

Free base platform; charged for advanced plans

Features and Key Differentiators

Accounts Payable & Approvals
This is Routable’s territory. Its key differentiator is a highly visual and customizable workflow engine that allows you to build complex, multi-step approval chains based on vendor, amount, department, or other criteria. It is ideal for companies where multiple people need to sign off on an invoice before it's paid.

Bill.com also offers strong AP automation with configurable approval policies. However, its classic strength is the breadth of its payment network and its dual AP/AR functionality. It has been the industry standard for invoice automation for many years and integrates with nearly every major accounting system.

Ramp's Bill Pay feature is more straightforward. It allows you to forward an invoice, have it scanned, and pay it via ACH or card. It lacks the complex, multi-person approval chains that are central to Routable and Bill.com because its primary goal is not invoice management, but rather total spend visibility.

Expense Management & Corporate Cards
Ramp is the undeniable winner here. Its entire model is built around its smart corporate cards. You can issue cards to employees with spending rules baked right in—they literally cannot swipe the card for unapproved vendors or over-budget amounts. This proactive approach all but eliminates the need for post-facto expense reports. All receipts are captured via SMS or email, and transaction data flows directly into your accounting software.

Bill.com now offers expense management and corporate cards through its acquisition of Divvy, making it a stronger competitor to Ramp. The integration provides users access to a powerful card and expense solution within the Bill.com ecosystem. Routable does not offer corporate cards or expense management features; it is strictly focused on accounts payable.

Pricing Models
The pricing differences are significant.

• Ramp often gains attention because its core platform, including corporate cards and expense management, is free to use. They make money on interchange fees. Premium features and integrations come with per-user monthly fees.
• Bill.com offers a tiered subscription model (typically starting around $40-$80 per user/month) but also charges per-transaction fees for many payment types, which can add up with high volume.
• Routable works on a custom quote basis, typically starting in the several-hundred-dollars-per-month range, based on your invoice volume and required features. It's generally priced for mid-market companies and not for very small businesses.

Which One Should You Choose?

The right tool depends on the biggest problem you're trying to solve in your finance stack.

Choose Routable if…
Your company has outgrown basic bill pay and needs granular control over AP. If your main headache is getting invoices approved by the right people across multiple departments in a timely and auditable manner, Routable is for you. Its strength lies in designing and enforcing complex approval workflows, which is perfect for mid-sized or scaling businesses where control and process are paramount.

Choose Bill.com if…
You need a time-tested, all-in-one hub for both payables and receivables with maximum bank connectivity. If you have a high volume of payments going out and invoices coming in, and you want a single system that does it all and connects with almost any bank or accounting software, Bill.com is the safe and powerful choice. It's the multi-tool of finance automation.

Choose Ramp if…
Your primary goal is to control employee spending and eliminate expense reports. If your biggest challenge is a lack of visibility into company spending or a crush of manual expense reimbursements, Ramp is built to solve that problem from the ground up. It’s ideal for modern, fast-growing companies that want to empower employees with spending ability while maintaining tight financial control.

Final Thoughts

Your choice between Routable, Bill.com, and Ramp hinges on what you want to fix first: your structured invoice workflow (Routable), your end-to-end payment processing for AP and AR (Bill.com), or your proactive control over company-wide spending (Ramp). Each a leader in its respective category, providing clarity for your decision based on your company's immediate needs.

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