How we rate
Every comparison on Founder Setup is judged on the same five criteria, in the same order of importance. No secret sauce, no pay-to-play — here's exactly what's on the scorecard.
The scorecard
- Total cost (30%). The real price, not the headline: base fees, per-seat and per-employee charges, FX markups, wire fees, minimum balances, and the add-ons you'll actually need. If the true cost takes a spreadsheet to find, that counts against the product.
- Price transparency (20%). Can a founder find the real price on the vendor's own site without booking a sales call? Published pricing with clear terms scores highest; "contact sales" and quote-only pricing score lowest.
- Features that matter (20%). Not the longest feature list — the features startups actually use in their first two years. Automatic tax filing beats a pretty dashboard; free local rails beat a rewards gimmick.
- Ease of setup (15%). We test the signup and onboarding flow. Ten minutes to a working account beats a week of verification and three support tickets.
- Support and reliability (15%). What happens when something breaks at payroll time. Published SLAs, real human support, and a track record of uptime count; a chatbot and a prayer don't.
How winners are picked
We don't crown one overall winner, because the right tool depends on your situation. Each comparison names a best-for pick per use case: the finance team's pick, the traveler pick, the budget pick. The cheapest option can lose if it's the wrong fit, and the most expensive can win if it earns it. Every verdict says who should pick what, and why.
Where the facts come from
Every price, fee, and limit in a comparison comes from the vendor's own pricing page or published terms, checked on the date shown in the article. We don't copy numbers from other review sites. If we can't verify a claim from a first-party source, we label it as the vendor's claim or leave it out.
How we stay current
Fintech pricing changes constantly, so comparisons are rechecked on a rolling basis and the update date on each article changes when we do. Spotted a stale number? Email hello@foundersetup.com and we'll fix it.
Independence
A commission never buys a ranking, never changes a verdict, and never removes a criticism. Tools we can't earn from get exactly the same treatment as tools we can — most of our comparisons currently contain no affiliate links at all. The full funding policy is on our disclosure page.