Pilot is a managed bookkeeping, tax, and CFO service for venture-backed startups. A US-based team keeps your books inside QuickBooks Online, with ongoing bookkeeping (Core) from around $499/month — priced on your monthly expense volume, usually billed annually with an onboarding fee.
HelloBooks is self-serve AI bookkeeping software you operate yourself: a full double-entry ledger you own, 95%+ AI categorization, Plaid bank feeds, and every feature on every plan. Free to start, Pro at a flat $9.99/month — no QuickBooks subscription underneath.
Choose Pilot if you want to outsource your finance function to a team and need investor-ready accrual financials done for you. Choose HelloBooks if you want to own and run your books in AI software at a flat, far lower price.
Where a value is shown as “—”, the feature was not verified at review time. See Pilot's site for the latest specifics.
| Feature | HelloBooks | Pilot |
|---|---|---|
| Product model | Self-serve AI bookkeeping software you operate | Managed bookkeeping service performed by Pilot’s team |
| Runs on | HelloBooks is the ledger — nothing else required | QuickBooks Online (Pilot works inside your QBO file) |
| Starting price | Free plan + flat Pro $9.99/mo (USD) | Essentials from ~$99/mo; Core from ~$499/mo — verify on pilot.com |
| Pricing model | Flat per-account — does not scale with your spend | Priced on monthly expense volume; usually billed annually + onboarding |
| Free plan | Yes — free forever, 500 AI credits/mo, all 154 features | No free plan (pre-revenue discount only) |
| Who keeps the books | You (AI does the work); invite your accountant free | A dedicated US-based bookkeeper / team |
| You own & control the ledger | Yes — full double-entry GL, exportable anytime | Books delivered as a service, inside QuickBooks Online |
| Accounting basis | Cash and accrual | Accrual basis included (investor/auditor-ready) |
| AI automation | AI categorization (95%+), OCR, reconciliation, anomaly detection | AI-assisted, layered under a human-managed close |
| Target customer | SMBs, startups, ecommerce, agencies, finance teams, firms | VC-backed / growth startups |
| AP / AR / invoicing | Full AP, AR, invoicing, POs, 3-way matching | Service deliverable; operations stay in QBO + your tools |
HelloBooks is self-serve software — you operate a full double-entry ledger with AI doing the heavy lifting. Pilot is a managed service: a US-based team keeps your books inside QuickBooks Online while you review the output. One is software you control; the other is a finance function you outsource and pay for by expense volume.
Generally, yes, and the gap widens as you grow. Pilot’s ongoing Core bookkeeping starts around $499/month and scales with your monthly expenses, typically billed annually with an onboarding fee. HelloBooks is free to start and Pro is a flat $9.99/month with unlimited users — it does not scale with your spend. Verify Pilot’s current pricing on pilot.com.
No. Pilot performs its service inside QuickBooks Online, so you pay for QuickBooks plus Pilot. HelloBooks is your ledger of record — there is nothing else to subscribe to underneath it.
Yes — HelloBooks supports both cash and accrual basis, with full financial statements and audit trails. Pilot’s draw for startups is that accrual books are produced for you by a team; with HelloBooks you (or your invited accountant) run accrual books in software you control.
Yes — you can invite your own accountant or bookkeeper for free, or use the HelloBooks CPA/CA Partner network. The difference from Pilot is that the professional works inside books you own, rather than the books being a service deliverable.
Yes. Because Pilot runs in QuickBooks Online, you can use the HelloBooks one-click QuickBooks USA migration to import your company file — chart of accounts, customers, vendors, and history — then retire the Pilot-plus-QuickBooks stack.
HelloBooks supports CSV import for chart of accounts, customers, vendors, items, invoices, and bills. For QuickBooks Online, we offer a built-in two-way sync. For other platforms, our migration team can assist with a structured cutover.
AI bookkeeping software
How AI keeps your books without a managed service.
HelloBooks pricing
Free plan + flat Pro $9.99/mo, no expense-based pricing.
QuickBooks migration
One-click company-file import from QuickBooks USA.
Advanced reporting
Accrual financials, cash flow, and AI insights.
Find an accountant
Invite a vetted CPA/CA to work inside your books.
Contact sales
Moving off a managed startup bookkeeping service?