Kick vs Pilot
Kick
Business owners, from new businesses and sole proprietors to multi-entity companies, and the accountants and bookkeepers who serve them
San Francisco, US (founding year not published)
Pilot
Startups and small businesses, from early-stage companies to those preparing for an exit
2017; San Francisco, US (second office in Nashville)
Kick and Pilot both use AI to keep the books for US small businesses and startups.
Kick is AI bookkeeping software that owners or their accountants run, from sole proprietors to multi-entity companies; Pilot, founded in San Francisco in 2017, sells bookkeeping, tax and CFO services run by its AI Accountant and a team of finance experts.
Kick vs Pilot: side by side
“Not published” means the vendor does not state it.
| Kick | Pilot | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | AI bookkeeping software (an 'agentic ledger'): automatic categorisation, receipt matching, reconciliation, general ledger and multi-entity consolidation | Bookkeeping, tax and CFO services run by an AI Accountant and a team of finance experts |
| Best for | Business owners, from new businesses and sole proprietors to multi-entity companies, and the accountants and bookkeepers who serve them | Startups and small businesses, from early-stage companies to those preparing for an exit |
| Founded and HQ | San Francisco, US (founding year not published) | 2017; San Francisco, US (second office in Nashville) |
| Ownership and funding | Private; US$20m raised, including a US$9m seed round (Oct 2024) with OpenAI Startup Fund and General Catalyst; 60+ investors | Private; more than US$150m raised; Series C expanded to US$100m at a US$1.2bn valuation (2021) with Bezos Expeditions and Whale Rock |
| Customers or users | 5,000+ business owners and accountants | 3,500+ startups and small businesses |
| Pricing | Free (1 entity, 250 transactions a year); Basic US$40/month billed annually; Plus US$100/month billed quarterly; Advanced US$300/month | Bookkeeping US$99/month (Essentials), Core from US$299/month billed annually; tax from US$1,000/year; CFO from US$1,750/month |
| Deployment and markets | Cloud; US small businesses (US$ prices; US filing deadlines for sole proprietorships, S corps, partnerships and C corps) | US; cloud platform with US-based bookkeepers and CFO advisers |
Main differences
Kick's software categorises and reconciles transactions for the owner or accountant to review; Pilot's team and AI Accountant do the bookkeeping for the customer.
Kick has a free plan and paid plans from US$40 to US$300 a month; Pilot bookkeeping costs US$99 a month for Essentials and from US$299 for Core.
Kick does not file taxes and prepares a year-end package for the owner's CPA; Pilot sells tax filing from US$1,000 a year.
Kick has 5,000+ business owners and accountants; Pilot has 3,500+ startups and small businesses.
Which to choose
Choose Kick if
- You or your accountant want to run the books yourselves with AI, at the lowest cost
Choose Pilot if
- You want bookkeeping, tax filing and CFO support done for you
Compare further
Common questions
What is the difference between Kick and Pilot?+
Kick is AI bookkeeping software, an agentic ledger with automatic categorisation, receipt matching, reconciliation and multi-entity consolidation, used by business owners and their accountants. Pilot provides bookkeeping, tax and CFO services run by an AI Accountant and a team of finance experts.
How much do Kick and Pilot cost?+
Kick is free for one entity and 250 transactions a year; Basic costs US$40 a month billed annually, Plus US$100 a month billed quarterly and Advanced US$300 a month. Pilot bookkeeping costs US$99 a month (Essentials) or from US$299 a month billed annually (Core).
Do Kick and Pilot file taxes?+
Kick does not file taxes: it automates tax preparation workflows, recommends a local accountant and produces a year-end tax package for the owner's CPA. Pilot's tax plans cost US$1,000 a year for single-member LLCs, US$2,000 for partnerships and S corps and US$2,450 for C corps, bought with Pilot bookkeeping.
Part of Accountio’s accounting technology coverage.
