You pay Bench $299/mo to find out where you stood two weeks ago
Come April, both hand your CPA the same packet: P&L, balance sheet, the Schedule C lines. The other eleven months are what you're paying for. Bench's bookkeeper closes your month 5 to 15 days after it ends, so the books always tell you where you were, not where you are. ExpenseGhost's books are live right now, and they cost $16, not $299.
- ExpenseGhost: $16/mo, Plaid sync every 24 hours, self-serve.
- Bench: $299–$899/mo, bookkeeper close 5–15 days after month-end, 1–2 week onboarding.
Year-over-year cost
| ExpenseGhost (Solo) | Bench (Essential) | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $16 | $299 |
| Year 1 | $192 | $3,588 |
| Year 5 | $960 | $17,940 |
What you still do on Bench
Done-for-you comes with homework.
- Upload receipts.
- Answer monthly clarification emails.
- Review the year-end packet.
- Hand the packet to a CPA. BenchTax filing is a separate bill.
What ExpenseGhost ships
- Plaid sync, every 24 hours.
- Receipt OCR, auto-matched to bank transactions.
- One-click classification. Auto-learns recurring vendors after month one.
- Live federal + SE tax estimate.
- A tax-ready packet any day of the year, sole prop to C-corp. Not just a year-end drop.
- 1099-NEC e-filing built in, with W-9s collected for you.
- Receipts in by email forward or web upload. No bookkeeper in the loop.
ExpenseGhost provides tax estimates and tax-ready exports. We are not a tax preparer and do not file returns. Estimates are informational — verify every number with a licensed tax professional before filing.