# Melio vs Airbase: which do AI models recommend for accounts payable automat, October 2026

Finance AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Accounts payable automation. Zero of fourteen models named Melio first on the direct prompt; one named Airbase. Page: https://finance-ai-index.com/spend/accounts-payable-automation/melio-vs-airbase/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melio | 5% | #6 of 10 | 5% | 19 | 14 of 14 |
| Airbase | 2% | #8 of 10 | 18% | 11 | 5 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Muse Glimmer 30B: airbase first (first choices: Airbase, AvidXchange) (alternatives: BILL Accounts Payable, Medius, MineralTree, a Global Payments company, Quadient AP, Rillion)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Stampli) (alternatives: Airbase, AvidXchange, Tipalti)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither named (first choices: AvidXchange, MineralTree) (alternatives: Medius, Stampli, Tipalti)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither named (first choices: Tipalti) (alternatives: AvidXchange, Basware, Medius)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither named (first choices: Stampli) (alternatives: AvidXchange, Medius, Ramp, Tipalti)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither named (first choices: Stampli, Tipalti) (alternatives: AvidXchange, BILL Accounts Payable, Corpay)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither named (first choices: BILL Accounts Payable, Stampli) (alternatives: AvidXchange, Ramp, Tipalti)
- Mistral Small: neither named (first choices: Medius, Tipalti) (alternatives: BILL Accounts Payable, Quadient AP, Softco)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither named (first choices: BILL Accounts Payable) (alternatives: AvidXchange, Spendful, Tipalti, Vasario)
- Kimi K2: neither named (first choices: BILL Accounts Payable, Stampli) (alternatives: Quadient AP, Ramp, Tipalti)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither named (first choices: HighRadius) (alternatives: AvidXchange, BILL Accounts Payable, Payhawk, Quadient AP, Ramp, Stampli, Tipalti)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither named (first choices: Stampli, Tipalti) (alternatives: BILL Accounts Payable, HighRadius, Ramp, Sage Intacct)
- GPT-6 Luna: neither named (first choices: Stampli) (alternatives: AvidXchange, BILL Accounts Payable, Ramp, Tipalti)

## What the models said about Melio

- "Some users report payments debited from their account but never reaching vendors" (Kimi K2, negative prompt, hard negative)

## What the models said about Airbase

- "Airbase was acquired by Paylocity in 2025, and there is some uncertainty about its future roadmap" (Mistral Small, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Airbase is listed with the note "Acquired by Paylocity (2025) — roadmap uncertainty"" (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt, soft negative)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.