CPA Buddy vs Basil: A Basil Alternative for Small Accounting Firms
What a 3-person firm pays each month
See every team size as a table
| Team | Basil Advanced | CPA Buddy | Yearly difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $45/mo | $24/mo (Solo) | $252 |
| 2 | $90/mo | $89/mo (Team) | $12 |
| 3 | $135/mo | $89/mo (Team) | $552 |
| 4 | $180/mo | $179/mo (Firm) | $12 |
| 5 | $225/mo | $179/mo (Firm) | $552 |
| 6 | $270/mo | $179/mo (Firm) | $1,092 |
| 7 | $315/mo | $214/mo (Firm) | $1,212 |
| 8 | $360/mo | $249/mo (Firm) | $1,332 |
| 9 | $405/mo | $284/mo (Firm) | $1,452 |
| 10 | $450/mo | $319/mo (Firm) | $1,572 |
| 11 | $495/mo | $354/mo (Firm) | $1,692 |
| 12 | $540/mo | $389/mo (Firm) | $1,812 |
If you run a small accounting, bookkeeping, or tax practice and you are looking for a Basil alternative, or you have narrowed practice management down to Basil and CPA Buddy, the two will look close to interchangeable on a feature list. Both pull clients, documents, tasks, time, and billing into one place. Both start cheap. Both let you sign up and onboard yourself without a consultant or an implementation project.
The difference that actually turns up on your invoice is how each one charges for people. This is a fair look at what each costs as your team grows, where the feature lines fall between tiers, and which one fits a Canadian practice — including the cases where Basil is the better choice.
Basil
A simple, affordable practice management platform from CoralTree, priced per team member with two tiers.
CPA Buddy
AI-assisted practice management built in Canada, with staff seats bundled into every plan and CRA deadlines built in.
Is CPA Buddy a Basil alternative?
Yes, for most firms with staff. Once you have a team, CPA Buddy costs less than Basil Advanced — the tier with workflows, time tracking, and billing — at every size we priced, and it includes CRA deadline tracking.
- Basil prices per team member; CPA Buddy includes seats in each plan, so the gap grows as your team grows.
- At three people the difference is $46/month. At ten it is $131/month, or roughly $1,572 a year.
- Basil is cheaper for a solo who only needs a portal and eSignatures, or who has more than 100 clients.
Basil at a glance
Simple, affordable, and quick to start, priced per team member.
- Best for
- Solo and small US practices that want a simple, affordable all-in-one
- Pricing
- $15/user/month (Simple) or $45/user/month (Advanced), month-to-month, 15-day free trial
- Clients
- Unlimited on both tiers
- Rating
- 4.6/5 from 83 reviews on Software Advice
- Advanced
- Adds CRM, workflow management, email integration, time tracking, advanced billing, chat, and calendar
Basil’s users rate its support and price highly, and several say they came to Basil specifically to escape per-client pricing elsewhere. That is a real advantage: there is no client cap on either tier.
Basil vs CPA Buddy pricing: what each costs as your team grows
Basil prices per team member. CPA Buddy bundles seats into each plan — Solo includes one, Team includes three, Firm includes six, and Firm can add seats at $35 each per month.
Set the slider at the top of this page to your own headcount: at three people the difference is $46 a month, and at ten it is $131. The gap is smallest at two and four people ($1 a month), where each firm sits at the bottom of a CPA Buddy plan.
CPA Buddy’s annual billing works out to ten months for twelve, which widens the gap further; Basil publishes month-to-month pricing only.
The difference shows up most when you add people. On CPA Buddy, adding someone within your plan’s seat count — a seasonal preparer for tax season, for example — costs nothing extra. On a per-user plan, each person is priced individually, which keeps the cost easy to predict at any size.
For a firm of one or two people, the difference is small. For a firm that plans to grow, it is worth pricing both at the headcount you expect next year.
Basil vs CPA Buddy features: what each plan includes
The second difference is which features you get at which price.
Basil offers two tiers. Basil Simple ($15/user) covers the client portal, dashboards, document management, eSignatures, tasks, forms, and 25 GB of storage. Basil Advanced ($45/user) adds CRM and workspaces, project and workflow management, email integration, time tracking, advanced billing, chat, calendar, and 50 GB.
If you need workflows, time tracking, and billing, compare against Basil Advanced, since those features are on that tier.
CPA Buddy takes the other approach. Every plan carries the same feature set — workflow automation, document collection, timesheets and billing, reporting, multi-jurisdiction deadlines, and the AI assistant. What changes between Solo, Team, and Firm is how many seats and clients you get, and how much AI usage is included.
Both platforms do have AI, and it is worth being precise rather than dismissive. Basil includes AI Document Summary on both tiers and adds AI Task Creation From Email on Advanced. CPA Buddy includes its AI assistant on every plan, adds AI for email from Team up, and removes usage limits on Firm. Different scope, same general idea.
When Basil is the better choice
If you are a solo practitioner who needs a client portal, document management, and eSignatures and nothing else, Basil Simple at $15 a month is cheaper than any CPA Buddy plan, and you should take it.
And if you are a solo with more than 100 clients who does not need workflows or time tracking, Basil’s unlimited-client entry tier will cost you less. CPA Buddy’s Solo plan caps at 100 clients, so that practice would move to the Team plan at $89 — real money for capability you told us you do not want.
There is a third case worth naming: a US practice that leans on KBA authentication for IRS e-file authorisations has a specific compliance need that Basil markets directly to.
Does Basil work for Canadian accounting firms?
Basil’s product and pricing pages do not mention Canada, the CRA, T1, T2, T3, GST/HST, or Canadian data residency. That is not a claim that a Canadian firm cannot run on Basil — plenty of general-purpose tools work fine north of the border.
CPA Buddy is built in Calgary, for firms that work the way Canadian firms do.
CRA-aware deadlines
T1, T2, T3, and GST/HST filings plus extensions, tracked per client.
Canadian data residency
Plus a firm-wide audit trail and role-based access controls.
Built in Calgary
Made for the way Canadian firms actually work, with support to match.
The practical version of that: a missed CRA filing can cost a client 5% of the balance owing plus 1% for every month it stays late. Deadline tracking that knows what a T2 is, and when it is due for this particular client, is not a nice-to-have during filing season. CPA Buddy also bills in CAD, so the subscription cost does not move with the exchange rate.
For firms with cross-border clients, multi-jurisdiction support covers IRS filings alongside CRA ones.
Choosing between them
Choose Basil if…
- You want a portal, documents, and eSignatures at the lowest possible price
- You are a solo with a large client list and no need for workflows or time tracking
- You are a US practice that needs KBA authentication for IRS e-file authorisations
Choose CPA Buddy if…
- You have staff now, or expect to within a year, and want seats included in your plan
- You want workflows, time tracking, and billing included on every plan
- You are a Canadian firm that wants CRA deadlines, data residency, and CAD billing built in
Both platforms let you try before committing — Basil offers 15 days, CPA Buddy offers 30. If you are genuinely torn, run the same two weeks of real client work through each and see which one your team stops complaining about. See the full pricing breakdown for what is included at each plan level.
Basil and CPA Buddy are competing for the same firm, and on a feature list they look alike. The honest summary is that Basil wins on absolute entry price and on unlimited clients at the bottom tier, and CPA Buddy wins the moment you have staff — because seats are bundled rather than billed per person — and again if you are Canadian, because CRA deadlines, data residency, and CAD billing are built in. If your firm is one person with a simple document workflow, take Basil Simple. If you have a team, or plan to, set the slider at the top of this page to your own headcount and then start a 30-day free trial.
Disclaimer
This comparison was written by CPA Buddy, which competes with Basil. Information about Basil, including its pricing, plans, features, and ratings, comes from CoralTree’s public website and from Software Advice. It was accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publishing in September 2026. Vendors change their products and prices often, so some details may have changed since; confirm current information directly with CoralTree before you decide. CPA Buddy is not responsible for changes made after publication, or for decisions based on information that is no longer current.
Verdicts and recommendations in this article are our opinion. Prices are in USD, before tax, on monthly billing unless stated otherwise.
Basil and CoralTree are trademarks of their respective owners. CPA Buddy is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by CoralTree. This article is general information, not professional, financial, or legal advice.
If you believe anything here is inaccurate or out of date, email Hello@CPABuddyAI.com and we will review it and correct it promptly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CPA Buddy a Basil alternative?
For most firms with staff, yes — but not for every firm. If you only need a secure portal, documents, and eSignatures, Basil Simple at $15/month is cheaper than any CPA Buddy plan, and a solo with more than 100 clients who does not need workflows will also pay less on Basil. CPA Buddy becomes the stronger alternative once you have a team, need workflows, time tracking, and billing on a single plan, or work with Canadian clients and CRA deadlines.
How does Basil's pricing compare to CPA Buddy's?
Basil charges per team member: $15/month each on Basil Simple and $45/month each on Basil Advanced. CPA Buddy bundles seats into each plan — Solo includes 1 seat at $24/month, Team includes 3 seats at $89/month, and Firm includes 6 seats at $179/month USD. A three-person firm on Basil Advanced pays $135/month, while the same firm on CPA Buddy Team pays $89/month. The gap grows as your team grows.
Is practice management software priced per user or per firm?
It depends on the vendor. Some charge per team member: as of September 2026, Basil lists $15 or $45 per user per month. Others sell plans with a set number of seats included: CPA Buddy Team includes 3 seats for $89/month and Firm includes 6 seats for $179/month USD. Per-user pricing is simple at one or two people. With bundled seats, the cost per person drops as you fill the plan, so compare the total at your actual headcount.
How much does practice management software cost for a 3-person firm?
As of September 2026, a three-person firm pays $135/month on Basil Advanced ($45 per user), the Basil tier that includes workflows, time tracking, and billing. Basil Simple is $45/month for three users but does not include those features. CPA Buddy Team is $89/month USD with 3 seats and every feature included. Other vendors price differently, so check each one's current pricing page.
When is Basil the better choice?
Two cases stand out. If you are a solo practitioner who only needs a client portal, document management, and eSignatures, Basil Simple at $15/month is cheaper than any CPA Buddy plan. And because both Basil tiers include unlimited clients, a solo with more than 100 clients who does not need workflows or time tracking will pay less on Basil — CPA Buddy's Solo plan caps at 100 clients, so that firm would move up to the Team plan.
Does Basil support Canadian firms and CRA deadlines?
Basil's product and pricing pages do not mention Canada, the CRA, T1/T2/T3 filings, GST/HST, or Canadian data residency. That does not mean a Canadian firm cannot use it. CPA Buddy is built in Calgary and tracks CRA deadlines per client, with Canadian data residency and CAD billing.
Do both platforms include AI features?
Both do, at different scopes. Basil includes AI Document Summary on both tiers and adds AI Task Creation From Email on Advanced. CPA Buddy includes its AI assistant on every plan, adds AI for email from the Team plan up, and removes AI usage limits on the Firm plan.
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