Moonworkers vs Plaid
Moonworkers
moonworkers.co.uk
Plaid
plaid.comSide by side
| Figure | Moonworkers | Plaid |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | £6.49/mo | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 4 |
| Spec score · Payroll APIs | 7.6 (#5) | 7.4 (#8) |
| Integrations | The company lists NEST, Smart Pension and The People's Pension, and says payroll journals can be exported to Sage, Xero, QuickBooks, IRIS and KashFlow. | Plaid's partner directory lists partners including Dwolla, Checkout.com, and Humble Devs. |
| Security | Moonworkers says production systems and databases are hosted in Amsterdam, data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and customer accounts support MFA. | Plaid's security portal lists SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, and ISO 27701 certifications. |
| Support | The company advertises UK-based support and invites users to contact it with questions or security concerns. | Plaid customers can use self-service resources and its Dashboard AI assistant; enhanced support tiers may be available to Custom plan customers. |
Plans
Moonworkers
- Accountant Hub£1.69, paid once
- Payslip Generator£3.99, paid once
- Payroll Software£6.49 a month
- API & EnterprisePrice not published
Plaid
- TrialFree
- CustomPriced on request
- GrowthPrice not published
- Pay as You GoPrice not published
In their own words
Moonworkers
Moonworkers is a paid UK payroll platform available on the web and through an API. It provides payroll software, an instant payslip generator, an Accountant Hub, and a REST API for ERP or HR integrations. Payroll supports fixed and variable pay, multiple pay frequencies, statutory payments, National Insurance, and pension auto-enrolment calculations. Pay runs submit required RTI information to HMRC, including Full Payment Submissions and Employer Payment Summaries. Holiday pay uses the 52-week average earnings method and covers casual and zero-hours workers. The service creates HMRC-compliant PDF payslips and can deliver them automatically. Connections include NEST, Smart Pension, The People’s Pension, and journal exports to Sage, Xero, QuickBooks, IRIS, and KashFlow. Plans include £1.69 for Accountant Hub, £3.99 for Payslip Generator, and £6.49 a month billed per payslip for Payroll Software. Prices exclude VAT and UK-only limits apply.
Plaid
Plaid connects financial accounts to apps and services people choose, and lets them manage those connections. Its products cover payments, fraud and risk, financial management, and onboarding. Plaid Link connects users to more than 12,000 financial institutions, while Transactions offers up to 24 months of categorized transaction data. Plaid Transfer processes bank payments through ACH, RTP, and FedNow. Available data includes account and routing numbers, balances, identity, transactions, investments, liabilities, income, and statements, with statements in PDF format. Connections can use credentials, OAuth, app-to-app OAuth, or manual and micro-deposit flows; refreshes are on demand. Developers can use official API libraries for Node, Python, Ruby, Java, and Go, plus Link SDKs for web and mobile. Plaid Portal lets users see connected apps, manage permissions, and disconnect accounts. Plaid lists SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, and ISO 27701 certifications. Pricing is on request; there is no general free plan, though an eligible free Trial plan is listed for certain US and Canada teams created on or after April 15, 2026.