Sistava vs Pilot
AI Finance and Accounting
Pilot vs Sistava
Pilot handles bookkeeping, tax and CFO services for startups and small businesses, explicitly as a hybrid: roughly half people and half software. Its AI Accountant provides real-time expense tracking, cash-flow scenario modelling and automated reporting, while a US-based advisory team of CFOs and operators handles judgment. Backed by Bezos Expeditions at a $1.2B valuation with 3,500+ customers. Sistava provides a finance employee inside a broader workforce, which is a genuinely different proposition from an outsourced accounting firm.
Profile
- Pricing
- Not published on the homepage. Packages are quoted by company stage and transaction volume, with bookkeeping, tax and CFO services sold as tiers. A free trial is offered.
- Founded
- 2017, by Waseem Daher, Jeff Arnold and Jessica McKellar
- Funding
- $100M round led by Bezos Expeditions and Whale Rock with Sequoia and Index Ventures, at a $1.2B valuation. Serves 3,500+ companies
- Focus
- Startup bookkeeping and CFO services combining software with human accountants
Why Sistava
- Sistava gives you finance capability alongside sales, marketing, support and operations on one plan. Pilot is a finance service.
- Sistava employees work inside your own systems and tools with full visibility into every action. Pilot performs the work on your behalf as a service.
- Sistava is self-serve and priced publicly from a free tier. Pilot quotes by company stage and transaction volume.
- Sistava employees run on your schedule continuously, not a monthly close cycle. Pilot operates on accounting periods.
- Sistava does not provide qualified human accountants or sign off on your books, which is exactly where Pilot is stronger and you should weigh that honestly.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Pilot | Sistava |
|---|---|---|
| ✗ | ✓ | |
| ✓ | ✗ | |
| Core service | Finance employee assists | |
| ✓ | ✗ | |
| Finance and accounting | Sales, Marketing, Support, Ops, Finance | |
| Human advisory team | ✓ | |
| Performed as a service | ✓ | |
| ✗ | ✓ | |
| ✗ | ✓ | |
| ✗ | ✓ | |
| Quoted by stage and volume | Free (2,000 lifetime credits) + $49/mo |