Airwallex vs Chargebee: Which is better for global billing?

Key takeaways

• For Australian businesses, Chargebee Billing generally works with a separate payment gateway, while Chargebee Pay is not currently supported for Australian-registered businesses. Airwallex combines Billing and payment acceptance in the one platform.

• Chargebee's current public pricing page shows Billing's Flow plan at US$0 + 0.80% at lower invoicing volumes (approximately US$160/month) – priced in USD with no AU-localised plan. Airwallex's Grow tier costs $99/ month.

• Businesses billing Australian and international customers get more from Airwallex, because subscription revenue settles straight into a multi-currency wallet for FX, payouts or card spend.

Airwallex and Chargebee both handle subscription billing, but they solve different parts of the problem. Airwallex is an all-in-one financial platform where Billing, payment acceptance, FX and business accounts sit together, while Chargebee is a billing and revenue-management platform that integrates with payment gateways; for Australian businesses, Chargebee Pay is not currently supported.

That difference shapes everything in the Airwallex vs Chargebee decision: how many fees you pay, how many systems your finance team manages, and what happens to your revenue once it lands. Here's how the two compare on features, fees and fit for Australian businesses.

How does Airwallex work?

Airwallex is a global financial platform that combines subscription billing and invoicing with the business account, FX and card infrastructure needed to move the money it bills. You create plans, bill customers, collect payments and manage the funds from one dashboard or API.

• Flexible pricing models: Set up flat, tiered, hybrid or usage-based pricing through Subscription Management, including multiple billing frequencies within a single subscription.

• No-code or API checkout: Launch subscriptions and invoices in minutes without code, or build a custom flow via API.

• Built-in payment acceptance: Collect from customers in 180+ countries using Visa, Mastercard, Amex and 160+ local payment methods.

• Automated dunning: Retry failed payments and send customer reminders automatically to reduce involuntary churn.

• Settlement into your Multi-Currency Wallet: Hold revenue in 20+ currencies, then convert, pay out or spend it without moving it to another provider.

How does Chargebee work?

Chargebee is subscription billing and revenue management software that automates plan changes, invoicing, dunning and revenue recognition. For Australian businesses, it connects to a separate payment gateway to process payments.

• Flexible pricing models: Supports flat, tiered, usage-based and hybrid pricing.

• Quote-to-cash (CPQ): Sales teams can build quotes and convert them into subscriptions.

• Revenue recognition (RevRec): Automates revenue schedules and reporting in line with ASC 606 and IFRS 15.

• Gateway-agnostic payment processing: Integrates with 40+ payment gateways, including Stripe, Adyen and Braintree. Its built-in option, Chargebee Pay, is currently limited to businesses in the US, UK and selected European countries and not available in Australia.

Chargebee doesn't offer business accounts, multi-currency wallets, FX conversion or card issuing.

Airwallex vs Chargebee at a glance

The biggest difference is scope. Airwallex covers the full journey from invoice to payment to spending the revenue, while Chargebee focuses on the billing layer and relies on other providers for payments and banking.

For an Australian business, that means Airwallex can replace several tools at once, while Chargebee typically sits alongside a payment gateway and a separate business account. Chargebee's strength is depth in billing operations. If your finance team needs dedicated revenue recognition or a quote-to-cash workflow built into billing, Chargebee covers that out of the box.

In-depth: Key features

Both platforms automate recurring billing, but they differ in how payments are collected and what you can do with the money afterwards.

Flexible and usage-based billing

Airwallex supports flat, tiered, hybrid and usage-based pricing, with meters that trigger billing based on real-time consumption through Usage-Based Billing. You can also combine multiple billing frequencies – say, a monthly platform fee and an annual add-on – within a single subscription.

Chargebee supports flat, tiered, usage-based and hybrid pricing. It's a mature option for businesses with complex plan catalogues, and its product catalogue tools help teams manage large numbers of plans, add-ons and entitlements.

• Shared: Flat, tiered, hybrid and usage-based pricing; automated invoicing; plan upgrades and downgrades.

• Airwallex: Multi-frequency billing within one subscription, with supported payment proceeds eligible for like-for-like settlement into the Airwallex Wallet; settlement conditions apply.

• Chargebee: Billing-native CPQ and dedicated RevRec capabilities; compare plan, module and add-on availability before publication.

Accepting customer payments globally

Airwallex processes payments natively, so you can accept payments globally across 180+ countries using major card schemes and 160+ local payment methods, with like-for-like settlement in 20+ currencies. Chargebee routes payments through a separate gateway for Australian businesses, which means you need – and pay for – a gateway relationship on top of Chargebee's own fee. That gives you flexibility to choose or switch gateways, but adds another contract, another dashboard and another set of processing fees to reconcile.

For businesses selling into Asia, Europe or the US, local payment methods matter. Customers are more likely to complete a purchase when they can pay the way they're used to – whether that's a card, a digital wallet or a local bank transfer. With Airwallex, these methods are available from the same integration you use for billing, so you don't need to add or manage a separate gateway for each market.

Managing money after it's collected

With Airwallex, supported payment proceeds can settle like-for-like into your Global Accounts. Chargebee’s Australian setup uses the connected payment gateway or bank for funds movement rather than an Airwallex-style wallet.

This matters most for businesses with international customers and costs. If you bill in USD and pay US contractors or software vendors, you can hold the USD and spend it directly, rather than converting to AUD and back again.

• Convert: Exchange 90+ currencies at interbank rates plus a small margin, only when you choose to

• Pay: Send local transfers to suppliers and contractors in 120+ countries

• Spend: Issue corporate cards that draw on the same multi-currency balance

Automation and AI

Both platforms now build AI into finance workflows, in different areas. Airwallex's Expense Policy Agent reviews every card expense and reimbursement against your spend policy, clearing compliant items and flagging exceptions with the rule that applies. Chargebee's Copilot and MCP servers let finance teams and AI agents query billing data – customers, subscriptions, invoices and payments – in plain language.

Chargebee's AI focuses on billing data and developer workflows, while Airwallex applies AI across spend management on the same platform where revenue is collected. Expense Policy Agent is available on the Grow and Accelerate plans.

How fees work with Airwallex

Airwallex charges a monthly platform fee plus transaction-based fees, with payment acceptance included in the same fee schedule. Because payments are processed on the same platform, there's no separate gateway contract to add on top. These are the fees that matter most for a billing comparison:

• Subscription Management: 0.50% per successful transaction.

• Card acceptance (if collecting by card): 1.65% domestic, 3.45% international, plus a $0.30 gateway fee per transaction.

• FX conversion (if settling in a different currency): 0.50%–1.00% margin, depending on currency.

• Platform fee: A$99 per month for Grow.

See Airwallex pricing for more details.

How fees work with Chargebee

Chargebee charges a platform fee based on your billing volume, priced in USD. Payment processing fees are charged separately by your gateway, so the total cost depends on which gateway you connect and how your customers pay.

• Flow: The current public pricing page shows US$0 + 0.80% at lower billing volumes (approximately US$160/month) and US$99 + 0.65% at higher volumes.

• Performance: Performance/RevRec: Pricing is shown as quote-based on the current public pricing page

• Payment gateway fees: The connected gateway (Stripe, Adyen, PayPal and others) charges its own processing fees on top – typically 1.75%–3.5% plus a per-transaction fee.

Why businesses choose Airwallex over Chargebee

Businesses choose Airwallex when they want Billing, Payments and money management in one place, rather than connecting separate tools for each. It's a particularly strong fit for Australian SaaS, subscription and usage-based businesses that bill customers overseas or pay international suppliers.

• One provider, fewer hand-offs: Billing, payment acceptance, FX and business accounts are available on the Airwallex platform.

• Revenue you can use the moment it lands: Convert, pay suppliers or spend on cards from the same multi-currency wallet.

• Local support and AUD pricing: AU-based support and pricing in Australian dollars, compared with Chargebee's USD-only plans.

If your priority is dedicated revenue recognition or a built-in CPQ workflow, Chargebee's billing depth is worth considering. If you want your billing, payments and multi-currency money management to work together from day one, Airwallex covers the full picture.

Frequently asked questions

Who are Chargebee's competitors?

Chargebee's main competitors in subscription billing and revenue management include Recurly, Zuora, Maxio, Paddle and Zoho Billing. Payment platforms such as Stripe, PayPal and Adyen also compete in billing, even though Chargebee integrates with them as payment gateways. Airwallex offers subscription billing alongside payments, FX and business accounts.

Who competes with Airwallex?

Airwallex competes with Wise, Revolut and Payoneer in cross-border payments and business accounts, and with Stripe in online payment acceptance. What sets Airwallex apart is combining business accounts, FX, payments, cards, spend management and billing on one global platform, with 80+ licences and permits worldwide.

Is Airwallex Australian owned?

Airwallex was founded in Melbourne in 2015 and is co-headquartered in Singapore and San Francisco. It is backed by global investors following its Series G raise in December 2025. It continues to operate in Australia under an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL No. 487221).

Sources

1. https://www.chargebee.com/pricing/ 

2. https://www.chargebee.com/payment-gateways/ 

3. https://www.chargebee.com/docs/payments/2.0/payment-gateways-and-configuration/chargebee-embedded-payments 

4. https://www.chargebee.com/docs/billing/2.0/ai-in-chargebee/chargebee-copilot