Puzzle Pricing (2026): What Puzzle.io Costs and How It Compares to Adlega
Puzzle (puzzle.io) is real-time accounting software built for startups: Starter at $30/month (free for the first 2 months), Core at $72/month, Complete at $120/month, and Scale at $360/month, or 20% less billed yearly, with a 14-day trial of Complete. Puzzle is a strong modern replacement for QuickBooks-style bookkeeping, with AI auto-categorization and real-time burn, runway, and ARR on its dashboard. It is a different category from Adlega: Puzzle keeps your books and reports what happened; Adlega builds the forward forecast and plan. Many teams use one for each job.
Puzzle does one thing well: it runs your general ledger in real time, auto-categorizing up to ~98% of transactions and surfacing actuals like burn and runway as they happen. For a startup that wants modern books without a monthly close lag, that is genuinely useful. The distinction that matters for planning is that Puzzle is backward-looking (it records what happened); it is not a driver-based forecasting or scenario tool.
Puzzle pricing (2026)
| Plan | Price (monthly / billed yearly) | For / limits |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $30/mo ($24/mo billed yearly), first 2 months free | Your first books; 1 seat |
| Core | $72/mo ($58/mo billed yearly) | Growing startups, burn/runway/margin insights; 5 seats |
| Complete | $120/mo ($96/mo billed yearly) | Faster close: AI accuracy review and reconciliations; Unlimited seats |
| Scale | $360/mo ($288/mo billed yearly) | Later-stage, high volume |
Prices verified on puzzle.io/pricing on October 10, 2026.
20% off on yearly billing; 14-day free trial with full access to Complete. Puzzle also sells done-for-you bookkeeping on top of the software, plus one-off migration and catch-up services. Earlier versions of this page said Starter was free; Puzzle now charges for it.
Puzzle vs Adlega: different jobs
These are complementary tools, not substitutes. The honest split:
| Dimension | Puzzle | Adlega |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Accounting / bookkeeping (general ledger) | Financial forecasting & planning |
| Direction | Backward-looking (actuals, close) | Forward-looking (forecast, scenarios) |
| Core job | Record and categorize transactions | Model revenue, costs, runway ahead |
| Entry price | $30/mo (first 2 months free) | Free plan; paid from $49/mo |
| SaaS metrics | Real-time actuals (burn, runway, ARR) | Projected MRR/ARR/churn/CAC/LTV/runway |
| AI | Auto-categorization, Ask Puzzle | AI CFO that explains every forecast number |
The bottom line
If you need modern, real-time books, Puzzle is a good choice, and Starter at $30/month is an inexpensive way to start clean books at the earliest stage. If you need to forecast where the business is going, build base/best/worst scenarios, and see runway forward, that is a different tool. The two work well together: Puzzle for the actuals, Adlega for the model. Adlega gives you projected MRR/ARR, churn, CAC, LTV and runway, an AI CFO, a free plan, and paid plans from $49/month.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Puzzle.io cost?
Starter costs $30/month, and the first 2 months are free. Core is $72/month, Complete $120/month, and Scale $360/month. Yearly billing saves 20% ($24, $58, $96 and $288 a month). There is a 14-day trial of Complete.
Is Puzzle a forecasting tool?
No. Puzzle is real-time accounting: it records and categorizes transactions and shows actuals like burn and runway. It is not a driver-based forecasting or scenario-planning tool. For the forward model you would pair it with a planning tool.
Does Puzzle replace QuickBooks?
For many startups, yes, Puzzle is a modern, AI-first general ledger positioned as a QuickBooks alternative. Whether it fits depends on your accountant and integrations; check puzzle.io.
What is the difference between Puzzle and Adlega?
Puzzle does your books and reports what happened (backward-looking accounting). Adlega builds the forward forecast and plan (revenue, costs, runway, scenarios) with an AI CFO. They are complementary, one for actuals, one for the model.
Related: cash runway and burn rate, scenario planning, and the SaaS financial model guide.
Where Adlega is weaker
Adlega is self-serve: you build the model yourself. The AI CFO guides you and explains every number, but no analyst builds it for you, so a founder who wants the work done by a person may prefer a done-for-you service. Its integrations (Stripe, Chargebee, Google Analytics, Google Ads), forecast-vs-actuals and scenario comparison are still rolling out on the Growth plan, so today most numbers come from the drivers you enter rather than synced data. And it is built around SaaS metrics, so a business without recurring revenue will get less from it than from a general-purpose planning tool.