Digits

This comparison changed in 2025. Digits used to be a dashboard and AI overlay on QuickBooks and Xero; it is now its own AI-native general ledger, so adopting it means replacing QuickBooks Online rather than decorating it. Pilot and Truewind are services first: human bookkeepers and accountants working inside your existing ledger, with software as the delivery layer. Pick Digits if you want to own the ledger and let software do the close. Pick Pilot or Truewind if you want people to run your books on the accounting system you already have.

Ask Digits, formerly marketed as Digits Search, is an AI assistant that answers natural-language questions about your finances using the transactions in your Digits ledger. Ask things like "what was our gross margin by product last quarter?" or "how did marketing spend compare to last year?" and Digits generates charts and narrative answers you can trace back to the underlying transactions. It is included on every paid plan, and the free developer API and MCP server let you ask the same questions from ChatGPT, Claude or Cursor.

For SMBs with straightforward books, largely yes. The Digits Assist add-on has been folded into the core product: 24/7 AI bookkeeping handles categorization and auto-reconciles bank and card transactions to statements on every plan, and Agentic Close on the Pro plan collects bank statements, flags errors and anomalies, and runs a close checklist. You still review and approve before anything posts. For unusual revenue recognition, inventory, or multi-entity needs, you will still want a dedicated CPA for the complex areas, and Digits does not do tax prep.

Not any more, and this is the single biggest change to know about. Digits was originally a layer on top of QuickBooks Online and Xero, but since launching its Autonomous General Ledger in March 2025 it is the accounting system itself, not an overlay. Digits does not list QuickBooks or Xero among its integrations; it connects directly to 12,000+ banks, cards and payroll providers, plus Stripe, Ramp, BILL, Gusto, Mercury and Brex. Switching therefore means migrating your ledger, including historical transactions, vendors, customers and chart of accounts, which Digits and its partner firms handle as an onboarding project rather than a one-click import.

Partly. Digits publishes a native Stripe integration for revenue data, alongside Ramp, BILL, Gusto, Mercury and Brex and direct connections to 12,000+ financial institutions, and revenue and spend integrations start on the Core plan at $100/month. Shopify and PayPal are not named on the Digits integrations page as of August 2026, so if your storefront runs on Shopify, confirm the connection route with Digits before committing.

Digits states it is SOC 2 Type II compliant, having met AICPA standards for security and data protection. It uses revocable tokens for API data access, TLS for system-to-system traffic, HTTPS for the web app, per-secret authenticated envelope encryption unique to your organization, and automatic encryption at rest. Note that Digits is now your general ledger rather than a read-only viewer on someone else's books, so it holds the system of record, not just a copy. Full details are published on the Digits trust portal at trust.digits.com.

Not directly. Digits focuses on monthly bookkeeping, dashboards, and AI insights. For tax prep, most customers use a separate CPA or integrate with services like Pilot Tax or TaxJar. This separation keeps Digits focused on what it does well rather than trying to be a full accounting firm.