Compare

Economico vs Fondo

Fondo and Economico both target early-stage startups with no finance hire, but they split on who does the work. Fondo is startup accounting on autopilot — a service that keeps your books, files your taxes, and recovers R&D and other tax credits so accounting fades into the background. Economico puts the books in your own agent's hands, in real time, with startup-credit tracking built in. Choose Fondo to hand it off (especially for tax and credit recovery); choose Economico to operate the books yourself through your agent.

At a glance

	Economico	Fondo
Model	Self-service software your agent runs	Managed service (books + tax + credits)
Real double-entry general ledger	✅	yes (kept for you)
Tax filing	❌	✅
R&D / tax-credit recovery	❌	✅
Vendor startup-credit tracking (AWS, OpenAI, …)	✅	◐
Real-time — books update as you work	✅	on the service's cadence
Scenario planning & live queries	✅	via reporting
Native stablecoin settlement	✅	❌
Built for	Agent-first founders operating their own books	Founders who want accounting handled for them

Note the two different "credits": Fondo recovers tax credits (R&D, etc.) from the IRS; Economico tracks vendor credits (AWS Activate, OpenAI, Anthropic) drawn down against bills. They're not the same thing.

Choose Fondo if…

Fondo is the right call when you want accounting handled for you — books kept, taxes filed, and R&D/tax credits recovered — so you can get back to building. It's a managed service: Fondo's team plus its own AI does the work on its own infrastructure, with nothing for you to set up or run. Tax filing and credit recovery are real, concrete value (the "cash back from the IRS") that Economico does not provide. If you'd rather not run your own agent and want it all hands-off, Fondo wins.

Choose Economico if…

Choose Economico if you'd rather your own agent operate the books than hand them to a vendor's service — the agent you already use, adapting to the business you already have. You get real double-entry books from the first invoice, updated live, with vendor startup-credit tracking (booked, drawn down FIFO-by-expiry against bills, surfaced before they expire) and scenario planning — all through the agent you already use, with no finance vendor holding standing access to your stack. Many founders pair Economico for day-to-day books with an accountant at tax time.

Frequently asked questions

Does Economico file taxes or recover tax credits like Fondo?

No. Tax filing and R&D/tax-credit recovery are Fondo's core service and a genuine reason to choose it. Economico keeps the books your accountant (or Fondo) files from.

What kind of credits does Economico track, then?

Vendor startup credits — AWS Activate, OpenAI, Anthropic, Resend — booked and drawn down against that vendor's bills, with remaining balance and expiry surfaced. That's different from IRS tax credits.

Is Economico a service or software?

Software your own agent operates. Fondo is a managed service with people doing the work. If you want it handled for you, Fondo fits better.

Can I use both?

Yes — some founders run Economico for real-time books and bring in a tax/credit service like Fondo (or an accountant) at filing time.

How do I connect Economico to my agent?

Point an MCP-capable host at economi.co/mcp or install the @economico/cli. The setup guide is at economi.co/skill.md.