Compare · Trifold vs Puzzle

# Trifold vs Puzzle

Puzzle and Trifold both connect straight to Stripe and keep AI on a short leash: in Puzzle, nothing changes in your books until you approve it. Puzzle is AI-native accounting for startups and small businesses, with expert-reviewed and full-service tiers staffed by accountants. Trifold is built for schools, studios and non-profits: Stripe payments become balanced books and a signed receipt anyone can check.

Puzzle, in its own words: “Accurate books. At AI speed.”

## Where Puzzle is strongest

Honest first. If these matter most to you, Puzzle is likely the better fit.

### Accountants on hand

Expert-reviewed and full-service tiers add human accountants to the software; Core + Expert Reviewed is $171 a month for up to $10K in monthly expenses. Trifold has no bookkeeping service.

### Built around a startup's stack

Direct integrations with Stripe (synced daily), Ramp, Mercury, Brex and Gusto, and board-ready statements.

### AI that asks first

Puzzle's AI Suite (Chat, Cowork, Close) proposes and waits: “Nothing changes in your books until you approve it.” Rifo, once it ships, works the same way, so this isn't a difference.

## Where Trifold differs

Shipped means it works today in the engine. Next means it's on the roadmap and not built yet.

Shipped

### Anyone can check a receipt, with no account

A family, CPA or auditor pastes a receipt into the free verifier at /verify. It runs in their browser and sends nothing to us; the CLI does the same check offline.

Shipped

### Open formats and an engine you can run yourself

Export the books to Parquet, hledger or CSV whenever you like. The receipt and seal formats are open, and the engine is self-hostable, with its source public on GitHub.

Shipped

### Books you can rebuild, months that stay sealed

Every Stripe event is kept. Replay them and you get the same balances and journals, and a sealed month shows any later change.

## Side by side

The companies and products, fact by fact. Trifold's prices are planned; the hosted service is early access. "Not stated" means Puzzle's public pages don't say; it doesn't mean the feature is missing.

| Fact | Trifold | Puzzle |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Built for | Schools, studios, non-profits and other organizations paid through Stripe | Startups, small businesses and the accounting firms that serve them |
| Monthly price | Free, then Starter $29, Pro $79, Witnessed $149 a month, planned. Non-profit and co-op: $15 / $39 / $79 | Software: Starter $30, Core $72, Complete $120, Scale $360 a month |
| Free plan | Planned. The hosted service is early access; design partners are free during the pilot | None described; terms of “Try for free” not stated |
| Seats | No per-seat fees; CPA and bookkeeper seats free (planned) | Not stated |
| Who can check the records | Anyone, in a free browser verifier or the CLI, with no account | Not stated |
| AI | Rifo, Next (not shipped): drafts and explains, you approve, the engine does the math | AI Suite proposes; nothing changes until you approve. AI credits: 25 lifetime on Starter and Core, 100 or 300 a month on Complete and Scale |
| Export | Parquet, hledger and CSV, on every plan | Not stated; integrations are read-only |
| Self-hosting | The engine is self-hostable | No; hosted in the US |
| Stripe | Native: books built from Stripe events, Stripe's webhook signature checked | Direct integration, synced daily |
| Bookkeeping service | None; Trifold is software | Expert-reviewed and full-service tiers |
| SOC 2 | Target date to be announced | Not stated (AES-256 encryption and a bug bounty are) |

## Which one fits

### Choose Puzzle if…

You're a venture-style startup that wants AI-native books, with accountants available when you need them.

### Choose Trifold if…

You're a school, studio or non-profit with Stripe revenue, and you want a low planned price, receipts anyone can check, and open records.

## Sources

-   Puzzle homepage: [https://puzzle.io](https://puzzle.io)
-   Puzzle pricing: [https://puzzle.io/pricing](https://puzzle.io/pricing)
-   Puzzle security: [https://puzzle.io/security](https://puzzle.io/security)

Facts about Puzzle checked against its public pages as of 2026-11-06. Prices and features change; check theirs before you decide. Corrections: [hello@gettrifold.com](mailto:hello@gettrifold.com). [All comparisons](https://tfd-ledger.pages.dev/compare).

## Every dollar, three ways. Every month, sealed.

Books **✓**·Receipt **✓**·Stripe **✓**

[Get early access](https://tfd-ledger.pages.dev/early-access) [Verify a sample receipt](https://tfd-ledger.pages.dev/verify)

Design partners: founder onboarding, free during the pilot.