Cortex AutoBill vs MikroBill — built deeper for Kenya
MikroBill is a popular MikroTik-focused billing tool used by many African ISPs. But it was designed for a single-tenant, single-router world. Cortex AutoBill adds native M-Pesa STK Push, Africa's Talking SMS, multi-tenancy, credit balance management, and an audit trail — all natively, with no extra integrations.
Why Kenyan ISPs Choose Cortex
Native M-Pesa STK Push & C2B
MikroBill's M-Pesa support requires third-party glue or manual reconciliation. Cortex has STK Push, C2B paybill, and automatic payment matching built in — no extra plugins, no extra cost.
Multi-tenancy & Reseller Support
Run multiple ISPs or reseller accounts from a single Cortex instance. MikroBill is single-tenant by design — each ISP needs its own installation, making it expensive to scale.
Credit Balance & Audit Trail
Cortex tracks overpayments as credit, corrects stuck payments automatically, and logs every action for accountability. MikroBill has limited overpayment handling and no full audit trail.
Feature-by-feature comparison
Every row that matters to a Kenyan ISP.
| Feature | You are hereCortex | MikroBill |
|---|---|---|
| Native M-Pesa STK Push & C2B | ||
| Africa's Talking SMS | ||
| MikroTik PPPoE Automation | ||
| Grace Period Engine | ||
| Credit Balance & Overpayment Handling | ||
| Stuck Payment Auto-correction | ||
| Bulk SMS Campaigns | ||
| Full Audit Logging | ||
| Multi-tenancy | ||
| Auto-renewal & Billing Engine | ||
| Modern UI / UX | ||
| Pricing currency | KES | USD |
| Support timezone | EAT (KE) | Varies |
| Setup time | Days | Days |
Pricing comparison
Cortex AutoBill
From KES 15 / client / month
No FX exposure — priced in KES
- KES pricing — no USD exchange risk
- Native M-Pesa & MikroTik included
- EAT business-hours support
MikroBill
~$1–3 / client / month (USD)
Converted to KES at current rates
- USD billing — exchange rate risk
- M-Pesa requires extra integration
- Support in EU / US time zones
Our honest verdict
MikroBill is a capable starting point for MikroTik-heavy ISPs. But if your subscribers pay via M-Pesa, if you need multi-tenancy, or if you want a full audit trail and SMS — MikroBill will require costly workarounds. Cortex AutoBill was built with exactly those requirements in mind. The feature gap is significant, and Cortex's KES pricing means no exchange-rate stress as the shilling fluctuates.