Overview

Brex brings spending policies, budgets, reimbursements and accounting tools into one platform, with mobile support for expense tracking, travel booking and management, spend-limit requests and payments. That breadth is useful for teams seeking a shared process rather than separate tools for each workflow. The trade-off is that plan choice matters: Essentials supports only a limited number of entities, while broader multi-entity coverage starts with Premium.

Key features

Spend controls and budgets

Policies can be set by use case, level, department or entity, and can block specified merchants or categories or require approval. This gives finance teams a way to prevent out-of-policy purchases as well as review them later. Live Budgets lets department heads allocate spending to individuals or teams and monitor use in real time; Brex AI can flag anomalous activity. These controls are a strong fit for organizations that need visibility across teams, though Essentials’ entity cap may not suit a complex corporate structure.

Expense and accounting automation

Brex can collect expense documents, create memos, populate fields, assign departments and general-ledger codes, and match receipts using OCR across languages and currencies. Automating these routine steps can reduce manual expense handling, especially for teams working across currencies. QuickBooks and NetSuite are supported ERP integrations, and accounting automation can suggest GL coding rules and mappings.

Reimbursements, integrations and security

Employees can receive reimbursements in local currency to bank accounts across 40 countries, with no per-transaction reimbursement fees. Brex says it offers thousands of native integrations, including Slack, Rippling, Workday and Xero, alongside its named accounting integrations; some integrations may be add-ons. Its mobile app covers expense tracking, travel booking and management, spend-limit requests and payments.

Brex states that it is SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type II and PCI-DSS compliant, and describes encryption, two-factor authentication and fraud monitoring. It also offers 24/7 support for fraud protection, with support contact through the dashboard or mobile app.

Pricing

Essentials

Essentials costs 0.00 USD per month (billed $0 user/month). It includes up to two entities (1 global entity) and 1 local card program. This is the sensible starting point for a smaller business that can operate within those entity limits; it gives up the multi-entity coverage of Premium and above.

Premium

Premium costs 12.00 USD per month (billed $12 user/month) and supports multi-entity operations in the US and internationally. It is the paid step up for a company that has outgrown Essentials’ entity allowance. Some integrations may cost extra.

Enterprise and Smart Card

Enterprise has custom pricing and includes unlimited US or global entities, making it the fit for organizations that need broader entity coverage. Smart Card also has custom pricing and offers local-currency cards in 50+ countries. Choose between them according to whether the priority is unlimited entities or local-currency card coverage.

Platforms

Brex supports Android, iOS, web and API access, giving employees mobile and browser options while allowing connections with other software. Its mobile app also handles expense tracking, travel booking and management, spend-limit requests and payments.

Who it's for

Brex is aimed at startups, scaled companies and ecommerce brands, including founders, CFOs and their teams. It is particularly suited to finance groups that need policy-based approvals, live budget visibility, automated expense processing and reimbursements across countries. A small company with one operating entity may find Essentials sufficient; a business with more entities should account for Premium or custom-priced Enterprise.

Pros and cons

Pros: Policies can block or route specified categories and merchants for approval, helping teams enforce spending rules before purchases proceed.
Pros: Expense document collection, receipt matching and accounting-field automation can reduce recurring manual work, including across languages and currencies.
Pros: Reimbursements reach local bank accounts in 40 countries without per-transaction fees.
Cons: Essentials is limited to two entities, including one global entity, so companies with more complex structures need a higher tier.
Cons: Some integrations may be add-ons, which can increase the cost of assembling a preferred software setup.
Cons: Enterprise and Smart Card use custom pricing, so their cost cannot be compared directly with the fixed-price plans.

Alternatives

Consider Ramp AP if a smaller team wants to simplify finances with a free plan that includes accounts-payable features and automated invoice entry.

Float is worth comparing if a free option with up to 20 physical and unlimited virtual cards, plus QuickBooks Online, Xero or custom exports, better fits your card and accounting needs; conditions and fees apply.

Mesh Payments offers a free Pro plan for up to 3 users and a Premium plan at 13.00 USD per month, billed per user, per month. It may suit a very small team that can stay within that free user limit.

Moss has a free plan for up to 3 users, with unlimited cards and up to 20 invoices per month, making it an option for a small team with modest invoice volume.

Rho may suit readers prioritizing a free platform with no subscription, per-user or platform fees, while noting its 1% foreign-currency transfer fee.

BILL Accounts Payable is a paid alternative with a free trial and a 49.00 USD per month Essentials plan for Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable subscription.

PEX is another option to compare for card accounts and reimbursements, with additional cards costing $8 each and ACH reimbursements costing $1 per payment on its Base plan.

ExpenseOnDemand is a paid alternative with an Essential plan at 6.87 USD per month, billed at $6.87 per active user/month on an annual contract.

For more options, see Spend Management Software, Corporate Card Software, Expense Reimbursement Software, Travel and Expense Management Software and Mileage Tracking Software.

Verdict

Brex is a strong choice for startups and growing or global businesses that want spending controls, budget visibility, expense automation and international reimbursements in one platform. Its main reason to choose it is the breadth of those connected finance workflows; its main reason to look elsewhere is that Essentials stops at two entities and broader coverage requires a paid or custom-priced plan.

	Brex	Rydoo
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	$12/mo	$9/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, api, iOS, Web	Android, api, iOS, Web
Free plan	Yes	No
Paid from	12 /user/mo	9 /user/mo
Mobile platforms	—	both

Brex vs Rydoo

Brex

Rydoo