Expensify vs Brex: Best Expense Management Tool 2026
Quick Comparison
| Expensify | Brex | |
|---|---|---|
| Best For | Businesses that want to keep their existing corporate card program and just need expense reporting and reimbursement on top | Funded startups that want a corporate card, banking, and automated spend management bundled into a single platform |
| Pricing | Free for individuals / Collect $5/mo/member | Free tier available (Essentials) / Premium $12/mo/user |
| Winner | Our Pick |
Tool Breakdown
Expensify
Works with any existing corporate card program — Amex, Chase, Citi, or your bank's own card — so companies that already have a card relationship they don't want to give up can adopt it without switching card providers.
- Works with any corporate card — Amex, Chase, Citi, Capital One, or a bank's own program — no need to switch card providers
- Free for individual use; flat per-active-member pricing on team plans makes costs predictable
- Long track record and broad accounting-software integration coverage
- Still requires a manual scan/upload step for receipts, unlike Brex's automatic card-transaction capture
- Not typically recommended for companies larger than roughly 250 employees
- No built-in corporate card or banking — it's an expense layer on top of whatever card program you already have
Brex
Brex is a corporate card and spend-management platform for funded startups, combining card issuance with automated expense tracking.
- Automates the receipt-to-ledger process directly from the card transaction — no manual scan step required
- Dynamic spending limits and real-time visibility into company-wide spend
- Free Essentials tier bundles card issuance with basic expense tracking for early-stage teams
- Full automation requires using the Brex card — it's not a card-agnostic expense layer like Expensify
- Premium tier custom/negotiated pricing beyond the published $12/mo/user entry point can be opaque for larger teams
- Positioned toward higher-growth, IPO-track organizations rather than traditional small businesses
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use Expensify with my existing corporate card, unlike Brex? +
Yes. Expensify is card-agnostic and works with any existing corporate card program — Amex, Chase, Citi, Capital One, or your bank's own card — so you keep your existing rewards, credit limits, and payment terms. Brex requires using its own card to get the full automated, receipt-to-ledger experience.
Which is cheaper, Expensify or Brex? +
Expensify starts lower on paper at $5/mo per active member on its Collect plan, versus Brex's Premium tier at $12/mo per user. Brex also offers a free Essentials tier that bundles basic card issuance and expense tracking, which can be cost-effective for early-stage teams that don't need Premium features.
Is Expensify or Brex better for a growing startup? +
It depends on whether you want to keep your current card. Brex is generally the better fit for funded, high-growth startups that want a corporate card and automated spend management bundled together from day one. Expensify is the better fit for startups that already have a card program in place and don't want to switch providers just to get expense automation.