Airwallex vs Pleo
We give Airwallex a 3.2 GPA and Pleo a 1.8, out of 4.0. Airwallex grades higher on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Airwallex
Multi-currency business accounts, cards, bill pay and expenses
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAAirwallexVery good | 1.8GPAPleoWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree and substantial. A ten-person company pays $0 a month on Explore, which covers up to 10 Spend users, and the listing gives no fee for local bill payments. You pay on conversion, 0.5% to 1% over the interbank rate, and on SWIFT at $15 to $25. | CA ten-person company pays $120 a month on Build at the yearly rate, 10 users at $12, which is $12 a head and bang on the category's middle. Direct reimbursements add 0.90% each, and Optimise is $16 a user. |
| Free plan and trial | BExplore is free with accounts in 20+ currencies, unlimited cards, expenses, bill pay, invoicing and Xero or QuickBooks sync. The cap is 10 Spend users: the eleventh takes you to Grow at $12 each plus a platform fee. | FNothing free. The US pricing page shows no free plan and no free trial, and Build and Optimise need at least 3 users. |
| Features | BThe whole job: multi-currency accounts, Visa cards with no foreign transaction fees, receipts matched by AI, reimbursements in 200+ countries, bill pay with AI data capture, invoicing, card acceptance and APIs. | CCards and expenses are done well: a card per person, receipt requests after every purchase, Fetch for emailed receipts, mileage and AI spend checks. Bill pay isn't among its features, and budgets wait for Optimise. |
| Ease of use | B4.81 from 584 App Store ratings, high but short of the 1,000 we want for the top band. There are accounts, cards and an accounting link to set up first. | CNo store rating on record. There are cards to hand out, limits to set and accounting to connect, though after that staff only ever snap a receipt. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Xero, QuickBooks, NetSuite, Business Central, BambooHR, Shopify, WooCommerce and Amazon, plus developer APIs. No desktop app is listed. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, exporting to Xero, QuickBooks, Dynamics and SAP, with Workday and Okta. No desktop app is listed, and HR integrations need Optimise. |
| Best for | multi-currency spending and paying abroad | a company card for every employee |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Airwallex and Pleo. How we grade
Price against what you get
Airwallex starts at $12 a month for each person and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Pleo starts at $12 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Airwallex scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other spend and bill pay tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Airwallex for less, and 3 score higher than Pleo for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Airwallex starts at $12 per Spend user / month, plus a platform fee based on team size. Pleo starts at $12 per user / month, billed yearly ($14 billed monthly).
- Airwallex has a free plan. Pleo does not.
- Airwallex also covers invoicing and bill pay.
At a glance
| Airwallex | Pleo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $12 per Spend user / month, plus a platform fee based on team size | $12 per user / month, billed yearly ($14 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Explore: multi-currency accounts, unlimited corporate cards, expenses, reimbursements, bill pay and invoicing for up to 10 Spend users, with no monthly fee. Transaction fees apply. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Airwallex | Pleo Technologies A/S |
| Price read from | airwallex.com | pleo.io |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Airwallex
- Businesses that pay suppliers or staff in other countries
- Teams that want multi-currency cards with no foreign transaction fees
- Online sellers collecting payments in several currencies
Pleo
- Small teams that want a card for every employee
- European businesses with staff spending in several countries
- Companies tired of chasing receipts after card purchases
Worth knowing
Airwallex
- Currency conversion costs 0.5% above the interbank rate for major currencies and 1% for others; SWIFT transfers cost $15 to $25 each.
- Grow adds a platform fee based on the number of Spend users that the pricing page does not state, and plan fees are charged per legal entity.
- Airwallex US, LLC is a licensed money transmitter that works with Evolve Bank & Trust for some US customers; the cards are issued by Community Federal Savings Bank.
- Taking card payments costs 2.8% + $0.30 for US cards and 4.3% + $0.30 for international ones.
Pleo
- Card and invoice payments in another currency carry a 1.75% FX fee on Build and 1.49% on Optimise, and direct reimbursements cost 0.90% each.
- Build and Optimise need at least 3 users; no free plan or free trial is shown on the US pricing page.
- In the US the Pleo card is a prepaid Mastercard issued by Pathward, N.A., with no cash access.
- Pleo works in 16 European countries, including Denmark, the UK, Germany, France and Spain, as well as the US.
Key features
Airwallex
- Multi-currency accounts
- Collect and hold money in more than 20 currencies, send local transfers to over 120 countries and SWIFT transfers to more than 200.
- Corporate cards
- Virtual and physical Visa cards with per-card limits for use in 60+ markets, with no foreign transaction fees and up to 2% cashback on local USD spend.
- Expenses and reimbursements
- Receipts are matched by AI from email or bulk upload, staff submit and approve in the mobile app, and reimbursements go to employees in 200+ countries.
- Bill pay
- Upload, email or sync bills, have their details extracted automatically, and pay domestic or international suppliers in bulk after approval.
- Invoicing and payments
- Send invoices for free, take cards and 160+ local payment methods through checkout or payment links, and run subscription billing.
- Developer APIs
- APIs for accounts, payouts, card issuing and payments, for businesses that build these into their own products.
Pleo
- Company cards for each employee
- Physical and virtual Pleo cards with Google Pay and Apple Pay, with individual, per-purchase and temporary spending limits.
- Receipt capture
- The app asks for a receipt after every card purchase, reads it with OCR, and the Fetch feature pulls online receipts from email automatically.
- Out-of-pocket and mileage
- Employees claim their own spending and mileage in the app, approvals follow company policy, and reimbursements are paid directly.
- AI spend checks
- AI spend guidelines on every plan, and AI expense reviews on Optimise (100 a month) or unlimited on Lead.
- Vendor tracking
- Recurring vendors and subscriptions are tracked, with renewal management and spending insights on Optimise.
- Accounting exports
- Auto-categorized expenses with custom categories and tags export to Xero, QuickBooks and other accounting systems.
Plans
Airwallex
Explore$0
Accounts in 20+ currencies, unlimited cards, expense management, bill pay with AI coding, invoicing and Xero or QuickBooks sync, for up to 10 Spend users.
Grow$12
per active Spend user / month, plus a platform fee by team size
Up to 250 Spend users. Adds multi-step approvals, an AI expense policy agent, bill rules, NetSuite and Business Central sync. The platform fee is not shown.
AccelerateCustom
Adds purchase orders and requests, AI 3-way matching, several legal entities, a direct ERP integration and an account manager.
Pleo
Build$12
per user / month, billed yearly ($14 billed monthly)
For 1 to 49 employees, 3-user minimum. Physical and virtual cards, receipt capture, reimbursements, mileage, approvals and AI spend guidelines.
Optimise$16
per user / month, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly)
3-user minimum. Adds cashback for eligible customers, budgets, 100 AI expense reviews a month, HR integrations, vendor insights and live chat.
Scale$249
per month and up
For 50 to 1,000 employees. Adds multi-entity management, advanced card controls and approvals, assisted onboarding and a success manager.
Lead$499
per month and up
Adds unlimited reimbursement users with no reimbursement fees, unlimited virtual cards and AI reviews, premium integrations and purchase orders.
EnterpriseCustom
For companies of 1,000 or more employees, built and priced after a call with Pleo.
Ways to pay less
Airwallex
No public discounts listed.
Pleo
- Annual discount
Save $2 a user each month with yearly billing
Build costs $12 per user a month billed yearly instead of $14 monthly, and Optimise $16 instead of $18.
