Brex vs Cledara (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Brex grades higher than Cledara: 3.6 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Brex 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.
Brex
Corporate cards, expenses, bill pay and travel for growing companies
Cledara
SaaS subscription management with virtual cards for finance teams
Which one is for you
Pick Brex if
- Fits if you're a startup that wants cards and expenses with no software bill
- Works for developers who want an API on the free plan
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need several expense policies or approval chains without paying $12 a user
- Pricey if your team buys a lot in foreign currencies, with an FX markup of up to 3% on card purchases
- Not for you if you only want some users on Premium, since everyone must be on the same plan
- Tight if you run more than two entities, as Essentials stops there and the rest needs Premium
- Watch out: the pricing page doesn't say whether Premium's $12 is billed monthly or yearly
Pick Cledara if
- Fits if you want one place for software renewals and cards
- Works for finance teams that use Xero, QuickBooks or NetSuite
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are small: $75 a month covers up to 20 apps
- Tight if you have many apps, as Premium is capped at 75
- Not for you if you want travel or general expenses, as it covers software only
- Watch out: Cledara Agent jobs are $200 a month each, and some modules $150 a month
How we grade them
| 3.6GPABrexExcellent | 1.6GPACledaraWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree and substantial. A ten-person company pays $0 a month on Essentials, and Brex charges no fee of its own for ACH, check or wire bill payments. Premium is $12 a user, and the pricing page doesn't say if that's monthly or yearly billing. | D$75 a month for up to 20 apps against a category middle of $12, and the dearest tenth starts at $60. Add-ons are extra, and a single user pays the same. |
| Free plan and trial | AEssentials is free with unlimited global cards, AI spending rules, up to two entities, bill pay, reimbursements, travel booking, accounting sync and the API. No user cap is listed. | FNothing free: no free plan and no trial are on record for this listing. |
| Features | BThe whole job: cards, expense policies, reimbursements, bill pay by ACH, check or wire, travel, a business account and accounting sync. Multiple policies and approval chains wait for Premium, but the core work is all there. | CSoftware directory, virtual cards, approvals and accounting sync. But it covers software spend only, and plans cap the number of apps. |
| Ease of use | A4.84 from 8,836 App Store ratings, the top band. The AI rules check spending against your policy for you, so there's less chasing to do. | CNo store rating on record. Cards, approvals and accounting links need connecting. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with QuickBooks Online, Xero, NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Dynamics 365, Workday, Rippling and Slack, and an API on every plan. No desktop app is listed. | BWeb only on the listing, with Xero, QuickBooks, NetSuite, Okta and HubSpot. |
| Best for | free global cards and expenses for startups | SaaS subscription management with virtual cards |
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: Brex and Cledara. How we grade
Price against what you get
Brex starts at $12 a month for each person and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Cledara starts at $75 a month and scores 2.3.
Brex scores higher and starts $63 a month lower. Of the other spend and bill pay tools on the chart, none scores higher than Brex for less, and 13 score higher than Cledara 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
- Brex also covers bill pay.
- Cledara also covers workflow automation.
At a glance
| Brex | Cledara | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $12 per user / month, billing term not stated | $75 per month for up to 20 software applications |
| Free plan | Essentials: unlimited global cards, one local card program, AI spending rules, up to two entities, bill pay, reimbursements, travel booking, accounting integrations and API access. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Brex LLC | Cledara Limited |
| Price read from | brex.com | cledara.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Brex
- Card purchases that need a currency conversion carry an FX markup of up to 3%; Brex charges no fee of its own for ACH, checks or wires.
- Brex LLC is owned by Capital One, N.A.; checking is provided by Column N.A., and the cards are issued by Emigrant Bank, Fifth Third Bank or Sutton Bank.
- Essentials allows up to two entities; multiple expense policies, approval chains and custom ERP or HR integrations need Premium.
- All users on an account must be on the same plan, and the pricing page does not say whether Premium is billed monthly or yearly.
Cledara
- Plans are capped by application count: Basic at 20 software applications and Premium at 75.
- Add-ons are priced separately: Cledara Agent jobs are $200 a month each, and Spend Optimisation and IT Management are $150 a month each.
- Cledara covers software spend only; it is not a general expense or travel tool.
- The pricing page showed pounds to our reader; the dollar figures here match the page's own USD price data.
Key features
Brex
- Corporate cards
- Unlimited cards accepted in 210+ countries and territories, with local-currency cards and billing in 50+ countries on higher plans.
- Expense policies
- AI-powered rules check spending; Premium adds category rules, role-based exceptions, auto-approval and audit detection.
- Bill pay
- Automated bill pay by ACH, check, domestic wire or international wire in local currency or US dollars, with no Brex fee per payment.
- Travel booking
- Book business travel inside Brex, free on Essentials, with group travel and advanced travel rules on Premium.
- Business account
- Checking provided by Column N.A., plus Treasury and Vault cash management run by Brex Treasury LLC.
- Accounting and API
- Transactions sync to QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, Sage Intacct and Dynamics 365, and an API is included on every plan.
Cledara
- Software directory
- Lists every SaaS and AI tool with its owner, users, cost, renewal date and the card used to pay for it.
- Virtual cards and payments
- Free virtual cards pay for software, with spend limits and budgets per tool, and a way to manage and cancel subscriptions.
- Purchasing and approvals
- Premium adds purchasing and approval workflows and automatic capture and matching of software invoices.
- Accounting sync
- Payments sync to Xero and QuickBooks on every plan, with the right account codes; NetSuite is on Premium.
- Cledara Agent
- An add-on that signs in to connected tools to collect invoices or manage joiners and leavers, with the user approving each change.
- Spend and IT modules
- Optional modules cover usage and seat insights, duplicate-tool and price-increase alerts, and IT access and security risks.
Plans
Brex
Essentials$0
For startups: global cards, AI custom rules, up to two entities (one global), bill pay, reimbursements, free travel booking and real-time reports.
Premium$12
per user / month, billing term not stated
Adds multiple expense policies, review and approval chains, AI audit checks, US and international entities, ERP and HR integrations, VAT documents and live budgets.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited entities, local card issuing, collections and reimbursements in other countries, an admin center and a named account manager.
Cledara
Basic$75
per month for up to 20 software applications
Software directory, renewal alerts, spend limits and budgets, free virtual cards, unlimited API access, and Xero and QuickBooks sync.
Premium$200
per month for up to 75 software applications
Adds purchasing and approval workflows, invoice capture, advanced reporting, NetSuite, Okta single sign-on and 1% first-year cashback.
Pro$500
per month and up
A package built to order on top of Premium, adding bank-transfer expense payments and a dedicated implementation manager.
Ways to pay less
Brex
No public discounts listed.
Cledara
- Annual discount
Save 16% with yearly billing
The pricing page shows a Yearly toggle saving 16%: Basic costs $750 a year and Premium $2,000 a year instead of monthly billing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Brex or Cledara?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Brex starts at $12 per user / month, billing term not stated, and Cledara starts at $75 per month for up to 20 software applications. One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Brex or Cledara?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Brex has a free plan. Cledara does not.
Which platforms do Brex and Cledara run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Brex lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.