Brex vs Navan
We give Brex a 3.6 GPA and Navan a 2.8, out of 4.0. Brex grades higher on value for money, the free plan and features. They get the same grade on ease of use and 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
Navan
Business travel booking with expenses and corporate cards built in
How we grade them
| 3.6GPABrexExcellent | 2.8GPANavanGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CGraded against its expense-tool alternatives. If all ten people claim in a month, the 5 beyond the free 5 cost $15 each, so $75 a month, with travel booking free. That's dearer than Expensify or Zoho Expense for ten, and Ramp and Brex do expenses for nothing. |
| 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. | BNavan Business is free for up to 300 employees, with travel booking, policies and 24/7 travel agents, plus expenses for 5 users a month. A small team could live on it until a sixth person claims. |
| 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. | CTravel and expenses are done fully: booking, policies, Navan cards, linked cards, receipt photos and reimbursements. It's a narrower job than the category's, though, with no supplier bill pay or invoicing listed. |
| 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. | A4.8 from 47,373 App Store ratings, the top band. Booking a trip and snapping the receipt happen in the same app. |
| 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, iPhone and Android, with NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Xero, Workday, Rippling, BambooHR, Okta and Slack. No desktop app is listed. |
| Best for | free global cards and expenses for startups | business travel with the expenses that follow |
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 Navan. 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. Navan starts at $15 a month for each person and scores 3.0.
Brex scores higher and starts $3 a month lower. Of the other spend and bill pay tools on the chart, none scores higher than Brex for less, and 2 score higher than Navan 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 starts at $12 per user / month, billing term not stated. Navan starts at $15 per expensing user / month, after the first 5 users free.
- Brex also covers bill pay.
At a glance
| Brex | Navan | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $12 per user / month, billing term not stated | $15 per expensing user / month, after the first 5 users free |
| 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. | Navan Business, for companies of up to 300 employees: travel booking with no trip limit, policies and 24/7 travel agents, plus expenses free for the first 5 expensing users a month. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Brex LLC | Navan |
| Price read from | brex.com | navan.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Brex
- Startups that want corporate cards and expenses at no software cost
- Companies with entities in several countries
- Finance teams that want spend policies enforced before money goes out
Navan
- Companies whose expenses are mostly business travel
- Businesses under 300 employees that want free travel booking
- Finance teams that want card spending coded and matched to trips
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.
Navan
- Navan Business is free because travel suppliers pay Navan commission; companies with more than 300 employees need Enterprise, priced by quote.
- Anyone who submits an expense in a month counts as an expensing user, and each one after the first 5 costs $15 a month.
- Navan cards are issued by Celtic Bank in the US and by Stripe, Adyen and Airwallex companies elsewhere.
- Linked American Express cards report transactions once a day; Visa and Mastercard cards report them in real time.
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.
Navan
- Travel booking
- Flights, hotels, car rentals and trains from one inventory, with travel policies, approval workflows, self-serve changes and 24/7 support agents.
- Expense policies
- Employees see their spending limits in the app, and out-of-policy transactions are flagged for review as they happen.
- Navan corporate cards
- Physical and virtual cards in US dollars, pounds or euros, with no annual fee, up to 1.5% back and virtual cards for subscriptions.
- Navan Connect
- Link existing Visa, Mastercard or American Express corporate cards so their transactions flow into Navan for coding and reconciling.
- Reimbursements
- Out-of-pocket costs are claimed by photographing the receipt in the app and repaid through payroll or to a bank account.
- Integrations
- Expenses sync to ERPs such as NetSuite, Sage Intacct and Xero, and employee data comes from HR systems such as Workday, Rippling and BambooHR.
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.
Navan
Navan Business$0
For up to 300 employees: unlimited trips, policies and approvals, 24/7 travel support, reports, 30+ HR integrations, and expenses for 5 users.
Navan Expense$15
per expensing user / month beyond the first 5, term not stated
Expense reports, reimbursements, receipt scanning, linked corporate cards and ERP sync for each user who submits an expense that month.
Navan EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited travelers and expensing users, global coverage, negotiated rates, custom setup, an account executive and a success manager.
