Brex vs Spendesk
We give Brex a 3.6 GPA and Spendesk a 2.2, out of 4.0. Brex grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features 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
Free plan · from $12/mo
Spendesk
Spend management with unlimited cards and users, priced by quote
Paid
How we grade them
| 3.6GPABrexExcellent | 2.2GPASpendeskFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CNo price is published, so it sits in the middle by our rule. Spendesk quotes a fixed monthly platform fee plus variable fees on card purchases, invoice payments and expense claims, so there's no monthly figure for a ten-person company. |
| 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. There's no free plan or published free trial, only a demo and a product tour. |
| 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. | BThe whole job: unlimited cards of four kinds, receipt rules and OCR, expense claims, live budgets, multi-entity reporting, an open API and an MCP connector, with accounts payable and procurement sold as add-ons. |
| 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. | B4.7 from 637 App Store ratings, high but short of the 1,000 we want for the top band. Receipt reminders run themselves once the rules are set. |
| 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 Xero, QuickBooks, DATEV, Slack and an open API. No desktop app is listed, and HR and ERP integrations are an add-on. |
| Best for | free global cards and expenses for startups | unlimited cards and users for one quoted fee |
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 Spendesk. How we grade
Where they differ
- Brex has a free plan. Spendesk does not.
- Brex also covers reports.
In commonWebiOSAndroidPublic APIAI featuresExpense trackingBill payCompany cards
At a glance
| Brex | Spendesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $12 per user / month, billing term not stated | Not published |
| 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 | Spendesk |
| Price read from | brex.com | Not confirmed |
| 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
Spendesk
- European companies that want unlimited cards and users for one fee
- Finance teams that want receipt collection enforced automatically
- Businesses paying many software subscriptions by card
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.
Spendesk
- No prices are published: Spendesk quotes a fixed monthly platform fee plus variable fees on card purchases, invoice payments and expense claims.
- Procurement, accounts payable, advanced workflows, HR and ERP integrations and AI fraud detection are add-ons to the base package.
- It serves the EEA, the UK and the US; payments and Visa debit cards come from Spendesk Financial Services, Adyen and Sutton Bank respectively.
- There is no free plan or published free trial; Spendesk offers a demo and a product tour instead.
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.
Spendesk
- Unlimited cards
- Physical cards for employees, single-use cards for one-off payments, recurring virtual cards for subscriptions and multi-use cards for projects or events.
- Receipt collection
- Custom rules and automatic reminders chase receipts, OCR reads them, and they are matched to the right card payment straight away.
- Expense claims
- Out-of-pocket expenses are submitted, reimbursed and tracked alongside card spending.
- Budgets
- Track spending against budgets in real time, with multi-entity workflows and reporting in the base package.
- Accounts payable add-on
- Manage supplier invoices and pay suppliers worldwide in the right currency, with procurement as a separate add-on.
- Integrations and API
- Connects to Xero, QuickBooks, DATEV and Slack, offers an open API, and links spend data to AI assistants through an MCP connector.
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.
Spendesk
Pricing could not be confirmed. See spendesk.com.
