ExpenseIn vs Pleo (2026): which should you pick?

Pick ExpenseIn if

• Fits if you run a UK business and want claims, cards and mileage in one place
• Works for finance teams that post expenses into Xero, QuickBooks or Sage

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want to see a price before booking a demo, as none is published
• Not for you if you're outside the UK, since the site is built around UK data storage and HMRC rules
• Watch out: reimbursements carry extra charges that the plans page doesn't state
• Tight if you need SSO, multi-entity or card data feeds, which start at Advanced, or the API, which needs Complete
• Tight if you want to try before talking to sales, with no trial on the listing

Pick Pleo if

• Fits if you want every employee to have their own card with their own limit
• Works for European teams with staff spending in several countries

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want to try before paying, as there's no free plan or trial shown
• Pricey if you're 1 or 2 people, since you pay for at least 3 users
• Tight if your team spends in other currencies a lot, with a 1.75% FX fee on Build
• Watch out: direct reimbursements cost 0.90% each, and the US card is prepaid with no cash access
• Too light for paying supplier bills, which aren't among its features

ExpenseIn

• No prices are published: the Core, Advanced and Complete plans all say to book a demo.
• SSO, multi-entity, custom fields and corporate card data feeds start at Advanced; the REST API, receipt verification and carbon reporting need Complete.
• Reimbursements carry additional charges, which the plans page does not state.
• The site names UK data storage and HMRC compliance, so it is built around UK businesses.

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.

ExpenseIn

Receipt scanning

A photo of a receipt in the mobile app is read for amount, date and other details, and the receipt is stored with the claim.

Mileage with Google Maps

The app uses Google Maps to work out distance and the reimbursement for a mileage claim, and the vendor lists carbon emission calculations.

Expense cards

Cards have built-in spending controls and card transactions appear in the app for matching with receipts. Advanced and Complete plans list cashback of 0.50% and 0.75%.

Policies and approvals

Policy rules are enforced automatically, with multi-stage approval, escalation and out-of-office cover. Receipt verification is on the Complete plan.

Reimbursements

Approved expenses can be paid out through ExpenseIn. The plans page notes that reimbursements carry additional charges.

Accounting and payroll integrations

The plans page lists Xero, QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, Sage products, Microsoft Business Central and SFTP file delivery, plus a REST API on the Complete plan.

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.

ExpenseIn

Pricing could not be confirmed. See expensein.com.

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.

ExpenseIn

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.