Expensify vs Pex (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Expensify if

• Fits if your team mostly needs receipts scanned and money paid back
• Works for an employee whose company has no expense tool yet

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you add people who rarely spend, as Collect bills every member
• Skip it if you want the $9 Control rate without moving spend onto the Expensify Card
• Tight if you use NetSuite, Sage Intacct, QuickBooks Desktop or Workday, as they connect only on Control
• Pricey if you won't commit to a year, as Control is then $36 a member a month
• Watch out: the 30-day trial starts when you create a workspace, and card cash back counts US purchases only

Pick Pex if

• Fits if you hand out a few prepaid cards and spend over $1,000 a month
• Works for nonprofits, which have their own pricing

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you spend under $1,000 a month on Base, as it costs $25
• Watch out: every account pays a 3% fee on each international transaction
• Watch out: a $50 dormancy fee applies after 90 days with no spending on an active card
• Pricey if you need the API, as it costs $5,000
• Skip it if you want credit-card rewards on everything, as the rebate is 0.5%, or 1% at $10,000 or more a month

Expensify

• Control's $9 rate needs an annual plan and the Expensify Card for at least half of settled spend; otherwise it is $18 on an annual plan or $36 with no commitment.
• Collect bills every member added to a workspace, active or not; Control bills anyone who creates, submits, approves, reimburses or exports a report that month.
• NetSuite, Sage Intacct, QuickBooks Desktop and Workday connect only on Control; Collect syncs with QuickBooks Online and Xero.
• The Expensify Card is issued by The Bancorp Bank in the US, and cash back counts US purchases only.

Pex

• Every account pays a 3% International Service Assessment Fee on each international transaction.
• Prepaid cards are funded in advance, and a $50 dormancy fee applies after 90 days with no spending on an active card.
• API access costs a $5,000 fee, and expedited card shipping costs $55 to $70 per shipment.
• Cards are issued by Fifth Third Bank or The Bancorp Bank, per the footer; the rebate is 1% for monthly spend of $10,000 or more, otherwise 0.5%.

Expensify

SmartScan receipts

Photograph or forward a receipt and Expensify reads it into an expense, with unlimited scans on every plan including the free one.

Approvals and reimbursement

Reports go to an approver and are paid back by ACH. Control adds multiple approvers, custom expense rules and admin-enforced controls.

Expensify Card

Unlimited cards, virtual ones included, with Smart Limits, paying 1% cash back on US purchases and 2% once monthly spend passes $250,000.

Travel booking

Book flights, hotels, cars and rail inside Expensify, with travel rules, trip approvals and a 24/7 support line.

Bills and invoices

Supplier bills are scanned from a dedicated email address and paid automatically, and invoices can be sent from the same account.

Chat on every expense

Each expense and report has its own comment thread, alongside chat rooms and direct messages between employees.

Pex

Prepaid and credit cards

Visa prepaid cards funded in advance, a credit charge card, and virtual cards, each with spend rules per card or group.

Receipt management

Cardholders submit receipts, notes and tags from the mobile app, and AI matches receipts to transactions.

Funding and approvals

Bulk card ordering, automated funding rules and in-app approval of card funding and purchase requests.

Reimbursements and bill pay

Pay out-of-pocket claims and mileage, and pay bills, by ACH at $1 per payment beyond the free allowance.

Accounting integrations

The site lists 50+ no-cost integrations covering accounting, ERP and expense software, including QuickBooks Online.

Nonprofit pricing

Nonprofits see a separate price table, with lower Core and Pro fees and cheaper additional cards.

Expensify

• Submit$0

  For individual employees: receipt scanning, mileage, expense reports and submitting them to an approver.

• Collect$5

  per member / month, billed monthly

  Billed for every member, active or not. Reimbursements, card feeds, approvals, travel booking and QuickBooks Online or Xero sync.

• Control$9

  per active member / month, annual plan using the Expensify Card

  $18 on an annual plan without the card, $36 with no commitment. Adds NetSuite and Sage Intacct, multi-step approvals, SSO and budgets.

Pex

• Prepaid Base$0

  per month, plus $25 in months under $1,000 spent

  Up to 5 free card accounts, then $8 each; $1 per ACH reimbursement.

• Prepaid Core$75

  per month

  Up to 20 free card accounts, then $4 each; 20 free ACH reimbursements, then $1. Fee waived in months over $50,000 spent.

• Prepaid Pro$200

  per month

  Up to 100 free card accounts, then $2 each; 100 free ACH reimbursements, then $1. Fee waived in months over $50,000 spent.

• Credit Expense$0

  Corporate charge card with no setup or subscription fees and $0 per card; up to 1% back on eligible purchases, with terms.

• Disburse$399.95

  one-time set-up fee

  For paying advocates, grantees or rewarding staff: 50 cards free, then $5 each. Custom card designs cost $5,000 extra.

Expensify

• Annual discount

  Half price on Control with an annual subscription

  Control costs $18 per active member a month on an annual subscription, against $36 on pay-per-use with no commitment.

• Other savings

  Control at $9 when you use the Expensify Card

  On an annual subscription, Control drops to $9 per active member a month when the Expensify Card carries at least 50% of settled US spend that month.

Pex

• Nonprofit

  Nonprofit pricing on Core and Pro

  Nonprofits pay $30 a month for Core and $80 for Pro, with extra cards at $1.60 and $0.80, per the pricing page.