Expensify vs Pleo
We give Expensify a 2.8 GPA and Pleo a 1.8, out of 4.0. Expensify grades higher on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Expensify
Receipt scanning, expense reports and company cards, from $5 a member
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAExpensifyGood | 1.8GPAPleoWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CGraded against its expense-tool alternatives. Ten people on Collect cost $50 a month, $5 each billed monthly for every member, active or not. Zoho Expense costs less for ten and Ramp and Brex nothing, while Navan and Rydoo cost more. | CA ten-person company pays $120 a month on Build at the yearly rate, 10 users at $12, which is $12 a head and bang on the category's middle. Direct reimbursements add 0.90% each, and Optimise is $16 a user. |
| Free plan and trial | CSubmit is free for any employee, with unlimited receipt scans, mileage and reports. But reimbursing, approving and syncing need a paid plan, and the 30-day trial starts when you create a workspace. | FNothing free. The US pricing page shows no free plan and no free trial, and Build and Optimise need at least 3 users. |
| Features | BThe whole job: SmartScan receipts, approvals and ACH reimbursement, unlimited Expensify Cards, travel booking, supplier bills paid from a scanned inbox, invoices and a chat thread on every expense. | CCards and expenses are done well: a card per person, receipt requests after every purchase, Fetch for emailed receipts, mileage and AI spend checks. Bill pay isn't among its features, and budgets wait for Optimise. |
| Ease of use | B4.6 from 157,712 App Store ratings. Snap a receipt and it's an expense, but admins have a workspace, rules and accounting links to set up. | CNo store rating on record. There are cards to hand out, limits to set and accounting to connect, though after that staff only ever snap a receipt. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, iPhone, Android and a browser extension, with QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Workday, Gusto and Uber, and an API. NetSuite and Sage Intacct need Control. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, exporting to Xero, QuickBooks, Dynamics and SAP, with Workday and Okta. No desktop app is listed, and HR integrations need Optimise. |
| Best for | receipt scanning and staff reimbursements | a company card for every employee |
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: Expensify and Pleo. How we grade
Price against what you get
Expensify starts at $5 a month for each person and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Pleo starts at $12 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Expensify scores higher and starts $7 a month lower. Of the other spend and bill pay tools on the chart, none scores higher than Expensify for less, and 3 score higher than Pleo 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
- Expensify starts at $5 per member / month, billed monthly. Pleo starts at $12 per user / month, billed yearly ($14 billed monthly).
- Expensify has a free plan. Pleo does not.
- Only Expensify lists a macOS app.
- Only Expensify lists a browser extension.
- Expensify also covers invoicing and bill pay.
At a glance
| Expensify | Pleo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $5 per member / month, billed monthly | $12 per user / month, billed yearly ($14 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Submit, free for any employee: unlimited receipt scans, mileage tracking, expense reports, categories and tags, personal card import and chat on expenses. | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of the paid plans, starting when a workspace is created | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Expensify, Inc. | Pleo Technologies A/S |
| Price read from | expensify.com | pleo.io |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Expensify
- Small teams that need receipts scanned and staff reimbursed
- Employees whose company has no expense tool yet
- Companies ready to put most card spending on the Expensify Card
Pleo
- Small teams that want a card for every employee
- European businesses with staff spending in several countries
- Companies tired of chasing receipts after card purchases
Worth knowing
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.
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.
Key features
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.
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.
Plans
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.
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.
Ways to pay less
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.
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.
