Happay vs Zoho Expense (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Happay if

• Fits if you are an Indian company that needs GST-aware expense reports
• Works for finance teams that want prepaid cards and travel in one platform

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you can't see a price, as none is published and the pricing page errors out
• Not for you if you operate outside India, as the GST and tax features are Indian
• Tight if you want a self-serve trial, as the site only points to a demo
• Watch out: the apps are on the India App Store and Google Play, as two separate apps for expenses and travel

Pick Zoho Expense if

• Fits if you're a team of 3 or fewer and want expense reports free
• Works for teams already on Zoho Books or other Zoho apps

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want supplier bills paid from the same tool
• Tight if anyone scans more than 20 receipts a month on the free plan
• Pricey if you book travel through it without Premium, at $9.99 a trip as an add-on
• Watch out: anyone who creates an expense or report is billed as a user
• Pricey if you want premium support, which starts at $490 a year, or ERP and HR links on Standard

Happay

• Happay publishes no prices; its pricing page returns an error and the site points to a demo request.
• The site is aimed at enterprises and India, and its GST features apply to Indian tax.
• The listed mobile apps are in the India App Store and on Google Play, as separate Expense and Travel apps.

Zoho Expense

• Anyone who creates an expense or report is billed as a user. The free plan stops at 3 users and 20 receipt scans per user a month.
• ERP and HR integrations are an add-on on Standard, travel self-booking as an add-on costs $9.99 a trip, and premium support starts at $490 a year.
• The Zoho Prepaid Mastercard is issued by Pathward, N.A. and is loaded from a funding account rather than a credit line.
• Travel booking, per diems, live budgets and multi-entity expenses need Premium.

Happay

Automatic expense capture

Xpendite pulls expense data from 6+ sources; the mobile app lists receipt OCR, WhatsApp and email capture, and automatic route capture.

Policy audit

SmartAudit flags duplicate invoices, overclaimed amounts, out-of-policy expenses and data mismatches as each report is filed.

Approvals and reimbursements

ApprovNow sends real-time alerts through approval hierarchies, and reimbursements can be paid individually or in bulk, trip by trip.

Prepaid cards

Cards for petty cash, fleet spend, employee tax benefits and payroll, with limits by daily or weekly amount, merchant category and payment mode.

Travel booking and GST

A self-booking tool covers flights, hotels, cabs, trains and buses, and Happay says its GST capture supports input tax credit claims.

Analytics

DeepAnalyze reports on top spenders, policy violators, approval times and department spend, with custom reports.

Zoho Expense

AI receipt scanning

Receipts are read in more than 38 languages and turned into itemized expenses, up to a monthly scan limit that rises with the plan.

Policies and approvals

Expense reports go through approval rules, and Zia AI flags possible fraud and alcohol on receipts from the Standard plan.

Mileage and per diem

Track drives by GPS on a phone or Apple Watch, and apply GSA per diem rates automatically on Premium.

Cards and reimbursements

Real-time Visa and Mastercard feeds, the Zoho Prepaid Mastercard, cash advances and direct ACH reimbursements to employees.

Travel booking

Premium adds employee self-booking of flights and hotels, guest booking and an in-house travel desk tool.

Zoho and accounting links

Exports to Zoho Books, QuickBooks Online, Xero and NetSuite, and works with Zoho People, Zoho CRM and Zoho Projects.

Happay

Pricing could not be confirmed. See happay.com.

Zoho Expense

• Free$0

  Up to 3 users, 20 receipt scans per user a month, expense reports, GPS mileage, the Zoho Prepaid Mastercard and accounting integrations.

• Standard$3

  per user / month, billed annually ($4 billed monthly)

  200 scans per user a month, card feeds, multiple policies, cash advances, ACH reimbursements, SSO and Zia AI reporting and audit.

• Premium$5

  per user / month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly)

  1,000 scans per user a month, travel self-booking, a travel desk, GSA per diems, live budgets and multi-entity expenses.

• EnterpriseCustom

  A spend platform combining travel, expenses, cards, procurement, accounts payable and payroll, quoted for large organizations.

Happay

No public discounts listed.

Zoho Expense

• Annual discount

  Save up to 25% with yearly billing

  Standard costs $3 per user a month billed yearly instead of $4 monthly, and Premium $5 instead of $6.

• Nonprofit

  Discounted pricing for nonprofits

  Zoho says Zoho Expense is available at discounted pricing for nonprofit organizations; the discount is not stated.