Pex review (2026): is the free plan enough?
Prepaid and credit business cards with employee spend controls
Black Friday: is there a Pex sale?
Pex report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 12, 2026
Best for prepaid cards for staff and small teams
PEX issues prepaid and credit cards with receipt capture, approvals and reimbursements, and Base has no monthly fee. Base charges $25 in months under $1,000 of spend, and fees for API access, international use and dormant cards pile up.
Who Pex is for
- Fits if you hand out a few prepaid cards and spend over $1,000 a month
- Works for nonprofits, which have their own pricing
Who Pex is not for
- 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
Why Pex gets a 2.2
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyBase is $0 a month but charges $25 in months under $1,000 spent; Core is $75 and Pro $200. Compared with expense tools' $7.50 to $20 per seat, it is a card programme priced by cards and spend, so we leave it at the middle.
- CFree plan and trialBase has up to 5 free card accounts. Past that you pay per card, and the $25 low-spend fee applies.
- CFeaturesPrepaid and credit cards, receipts, funding and approvals, reimbursements, bill pay and accounting links. The listing shows it works by pre-funding cards, with fees on top.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record. Cards, funding and an accounting link to set up.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb and Android on record, with two integrations. No iPhone app listed.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Pex's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/pex#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/pex.svg" alt="Pex: 2.2 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Pex stands among spend and bill pay tools
Pex's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 32 of the 51 other spend and bill pay tools we grade, and level with 5.
It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 9 of 51) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 52 spend and bill pay tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Pex’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 3 of 51, level with 39
- CFree plan and trialAbove 31 of 51, level with 12
- CFeaturesAbove 3 of 51, level with 36
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 51, level with 39
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 9 of 51, level with 41
Keep Pex, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Pex you would be making cards issued through a bank. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
What you could make
- Expense tracking and reports: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Cards issued through a bank.
- Money moved between bank accounts, which takes a licensed payments partner.
- A real app for Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It plugs into other products, QuickBooks Online and SAP Concur among them, and has an API.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
What this rests on. Pex’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Pex?
PEX issues Visa cards to US businesses and nonprofits for employee spending. The main product is a prepaid expense card funded in advance, sold in Base, Core and Pro tiers by monthly fee and number of free cards, with a separate credit charge card and a Disburse card for paying grantees or advocates. Receipts are matched with AI and synced to more than 50 accounting and ERP tools.
Worth knowing
- 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%.
Key features
- 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.
Pex pricing
As of Nov 12, 2026, Pex has a free plan, and paid plans start at $0 per month for Base, with up to 5 free cards.
- Starts at
- $0 per month for Base, with up to 5 free cards
- Free plan
- Prepaid Base: $0 monthly fee with up to 5 free card accounts; $25 monthly fee in months with under $1,000 spent.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Prepaid Base | $0per month, plus $25 in months under $1,000 spent | Up to 5 free card accounts, then $8 each; $1 per ACH reimbursement. |
| Prepaid Core | $75per 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 | $200per 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 | $399.95one-time set-up fee | For paying advocates, grantees or rewarding staff: 50 cards free, then $5 each. Custom card designs cost $5,000 extra. |
Read from pexcard.com on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Pex before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- NonprofitNonprofit 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.
Stated on pexcard.com
Works with
- QuickBooks Online
- SAP Concur
Pex alternatives
- Pex vs Ramp
Free plan · from $15/mo
- Pex vs Brex
Free plan · from $12/mo
- Pex vs Extend
Free plan · from $8.99/mo
- Pex vs Rho
Paid
- Pex vs Expensify
Free plan · from $5/mo
Common questions
Does Pex have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Pex is listed for Web and Android.
Does Pex have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Pex is listed for Web and Android.
Is Pex open source?
Pex is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.
Does Pex have an API?
Yes. Pex offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026.