Expense management software: Top 7 Brex competitors in 2024

Brex is a spend management platform that combines corporate cards, expense tracking, and accounting automation into one integrated system. Since launching in 2017, Brex has helped companies simplify and control their business spending with features like customizable expense policies, automatic receipt capture, and accounting integrations.

The top 7 Brex alternatives include:

• Rippling
• Ramp
• Expensify
• BILL
• Concur
• Navan
• Airbase

Rippling 

Rippling is an all-in-one platform that unifies HR, IT, and Finance into a single system, making it easier for businesses to manage their workforce. By putting everything in one place—from payroll and benefits to corporate cards and expense management–Rippling helps you streamline your operations and keep things running smoothly.

With Rippling, companies can simplify processes, increase visibility into spending, and ensure compliance with their spend policies across the organization. The platform's advanced policy engine and customizable workflows enable you to create hyper-custom rules and automate tasks, saving time and reducing manual effort.

Key features of Rippling Spend

• Advanced policy engine for creating granular, role-based spending policies and approval chains
• Automated conversions of expenses into local currencies, simplifying international expense reconciliation for reviewers and submitters
• Global payroll and expense management, supporting multiple currencies and reimbursements in 100+ countries
• Automated expense management tasks like duplicate detection, receipt matching, and ledger syncing
• Comprehensive analytics and reporting, providing real-time visibility into workforce data and spending trends

However, while Brex is a top choice for many, it's not the only option in the increasingly crowded expense management space. Several Brex competitors have emerged that may be a better fit depending on a company's specific needs and priorities.

Why Rippling is a better choice 

While Brex offers a robust corporate card and expense management solution, it lacks native integration with companies' HR systems. In contrast, Rippling's spend management functionality is built on the same platform as its HR and IT solutions. With employee data as the single source of truth, changes to an employee's status, such as promotions, department changes, or terminations, are automatically reflected in their spending permissions in real-time. 

By consolidating payroll, corporate cards, reimbursements, and bill payments, Rippling Spend allows you to gain a full understanding of your company's outflows, including the largest part of your spend–headcount costs. This holistic approach enables granular control over spend policies, reduces unauthorized spending, and allows for informed decision-making based on up-to-date information.

Moreover, Rippling Spend's advanced policy engine and customizable workflows provide you with unparalleled control and automation capabilities. You can create complex spending policies tailored to each employee's role, ensuring that everyone's expenses match the company's guidelines. Additionally, Rippling's global payroll and expense management features make it an ideal choice for businesses with international teams or those looking to expand globally.

What customers think about Rippling 

Rippling has consistently earned high praise from customers across various review platforms. On G2, Rippling maintains a 4.8-star rating, with users commending its ease of use, robust feature set, and exceptional customer support. 

Similarly, on Capterra, Rippling boasts a 4.9-star rating, with customers highlighting the platform's flexibility, automation capabilities, and time-saving benefits. Many users also appreciate Rippling's unified approach to workforce management, noting that it simplifies processes and provides a comprehensive view of their organization.

Pricing 

Rippling's pricing starts at $8 per user per month for the core platform, which includes essential HR and IT features. Additional modules, such as payroll, benefits, and expense management, can be added to create a customized plan tailored to your company's specific needs. 

Ramp 

Ramp is another popular spend management platform that offers a wide array of features to help businesses simplify their financial operations. With Ramp, companies can control expenses, automate accounting processes, and gain real-time visibility into their spending. The platform combines corporate cards, expense management, accounts payable automation, and powerful reporting tools to save businesses time and money.

Key features of Ramp

• Unlimited virtual and physical corporate cards with customizable spend controls and auto-enforced policies
• Automated expense management with receipt matching, generation, and compliance checks
• Accounts payable automation, including invoice extraction, approval workflows, and vendor payments
• Real-time reporting and AI-powered savings insights to identify cost-saving opportunities

What customers think about Ramp 

Ramp has received excellent reviews on both G2 and Capterra. On G2, it has a 4.8/5 overall rating with 89% of users giving it 5 stars, while on Capterra, it boasts a 4.9/5 rating. Customers praise Ramp's ease of use, virtual cards, expense tracking efficiency, AI features, and integrations with accounting software like Sage Intacct and QuickBooks Online, with some other users noting minor issues with approvals, manual entry, and a desire for additional helpful features.

Pricing 

Ramp offers a free plan that includes essential features like unlimited cards, expense management, and accounting software integration. For businesses with more advanced needs, Ramp Plus is available at $12 per user per month.

Expensify

Expensify is a user-friendly financial management software built to streamline the expense tracking and reimbursement process. With features like receipt scanning, corporate card reconciliation, and customizable approval workflows, Expensify simplifies expense management for both employees and administrators.

Key features of Expensify

• Expensify's SmartScan technology automatically captures receipt details with a single click, eliminating the need for manual data entry
• The Expensify Visa® Corporate Card automates expense tracking and offers up to 2% cash back on purchases, making it an attractive option for businesses
• Expensify seamlessly integrates with popular accounting, HR, and travel apps
• Expensify's global reimbursement feature enables companies to make hassle-free cross-border payments to over 190 countries

What customers think about Expensify

With a 4.4/5 star rating and 4.5/5 star rating on Capterra and G2 respectively, Expensify has received a lot of positive feedback from customers. Users appreciate its convenience for tracking receipts and managing expenses on the go, although some note room for improvement in customer support and reporting tools. 

Pricing 

Expensify offers flexible pricing plans to suit the needs of various organizations. The Collect plan, starting at $5/user/month is ideal for growing organizations while larger organizations can opt for the Control plan at $9/user/month.

BILL 

BILL Spend & Expense, formerly known as Divvy, is an expense management solution that enables companies to gain real-time visibility and control over their spending. The platform offers a range of features, including customizable spend controls, automated expense categorization, and virtual cards, which help businesses manage their budgets more effectively and reduce the risk of fraud and overspending.

Key features of BILL

• Customizable spend controls and policies to manage budgets effectively
• Automated expense categorization and receipt matching for faster reconciliation
• Virtual cards to protect businesses from fraud and overspending
• Mobile app for easy expense tracking and management on the go

What customers think about BILL

On G2, BILL has received a 4.3 out of 5 stars, and a 4.1/5 star rating on Capterra. Users appreciate the software for its clean and simple interface, which facilitates easy management of company expenses and financial processes. While customers have noted the need for a bit of time to set up and customize the software, the automation of tasks such as invoice processing and bill payments has been highlighted as a significant time-saver, contributing to the software’s efficiency

Pricing

BILL Spend & Expense offers a free plan that includes access to its expense management software, physical and virtual cards, and a mobile app for all users. The company provides credit lines ranging from $500 to $5M, depending on the business's eligibility and needs.

Concur

Concur is an expense management solution that simplifies and automates the entire expense process from end to end. Part of the SAP family, Concur's cloud-based platform provides businesses with enhanced visibility into spending, enabling them to reduce costs, increase compliance, and focus on strategic initiatives. With integrations across travel, invoice, and expense, Concur offers a comprehensive spend management solution for organizations of all sizes.

Key features of Concur

• Automated expense capture from multiple sources, including corporate cards, travel bookings, and receipts
• Intuitive user interface for simplified expense reporting and faster employee reimbursements
• Robust analytics and reporting capabilities for real-time visibility into spending trends
• Extensive ecosystem of partner apps and integrations to strengthen the spend management process

What customers think about Concur 

Concur has received reviews of 4.0/5 on G2 and 4.3 on Capterra. While some faced onboarding or issue resolution challenges, users generally appreciate the ease of expense management, automation, and the mobile app's convenience. 

Pricing 

Concur offers customized pricing based on the unique needs and size of each organization. Factors that influence pricing include the chosen product modules, monthly expense report volume, and the number of users. Interested businesses can request a free quote on the Concur website, or take advantage of a 15-day free trial to test out the platform's features.

Navan

Navan is an all-in-one travel, corporate card, and expense management solution that empowers businesses to optimize their financial processes and gain better control over employee spending. The platform offers a range of features designed to save time and money, including automated expense categorization, customizable spend controls, and global rapid reimbursements across 45 countries and 25 currencies.

Key features of Navan 

• Navan automates expense management by categorizing and reconciling transactions, eliminating manual reports
• Companies can set customizable spend controls enforced at purchase, reducing out-of-policy spend and fraud
• Real-time visibility and analytics allow finance teams to monitor global spend and optimize expense policies
• Navan provides travel booking, exclusive deals, 24/7 support, and an easy platform for business travel management

What customers think about Navan 

Navan has garnered a 4.7/5 star rating on both G2 and Capterra, with users praising its user-friendly interface, efficient expense reporting, and seamless travel booking. However, a few users have noted issues with customer support responsiveness and occasional discrepancies between travel expenses and actual receipts, which can cause difficulties when reconciling expense reports.

Pricing

Navan provides customized pricing plans based on business needs and size, with a free trial available. You have to contact sales for a personalized quote tailored to your requirements. Free demos are also offered.

Airbase 

Airbase is a spend management platform that consolidates guided procurement, accounts payable automation, expense management, and corporate cards into a single, user-friendly interface, enabling companies to gain unparalleled visibility and control over their spending. 

Key features of Airbase 

• AI-powered expense management with OCR technology for easy receipt scanning and automated expense report creation
• Customizable approval workflows and spend controls to ensure policy compliance and prevent unauthorized spending
• Global payments in 145+ currencies and 200+ countries, with support for multi-subsidiary operations
• Real-time sync with popular ERPs like NetSuite, Sage Intacct, and QuickBooks for accurate and efficient financial reporting

What customers think about Airbase 

Airbase has made a great impression on its customers, earning a 4.8/5 rating on both G2 and Capterra. While some noted initial setup challenges and feature requests, many other users find the platform easy to use, with helpful customer support and a wide range of useful features.

Pricing 

Airbase provides Standard, Premium, and Enterprise pricing packages based on company size and feature requirements, with custom options available. You have to request a quote for specific pricing details.

Which solution rises to the top? 

While Brex has established itself as a leading spend management platform, businesses looking for an alternative should strongly consider Rippling. No other Brex competitor provides the same visibility into and control over spend or the level of integration across core business functions. 

What sets Rippling apart is its ability to unify employee information from across HR, IT, and finance systems into one seamless experience. By having a single source of truth for workforce data, Rippling allows companies to manage everything from payroll and expenses to corporate card issuance with incredible efficiency. Whether you are a scaling startup or an established enterprise, Rippling's spend management solution provides a simpler way to gain control over processes that often involve multiple disconnected systems.

This blog is based on information available to Rippling as of May 9, 2024.

Disclaimer: Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting, and legal advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.