Overview

Brex is a spend-management platform that brings company spending, expenses, budgets, and accounting workflows together. It is best suited to startups and growing or global teams that want policy controls across entities; its main trade-off is that broader entity coverage can require a higher-tier plan.

Key features

Controls and budgets

Policies can be tailored by use case, seniority, department, or entity, with specified merchants or categories blocked outright or routed for approval. That gives finance teams meaningful control without relying only on after-the-fact expense review. Live Budgets lets department heads allocate spend to people or teams and monitor usage in real time, while Brex AI flags anomalous activity. These tools are most useful when teams need visible limits across departments; the Essentials plan's entity cap may constrain more complex organizations.

Expense and accounting workflows

Brex can automatically collect expense documents, create memos, fill in fields, assign departments and general-ledger codes, and match receipts with OCR across languages and currencies. This can reduce routine expense administration, particularly for teams handling varied currencies. QuickBooks and NetSuite are named ERP integrations, and accounting automation can suggest coding rules and mappings. Brex also offers thousands of native integrations, including Slack, Rippling, Workday, and Xero, though some integrations may be add-ons.

Reimbursements and mobile

Employees can receive reimbursements in local currency to bank accounts across 40 countries, without per-transaction reimbursement fees. The mobile app supports expense tracking, travel booking and management, spend-limit requests, and payments, making it useful for employees who need to handle spending away from a desk.

Security and support

Brex states that it is SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type II, and PCI-DSS compliant, and describes encryption, two-factor authentication, and fraud monitoring. Its fraud protection includes 24/7 support, with support contact through the dashboard or mobile app.

Pricing

Brex uses a freemium model. Essentials costs 0.00 USD per month (billed $0 user/month) and includes up to two entities, including one global entity, plus one local card program. It is the sensible starting point for smaller teams whose structure fits those limits; it gives up the broader entity coverage offered on paid tiers.

Premium costs 12.00 USD per month (billed $12 user/month) and includes multi-entity coverage in the US and internationally. It suits teams that have outgrown Essentials' two-entity ceiling but do not need unlimited entities. Enterprise has custom pricing and includes unlimited US or global entities, a fit for organizations with wider entity structures. Smart Card also has custom pricing and provides local-currency cards in 50+ countries.

Some integrations may be add-ons, so teams should account for that when comparing plan costs. Essentials' entity and card-program limits are the clearest constraints; Enterprise is the relevant option when unlimited entity coverage is required.

Platforms

Brex supports web, iOS, Android, and API access. The mobile app covers expense tracking, travel booking and management, spend-limit requests, and payments.

Who it's for

Brex serves startups, scaled companies, and ecommerce brands, including founders, CFOs, and finance teams. It is a strong fit for organizations combining policy-driven card spending, budgets, reimbursements, and accounting workflows, especially those operating across currencies or multiple entities. A team with a simple, single-entity setup may not need the breadth of the platform, while an organization that needs unlimited entities should plan for Enterprise custom pricing.

Pros and cons

Pros: Policies can be scoped by department, entity, or other organizational dimensions, with blocking and approval options for specified spend.
Pros: Expense automation spans document collection, coding, and receipt matching, while reimbursement supports local currency across 40 countries without per-transaction fees.
Pros: Essentials provides a free entry point, and Premium expands coverage to multiple US and international entities.
Cons: Essentials is capped at two entities and one local card program, which can make it a poor fit as entity structures grow.
Cons: Unlimited entities require Enterprise custom pricing, and some integrations may add cost beyond the plan price.

Alternatives

For a different expense-and-travel option, compare Travel and Expense Management Software. Teams focused on a narrower workflow can also compare Mileage Tracking Software, Spend Management Software, Expense Reimbursement Software, and Corporate Card Software.

Emburse Spend is worth considering for teams that want a paid expense tool with a free trial: Basic is 8.00 USD per month per user and caps ACH reimbursements at 50, while Plus is 12.00 USD per month per user and makes ACH reimbursements unlimited.

ITILITE offers a free Corporate Card plan with up to 2.5% cashback and unlimited virtual or physical cards, so it may suit teams prioritizing those card terms. Its Expense Management plan is 6.00 USD per month billed annually.

Perk has a free plan and a Travel and Spend Premium plan at 6.00 USD per month per active user plus 3% per booking, with 10 travel policies and approval processes and up to four legal entities. Teams comparing travel-and-spend costs should weigh that booking fee and entity cap against their needs.

Ramp Travel offers a free plan with travel bookings, company-wide travel policies, and 24/7 chat support; its Plus plan is 15.00 USD per month per user plus a platform fee. It is a reasonable comparison for teams focused on travel bookings and policies.

Mesh Travel has a free Pro plan for up to three users, a Premium plan at 13.00 USD per user per month, and a custom-priced Enterprise plan. It may be a better match for a team small enough to use the free tier.

Navan Expense is another freemium option for web, iOS, and Android. SAP Concur Invoice is a paid option with subscription-style pricing by quote. For accounts-payable workflows, Payhawk Accounts Payable costs 349.00 USD per month billed monthly and includes end-to-end bill management and an advanced approval workflow designer.

Verdict

Choose Brex if your team wants spend controls, automated expenses, budgets, and reimbursements in one platform, with room to support multiple entities and currencies. Its free Essentials tier makes it accessible to smaller teams, while Premium raises the entity ceiling. Look elsewhere if Essentials' limits are too tight and Enterprise custom pricing is hard to justify, or if your priority is a narrower travel, reimbursement, or accounts-payable workflow.

	American Express @ Work	Brex
Free plan	No	Yes
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	—	$12/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Web	Android, api, iOS, Web
Physical cards	Yes	—
Spend controls	Yes	—
Approval workflows	Yes	Yes
Receipt capture	Yes	—
Free plan	—	Yes
Paid from	—	12 /user/mo

American Express @ Work vs Brex

American Express @ Work

Brex