Teams look beyond Brex mostly because of who it will accept: the account requirements ask for a US EIN, a US incorporation, US operations and a US address, and the pricing page keeps several numbers behind a sales call. The alternatives below include European card-and-expense vendors, prepaid and per-user options, and a few US tools.
Short answer: We open the ranking with smaller vendors and put the established brands from fourth place onward. For Brex users, the top three picks from our expense management ranking are Moss, Mooncard and Soldo. Pick Moss if a German or Austrian company wants DATEV-friendly month-ends and a start without a card contract. These 11 products are all in Best Expense Management Software in 2026; the notes say how each one compares with Brex.
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Pricing: Free tier; Premium $12 per user per month, published; Enterprise custom
Established in: United States
Built for: A venture-backed company with cash on the balance sheet
Not for: A bootstrapped small business
01
Why buyers look past Brex
01
A US company is the entry ticket
Brex's account requirements page lists four things every applicant needs: a US EIN issued by the IRS, a valid US incorporation, US operations and a US physical address. P.O. boxes and private mailboxes are refused. A European company, or a European subsidiary without a US parent, cannot start from the sign-up form.
02
Financial thresholds depend on company type
Startups on monthly payments need $50,000 in cash if they have raised funding, startups on daily payments need more than $500,000 in yearly revenue, commercial businesses need more than $500k, and mid-market companies more than $400,000 a month. The page adds that meeting the criteria does not guarantee approval, so a bootstrapped team should expect to be reviewed case by case.
03
Entities and local cards climb the plan ladder
Essentials at $0 per user covers up to two entities, one of which must be global, and one local card programme. Premium at $12 per user per month adds US and international multi-entity support. Local card issuance and unlimited entities appear only under Enterprise, which has no published price. A group with subsidiaries in several countries therefore reaches a sales call quickly. The pricing page also links to a fee schedule for the business account and bill pay without listing amounts, so a second document is needed before the total is known.
the company is American and you want a no-cost starting tier plus automated month-end close
#9
03
What each one does differently
1
Moss
Germany · Published
DATEV is the export format many DACH bookkeepers already work with, and Moss, a German company, follows its conventions. Teams of three or fewer pay nothing; larger setups are quoted a platform fee plus a fee on transaction volume. Virtual and physical cards both exist, which can keep a small German finance team on one tool.
Switch from Brex if a German or Austrian company wants DATEV-friendly month-ends and a start without a card contract.
From France, Mooncard targets the accounting entry itself: a card payment arrives already coded, not as a receipt waiting in somebody's inbox. Every card issued is charged at €10, while the organisation-level price is quoted. The deepest integrations are with French accounting systems, so a company booking elsewhere gets less out of it.
Switch from Brex if your accountant is French and wants the entry ready the moment a card is used.
Prepaid cards from a UK company: funds must be loaded first, and no credit line is involved. Entry is £27 monthly, covering three cards and three users; card issuance and other e-money fees are charged separately, and Unlimited is quoted. Budgets can be set for each team.
Switch from Brex if spending should stop at the card balance and you cannot or will not take on credit.
Danish Pleo bills each user monthly at published rates. Staff tap the card, photograph the receipt and carry on, so adoption stays high without training sessions. Compared with Payhawk, finance has fewer settings to tune, and the bill rises in step with headcount.
Switch from Brex if most of your staff spend only now and then and should follow the process without being chased.
One product from a UK company handles company cards, employee reimbursements and supplier invoices, with multi-entity support across countries. Charges are modular: a platform fee, then units for each of cards, invoices and reimbursements. Small businesses can start on the Growth programme, listed at £149 monthly. Lighter tools are quicker to set up.
Switch from Brex if you operate across several European countries and want cards, reimbursements and bills in one place.
French Spendesk starts from approval: the budget owner agrees before money leaves, instead of a finance clerk checking afterwards. Each organisation is quoted its own price. Someone in finance has to run the platform, so a team with budget holders and a controller fits better than a founder working alone.
Switch from Brex if budget owners must sign off before spending and you have finance staff to run the process.
Swiss vendor Yokoy sends employee expenses, card spend and supplier invoices through a single automation engine, where other vendors sell three separate products. Each organisation is quoted its own price. The design points at companies with a few hundred employees or more, and a thirty-person firm would find it heavy.
Switch from Brex if one rule set should cover expense claims, cards and incoming supplier invoices, with a few hundred people on payroll.
Paid tiers are priced per user monthly and published, and a no-cost tier exists as well. Features include receipt scanning, mileage, per diems, travel requests and multi-level approvals. No cards are issued: card transactions come in via Visa and Mastercard feeds, or Amex and AirPlus integrations. Zoho Books connects directly, yet the product also runs outside that suite.
Switch from Brex if approvals and reports matter, the budget per seat is small and a bank already supplies your company cards.
American Expensify built its name on SmartScan, which reads receipts. Collect costs $5 for each member monthly and Control between $18 and $36; all figures are published. Individual employees can use the Submit tier to scan and send reports before the company pays anything. Accounting sync and approvals sit on the paid tiers.
Switch from Brex if employees file reports from their own cards and you want quick scanning at a cheap entry price.
Travel booking and expenses share one system at Navan, a US company. On the Business tier, booking costs nothing for as many as 300 employees, and the expense module is included for the first five users before $15 monthly per seat applies. Enterprise is quoted. Most of the travel inventory sits in the United States.
Switch from Brex if most of your spending is on trips and you want booking and expensing to reconcile themselves.
Ramp, based in the US, offers a Free tier and a Plus tier costing $15 monthly per user alongside a platform fee; Enterprise is custom. Only US-registered businesses holding $25,000 at a US bank qualify, which is the same wall Brex presents. Cards in local currency for 30+ countries are listed on the higher tiers.
Switch from Brex if the company is American and you want a no-cost starting tier plus automated month-end close.
Moss: German, so no US EIN or US address is involved. Three users cost nothing, and larger plans are quoted.
02
You want spending limited to money already loaded
Soldo: Funds are loaded in advance, so there is no credit line. Entry is £27 monthly for three cards and three users, with issuance and e-money fees charged separately.
03
You run several European entities and need bills handled too
Payhawk: Cards, reimbursements and supplier invoices sit together with multi-entity support; the price is a platform fee plus units.
04
You want staff to submit expenses with little training
Pleo: Each user is billed monthly at published rates, and paying first then photographing the receipt keeps adoption high.
05
You are a US company and want a free tier
Ramp: A Free tier exists, and Plus is $15 monthly per user plus a platform fee. Applicants must hold $25,000 at a US bank.
04
When Brex is still the right choice
Brex remains the better choice for a US-incorporated company, especially a funded startup that needs credit limits set from its cash balance or revenue rather than a founder's personal history. Its pricing page lists Essentials at $0 per user with travel booking, bill pay, reimbursements and API access included, and cards accepted in 210+ countries. The homepage describes banking, treasury, accounting and travel on the same platform for companies in 120+ countries. If you already meet the requirements and use several of those parts, moving cards, bill pay and bookkeeping to separate vendors will probably add work.
05
What moving off Brex involves
01
Check the card programme before cancelling anything
Cards, bill pay and the business account may each carry their own balance and settlement terms. Find out what is outstanding, when it must be repaid, and which recurring subscriptions and supplier mandates are charged to Brex cards.
02
Move recurring payments card by card
Make a list of every vendor billing a Brex card, from software to travel, and update each to the new card before the old one is closed. Spending policies, approval chains and budgets need to be rebuilt in the new tool, so write down the current rules first.
03
Export receipts and ledger data, then close one month in parallel
Ask for a transaction and receipt export covering the period your auditors may request. Run one month in both systems, compare what reaches the ledger through the accounting integration, and only then switch the team over.
06
Questions about replacing Brex
7 answers
What is the best alternative to Brex for a European company?
Moss ranks first in our list of Brex alternatives. It is a German company following DATEV conventions, with three users at no cost and larger plans quoted as a platform fee plus a transaction-volume fee.
Mooncard, Soldo, Pleo and Payhawk follow, all European and none requiring a US EIN.
Can a company outside the United States use Brex?
The account requirements page asks every applicant for a US EIN, a valid US incorporation, US operations and a US physical address.
Brex also lists local-currency cards in 50+ countries and says it serves companies in 120+ countries, but that describes where an already eligible company can spend, not who can apply.
How much does Brex cost?
Essentials is $0 per user per month and Premium is $12 per user per month. Enterprise and the Smart Card are priced on request.
The pricing page links to a fee schedule for the business account and bill pay without listing amounts, so check that document before comparing totals.
Which Brex alternative has a free plan?
Moss costs nothing for three users, Zoho Expense has a no-cost tier, Ramp has a Free tier for US businesses, and Expensify offers Submit to individual employees. Navan's expense module is included for five users. Limits differ, so compare what each includes.
Which alternative suits a startup without a US entity?
Pleo, Moss and Payhawk are the usual starting points. Pleo bills per user, Moss costs nothing up to three users, and Payhawk lists a Growth programme for small businesses at £149 monthly.
All three are European, so the entity question that blocks Brex does not arise.
Is there a Brex alternative that does not extend credit?
Soldo issues prepaid cards, so spending stops at whatever has been loaded and no credit line is involved. The trade-off is float: money must sit on the cards first, and issuance plus other e-money fees come on top of the £27 monthly entry price.
Which Brex alternative handles supplier invoices as well as cards?
Payhawk covers cards, reimbursements and supplier invoices in one product, while Yokoy sends expenses, cards and invoices through one automation engine. Both quote prices, so ask for a total including invoice volumes before setting it against Brex's published $12 per user.
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Sources
Checked 4 November 2026
Brex pricing: Essentials $0 and Premium $12 per user per month, Enterprise and Smart Card on request, entity limits, 210+ countries, local cards in 50+ countries, fee schedule linked without amounts.
Brex account requirements: US EIN, US incorporation, US operations and US physical address; $50,000 cash, $500,000 and $400,000 per month thresholds; no guarantee of approval.
Brex home page: Cards, expenses, travel, bill pay, banking and accounting on one platform; 120+ countries.
Moss: German company; DATEV export; no charge for 3 users; paid plans quoted.
Mooncard: French company; accounting entry on the card; €10 for each card issued; quoted pricing.
Soldo: UK company; prepaid cards; entry at £27 monthly covering three cards and three users; Unlimited quoted.
Pleo: Danish company; monthly pricing per user; receipt capture.
Payhawk: UK company; cards, reimbursements and invoices; £149 monthly Growth programme; modular quoted pricing.
Spendesk: French company; pre-approval flows and budget owners; quoted pricing.
Yokoy: Swiss company; expenses, cards and supplier invoices through one automation; quoted pricing.
Zoho Expense: No-cost tier, paid tiers per user, no cards issued, Zoho Books link.
Expensify: Collect at $5, Control from $18 to $36 per member monthly; Submit tier for individuals.
Navan: Booking at no cost for up to 300 employees; expense module included for 5 users, then $15 monthly per seat.
Ramp: Free tier; Plus at $15 monthly per user plus platform fee; US-registered applicants holding $25,000 at a US bank.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Written, edited and fact-checked by Sebastiaan Smits. Last reviewed 4 November 2026. How we review.
