Expensify vs Pleo
Expensify starts with a free Submit plan for single employees and charges per member once a company wants approvals, cards or accounting sync. Pleo has no free plan and prices per user in euro from the first seat, with card limits and fees tied to the plan. Expensify is a US operator; Pleo's legal entities sit in Copenhagen.
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Choose Expensify ifyou want employees to scan receipts for free first, you need a named accounting link such as Xero or NetSuite, and you accept a US operator governed by California law.
Choose Pleo ifyou want euro list prices, spending cards in the plan and a Danish legal entity, and you do not need a free tier for individual employees.
Expensify and Pleo side by side
| Expensify | Pleo | |
|---|---|---|
| Our expense management rank | #8 of 15 | #5 of 15 |
| Established in | United States | Denmark |
| List price, 4 November 2026 | Submit free for individuals; Collect USD 5 per unique member per month (USD 10 for older organisations); Control USD 18 annual or USD 36 pay-per-use | No free plan; EUR 8 (Start, monthly), EUR 14 (Build) and EUR 18 (Optimise) per user per month, annual billing for Build and Optimise |
| Free tier | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | A team that needs receipt scanning and nothing more | A team where employee adoption decides whether the numbers are real |
| Not for | A finance function that wants European card issuing | A finance function that needs granular pre-approval |
Both are reviewed in full in our expense management ranking: Expensify and Pleo.
Where they differ
Expensify 3 · Pleo 1 · open 0- 01
What costs nothing
Expensify's Submit plan is free for individual employees, covering receipts, mileage and reports, but leaves out approvals, payments, company cards and accounting integrations. Pleo lists no free plan, only a try-it-free button whose length the page does not state. If you want a zero-cost start, Expensify gives it.
Edge: Expensify
- 02
Entry price for a company
Pleo's small-business Start plan is EUR 8 per seat each month with monthly billing, Build EUR 14 and Optimise EUR 18 on annual billing with three users minimum. Expensify's Collect is USD 5 per unique member for newer organisations, USD 10 for older ones, and Control is USD 18 to USD 36. Expensify is cheaper at the bottom.
Edge: Expensify
- 03
Cards and international costs
Pleo publishes card foreign exchange fees of 2.00%, 1.75% and 1.49% across its three plans, plus EUR 8 or EUR 6 per international payment. Expensify says its Control rates can drop to USD 9 or USD 18 with its own card and a discount of up to 50%. Pleo is more explicit about per-transaction costs.
Edge: Pleo
- 04
Accounting connections
Expensify's pricing page names QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, Xero, Sage Intacct, QuickBooks Desktop and FinancialForce, each with default accounts. The Pleo page we read lists no integrations. For a finance team that must see the ledger link before buying, Expensify is the one that shows it.
Edge: Expensify
When neither fits
If you need pre-approval depth or several legal entities, look at Payhawk. If you want a European spend platform with a different pricing model, Spendesk is the other one to price.
Expensify or Pleo: questions
3 answersIs Expensify free?
Only the Submit plan, and only for individual employees. Approvals, payments, company cards and accounting integrations need a paid plan.
Does Pleo have a free plan?
No. Each plan has a try-it-free button, but the pricing page does not state how long the trial lasts.
Which one publishes prices in euro?
Both do. Pleo lists EUR per user, and Expensify lists fixed regional prices in GBP, EUR, AUD and NZD, for example Control annual at EUR 16 per included member.
Sources
Checked 4 November 2026- Expensify pricing help page: Submit free scope, Collect and Control rates, card discounts, regional prices.
- Expensify pricing page: named accounting integrations.
- Expensify terms: operator Expensify, Inc., Portland address, California law.
- Pleo pricing page: EUR plan prices, no free plan, FX fees, international payment fees, Copenhagen entities.