Ramp vs Brex vs Expensify: Best Corporate Cards for Startups
Corporate expense management has changed fundamentally. The old model—issue Amex cards, collect paper receipts, file expense reports manually—is dead. Modern platforms combine corporate cards with automated expense management, giving you real-time visibility and control over company spend.
Four platforms dominate the startup space: Ramp, Brex, Expensify, and BILL Divvy. Each takes a different approach. This comparison breaks down what matters: pricing, features, rewards, and which platform fits your specific situation.
Quick Comparison: At a Glance
| Feature | Ramp | Brex | Expensify | BILL Divvy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate Card | Native | Native | Via partner | Native |
| Base Price | Free | Free | Free-$5/user | Free |
| Paid Tier | $15/user/mo | $12/user/mo | $10-13/user | Free |
| Rewards | 1.5% cashback | Points (1-7x) | None | Points (1-7x) |
| Best For | Cost savings | Travel/rewards | Expense reports | Budgeting |
| Personal Guarantee | No | No | N/A | No |
| International | No | Yes | Yes | Limited |
Bottom Line Recommendations:
- Best overall: Ramp (free, comprehensive automation)
- Best for rewards/travel: Brex (if you qualify)
- Best for expense reports only: Expensify (works with any card)
- Best for budget controls: BILL Divvy (free with strong budgeting)
Why This Decision Matters
Choosing the wrong expense platform costs more than the subscription fee:
Time waste: Manual expense reports cost an average of $26 per report to process, and 80% contain errors requiring correction.
Visibility gaps: Without real-time spend tracking, you discover budget overruns after the money is gone.
Lost savings: Modern platforms identify duplicate subscriptions, price increases, and vendor negotiation opportunities. These insights alone can save 5%+ on total spend.
Integration overhead: The wrong choice means manual data entry between your cards, expense system, and accounting software.
The right platform eliminates expense reports entirely, syncs automatically with your accounting software, and actively helps reduce spend.
Ramp: Best Overall for Most Startups
Ramp positions itself as “the corporate card that helps you spend less.” Unlike traditional card issuers that profit when you spend more, Ramp’s software actively identifies ways to reduce costs.
What Ramp Does Best
- Expense automation: AI matches receipts to transactions automatically. Most expenses require zero manual entry.
- Spend insights: Identifies duplicate subscriptions, price increases, and negotiation opportunities.
- Clean interface: Modern design that employees actually use.
- Truly free tier: No artificial limitations on the free plan.
Ramp Pricing
| Tier | Price | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Unlimited cards, expense management, bill pay, 1.5% cashback |
| Plus | $15/user/month | Advanced automation, custom roles, procurement workflows |
| Enterprise | Custom | Dedicated support, custom integrations, SLA guarantees |
The free tier includes everything most startups need through Series A. The paid tier makes sense when you need advanced approval workflows or custom accounting automation.
Ramp Features
Corporate Cards:
- Unlimited physical and virtual cards
- Custom spending limits per card (daily, monthly, per-transaction)
- Category and merchant restrictions
- No personal guarantee required
Expense Management:
- AI receipt matching (forward emails, snap photos, auto-pull from email)
- Real-time transaction tracking
- Automated policy enforcement
- Mobile app for employees
Bill Pay:
- Invoice processing with automatic data extraction
- ACH, check, or card payments
- Approval workflows for vendor payments
- Payment scheduling
Accounting Integration:
- Two-way sync with QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, Sage
- Automatic categorization
- Month-end close acceleration
Ramp Rewards
Straightforward 1.5% cashback on all purchases. No categories to track, no points to redeem, no expiration dates. Statement credits applied automatically.
Some promotional offers provide enhanced rates (7x rideshare, 2x software), but the base 1.5% is guaranteed.
Ramp Pros
- Genuinely free: No artificial limitations pushing you to paid tiers
- Best expense automation: Receipt matching works surprisingly well
- Real cost savings: Average 5% spend reduction from insights
- No personal guarantee: Business credit only
- Strong integrations: Two-way accounting sync
Ramp Cons
- US only: No international cards or entities
- Lower initial limits: Credit lines grow with history
- Some features require Plus: Custom roles, advanced automation
- Less travel-focused: Cashback over points
Best For
Startups wanting to control spend, automate expense management, and save money. Ideal for 5-500 employees with primarily US operations.
Brex: Best for Travel and Higher Credit Limits
Brex targets venture-backed startups and high-revenue businesses with higher credit limits, travel rewards, and international capabilities.
What Brex Does Best
- Higher credit limits: Based on cash balance, not revenue history
- Travel rewards: Points system optimized for business travel
- Startup perks: AWS, Google Cloud, and other partner discounts
- International support: Global card acceptance and entities
Brex Pricing
| Tier | Price | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | Free | Cards, expense management, travel booking, basic controls |
| Premium | $12/user/month | Custom policies, advanced approvals, multi-entity, live budgets |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited entities, offline booking support, dedicated team |
Premium pricing is $12/user with annual billing, $15/user monthly.
Brex Eligibility Requirements
Brex limits membership to:
- Venture-backed startups, OR
- Businesses with $400,000+ monthly revenue
This makes Brex inaccessible for many early-stage companies. If you don’t qualify, Ramp or BILL Divvy are better options.
Brex Features
Corporate Cards:
- Unlimited physical and virtual cards
- Higher credit limits (based on cash balance)
- International acceptance
- No personal guarantee
Expense Management:
- AI-powered receipt capture
- Automated expense reports
- Approval workflows
- Reimbursements
Travel:
- Built-in travel booking
- Travel policies and controls
- Group travel management (Premium)
Banking:
- Brex Cash business account
- High-yield deposits
- Domestic and international wires
Brex Rewards
Points-based system with category multipliers:
| Category | Points |
|---|---|
| Rideshare | 7x |
| Travel (via Brex) | 4x |
| Restaurants | 3x |
| Software subscriptions | 2x |
| Everything else | 1x |
Points redeem for travel, statement credits, or partner offers. The complexity rewards travel-heavy teams but adds overhead compared to flat cashback.
Brex Pros
- Higher credit limits: Cash-based underwriting
- Better travel rewards: 4-7x on travel categories
- International support: Global cards and entities
- Startup ecosystem: Partner perks (AWS, Google Cloud)
- Integrated banking: Brex Cash account
Brex Cons
- Eligibility requirements: VC-backed or $400K+ monthly revenue
- Rewards complexity: Points require optimization
- Best features require Premium: $12/user/month
- Recent pivot concerns: Platform changes caused customer churn
- Less expense automation focus: Travel-centric features
Best For
Travel-heavy startups, companies needing higher credit limits, and businesses with international operations. Requires VC backing or significant revenue.
Expensify: Best for Expense Reports with Existing Cards
Expensify focuses on expense report workflows rather than corporate cards. It works with any existing card program, making it ideal for companies that already have corporate cards.
What Expensify Does Best
- Receipt scanning: SmartScan is industry-leading
- Approval workflows: Complex multi-level approvals
- Card agnostic: Works with any corporate card
- Established reliability: Proven platform since 2008
Expensify Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Free (New Expensify) | $0 | Basic receipt scanning, P2P payments, chat |
| Collect | $5/user/month | Standard expense reports, integrations |
| Control | $10-13/user/month | Advanced policies, custom workflows |
The Collect plan simplified to $5/user flat in April 2025. Companies using the Expensify Card get 50% off, reducing cost to $2.50/user.
Expensify Features
Expense Management:
- SmartScan receipt capture (best-in-class OCR)
- Expense report creation and submission
- Multi-level approval workflows
- Policy enforcement
Corporate Cards:
- Expensify Card (optional)
- Works with any existing corporate card
- Card reconciliation
Travel:
- Concierge travel booking
- Travel policy integration
Additional:
- Invoicing
- Bill pay
- Chat (New Expensify)
Expensify Rewards
The Expensify Card offers cashback, but it’s not the platform’s focus. Most users pair Expensify with existing rewards cards.
Expensify Pros
- Best receipt scanning: SmartScan accuracy is excellent
- Works with any card: Don’t need to switch cards
- Strong approval workflows: Complex routing and approvals
- Established and reliable: 15+ years in market
- Good for larger organizations: Enterprise-ready
Expensify Cons
- No native corporate card: Card is secondary
- Per-user pricing: Costs scale with headcount
- Interface feels dated: Less modern than competitors
- Less innovation: Slower feature development
- Expense reports still exist: Automates but doesn’t eliminate
Best For
Companies keeping existing corporate cards, organizations with complex approval needs, and businesses where expense reports are the primary requirement.
BILL Divvy: Best for Budget Controls
BILL Spend & Expense (formerly Divvy) combines corporate cards with strong budgeting features. Acquired by Bill.com, it integrates well with the broader BILL ecosystem.
What BILL Divvy Does Best
- Budget management: Set limits by department, project, or vendor
- Real-time visibility: Transaction-level tracking
- Free everything: No subscription fees
- Variable rewards: Up to 7x based on payment frequency
BILL Divvy Pricing
| Feature | Price |
|---|---|
| Corporate cards | Free |
| Expense management | Free |
| All features | Free |
No annual fees, no per-user fees, no subscription. BILL profits from interchange fees when you use the cards.
BILL Divvy Features
Corporate Cards:
- Unlimited physical and virtual cards
- Credit lines from $1,000 to $5 million
- No personal guarantee
- Customizable spending limits
Budgeting:
- Department and project budgets
- Real-time budget tracking
- Spend-only-within-budget enforcement
- Manager approval for overages
Expense Management:
- AI-powered auto-categorization
- Automatic receipt matching
- Real-time transaction visibility
- Mobile and desktop access
Integrations:
- QuickBooks Online
- NetSuite
- Sage Intacct
BILL Divvy Rewards
Points-based rewards that vary by payment frequency:
| Payment Frequency | Reward Rate |
|---|---|
| Weekly | Up to 7x |
| Semi-monthly | Up to 5x |
| Monthly | Up to 2x |
More frequent payments unlock higher rewards. Companies with steady cash flow benefit from weekly payments.
BILL Divvy Pros
- Completely free: No fees of any kind
- Strong budgeting: Best-in-class budget controls
- Real-time visibility: Instant transaction tracking
- Flexible rewards: Up to 7x with weekly payments
- No personal guarantee: Business-only credit
BILL Divvy Cons
- Bill.com acquisition: Platform changes and integration complexity
- Less startup-focused: Moving toward mid-market
- Foreign transaction fees: International purchases cost more
- Integration overhead: Part of larger BILL ecosystem
- Designed for under 500 employees: Not enterprise-scale
Best For
Budget-conscious companies needing strict spend controls, businesses already using Bill.com, and mid-market organizations wanting free expense management.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
Corporate Card Capabilities
| Feature | Ramp | Brex | Expensify | BILL Divvy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical cards | Unlimited | Unlimited | Via partner | Unlimited |
| Virtual cards | Unlimited | Unlimited | Limited | Unlimited |
| Custom limits | Per card | Per card | N/A | Per card |
| International | No | Yes | N/A | Limited |
| Personal guarantee | No | No | N/A | No |
Expense Management
| Feature | Ramp | Brex | Expensify | BILL Divvy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receipt scanning | AI auto-match | AI | SmartScan (best) | Auto |
| Expense reports | Automated | Automated | Manual + auto | Automated |
| Approval workflows | Yes | Yes | Best-in-class | Yes |
| Reimbursements | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Accounting Integration
| Platform | Ramp | Brex | Expensify | BILL Divvy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks | Two-way | Two-way | Yes | Yes |
| Xero | Two-way | Two-way | Yes | Limited |
| NetSuite | Two-way | Two-way | Yes | Yes |
| Sage Intacct | Two-way | Two-way | Yes | Yes |
Rewards Comparison
| Aspect | Ramp | Brex | Expensify | BILL Divvy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Cashback | Points | Cashback | Points |
| Base rate | 1.5% | 1x | Varies | 1-2x |
| Max rate | 1.5% (promos higher) | 7x rideshare | N/A | 7x weekly |
| Redemption | Auto statement | Travel/credit | Statement | Statement |
| Complexity | Low | High | Low | Medium |
True Cost Analysis
20-Person Team Annual Cost
| Platform | Tier | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ramp | Free | $0 | $0 |
| Ramp | Plus | $300 | $3,600 |
| Brex | Essentials | $0 | $0 |
| Brex | Premium | $240 | $2,880 |
| Expensify | Collect | $100 | $1,200 |
| Expensify | Control | $200-260 | $2,400-3,120 |
| BILL Divvy | All features | $0 | $0 |
Hidden Costs to Consider
Foreign transaction fees: Ramp (N/A—US only), Brex (none), Expensify (depends on card), BILL Divvy (yes)
Integration costs: Time to set up accounting sync, potential consultant fees for complex ERP integration
Migration costs: Updating recurring payments to new cards, team training, historical data migration
Opportunity cost: Time spent on manual tasks that better automation would eliminate
Use Case Recommendations
Early-Stage Startup (Pre-Seed to Seed)
Recommendation: Ramp Free or BILL Divvy
At this stage, every dollar matters. Both platforms are completely free with no hidden costs. Ramp offers better expense automation; BILL Divvy offers stronger budget controls.
Skip Brex unless you’re VC-backed—you likely won’t qualify anyway.
Growth-Stage Startup (Series A-C)
Recommendation: Ramp or Brex
You have more options at this stage. The choice depends on priorities:
- Choose Ramp if: Cost control and automation are priorities
- Choose Brex if: Travel rewards matter or you need higher credit limits
Travel-Heavy Team
Recommendation: Brex
If your team travels frequently for sales, conferences, or client work, Brex’s 4-7x travel rewards add up. The built-in travel booking and travel policies simplify management.
Remote/Distributed Team
Recommendation: Ramp
Virtual card issuance and expense automation matter more for distributed teams. Ramp’s ability to create vendor-specific cards with custom limits works well when you can’t physically manage cards.
Keeping Existing Cards
Recommendation: Expensify
If you have a rewards card program you don’t want to abandon (hotel points, airline miles), Expensify works with any card. You get expense management without switching.
Budget-Constrained / Strict Controls
Recommendation: BILL Divvy
When budget enforcement is critical—employees must stay within allocated amounts—BILL Divvy’s budget controls are the strongest. Spend-only-within-budget enforcement prevents overruns.
Enterprise / Complex Approvals
Recommendation: Expensify Control
Large organizations with complex approval matrices, multiple entities, and compliance requirements benefit from Expensify’s mature enterprise features.
Decision Framework
Choose Ramp If:
- Cost savings and spend visibility are priorities
- You want free, comprehensive expense management
- Strong accounting integration matters
- US-based operations (no international needs)
- You prefer cashback over points complexity
Choose Brex If:
- You qualify (VC-backed or $400K+ monthly revenue)
- Travel rewards will provide significant value
- You need higher credit limits
- International operations require global cards
- Startup ecosystem perks (AWS, Google Cloud) are valuable
Choose Expensify If:
- You’re keeping existing corporate cards
- Complex approval workflows are required
- Expense reports (not elimination) are the goal
- You want a proven, established platform
- Card switching isn’t feasible
Choose BILL Divvy If:
- Budget enforcement is critical
- You want completely free expense management
- You already use Bill.com
- Variable rewards with weekly payments appeal
- Mid-market organization (under 500 employees)
Migration Checklist
Switching expense platforms takes planning. Here’s what to consider:
Before Switching:
- Export historical transaction data
- List all recurring charges on current cards
- Identify cards with specific vendor integrations
- Review approval workflow requirements
- Check accounting integration compatibility
During Migration:
- Issue new cards to all employees
- Update recurring payments (subscriptions, vendors)
- Configure spending limits and policies
- Set up accounting integrations
- Train team on new platform
After Migration:
- Run parallel systems briefly for validation
- Verify accounting sync accuracy
- Cancel old cards only after confirming no missed recurring charges
- Review first month-end close
Timeline: Plan for 2-4 weeks of parallel operation. Recurring payments often have different billing dates, so a full billing cycle overlap catches edge cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use multiple platforms?
Yes, but it creates complexity. Some companies use Brex for travel and Ramp for other expenses, though this requires reconciling across systems.
Do these cards affect personal credit?
No. Ramp, Brex, and BILL Divvy don’t require personal guarantees and don’t report to personal credit bureaus. Credit decisions are based entirely on business financials.
What happens if we outgrow the free tier?
Ramp and BILL Divvy’s free tiers have no user limits. You’d only upgrade for specific features (custom roles, advanced automation). Brex Essentials is similarly unlimited for basic needs.
How do credit limits work?
Credit limits are based on your company’s cash balance and financial profile, not personal credit scores. Limits typically start conservative and increase as you build payment history.
Can we switch platforms later?
Yes. Data export is available on all platforms. The main friction is updating recurring payments and retraining your team.
Final Verdict
Overall Winner: Ramp
For most startups, Ramp offers the best combination of expense automation, cost savings, and value. The free tier genuinely competes with paid alternatives, and the focus on reducing spend (rather than maximizing it) aligns with startup priorities.
Best for Travel/Rewards: Brex
If you qualify and travel frequently, Brex’s rewards program provides real value. The 4-7x multipliers on travel categories compound quickly for road warrior teams.
Best for Existing Cards: Expensify
When switching cards isn’t an option, Expensify’s card-agnostic expense management remains best-in-class. SmartScan receipt capture works regardless of what card you’re using.
Best Budget Controls: BILL Divvy
For budget-conscious organizations needing strict spend enforcement, BILL Divvy’s free platform with real-time budget controls prevents overruns before they happen.
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Pricing and features verified January 2025. Corporate card offerings change frequently—verify current terms on official websites before making decisions.