Brex VS Bill Comparison

Bill Spend & Expense (formerly known as Divvy) and Brex are two of the best corporate cards on the market, so you’re in good hands with both options. Which is right for your business?

Often, when comparing corporate cards, finding the right one can be tricky, but in the case of Brex VS BILL, each card is geared toward very different types of businesses, making it easy to choose which card is right for you.

So, let’s dive into the differences between these two options.

BILL VS Brex Corporate Card: At A Glance Comparison

BILL Spend & Expense are two of the top business corporate credit cards. They also have two of the most similar reward structures of any two cards in this space, each with up to 7x or 8x reward points earned on various small business spending categories (and each with the option for longer repayment periods in exchange for lower rewards rates). But, there are some significant differences that set these two cards apart from one another.

The biggest difference is that BILL Spend & Expense has much, much more flexible eligibility requirements with one of the lowest cash-on-hand requirements of any corporate card. It is also one of the only corporate cards that allow sole proprietors to qualify, making it a great option for small businesses that may not qualify for other corporate cards. Brex, on the other hand, has much more strict eligibility requirements because it is geared specifically toward startups and fast-growing businesses.

The next big difference is the type of additional services offered by each company. BILL Spend & Expense, which is owned by Bill.com,  focuses on expense management offers accounts payable and accounts receivable services. Brex focuses on cash management and offers a Brex banking service.

So, depending on your business type and size and which additional services your business needs, it becomes pretty clear which corporate card is right for your business, even before we dive into all of the nitty-gritty comparisons.

If you already know which card is right for you from this at-a-glance section, check out our full BILL Spend & Expense review or full Brex review, or keep on reading for a more detailed comparison of each card’s pros, cons, fees, features, and more.

Where BILL Wins

Where BILL Falls Short

Where Brex Wins

Where Brex Falls Short

BILL VS Brex Pricing & Fees Compared

If there is one area of the Brex vs. BILL comparison where a clear difference emerges, it’s pricing and fees.

Simply put, Brex can be used for free. There are no annual or account fees with Brex, and there are no fees for global ACH or wire transfers. Brex also offers fee-free foreign transactions as well as free cards for employees. Brex users also don’t have to worry about overdrafts or late fees. There is an option to upgrade to Brex Premium for $12/month per user to gain access to more advanced features and dedicated support, but you can use the main corporate card features without this upgrade.

While BILL Spend & Expense customers can void a host of fairly typical fees, a couple of inconvenient fees do pop up. BILL Spend & Expense users will pay no upfront fees, no account or annual fees, and no fees for employee cards, but you will find a foreign transaction fee of 0.90% cross-border fee for US-based accounts (this fee drops to 0.20% for Canadian accounts) and a currency conversion fee of 0.20% for all accounts, plus a late payment fee of 2.99% or $38, whichever is greater.

Notably, Brex includes free bill payment services for all users. If you want to use your BILL Spend & Expense account for bill payment, you’ll need a paid subscription to BILL to do so. It’s worth noting that if you go this route, you’ll get access to way more advanced bill management features than Brex offers, so this extra cost may be more than worth it for businesses that want a corporate card and a full accounts payable and/or accounts receivable software.

Of course, these fees may not impact your BILL Spend & Expense vs. Brex deliberations. For some, though, the difference in fees could be a deciding factor.

BILL VS Brex Rewards & Features Compared

Both Brex and BILL Spend & Expense offer a broad feature set that puts them at the forefront of the corporate card sphere. Comparing these cards reveals a couple of important differences in features, however. For example, Brex focuses heavily on cash management and employee controls, while BILL Spend & Expense focuses more on expense tracking, budgeting, and helping users build credit.

Despite these differences, both BILL Spend & Expense and Brex offer robust features in the area of automatic expense tracking, card controls, mobile apps, and more.

Let’s look at a few specific features to see how the BILL credit card’s features stack up against Brex’s credit card features.

Only BILL Spend & Expense Offers

• A larger selection of customer support options
• Budgeting features
• A tool to track and build your credit
• An accounts payable and accounts receivable service that can be added on

Only Brex Offers

• eCommerce & POS integrations
• Partner perks and discounts (BILL Spend & Expense used to offer these under BILL but doesn’t seem to advertise this anymore)
• Advanced cash management features
• A banking service that can be added on
• Built-in bill pay (BILL Spend & Expense requires adding BILL’s other services for bill pay)

BILL VS Brex Eligibility Requirements Compared

BILL does not disclose its eligibility requirements beyond stating that businesses wanting to use what’s now known as the BILL Spend & Expense card must have a US bank account and a US EIN, though at Merchant Maverick we were able to get BILL Spend & Expense, to share that $20k is their cash on hand requirement and that sole proprietors are eligible, which makes BILL Spend & Expense one of the most flexible corporate cards on the market.

To find out if your company is qualified to use this card, you’ll have to sign up for a BILL SPend & Expense demo. Signing up for a demo involves sharing information about your company, including your own first and last name, email, and phone; your company name; your job title; and how many employees your company has. BILL is also often offering a cash or gift card incentive to attend a demo.

Brex, on the other hand, is more transparent about its eligibility requirements. The Brex credit card is available only to corporations (C-corp, S-corp, LLC, and LLPs). Brex’s eligibility requirements, on the one hand, are incredibly difficult to meet, while on the other hand, the lack of a credit check makes this card easy to qualify for if you are the card’s target audience — a fast-growing startup. To get a Brex card, you’ll need to meet one (not all) of these four requirements:

• $1M in annual revenue
• 50 employees
• Large equity investment
• A tech company on its way to meeting those requirements and has been referred by an existing Brex user

One important difference in eligibility requirements is that Brex is available only to US-based businesses. BILL Spend & Expense is willing to issue cards to international companies that have at least one US owner with a minimum 25% ownership stake.

Which Is Better For My Business: BILL Or Brex?

BILL and Ramp are both strong picks for a business looking for a corporate card with similar expense management features, rewards point structures, and employee controls. Each card also has peculiar rewards criteria like BILL Spend & Expense’s rewards expiration and lock on rewards for one year. We’d like to give Brex points for not having these criteria, however, Brex does require you to make daily repayments and have Brex as your exclusive card to get the highest rewards rate, so neither option is great in this regard.

However, in researching this comparison, we found some significant differences that could make one or the other a better choice for you.

The biggest difference is each card’s eligibility requirements. BILL Spend & Expense is much easier for small businesses, sole proprietors, and international businesses to qualify for, while Brex is better for startup qualifications. Another big difference is that Brex has fewer additional fees (apart from Brex Premium), while BILL Spend & Expense has foreign transaction fees and late fees. The last major difference is that BILL Spend & Expense has more flexible repayment terms than Brex.

So depending on what features and benefits your business values most, it could be quite clear which corporate card is a better option for your business. If you’re still not sure, here’s a breakdown of a couple more decision considerations.

Choose BILL If…

• Your business is not entirely US-owned
• Your business is not organized as a corporation (i.e., you operate as a partnership or sole proprietorship)
• Your employees make the majority of their business purchases and expenses within the US as there is a foreign transaction fee (though it’s not as hefty of a fee as some other corporate cards)
• You want to earn a high rate of rewards without having to make daily payments
• You can meet the usage and spending requirements to ensure you don’t lose your rewards points and are okay with waiting one year to access your rewards
• You do not intend to use the card for bill payment or won’t mind paying for a separate BILL account to do so

Choose Brex If…

• You have a fast-growing company with over 50 employees or are a startup with equity investments or $1M in revenue
• You need a corporate card with no foreign transaction fees
• You have high levels of cash on hand to pay off your corporate card daily to earn the highest rate of return
• You don’t mind making Brex your exclusive corporate card to get the highest level of rewards
• You need more integration options for your business
• Organizations that want a banking cash-management option to tie all their business finances together

Finally, if you’re still not convinced that either BILL or Brex will deliver what your business needs, you’re in luck. We’ve compiled a list of what we consider to be the best corporate cards available that may have just the right combination of rewards, features, and requirements for your business needs. Once you’ve found the right option for your business, don’t forget to check our guide on how to get a corporate card to get started.