The 5 Best Brex Alternatives: Which Of These Brex Competitors Is Right For Your Business?

The Ramp corporate card, complete with personalized branding

Why We Chose Ramp As The Best Overall Brex Alternative

If your corporation or non-individual LLC needs a corporate card with precise spend controls, automated accounting, and a complete lack of fees, consider Ramp. It really is the complete package. Companies with less than 75 grand in the bank will need a different Brex alternative, however.

With no fees whatsoever, unlimited flat-rate cash back, automated accounting, and expense management, Ramp has something to offer just about any qualifying business. Along with many of the same features shared by other corporate cards, Ramp offers extraordinarily precise spending control. Ramp claims to offer the only card on the market that can "block or restrict spend to a specific vendor—on a specific card or for your entire company."

Ramp Rewards

Ramp's cash back program is very straightforward. You'll earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases made with the Ramp card, with no spending categories to track and no spending thresholds to meet. Your cash back will be redeemed as a statement credit.

Ramp Corporate Card Features

Ramp's main selling point is an automated savings tool that uses algorithms to notify you of duplicate subscriptions, redundant software purchases, lower pricing tiers, and the like. It's the rare credit card that encourages you to spend less. Let's see what else you'll get with the Ramp corporate card:

• Physical and virtual cards
• Automated accounting that integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, & NetSuite
• Pay bills by card, check, or ACH
• Instant receipt collection via integrations with Gmail, Lyft, & Amazon Business
• Set flexible expense policies
• Precision spend controls
• Add your brand logo to your cards
• Lots of HR integrations
• Receive alerts for big transactions
• Partner rewards with Amazon Web Services, Notion, Slack, and other services

Ramp Pricing & Fees

Ramp is completely free. There are no monthly fees, no foreign transaction fees, no late fees, no fees for employee cards, and because the card is a charge card, no APR. None of the accounting or reporting features cost anything, either.

Ramp Eligibility Requirements

To apply for Ramp, your company must be a corporation or a non-individual limited liability company -- individuals, sole proprietorships, and unregistered businesses need not apply. You must also have at least $75K in the bank. When assessing your application, Ramp looks at your company’s cash balance, cash flows, and other financial health indicators. No personal guarantee is required.

The Divvy corporate card

Why We Chose Divvy As The Best Brex Alternative For Travel

Businesses that spend a lot on restaurants and hotels stand to rake in the rewards with the Divvy card -- it's why this card was a natural fit for this list. The card's rewards increase in direct proportion to how often you pay off your statements, You'll also gain access to some nice expense management features, accounting integrations, and an intuitive mobile app. However, the foreign transaction fees make it a less-than-ideal fit for international transactions.

Divvy Rewards

The spending categories that earn you bonus points with Divvy are restaurants, hotels, and recurring software subscriptions. The rate at which you'll earn rewards depends on whether you choose to automatically pay off your balance on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis (Divvy's card is a charge card, so you can't carry a balance month-to-month). The card's rewards program is particularly lucrative for businesses that can pay off the card each week, and that spend a lot on restaurants and hotels.

• Pay off your balance weekly and earn 7X points on restaurants, 5X on hotels, 2X on recurring software subscriptions, and 1.5X on everything else
• Pay off your balance bi-weekly and earn 4X points on restaurants, 3X on hotels, 1.75X on recurring software subscriptions, and 1X on everything else
• Pay off your balance monthly and earn 2X points on restaurants, 2X on hotels, 1.5X on recurring software subscriptions, and 1X on everything else

Rewards can be redeemed for travel, gift cards, a statement credit, and cash back. Travel is the most lucrative redemption method at 1 cent per point redeemed -- otherwise, your points are worth around a half-cent.

Divvy Corporate Card Features

Divvy's corporate card automatically integrates with Divvy's free expense management software, which gives you automatic expense reporting, real-time transaction detail collection, and the ability for users to take pictures of receipts. Let's go through what else you'll get:

• Free physical and virtual cards for employees
• Set spending and budget limits
• Spend tracking -- get details on spending by department, team, project, or individual
• Input a vendor and add payment, and Divvy takes care of your bill payment
• Flex Limit: For qualified customers, Divvy will pay your vendor first, while you pay Divvy on a later date. Paying with these plans incurs a set fee (between 0.9% and 1.9%), and you can repay over one, two, or three months
• Accounts Payable automation
• Accounting integrations with QuickBooks Online & NetSuite
• Flexible credit line that grows as your business grows
• Credit builder program that helps you build business credit
• Additional credits & discounts from Amazon Web Services, Google Ads, FedEx Office, and more

Divvy Pricing & Fees

Divvy is a corporate charge card, so there is no APR, nor is there an annual fee. However, there are foreign transaction fees. There's a cross-border fee of 0.90% of the total transaction volume for US-based users and a currency conversion fee of 0.20% of the total transaction volume for all users.

In addition, late payments incur a fee of 2.99% or $38, whichever is greater.

Divvy Eligibility Requirements

A business must have a US bank account and a US EIN in order to apply. When applying, you’ll need to sign up for a demo first, at which point Divvy will tell you if your company qualifies. Divvy's eligibility page states that applicants "typically" must have good to very good business and personal credit to qualify and that while cash balance requirements can vary, you must typically have $20K+ in an active account.

Furthermore, according to Divvy, an international company may sign up if at least one owner with 25% ownership or more is a US citizen or resident.

The Stripe Corporate Card

Why We Chose The Stripe Corporate Card As The Best Brex Alternative For Businesses Using Stripe For Processing

If you use Stripe for payment processing and you want a corporate card that lacks most common credit card fees and sports strong cash back earning rates, the Stripe Corporate Card is a formidable Brex competitor. Because the card is a charge card that automatically debits your bank account each month, however, it's not for businesses needing help with cash flow management.

Stripe Corporate Card Rewards

Corporate credit cards don't typically come with generous rewards programs, so the unlimited 1.5% cash back you'll earn on all business purchases is pretty good! There are no limits to the amount of cash back you can earn, and your cash back balance is automatically credited to your monthly bill -- you won't have to remember to activate your rewards.

Stripe Corporate Card Features

Since you'll need a Stripe processing account to apply for the card, Stripe already has your business information -- you won't have to provide any additional paperwork, and no personal guarantee is required. What's more, your credit limit is based on your processing & bank history, so your credit line can grow with your business.

You'll also be free of most extraneous fees and have access to a host of additional partner benefits, among other services. Here's what you'll get:

• No annual fees, foreign transaction fees, or late fees
• Set custom spend controls for your employees
• Real-time expense reporting
• Ready-made integrations with finance software, including Expensify, QuickBooks, and Xero
• Upload your company logo from your Stripe dashboard and it will appear on your corporate card
• Additional partner benefits, including:
  • $150 Google Ads credit
  • 25% off Slack for 12 months
  • Zendesk -- 6 months free
  • 50% off Expensify for 6 months

Stripe Corporate Card Pricing & Fees

The Stripe Corporate Card is a charge card that doesn't let you carry a balance, so there is no APR. What's more, Stripe doesn't charge an annual fee, foreign transaction fees, late fees, or card replacement fees. You won't be nickel-and-dimed with the Stripe Corporate Card.

Stripe Corporate Card Eligibility Requirements

You must use Stripe payment processing to be eligible. Beyond that, Stripe doesn't rely on personal credit scores when determining eligibility -- instead, Stripe looks at your payment volume (Stripe doesn't specify a minimum volume), history with Stripe, and bank account history. Additionally, your business must be US-based.

Unfortunately, you'll have to first request access to the card's application page before applying, as Stripe refers to the card's current state as a beta program. Once you get the email from Stripe inviting you to apply, you'll be able to complete the application quickly because, as a Stripe user, Stripe already has all your relevant business information. After approval, you'll be able to start using a virtual card within minutes.

The Expensify corporate card

Why We Chose Expensify As The Best Brex Alternative For Large Businesses

Large companies with the complexity required to take full advantage of Expensify's advanced expense tracking, receipt imaging, and workflow optimization should look into the Expensify Card.

The Expensify Card is a corporate card designed to be used with the Expensify app. Expensify's automated expense management platform is tailored to the needs of larger businesses, and, accordingly, its corporate card reserves its highest rewards-earning rates for companies with a high rate of monthly spending.

With advanced receipt scanning and management, a wide variety of business integrations, and more, Expensify's corporate card can help larger businesses manage their complex needs, making it a solid Brex alternative.

Expensify Rewards

Expensify's cash back program is based not on spending categories but on how much your business spends per month. Spend between $25K/month and $250K/month for your first three months, and you'll earn 2% cash back for those first three months and 1% monthly cash back thereafter if you maintain that level of spending. Spend over $250K/month as a company, and you'll get 4% cash back for your first three months and 2% afterward.

Of course, this means that if your business spending comes to less than $25K/month, you won't get any cash back. It's an indication of the type of business targeted by Expensify.

Expensify Corporate Card Features

Expensify's platform encompasses a broad array of expense management, invoicing, bill payment, and travel features. Here are the highlights:

• Receive IRS-guaranteed eReceipts for all but the largest of purchases
• One-click receipt scanning
• Multi-level approval workflows
• Corporate card reconciliation
• Advanced tax tracking
• Accounting, travel, & HR integrations
• Mass invoicing
• Monitor payments
• Trip reservation management
• Additional perks & discounts from Amazon Web Services, QuickBooks, Stripe, Slack, and more

Expensify Pricing & Fees

The Expensify Card doesn't let you carry a balance (Expensify automatically debits your bank account daily), so there is no APR. In addition, there are no foreign transaction fees. As for monthly fees, that depends on your subscription tier.

• Businesses signing up for the Free plan pay no monthly fees and get Expensify Cards for their employees, and you can reimburse expenses, pay bills, and send invoices.
• Under the Collect plan, you pay $5/user/month and get additional features, such as expense approval, accounting integrations, custom coding, and the ability to set smart limits.
• Under the Control plan, you pay $9/user/month and get all the other features plus multi-level approval, expense policies, custom reporting, and access control.

Two caveats regarding the above pricing: these prices are based on the annual pricing plan, which is discounted 50% from month-to-month pricing. Additionally, you'll only get these prices if at least 50% of your company's spend is on the Expensify Card. If this isn't the case, you'll pay twice as much per user/month. Lastly, individuals and the self-employed can use Expensify (without the corporate card) to track and submit up to 25 receipt SmartScans per month. Processing more receipts per month will cost you $4.99/month.

Expensify Eligibility Requirements

Companies with a US business bank account are eligible for the Expensify Card. Beyond that, Expensify doesn't provide any details as to how it evaluates applicants, so you'll have to contact Expensify for more information on the subject. We do know, however, that your business doesn't have to be a corporation or LLC to apply for the card.

The Airbase corporate card

Why We Chose Airbase As The Best Brex Alternative For Cash Back

Spend management platform Airbase offers corporate cards with relatively high cash back rates to smaller companies for no monthly fee whatsoever, making the inclusion of Airbase in our list a no-brainer. For larger companies, Airbase offers more advanced feature packages, pricing for which is quote-based. As for the cards themselves, Airbase offers both a pre-paid card and a charge card.

Airbase's extensive spend management and accounts payable features make it an attractive choice for companies with complex needs.

Airbase Rewards

Airbase claims to offer the highest cash back rate on the market.

Your cash back rate will depend on whether you're using Airbase's pre-paid card (2.2% unlimited cash back) or Airbase's charge card (1.6% unlimited cash back). Notably, this cash back rate applies even to free accounts -- you won't have to spring for one of the paid plans to get it.

As for Airbase's claim to offer the most cash back of any corporate card, the pre-paid card's 2.2% cash back beats the 1.5% cash back rate offered by Ramp and the Stripe corporate card. Expensify's corporate card lets the highest-spending companies earn 4% cash back, but only for the first three months of card use. Therefore, Airbase's claim is mostly true. Of course, Airbase's charge card offers a reduced cash back rate of 1.6%, but that's still pretty good for a corporate card.

Airbase Corporate Card Features

Airbase offers accounts payable and expense management features along with its two corporate cards. Here's just some of what Airbase has to offer:

• Physical cards
• One-time, recurring, and vendor-specific virtual cards
• Domestic and international bill payments with ACH, check, and international payments to 200 countries
• Employee expense reimbursements
• Real-time reporting
• Automated sync to any general ledger
• Integrations with basic general ledger systems, complex ERP systems, HRIS systems, and security software
• Straight-line amortization (paid plans only)
• Purchase orders (optional; paid plans only)
• Multi-currency support (Enterprise plan only)

Airbase Pricing & Fees

You can get either of Airbase's corporate cards for no monthly or annual fee. Airbase claims there are no other fees associated with the cards, which we take to mean there are no foreign transaction fees. You'll gain access to your cash back at the end of every month.

For the most advanced features, you'll need to upgrade your free subscription to either a Growth subscription or an Enterprise subscription. Pricing for each of these plans is quote-based, so we don't have any pricing information on these plans.

Airbase Eligibility Requirements

No personal guarantee or credit check is required to sign up with Airbase. Unfortunately, Airbase doesn't spell out any other requirements you'll need to meet in order to get an Airbase card.