Best Brex Alternatives in 2026 After the Capital One Deal
Seven card, bank and spend platforms a finance team can move to now that Brex belongs to Capital One, weighed on published pricing, how the card gets approved and which ERPs sync; figures read in October 2026.
Ramp is the default Brex alternative in 2026: its Free plan carries no per-user fee and its Plus plan lists $15 a user a month, read on Ramp's pricing page in October 2026. Rho fits companies that failed a card application, because it runs no credit check and asks for no personal guarantee. Mercury fits a bank-first startup that wants a card limit tied to cash on deposit. BILL Spend & Expense suits a payables-heavy team, because the spend software costs nothing on top of the AP seats. Brex itself still prints Essentials at $0 a user and Premium at $12 a user a month, so a switch is about ownership, approval and fit rather than escaping an expensive plan.
Key facts7 tools compared: Ramp, Rho, Mercury, BILL Spend & Expense, Airwallex, Navan, Payhawk
- 7 tools compared: Ramp, Rho, Mercury, BILL Spend & Expense, Airwallex, Navan, Payhawk
- Rho (best for: Companies Brex declined, or groups that want the bank, the card and AP under one login): $0 subscription, per-user and per-card fees; 1% foreign currency conversion; $30 international wire recall
- Mercury (best for: Startups that bank first and want a card limit sized on deposits): Mercury account free; Plus $29.90/mo; Pro $299/mo; IO credit card pays 1.5% cashback
- BILL Spend & Expense (best for: Payables-heavy teams that want cards from the vendor already running their bill payments): No software fee on Spend & Expense, credit lines from $1,000 to $5M; BILL AP from $49/user/mo
Brex is no longer an independent company. Capital One announced on January 22, 2026 that it would buy Brex for $5.15 billion in stock and cash, and the deal closed on April 7, 2026, with Pedro Franceschi staying on as Brex CEO. Nothing on the pricing page changed. Essentials is still free per user, Premium is still a per-user plan, and Enterprise and Smart Card are still custom quotes. What changed is the question a controller now gets from the board: do we want our card program, bank account and spend data inside a large bank? If the answer is no, this page is the shortlist.
CFOpresso data: as of October 2026, Toolradar (the software directory Dupple runs) had evaluated 87 tools to build its expense management ranking. Of the seven Brex alternatives on this page, three (Rho, Mercury and BILL Spend & Expense) charge nothing for the software at any headcount, two (Ramp and Airwallex) publish a free entry tier and a paid per-user tier, and two (Navan and Payhawk) are built around a flat fee or a per-user expense charge rather than a card program.
How we ranked: in October 2026 we read the pricing and product pages each vendor publishes, then ordered the list by the reason a team leaves Brex: ownership, card approval, ERP depth and currency reach. We ran no hands-on tests. Our Ramp vs Brex comparison handles the pre-acquisition head-to-head; here we assume you have decided to look elsewhere.
Top Picks
Based on features, real-world fit, and value for money.
The like-for-like swap: cards, AP, travel and a business account on a free plan, with ERP depth on a paid per-user tier.
Free plan with no per-user fee; Plus $15/user/mo plus a platform fee based on team size; Enterprise custom
Finance teams that want Brex's shape from an independent vendor
A business account, corporate card, expense and AP platform with no software fee and no credit check on the card application.
$0 subscription, per-user and per-card fees; 1% foreign currency conversion; $30 international wire recall
Companies Brex declined, or groups that want the bank, the card and AP under one login
A business bank account first, with the IO credit card layered on and its limit set by the balances you hold.
Mercury account free; Plus $29.90/mo; Pro $299/mo; IO credit card pays 1.5% cashback
Startups that bank first and want a card limit sized on deposits
| Tool | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Ramp | Free plan with no per-user fee; Plus $15/user/mo plus a platform fee based on team size; Enterprise custom | Finance teams that want Brex's shape from an independent vendor |
| Rho | $0 subscription, per-user and per-card fees; 1% foreign currency conversion; $30 international wire recall | Companies Brex declined, or groups that want the bank, the card and AP under one login |
| Mercury | Mercury account free; Plus $29.90/mo; Pro $299/mo; IO credit card pays 1.5% cashback | Startups that bank first and want a card limit sized on deposits |
| BILL Spend & Expense | No software fee on Spend & Expense, credit lines from $1,000 to $5M; BILL AP from $49/user/mo | Payables-heavy teams that want cards from the vendor already running their bill payments |
| Airwallex | Explore free with 10 Spend users; Grow $12/user/mo plus a platform fee; Accelerate custom | Groups with entities outside the US that spend and pay in several currencies |
| Navan | Business plan free below 301 employees; expense covers 5 users free, then $15/user/mo; Enterprise custom | Companies under 300 staff with heavy travel that keep their current card issuer |
| Payhawk | Flat modules: Cards & Expenses $449/mo, AP $349/mo, Travel $299/mo, Procurement $499/mo; unlimited seats | Mid-market groups with several entities that would rather pay a flat fee than per seat |
Pricing read from each vendor's own pricing page, checked Oct 2026. 3 of 7 publish prices for some plans and quote the rest.
Ramp
The like-for-like swap: cards, AP, travel and a business account on a free plan, with ERP depth on a paid per-user tier.
- Pricing
- Free plan with no per-user fee; Plus $15/user/mo plus a platform fee based on team size; Enterprise custom
Best for: Finance teams that want Brex's shape from an independent vendor
Pros
- Free plan includes unlimited cards, accounts payable, travel and expense, and QuickBooks Online and Xero sync at no per-user fee
- Plus brings NetSuite and Sage Intacct, multi-entity support and AI coding on every field, and annual billing takes 20% off
- Plus comes with a free 30-day trial, so a parallel run with Brex costs nothing for the first month
Cons
- The Plus platform fee scales with team size and is not printed, so the real invoice needs a quote
- Multi-entity and NetSuite sync are paid features, where Brex Essentials already allows two entities
Rho
A business account, corporate card, expense and AP platform with no software fee and no credit check on the card application.
- Pricing
- $0 subscription, per-user and per-card fees; 1% foreign currency conversion; $30 international wire recall
Best for: Companies Brex declined, or groups that want the bank, the card and AP under one login
Pros
- Rho says the card application triggers neither a hard nor a soft credit pull, and needs no personal guarantee or personal credit report
- Cashback runs up to 1.25% standard or up to 2% with Rho Platinum on daily terms, on as much as $1,000,000 of eligible card spend per calendar year
- Native integrations with QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, Sage Intacct and Puzzle, plus bank feeds to Xero
Cons
- Monthly repayment terms cut the cashback to up to 1% standard or up to 1.75% with Platinum
- Walmart, utilities and money-transfer merchants are excluded from cashback, which hits some retail-heavy spend
Mercury
A business bank account first, with the IO credit card layered on and its limit set by the balances you hold.
- Pricing
- Mercury account free; Plus $29.90/mo; Pro $299/mo; IO credit card pays 1.5% cashback
Best for: Startups that bank first and want a card limit sized on deposits
Pros
- Banking essentials, virtual and physical debit and credit cards come with the free account
- IO pays unlimited 1.5% cashback on all spend, with daily repayment for low balances and 30-day terms once balances reach $15K
- Integrations cover QuickBooks Online, Xero and NetSuite, with NetSuite categorizations on Pro
Cons
- A 3% currency exchange fee applies to every non-USD card transaction, the steepest FX cost on this list
- NetSuite categorization automations sit on the $299 Pro plan, and spend policy tooling is thinner than Brex Premium
BILL Spend & Expense
The BILL Divvy Card with free spend software, at its best when BILL AP already produces the payment file.
- Pricing
- No software fee on Spend & Expense, credit lines from $1,000 to $5M; BILL AP from $49/user/mo
Best for: Payables-heavy teams that want cards from the vendor already running their bill payments
Pros
- No software fee on Spend & Expense, so adding cardholders never raises the subscription
- Credit lines from $1,000 to $5M are applied for online, subject to approval
- Connects to QuickBooks Online, Sage Intacct, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, Xero and Acumatica
Cons
- AP and AR are a separate per-user subscription: Essentials $49, Team $65, Corporate $89 a user a month
- Payments carry their own fees, with ACH at $0.59, a mailed check at $1.99 and an international USD wire at $19.99
Airwallex
Multi-currency accounts and cards where the FX margin, not the seat price, decides what you pay.
- Pricing
- Explore free with 10 Spend users; Grow $12/user/mo plus a platform fee; Accelerate custom
Best for: Groups with entities outside the US that spend and pay in several currencies
Pros
- Conversion at 0.5% above interbank for major currencies and 1% for the rest, against Brex's FX markup of up to 3%
- Cash rebates of up to 2% on local USD card spend, with Xero and QuickBooks sync on every plan
- Yield on USD balances is listed at 3.43% on Explore and rises on the paid tiers
Cons
- Grow carries a team-size platform fee the page leaves unprinted, and stops at 250 Spend users
- NetSuite and Dynamics 365 sync start on Grow, so a NetSuite shop pays the per-user rate from day one
Navan
Travel booking at no charge below 300 employees, with expense layered on the cards you already hold; not a card program.
- Pricing
- Business plan free below 301 employees; expense covers 5 users free, then $15/user/mo; Enterprise custom
Best for: Companies under 300 staff with heavy travel that keep their current card issuer
Pros
- Unlimited bookings, round-the-clock travel agents and self-serve itinerary changes on the free Business plan
- Connects existing corporate or business credit cards, so the switch does not force a new issuer
- 30+ HRIS integrations and ERP connections on the Business plan
Cons
- It replaces Brex travel and expense, not the Brex card or the business account
- Expense becomes a per-user bill after the first five expensing users
Payhawk
Flat monthly modules with unlimited seats, for a finance team that would rather budget one line than count users.
- Pricing
- Flat modules: Cards & Expenses $449/mo, AP $349/mo, Travel $299/mo, Procurement $499/mo; unlimited seats
Best for: Mid-market groups with several entities that would rather pay a flat fee than per seat
Pros
- Seats, card transactions and document processing are unlimited inside each module, so headcount growth is free
- Connect any credit card program, so the existing bank card can stay while Payhawk runs the expense flow
- 40+ ERP, accounting and HR integrations plus 50+ HRIS connections
Cons
- Cards & Expenses alone costs more a month than Brex Premium for a team under 37 active users
- Multi-entity is an add-on, and Payhawk Complete is a custom quote
What it is
A Brex alternative is a corporate card plus spend management platform that covers cards, expense policies, bill pay, reimbursements and accounting sync without Brex's underwriting or ownership. The closest matches (Ramp, Rho, Mercury) bundle a business account with the card the way Brex does. The others (BILL, Airwallex, Navan, Payhawk) cover one job better than Brex, whether that job is AP volume, foreign currencies, travel or multi-entity policy control.
Why it matters
Four things push a finance team off Brex in 2026. The first is ownership. Since April 7, 2026 the card issuer, the business account and the spend data all sit inside Capital One, and some boards treat a bank-owned platform differently from a venture-backed one, for better or worse. The second is approval: Brex sets limits on revenue, money raised or cash balance, so a company that misses those floors never gets a card. The third is ERP depth. Essentials stops at two entities, multi-entity across US and international entities starts on Premium, and unlimited entities with local card issuance sit on a custom Enterprise plan, so a group structure grows into a sales conversation. The fourth is rewards math: cash redemption runs at 0.6 cents a point while Brex travel pays 1 cent, so a team that never books travel through Brex earns less than the multipliers suggest.
Leaving costs less than most controllers expect, provided the exports happen before the cancellation. Pull the vendor master, the GL code map, every card policy, the open reimbursement queue and the receipt archive, issue the new cards, then run both programs through one month-end close. Our Brex review and Brex pricing explainer cover what you are leaving in detail, while the corporate cards ranking and the spend management platforms ranking map the rest of the market.
If the real problem is reimbursements rather than cards, start with the expense management ranking or the Navan review. If it is invoice volume, the AP automation ranking and the BILL review are the better entry points. Teams that already left Ramp once should read our Ramp alternatives page, which approaches the same market from the other direction.
Key features to look for
Pricing
Brex's pricing page prints Essentials free per user, Premium at a paid per-user rate, and custom quotes for Enterprise and Smart Card, and the Premium upgrade terms bill per active user for the prior month.
That is the bar to beat.
Ramp lists Free and Plus with a team-size platform fee on top, Rho and Mercury put no price on the core account, and BILL gives the spend software away while billing AP from $49 a user.
Airwallex mirrors Ramp's structure with Explore free and Grow per user plus a platform fee. Navan is free for travel under 300 employees, and Payhawk sells flat modules from $299 a month.
A worked scenario for a 40-user finance team, computed from those pages: Brex Premium is $480 a month. Ramp Plus is $600 a month before the platform fee and Airwallex Grow is $480 before its fee, so neither beats Brex on seat price alone.
Navan expense for 40 users is $525 a month after the five free seats, Payhawk Cards & Expenses is a flat $449, and Rho, Mercury and BILL Spend & Expense add no software charge at all, which is where the real saving sits. Every figure above was read on the vendor's own pricing page in October 2026.
| Plan | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Brex Essentials | $0/user/mo | Global card acceptance, one local card program, AI rules and up to two entities |
| Brex Premium (per active user) | $12/user/mo | Billed per active user; multiple expense policies and multi-entity across US and international |
| Brex Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited US or global entities, local card issuance and a named account manager |
| Ramp Free | Free per user | Unlimited cards, AP, travel and expense, QuickBooks Online and Xero sync |
| Ramp Plus | $15/user/mo plus platform fee | Multi-entity, AI coding, NetSuite and Sage Intacct; annual billing 20% off |
| Rho (all products) | No software fee | Business account, cards, expense and AP; no per-user or per-card charge |
| Mercury | No monthly fee | Banking essentials, debit and credit cards, 1.5% cashback on IO |
| Mercury Plus | $29.90/mo | Recurring invoices, ACH debit invoicing at $1 a transaction and priority support |
| Mercury Pro | $299/mo | Relationship manager and NetSuite categorizations |
| BILL Spend & Expense (Divvy card) | No subscription | Card with credit lines from $1,000 to $5M; AP sold separately |
| BILL AP & AR Essentials | $49/user/mo | Entry payables plan; Team runs $65 and Corporate $89 a user |
| Airwallex Explore | Free per user | 10 free Spend users, multi-currency accounts, Xero and QuickBooks sync |
| Airwallex Grow | $12/user/mo plus platform fee | NetSuite and Dynamics 365 sync, up to 250 Spend users |
| Navan Business | Free below 301 employees | Unlimited travel bookings; expense free for five users then per user |
| Payhawk Cards & Expenses module | From $449/mo | Seats and transactions unlimited; AP, travel and procurement are separate modules |
The bottom line
Ramp should be the first demo for a team that wants Brex's shape from a vendor that is not a bank. Rho wins when a card application failed, Mercury when the bank account matters more than spend controls, and BILL Spend & Expense when AP volume drives the decision. Airwallex, Navan and Payhawk cover specific shapes: multi-currency entities, travel-first companies and flat-fee module pricing.
Cross-check on Toolradar's Brex alternatives page and the tool pages for Brex, Ramp, Rho and Mercury. The acquisition facts come from Capital One's January 22, 2026 announcement and its April 7, 2026 completion notice. This page is general information, not personalized financial advice. Check current fees, credit terms and eligibility rules directly with each provider before applying.
Cite this: CFOpresso, "Best Brex Alternatives in 2026 After the Capital One Deal", October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Brex alternative in 2026?
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Which Brex alternative has no credit check?
Is there a free alternative to Brex?
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How do I switch from Brex without breaking month-end close?
Sources
Prices and plan details come from each vendor's own pricing page, re-checked by the Toolradar pricing tracker.
- Ramp pricingchecked Sep 2026
- Mercury pricingchecked Sep 2026
- Airwallex pricingchecked Sep 2026
- Navan pricingchecked Sep 2026
Some offers on this page may be paid placements or contain affiliate links.
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