Corporate cards meet spend control. Brex automates expense tracking, enforces policy at swipe, and gives finance ops real-time visibility into who spent what and why.
Brex is a spend management platform built around corporate cards. You issue physical or virtual cards to employees, set limits and merchant restrictions per person or department, and watch every transaction flow into a centralized ledger with automatic GL coding. Who uses it: Finance ops at mid-market and enterprise companies (typically $50M+ ARR) who need to replace spreadsheet-based expense reports and reduce the accounting close cycle. The platform is strongest when you have 50+ cardholders and recurring vendor payments. The core workflow: Employee swipes card → transaction hits Brex dashboard in real-time → policy rules auto-approve or flag for human review → approved expenses auto-categorize to GL codes → accounting team reconciles in bulk instead of line-by-line. You can also generate single-use virtual cards for vendor payments, which helps you capture early-pay discounts and lock down supplier relationships without handing out physical plastic. Where it wins: If your team is drowning in receipt photos and manual expense categorization, Brex cuts that work by 60–70%. Real-time card limits prevent overspend before it happens. Multi-entity accounting is cleaner because you can route transactions to the right cost center automatically. Fraud detection is built in—unusual merchant categories or amounts trigger holds and audit trails. Pricing reality: Brex charges per card (typically $10–$20/month per cardholder) plus a percentage of transaction volume or a flat monthly fee for the platform. Exact pricing depends on your card volume and feature tier—check their sales team for your use case. There's usually a setup fee and a minimum monthly commitment. Honest limits: Brex works best if your spend is concentrated on cards. If half your vendors only accept ACH or checks, you'll still have manual work. The approval workflow is customizable but not infinitely flexible—complex multi-step sign-offs can feel clunky. Integration with your accounting system (NetSuite, Sage, QuickBooks) exists but requires setup and ongoing maintenance. Virtual card generation is powerful but adds complexity if you're not already thinking about vendor payment strategy. Alternatives: Ramp and Divvy offer similar card + spend management bundles, often at lower per-card costs. Stripe Issuing is cheaper if you only need card issuance and can build your own approval logic. Expensify and Concur focus on expense reporting rather than card controls. Choose Brex if you want the tightest integration between card limits, policy enforcement, and accounting automation.
Corporate cards meet spend control. Brex automates expense tracking, enforces policy at swipe, and gives finance ops real-time visibility into who spent what and why.
Set real-time card limits and merchant restrictions to enforce spending policy before the transaction clears; Automate expense categorization and GL coding so accounting close doesn't require line-by-line reconciliation; Generate single-use virtual cards for vendor payments to capture early-pay discounts and reduce fraud risk; Consolidate spend visibility across departments and cost centers for accurate budget tracking and forecasting.
Brex uses a custom pricing model, starting around See vendor site. Pricing changes often — confirm current tiers on the vendor site.
Yes, Brex lists an API, so you can integrate it into custom workflows.
Per-card pricing adds up quickly if you have 100+ employees; total cost of ownership is higher than some competitors; Works best when most of your spend flows through cards; ACH, checks, and wire transfers still require manual handling; Approval workflows are customizable but can feel rigid for complex multi-step sign-offs or exception handling; Integration with accounting systems requires setup and ongoing maintenance; data sync issues can delay close.
Popular Brex alternatives include american-express-corporate, mastercard-corporate, divvy, ramp. See the full alternatives page for side-by-side comparisons.