The two products at a glance
| Product | Who it fits | Who should skip it | Published entry price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbase | Finance teams evaluating request-to-pay, cards, reimbursements, and accounts payable controls | The company needs only simple receipt capture for a small number of reimbursements | Quote only: no public priceNow a Paylocity company; no price publishedVendor pricing page, checked Oct 27, 2026 ↗ | No |
| Brex | Growing companies evaluating corporate cards, travel, expenses, and policy controls | The company's eligibility or operating model falls outside the provider's current requirements | $12 per user/monthPremium planVendor pricing page, checked Oct 27, 2026 ↗ | Yes, Essentials ($0) |
Prices are the entry list prices each vendor publishes on its own US pricing page, read on Oct 27, 2026. They exclude taxes, payment processing unless stated, hardware, add-ons and negotiated discounts; a promotion appears only in the notes, labeled as one. Prices change. No vendor paid for a place or a price in this table.
Both products control spend, but at different moments. Brex controls the payment: the card carries limits, merchant rules and policy, and travel follows the same rules. Airbase controls the decision: a request is approved first, and the card, reimbursement or bill follows from it. Which moment matters more to you settles the choice.
Verdict: Brex for speed, Airbase for governance
For most growing companies we pick Brex. Control at the card is enough when managers are trusted to spend within limits, and Brex adds a travel program that Airbase does not center on. Approvals stay quick: Brex for Slack lets people approve or deny spend limit requests, travel booking requests and card expenses without opening another app.
We pick Airbase when committed spend is the problem. If departments sign contracts or start subscriptions before finance knows, a card limit only tells you afterward. Request-to-pay puts the approval in front.
Where Airbase is stronger
Visibility before the fact. Airbase positions the request as the source record, so finance sees what has been committed, not only what has been charged, and every payment method carries the approval behind it. That suits finance teams preparing for audit expectations or a board that wants commitments tracked.
Where Brex is stronger
The employee experience and travel. Brex positions travel booking alongside cards and policy, and its spend limit requests give a lightweight request step. For a company that values speed and has few large discretionary purchases, Airbase's intake would add steps without adding much control.
Pick by this test
List last quarter's surprises. If they were large commitments that nobody approved, choose Airbase. If they were small out-of-policy charges and travel exceptions, choose Brex. In either trial, raise the amount of an approved request or limit and confirm whether it returns for approval.
Traceable evidence
Sources for this decision
- vendorAirbase official product siteAirbase · checked Aug 5, 2026 · supports: Vendor-published product scope used to verify capabilities relevant to this buyer context: Finance teams evaluating request-to-pay, cards, reimbursements, and accounts payable controls. It does not prove the guide's fit verdict, configured performance, current pricing or compliance.Open source ↗
- vendorBrex official product siteBrex · checked Aug 5, 2026 · supports: Vendor-published product scope used to verify capabilities relevant to this buyer context: Growing companies evaluating corporate cards, travel, expenses, and policy controls. It does not prove the guide's fit verdict, configured performance, current pricing or compliance.Open source ↗
- vendorBrex and SlackBrex · checked Oct 7, 2026 · supports: Brex help article on Brex for Slack: approving or denying spend limit requests, travel booking requests and card expenses, adding receipts and memos in Slack, per-user account linking and per-notification channel settings; it does not document message expiry or stale-request handling.Open source ↗