"Free" in expense management is not a trial and not a teaser. Several card-led platforms publish ongoing free base plans, not trials: as of October 2026 they charge nothing per user on them. A finance lead is right to ask how that works before moving the company's spending onto one of them. The documented answer is BILL's: its card products earn primarily from interchange, a fee the merchant pays to the card's issuer on each purchase, not you. Ramp and Brex do not explain their revenue model on their pricing pages; it is our inference, not their statement, that card spending plays the same role there. We read each vendor's pricing page and BILL's annual report on October 27, 2026; nothing here comes from a hands-on test.
For whom: a finance lead or owner at a US company of roughly 5 to 200 people choosing a spend tool. Not for: a company that will not move purchases onto a new corporate card; the free tiers below assume you will.
How a free card platform pays for itself
BILL is the one company in this group that describes it in a public filing. Its annual report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025 says its BILL Divvy Card and virtual card products "generate revenue primarily from interchange fees paid by the supplier accepting the cards," and that interchange is a substantial portion of its total revenue. Ramp's and Brex's pricing pages do not explain their revenue model; Ramp's FAQ does say a Plus subscription can be paid with rewards earned from Ramp card spending. The practical consequence is the same: the free plan works best when spending actually runs on the card.
What each free tier includes
| Tool | Free plan | What is included | First paid step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ramp | Ramp Free, $0 per user a month | Unlimited physical and virtual cards, receipt matching, spend limits, reimbursements, bill pay, QuickBooks Online and Xero sync | Ramp Plus, $15 per user a month plus a platform fee |
| BILL Spend & Expense | $0 per user a month | Corporate cards, budgets, expense tracking, reimbursements; "no subscription or per-user software fees," standard card and payment fees where applicable; BILL's accounts payable is a separate paid subscription | — |
| Brex | Essentials, $0 per user a month | Cards, custom rules, accounting integrations, bill pay, reimbursements, up to two entities | Premium, $12 per user a month |
| Zoho Expense | Free for up to 3 users | Expense reporting for a small team (other free-plan limits not detailed in our record) | Standard, $3 per user a month billed annually |
| Expensify | Free Submit workspace for individuals | Individual expense submission | Collect, $5 per member a month |
| Product | Published entry price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|
| Ramp | $15 per user/month + a platform feeRamp Plus planVendor pricing page, checked Oct 27, 2026 ↗ | Yes, Ramp Free ($0) |
| BILL Spend & Expense | $0 per user/monthBILL Spend & Expense planFormerly Divvy; card credit lines subject to approvalVendor pricing page, checked Oct 27, 2026 ↗ | Yes ($0 per user) |
| Brex | $12 per user/monthPremium planVendor pricing page, checked Oct 27, 2026 ↗ | Yes, Essentials ($0) |
| Zoho Expense | $3 per user/month, billed annuallyStandard plan$4 billed monthlyVendor pricing page, checked Oct 27, 2026 ↗ | Yes, up to 3 users |
| Expensify | $5 per member/monthCollect planControl from $18 annual or $36 pay-per-use; prices from Expensify’s help centerVendor pricing page, checked Oct 27, 2026 ↗ | Free Submit workspace for individuals |
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.
Our pick
Ramp's free plan, for a company ready to put its spending on a corporate card. The free tier includes what most finance teams buy a tool for (cards with limits, receipts, reimbursements, bill pay and the accounting sync) and Ramp Plus is a published step up when you need its advanced controls.
- Pick BILL Spend & Expense instead if your bills already run in BILL: the card program sits next to the payables you already manage.
- Pick Brex Essentials instead for a company with a second entity from the start: its free plan covers up to two.
- Pick Zoho Expense instead for a team of three or fewer that mainly reimburses personal spending.
- Expensify's free tier suits an individual submitting expenses, not a company approving them.
Card credit lines and eligibility are set by each issuer; a free plan does not guarantee a limit. For total costs at scale, see spend management cost.
Traceable evidence
Sources for this decision
- vendorRamp official product siteRamp · checked Aug 5, 2026 · supports: Vendor-published product scope used to verify capabilities relevant to this buyer context: US finance teams evaluating cards, expenses, controls, and accounts payable in one operating workflow. It does not prove the guide's fit verdict, configured performance, current pricing or compliance.Open source ↗
- vendorBILL Spend & Expense official product siteBILL Spend & Expense · checked Aug 5, 2026 · supports: Vendor-published product scope used to verify capabilities relevant to this buyer context: SMBs evaluating card controls and expense workflows alongside BILL financial operations. 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 ↗
- vendorZoho Expense official product siteZoho Expense · checked Aug 5, 2026 · supports: Vendor-published product scope used to verify capabilities relevant to this buyer context: SMBs evaluating expense reporting and reimbursement within the Zoho business suite. It does not prove the guide's fit verdict, configured performance, current pricing or compliance.Open source ↗
- vendorExpensify official product siteExpensify · checked Aug 5, 2026 · supports: Vendor-published product scope used to verify capabilities relevant to this buyer context: Teams evaluating receipt, expense report, reimbursement, and card workflows. It does not prove the guide's fit verdict, configured performance, current pricing or compliance.Open source ↗
- vendorRamp pricing pageRamp · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: Ramp's own pricing page as read on 2026-10-27, supporting the entry list price of its Ramp Plus plan ($15 per user/month + a platform fee), and a free plan (Yes, Ramp Free ($0)). It does not prove the total cost for a given buyer, later price changes, promotions, negotiated discounts or taxes.Open source ↗
- vendorBILL Spend & Expense pricing pageBILL Spend & Expense · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: BILL Spend & Expense's own pricing page as read on 2026-10-27, supporting the entry list price of its BILL Spend & Expense plan ($0 per user/month) and the page details recorded with it (Formerly Divvy; card credit lines subject to approval), and a free plan (Yes ($0 per user)). It does not prove the total cost for a given buyer, later price changes, promotions, negotiated discounts or taxes.Open source ↗
- vendorBrex pricing pageBrex · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: Brex's own pricing page as read on 2026-10-27, supporting the entry list price of its Premium plan ($12 per user/month), and a free plan (Yes, Essentials ($0)). It does not prove the total cost for a given buyer, later price changes, promotions, negotiated discounts or taxes.Open source ↗
- vendorZoho Expense pricing pageZoho Expense · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: Zoho Expense's own pricing page as read on 2026-10-27, supporting the entry list price of its Standard plan ($3 per user/month, billed annually) and the page details recorded with it ($4 billed monthly), and a free plan (Yes, up to 3 users). It does not prove the total cost for a given buyer, later price changes, promotions, negotiated discounts or taxes.Open source ↗
- vendorExpensify pricing pageExpensify · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: Expensify's own pricing page as read on 2026-10-27, supporting the entry list price of its Collect plan ($5 per member/month) and the page details recorded with it (Control from $18 annual or $36 pay-per-use; prices from Expensify’s help center), and a free plan (Free Submit workspace for individuals). It does not prove the total cost for a given buyer, later price changes, promotions, negotiated discounts or taxes.Open source ↗
- vendorRamp pricing page, plan featuresRamp · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: Ramp's pricing page as read on October 27, 2026: Ramp Free at no cost per user with unlimited physical and virtual corporate cards, receipt collection and matching, spend limits, reimbursements, bill pay by ACH, card, check and wire, and QuickBooks Online and Xero integrations; Ramp Plus at a per-user price plus a platform fee; and an FAQ saying Plus can be paid with ACH or rewards earned from Ramp card spending; it does not explain Ramp's revenue model or mention mileage on the free plan.Open source ↗
- vendorBILL pricing page, Spend & ExpenseBILL · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: BILL's pricing page as read on October 27, 2026: BILL Spend & Expense at no cost per user per month including corporate cards, budgets and expense tracking, unlimited physical and virtual cards and employee reimbursements, no subscription or per-user software fees, with standard card and payment fees where applicable; it does not state card eligibility terms.Open source ↗
- vendorBrex pricing page, plan featuresBrex · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: Brex's pricing page as read on October 27, 2026: Essentials at no cost per user, including global card acceptance and one local card program, custom rules, accounting integrations, bill pay, reimbursements and up to two entities, and Premium at a per-user price; it does not explain Brex's revenue model or eligibility.Open source ↗
- officialBILL Holdings, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: BILL Holdings' Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, stating that its BILL Divvy Card and virtual card products generate revenue primarily from interchange fees paid by the supplier accepting the card, that interchange is a substantial portion of total revenue, and that suppliers pay interchange to the card issuer on each transaction; it does not describe other companies' revenue models.Open source ↗