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Travel · head to head

Bolt vs Egencia

Bolt logo

Bolt

Travel

Estonian ride hailing app with dense coverage across Europe and expanding operations in Africa, positioned as a lower-cost Uber alternative

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Egencia logo

Egencia

Travel

Corporate online booking and travel management from Amex GBT for mid-market and enterprise programmes

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Bolt has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Bolt coverage, while broad across Europe and expanding in Africa, does not extend to North America, most of Asia or South America, so it is unavailable as an option in large parts of the world.; Egencia pricing is per transaction and offline touches cost several times an online booking, so a programme with many complex multi-leg itineraries pays far more than the headline online fee suggests.
  • They diverge on capability: Bolt covers Ride hailing, Egencia covers Policy and approval engine.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bolt and Egencia actually diverge.

Attributes where Bolt and Egencia differ
AttributeBoltEgencia
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFree app, pay per ride with dynamic pricingquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsiOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Travel).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Bolt

  • Ride hailing
  • Bolt Food
  • E-scooters and e-bikes
  • Lower driver commission model
  • Bolt Business
  • Scheduled rides

Only in Egencia

  • Policy and approval engine
  • Negotiated rate loading
  • Traveller tracking
  • Agent support
  • Concur Expense integration
  • AI booking assistant

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Bolt

  • A rider in Europe or Africa wanting a lower-cost alternative to Uber where both apps operatenot Egencia
  • Someone in a city where Uber does not operate but Bolt does, particularly in parts of Central and Eastern Europe or Africanot Egencia
  • A business traveller whose company uses Bolt Business for expensed corporate ridesnot Egencia
  • A rider wanting e-scooter or e-bike rental in a supported European city through the same app used for ridesnot Egencia

Egencia

  • A company of several hundred travellers wanting negotiated hotel rates without paying for a high-touch TMCnot Bolt
  • A finance team standardising on SAP Concur that wants booking data pre-populating expense reportsnot Bolt
  • A multi-country employer needing consolidated duty of care reporting on where staff are travellingnot Bolt
  • An organisation moving off a regional TMC and wanting one supplier across Europe and North Americanot Bolt

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Bolt

  • Coverage, while broad across Europe and expanding in Africa, does not extend to North America, most of Asia or South America, so it is unavailable as an option in large parts of the world.
  • Fares are dynamic with demand-based surge like the rest of the category, so the lower-cost positioning against Uber does not hold on every route or at every time of day.
  • Feature availability, especially Bolt Food and micromobility rental, varies considerably by city, so the app experience is inconsistent across the markets it operates in.
  • As a smaller company than Uber globally, driver and vehicle availability can be noticeably thinner in some cities, particularly outside major urban centres.
  • Bolt has faced regulatory and labour scrutiny in some European and African markets over driver classification and commission structures, similar to the challenges other ride hailing platforms have faced.

Egencia

  • Pricing is per transaction and offline touches cost several times an online booking, so a programme with many complex multi-leg itineraries pays far more than the headline online fee suggests.
  • It is now a service tier inside Amex GBT rather than an independent supplier, so a competitive process that shortlists both Egencia and Amex GBT is not really two bids.
  • Regional content and service quality are uneven, and companies with travellers in smaller markets often find local fares and hotels missing from the tool and end up going offline.
  • Implementation to load negotiated rates and configure policy typically runs months, and rate loading errors surface as travellers seeing the wrong prices rather than as a clean failure.
  • Because the platform underwent a relaunch on new architecture, customers migrating from the older Egencia stack have faced feature parity gaps and retraining during the transition.

Pricing, plan by plan

Bolt

Free
  • BoltFree
    • App is free; riders pay per trip at dynamic, demand-based fares
    • Fares often positioned lower than Uber in overlapping cities, but not guaranteed on every route
    • No published flat rate card, fares vary by city, time and route

Egencia

On request
  • Egencia$undefined/year
    • Per-transaction booking fees, online and offline rates differ
    • Optional annual platform or management fee
    • Implementation and rate loading charges

Which should you pick?

Choose Bolt if

  • You need ride hailing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android.
  • You also want bolt food.
Bolt review

Choose Egencia if

  • You need policy and approval engine.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want negotiated rate loading.
Egencia review

Questions people ask

Is Bolt or Egencia better?
Neither clearly leads. Bolt starts at Free and Egencia at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bolt or Egencia?
Bolt has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bolt and On request for Egencia.
Does Bolt or Egencia run on more platforms?
Bolt runs on iOS, Android. Egencia runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Bolt for free?
Yes. Bolt has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Egencia starts at On request.
What is Bolt best used for?
Bolt is most often used for a rider in europe or africa wanting a lower-cost alternative to uber where both apps operate, someone in a city where uber does not operate but bolt does, particularly in parts of central and eastern europe or africa, a business traveller whose company uses bolt business for expensed corporate rides, a rider wanting e-scooter or e-bike rental in a supported european city through the same app used for rides. Of those, a rider in europe or africa wanting a lower-cost alternative to uber where both apps operate and someone in a city where uber does not operate but bolt does, particularly in parts of central and eastern europe or africa are not what Egencia is typically brought in for.
What can Bolt do that Egencia cannot?
Bolt covers Ride hailing, Bolt Food, E-scooters and e-bikes, Lower driver commission model. Egencia covers Policy and approval engine, Negotiated rate loading, Traveller tracking, Agent support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bolt: Where does Bolt operate?

Primarily across Europe, with particularly dense coverage in Central and Eastern Europe, plus an expanding presence across African markets including Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.

Egencia: Is Egencia still sold under its own name?

Yes. Amex GBT bought it in 2021 and kept the brand, relaunching it in 2026 with a conversational AI assistant and a Concur Expense integration.

Bolt: Is Bolt cheaper than Uber?

Often, in cities where both operate, but not guaranteed on every route since both use dynamic, demand-based pricing that varies by time and location.

Egencia: How is it different from Amex GBT itself?

Egencia is the more self-service, lower-touch tier of the same company, aimed at mid-market programmes; Amex GBT proper is the high-touch enterprise service.

Bolt: Does Bolt deliver food?

Yes, Bolt Food operates in many but not all of the cities where the ride hailing service is available.

Egencia: Does it replace an expense system?

No. It books travel and feeds data to expense tools such as SAP Concur; you still need an expense product.

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