Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Brex vs Recurly

Brex logo

Brex

Accounting

The financial stack for growing businesses

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Recurly logo

Recurly

Accounting

The subscription management platform built for growth

From
$249/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Brex has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Brex the free Essentials tier is limited to two legal entities; Recurly starter is $249 a month plus 0.9 percent of billing volume above the first $40K, so the cost rises with revenue rather than with usage
  • They diverge on capability: Brex covers Corporate cards, Recurly covers Subscription billing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Brex and Recurly actually diverge.

Attributes where Brex and Recurly differ
AttributeBrexRecurly
Starting priceFree$249/month
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Api
Founded20172009

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting).

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 Brex

  • Corporate cards
  • Business accounts
  • Expense management
  • Bill pay
  • Travel
  • QuickBooks
  • NetSuite
  • Xero

Only in Recurly

  • Subscription billing
  • Revenue recovery
  • Payment gateway optimization
  • Analytics
  • API
  • Stripe
  • PayPal
  • Braintree

Both cover

  • SOC 2
  • PCI DSS
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Brex

  • Corporate cards with spend controls for startupsnot Recurly
  • Expense management and reimbursementsnot Recurly
  • Travel booking inside the spend platformnot Recurly
  • Bill pay and accounting system syncnot Recurly
  • Multi-entity spend management on the paid tiersnot Recurly

Recurly

  • Subscription billing and recurring invoicingnot Brex
  • Dunning and failed payment recoverynot Brex
  • Trials, plan changes and promotionsnot Brex
  • Revenue recognition through the RevRec add-onnot Brex
  • Shopify-native subscriptions with subscribe and savenot Brex

Where each one falls short

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

Brex

  • The free Essentials tier is limited to two legal entities
  • Premium is $12 per user per month, so cost scales with headcount using the card
  • Enterprise and Smart Card pricing is not published
  • Eligibility criteria are not stated anywhere on the pricing page, which matters for a product that extends credit

Recurly

  • Starter is $249 a month plus 0.9 percent of billing volume above the first $40K, so the cost rises with revenue rather than with usage
  • All-Access is quoted at under 1 percent of billing volume with a $1M minimum, putting it out of reach of smaller merchants
  • Only one dunning campaign on Starter; multiple campaigns need All-Access
  • SSO, multicurrency and payments orchestration are All-Access only
  • Revenue recognition and the Engage churn tooling are separate add-ons at $850 and $1,600 a month

Pricing, plan by plan

Brex

Free
  • EssentialsFree
    • Global card acceptance
    • Accounting integrations
    • Real-time reporting
  • Premium$12/month
    • per user
    • Custom expense policies
    • Dynamic approval chains
  • Enterprise$null/month
    • Custom pricing

Recurly

$249/month
  • Starter$249/month
    • Automated global subscription billing
    • Flexible plans and static churn-prevention tools
    • 1 dunning campaign
  • All-Access$null/month
    • Everything in Starter plus AI-powered agents and analytics
    • Intelligent churn-prevention with multiple dunning campaigns
    • Advanced pricing and promotions
  • All-Access for Shopify$null/month
    • Intelligent churn-prevention and customized bundles
    • Subscribe and save, prepaid/gift subscriptions
    • Hybrid subscription support and cancel-save flows

Which should you pick?

Choose Brex if

  • You need corporate cards.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want business accounts.
Brex review

Choose Recurly if

  • You need subscription billing.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want revenue recovery.
Recurly review

Questions people ask

Is Brex or Recurly better?
Neither clearly leads. Brex starts at Free and Recurly at $249/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Brex or Recurly?
Brex has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Brex and $249/month for Recurly.
Does Brex or Recurly run on more platforms?
Brex runs on Web, Ios, Android. Recurly runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Brex for free?
Yes. Brex has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Recurly starts at $249/month.
What is Brex best used for?
Brex is most often used for corporate cards with spend controls for startups, expense management and reimbursements, travel booking inside the spend platform, bill pay and accounting system sync. Of those, corporate cards with spend controls for startups and expense management and reimbursements are not what Recurly is typically brought in for.
What can Brex do that Recurly cannot?
Brex covers Corporate cards, Business accounts, Expense management, Bill pay. Recurly covers Subscription billing, Revenue recovery, Payment gateway optimization, Analytics. Both handle SOC 2, PCI DSS, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Brex: Does Brex have a free plan?

Yes. Brex Essentials is free for startups and growing companies and includes global card acceptance, AI-powered rules, accounting integrations, real-time reporting, and bill pay.

Source
Recurly: What does Recurly's Starter plan cost?

Recurly Starter plan costs 249 USD monthly plus 0.9 percent of billing volume, with the first 40000 USD monthly volume included in the base fee.

Source
Brex: What is Brex Premium pricing?

Brex Premium costs $12 per user per month and is designed for mid-sized companies. It adds custom expense policies, dynamic approval chains, AI compliance auditing, multi-entity support, and live budgets.

Source
Recurly: What is the minimum commitment for Recurly's All-Access plan?

All-Access plans require a minimum 1 million USD annual commitment, billed annually at less than 1 percent of billing volume.

Source
Brex: What countries accept Brex cards?

Brex cards are accepted in 210+ countries. The Smart Card plan offers local-currency cards in 50+ countries for companies focused on procurement simplification and international payments.

Source
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