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Software · head to head

Brex vs Recurly

Brex logo

Brex

Software

The financial stack for growing businesses

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Recurly logo

Recurly

Software

The subscription management platform built for growth

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Brex and Recurly actually diverge.

Attributes where Brex and Recurly differ
AttributeBrexRecurly
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Api
Founded20172009

Identical on both: starting price ($29/month), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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

$29/month
  • EssentialsFree
    • Corporate cards
    • Expense management
    • Bill pay
  • Premium$12/month
    • Advanced controls
    • Custom approvals
    • Travel booking

Recurly

$29/month
  • CoreFree
    • Basic billing
    • Revenue recovery
    • Analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Brex if

  • You need corporate cards.
  • 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 $29/month and Recurly at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Brex or Recurly?
Brex starts at $29/month and Recurly at $29/month.
Does Brex or Recurly run on more platforms?
Brex runs on Web, Ios, Android. Recurly runs on Web, Api.
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.
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