Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Circula vs Navan

Circula logo

Circula

Accounting

Expense, travel and employee benefit management for German speaking finance teams

From
€15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Navan logo

Navan

Accounting

AI-powered corporate travel and expense management with integrated corporate card

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Navan has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Circula the module pricing stacks: expenses at fifteen euro per licence plus ninety nine euro for cards plus a hundred and forty nine euro for accounts payable means a fifty person company pays well over a thousand euro a month before add ons.; Navan enterprise pricing requires quote request; no transparency on true per-user or per-transaction costs
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Circula and Navan actually diverge.

Attributes where Circula and Navan differ
AttributeCirculaNavan
Starting price€15/monthFree
Pricing modelPer user per monthfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android, API

Identical on both: 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 Circula

  • German per diem engine
  • Receipt capture and OCR
  • Corporate credit cards
  • Employee benefits
  • Accounts payable
  • Mileage and travel
  • DATEV and ERP export
  • Approval workflows

Only in Navan

Nothing recorded that Circula does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Circula

  • A German company that must apply statutory per diem rates and meal deductions correctly to avoid payroll tax exposurenot Navan
  • A finance team wanting card spend, expense claims and benefits in one DATEV exportnot Navan
  • An employer offering the tax free monthly benefit allowance and needing auditable records of itnot Navan
  • A mid sized business replacing spreadsheet mileage claims with rule enforced distance calculationsnot Navan

Navan

  • Mid-market and enterprise companies automating travel and expense workflowsnot Circula
  • Organisations seeking to reduce travel costs through policy enforcement and AI-driven discountsnot Circula
  • Teams utilising corporate card programmes for spend tracking without receipt capture overheadnot Circula
  • Global enterprises requiring multi-currency support and ERP integrationnot Circula
  • Companies where employee autonomy is prioritised; AI assistant enables self-service booking and policy compliancenot Circula

Where each one falls short

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

Circula

  • The module pricing stacks: expenses at fifteen euro per licence plus ninety nine euro for cards plus a hundred and forty nine euro for accounts payable means a fifty person company pays well over a thousand euro a month before add ons.
  • A minimum of ten licences excludes small teams, and the flexible licensing model for occasional claimants makes monthly cost harder to forecast than a flat per seat price.
  • Strength is in German tax rules, so companies with significant operations outside the DACH region gain little from the feature that justifies the price.
  • The accounts payable module includes only a hundred invoices per month, so invoice heavy businesses face metered overage on top of the platform fee.
  • Card issuing carries a per card transaction ceiling and depends on partner issuing, so high value procurement spend can hit limits that a bank issued corporate card would not.

Navan

  • Enterprise pricing requires quote request; no transparency on true per-user or per-transaction costs
  • Expense management charges apply beyond 5 users, increasing per-user costs for larger teams
  • Corporate card programmes (Navan Card, Connect) complicate adoption by requiring banking integration
  • AI assistant (Navan Edge) lacks transparency on data handling; unclear whether conversation data is retained for model training
  • Limited EMEA coverage; emerging market travel inventory less comprehensive than global GDS systems

Pricing, plan by plan

Circula

€15/month
  • Employee and Travel Expenses$15/month
    • Per licence, billed annually
    • Minimum 10 licences
    • OCR receipt capture
  • Credit Cards$99/month
    • Platform fee, unlimited cards
    • Per card spend limits
    • Transaction limit of EUR 750,000 per card
  • Accounts Payable$149/month
    • Platform fee
    • Includes 100 invoices per month
    • Supplier invoice capture and approval
  • Benefits$1/month
    • Per licence
    • Tax free benefit allowances
    • Mobility and meal benefits

Navan

Free
  • Navan BusinessFree
    • Unlimited flight, hotel, train, rental car bookings
    • Global inventory across 178+ countries
    • 24/7 travel support
  • Navan Business (Expense add-on)$15/month
    • Additional expense management users (beyond 5 free)
    • Receipt scanning and categorisation
    • ERP integration (30+ connectors)
  • Navan EnterpriseFree
    • Custom pricing
    • Dedicated account management
    • Negotiated corporate rates

Which should you pick?

Choose Circula if

  • You need german per diem engine.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want receipt capture and ocr.
Circula review

Choose Navan if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
Navan review

Questions people ask

Is Circula or Navan better?
Neither clearly leads. Circula starts at €15/month and Navan at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Circula or Navan?
Navan has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at €15/month for Circula and Free for Navan.
Does Circula or Navan run on more platforms?
Circula runs on Web, iOS, Android. Navan runs on Web, iOS, Android, API.
Can I use Navan for free?
Yes. Navan has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Circula starts at €15/month.
What is Circula best used for?
Circula is most often used for a german company that must apply statutory per diem rates and meal deductions correctly to avoid payroll tax exposure, a finance team wanting card spend, expense claims and benefits in one datev export, an employer offering the tax free monthly benefit allowance and needing auditable records of it, a mid sized business replacing spreadsheet mileage claims with rule enforced distance calculations. Of those, a german company that must apply statutory per diem rates and meal deductions correctly to avoid payroll tax exposure and a finance team wanting card spend, expense claims and benefits in one datev export are not what Navan is typically brought in for.
What can Circula do that Navan cannot?
Circula covers German per diem engine, Receipt capture and OCR, Corporate credit cards, Employee benefits.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Circula: Does Circula calculate German per diems automatically?

Yes, by destination country and trip duration, including meal and accommodation deductions, which is the main reason DACH finance teams buy it.

Navan: Is Navan's travel booking free?

Yes. Navan Business travel bookings are free, supported by supplier commissions. Expense management is free for the first 5 users monthly; additional users cost £15/month each.

Source
Circula: What does it actually cost for fifty employees?

Roughly seven hundred and fifty euro a month for expense licences alone at the fifteen euro rate, before the ninety nine euro card platform fee and any accounts payable module.

Navan: What is Navan Edge?

Navan Edge is an AI travel assistant integrated into chat that handles flight, hotel, and restaurant enquiries, provides recommendations, processes cancellations and rebookings, and escalates to human support 24/7.

Source
Circula: Is there a minimum commitment?

Yes. A minimum of ten licences and annual billing on the published rates.

Navan: Does Navan integrate with our ERP system?

Yes. Navan provides 30+ pre-built ERP connectors (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, etc.) and REST APIs for real-time spend sync and invoice reconciliation.

Source
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