Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Cledara vs Extend

Cledara logo

Cledara

Accounting

Software subscription management with a virtual card per application, priced from £100 a month

From
£100/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Extend logo

Extend

Payroll

Virtual card issuing and spend controls layered onto existing business credit cards

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Extend has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cledara control only extends to subscriptions paid on a Cledara card, so anything billed by invoice, bank transfer or a legacy company card is invisible to the system and undermines the inventory it promises.; Extend it depends on an existing business credit card relationship, so a company without a qualifying Amex, Visa or Mastercard business card cannot use it as a standalone card issuer.
  • They diverge on capability: Cledara covers Virtual card per subscription, Extend covers Virtual card issuing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cledara and Extend actually diverge.

Attributes where Cledara and Extend differ
AttributeCledaraExtend
Starting price£100/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month by number of applicationsPer user per month, free starter tier
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryAccountingPayroll

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

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 Cledara

  • Virtual card per subscription
  • Cancel by card
  • Application inventory
  • Approval workflow
  • Invoice collection
  • Accounting export
  • Spend optimisation module
  • IT management and compliance modules

Only in Extend

  • Virtual card issuing
  • Per-card spend controls
  • Approval workflows
  • Receipt auto-matching
  • ERP integrations
  • API access

What people use each for

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

Cledara

  • A finance team that cannot say what software the company pays for because everything is on three people's company cardsnot Extend
  • A company that keeps paying for tools nobody uses and cannot get the vendor to process a cancellationnot Extend
  • A startup wanting approval on new software purchases before the first charge rather than at the auditnot Extend
  • A finance function that spends days each month chasing SaaS invoices for the accountantnot Extend

Extend

  • A small business wanting free vendor-level virtual card controls without opening a new card programmenot Cledara
  • A company with an existing Amex or bank business card wanting tighter per-vendor spend limitsnot Cledara
  • A finance team wanting predictable per-user pricing rather than a private quote for spend managementnot Cledara
  • A larger business wanting API-driven automated card issuance tied to its existing card relationshipnot Cledara

Where each one falls short

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

Cledara

  • Control only extends to subscriptions paid on a Cledara card, so anything billed by invoice, bank transfer or a legacy company card is invisible to the system and undermines the inventory it promises.
  • Tier limits are set by number of applications rather than headcount, and twenty applications on the Basic plan is fewer than most companies of fifty actually run, so buyers often land on a higher tier than the entry price suggests.
  • The modules that turn it from a payment layer into a management platform, spend optimisation, IT management and compliance, are each priced at £150 to £200 a month, comparable to the base plan itself.
  • Usage data is inferred from payment and integration signals rather than deep application telemetry, so its judgement of whether a tool is underused is weaker than a discovery product built on single sign-on and API usage.
  • It is a card issuer as well as a software vendor, which adds financial counterparty considerations and means a change in its banking arrangements would affect how the company pays every one of its suppliers.

Extend

  • It depends on an existing business credit card relationship, so a company without a qualifying Amex, Visa or Mastercard business card cannot use it as a standalone card issuer.
  • The free Starter plan is capped at five users and 100 cards a month, which small but growing teams will outgrow quickly and need to upgrade past.
  • The Pro plan enforces a ten-user minimum, so a company with only two or three people who need virtual cards pays for unused seats.
  • Rewards, credit terms and dispute resolution still run through the underlying card issuer, so Extend cannot improve or change those terms; it only adds a control layer on top.
  • Deeper ERP integrations such as NetSuite and Dynamics 365 are reserved for the custom-quoted Enterprise tier, so companies needing them lose the pricing transparency of the published Starter and Pro plans.

Pricing, plan by plan

Cledara

£100/month
  • Basic$100/month
    • Up to 20 software applications
    • Virtual card per subscription
    • Application inventory and approvals
  • Premium$undefined/month
    • Up to 75 software applications
    • Typically 51 to 150 staff
    • 1% cashback in the first year, capped at the subscription cost
  • Pro$undefined/month
    • For organisations above roughly 150 staff
    • Scoped individually
    • 1% cashback in the first year, capped at plan cost
  • Add-on modules$200/month
    • Spend Optimization £200 a month or £1,500 a year
    • IT Management £150 a month or £1,500 a year
    • Software Compliance £150 a month or £1,500 a year

Extend

Free
  • StarterFree
    • Up to 5 users and 10 guests
    • Up to 100 virtual cards per month
    • One expense category
  • Pro$11.99/month
    • 10 user minimum
    • Up to 500 virtual cards per month
    • Custom approval workflows and QuickBooks Online integration
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Unlimited users and virtual cards
    • API access for automated card issuance
    • NetSuite and Dynamics 365 integration, dedicated account manager

Which should you pick?

Choose Cledara if

  • You need virtual card per subscription.
  • You also want cancel by card.
Cledara review

Choose Extend if

  • You need virtual card issuing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want per-card spend controls.
Extend review

Questions people ask

Is Cledara or Extend better?
Neither clearly leads. Cledara starts at £100/month and Extend at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cledara or Extend?
Extend has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at £100/month for Cledara and Free for Extend.
Does Cledara or Extend run on more platforms?
Cledara runs on Web. Extend runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Extend for free?
Yes. Extend has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cledara starts at £100/month.
What is Cledara best used for?
Cledara is most often used for a finance team that cannot say what software the company pays for because everything is on three people's company cards, a company that keeps paying for tools nobody uses and cannot get the vendor to process a cancellation, a startup wanting approval on new software purchases before the first charge rather than at the audit, a finance function that spends days each month chasing saas invoices for the accountant. Of those, a finance team that cannot say what software the company pays for because everything is on three people's company cards and a company that keeps paying for tools nobody uses and cannot get the vendor to process a cancellation are not what Extend is typically brought in for.
What can Cledara do that Extend cannot?
Cledara covers Virtual card per subscription, Cancel by card, Application inventory, Approval workflow. Extend covers Virtual card issuing, Per-card spend controls, Approval workflows, Receipt auto-matching.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cledara: What does it cost?

Basic is £100 a month for up to 20 applications, with Premium covering up to 75 and Pro above that. Add-on modules are £150 to £200 a month each, and annual payment saves 16%.

Extend: Does Extend replace our business credit card?

No, it issues virtual cards against an existing American Express, Visa or Mastercard business credit line rather than opening a new card programme.

Cledara: Does it find software we did not tell it about?

Only what passes through its cards or connected integrations. Subscriptions paid by invoice or another card stay hidden, which is the main limitation of the model.

Extend: Is there really a free plan?

Yes, the Starter plan is free for up to five users, ten guests and 100 virtual cards a month.

Cledara: How does cancelling work?

You cancel the virtual card for that subscription, which stops the payment. It does not remove your contractual obligation, so check notice periods.

Extend: What does Pro cost?

11.99 dollars per user per month billed annually, or 12 dollars monthly, with a ten-user minimum.

Cledara: Is the application limit by users or by tools?

By tools. Twenty on Basic, seventy-five on Premium. Count your actual subscriptions before assuming the entry price applies to you.

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