Accounting · head to head
Karbon vs Medius Expense
Medius Expense
Accounting
Expense management, formerly Expensya, now the expense module of the Medius spend platform
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Karbon monthly billing option only available for teams of 4 or more users; Medius Expense the Expensya name is being retired, so contracts, logins and support articles change identity mid-relationship and internal documentation has to be rewritten.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Karbon and Medius Expense actually diverge.
| Attribute | Karbon | Medius Expense |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $59/month | On request |
| Pricing model | subscription | quote |
| Platforms | Web | Web, iOS, Android |
Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Karbon
Nothing recorded that Medius Expense does not also cover.
Only in Medius Expense
- Receipt OCR
- Mileage and per diem
- VAT recovery
- Card reconciliation
- Approval workflows
- AP suite integration
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Karbon
- Automating client document collection for tax practice intakenot Medius Expense
- Tracking all client requests in workflows tied to jobsnot Medius Expense
- Aligning hours worked with billable time per engagementnot Medius Expense
- Automating period close by connecting practice management to accountingnot Medius Expense
- Streamlining client document submission and approval workflowsnot Medius Expense
Medius Expense
- A French or Spanish employer needing VAT-compliant receipt capture in local formats and languagesnot Karbon
- A company already running Medius for supplier invoices that wants employee spend on the same platformnot Karbon
- A finance team with heavy mileage claims needing statutory rates applied without spreadsheetsnot Karbon
- A group consolidating several country expense tools into one European platformnot Karbon
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Karbon
- Monthly billing option only available for teams of 4 or more users
- Team plan at $59/month per user minimum cost may be expensive for smaller practices
- No seat license discounts published; scaling costs linearly with user count
Medius Expense
- The Expensya name is being retired, so contracts, logins and support articles change identity mid-relationship and internal documentation has to be rewritten.
- It is now a module inside an accounts payable suite, so expense-specific roadmap items compete with supplier invoice work for engineering time.
- Pricing is not published and is discounted against bundling with Medius AP, which makes standalone expense quotes less competitive than they look.
- Strength is concentrated in Europe and the Maghreb; North American and Asian tax and mileage handling are thinner than the European coverage.
- It does not issue cards, so real-time spend controls are absent and it relies on card feed reconciliation after the fact.
Pricing, plan by plan
Karbon
$59/month- Team$59/month
- Per-user pricing
- Designed for small accounting firms
- Minimum team size of 4 for monthly billing
- Business$89/month
- Per-user pricing
- Workflow automation
- Integrations for growing practices
- Enterprise$null/mo
- Custom pricing
- Tailored for large accounting firms
- Dedicated support
Medius Expense
On request- Medius Expense$undefined/year
- Per-user subscription, quoted not published
- Tiering by feature set and entity count
- Implementation and OCR configuration fees
Which should you pick?
Choose Karbon if
Nothing in the data separates Karbon from Medius Expense on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Choose Medius Expense if
- You need receipt ocr.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want mileage and per diem.
Questions people ask
- Is Karbon or Medius Expense better?
- Neither clearly leads. Karbon starts at $59/month and Medius Expense at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Karbon or Medius Expense?
- Karbon starts at $59/month and Medius Expense at On request.
- Does Karbon or Medius Expense run on more platforms?
- Karbon runs on Web. Medius Expense runs on Web, iOS, Android.
- What is Karbon best used for?
- Karbon is most often used for automating client document collection for tax practice intake, tracking all client requests in workflows tied to jobs, aligning hours worked with billable time per engagement, automating period close by connecting practice management to accounting. Of those, automating client document collection for tax practice intake and tracking all client requests in workflows tied to jobs are not what Medius Expense is typically brought in for.
- What can Karbon do that Medius Expense cannot?
- Medius Expense covers Receipt OCR, Mileage and per diem, VAT recovery, Card reconciliation.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Karbon: How much does Karbon cost?
Karbon pricing starts at $59 per user per month (Team plan, billed annually) or $79 per user per month (monthly billing for 4+ users). Business plan is $89/month annual or $99/month monthly. Enterprise pricing is custom.
SourceMedius Expense: Is Expensya still available?
Under that name, no. The product continues as Medius Expense, with the branding cutover on 30 September 2026 and no change to features or data.
Karbon: Is there a discount for annual billing on Karbon?
Yes, Karbon offers annual billing at a discount compared to monthly. Team plan is $59/month annually versus $79/month monthly. Business plan is $89/month annually versus $99/month monthly.
SourceMedius Expense: Do I have to buy Medius AP as well?
No, but the commercial terms improve materially if you do, which is worth testing during negotiation.
Karbon: What is the minimum user requirement for monthly billing on Karbon?
Karbon requires a minimum team size of 4 users to access monthly billing. Teams smaller than 4 must choose annual billing.
SourceMedius Expense: Does it issue corporate cards?
No. It reconciles existing card feeds rather than issuing its own cards.
Related pages
More on Medius Expense
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