Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Karbon vs SAP Concur

Karbon logo

Karbon

Accounting

Practice management for accounting firms

From
$59/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SAP Concur logo

SAP Concur

Accounting

Enterprise travel booking, expense claims and supplier invoice processing sold as separate modules

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Karbon monthly billing option only available for teams of 4 or more users; SAP Concur implementation is done through SAP or a partner and commonly costs a substantial multiple of the first year subscription, because the value sits entirely in the configured policy, approval hierarchy and ledger mapping rather than in the software as shipped.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Karbon and SAP Concur actually diverge.

Attributes where Karbon and SAP Concur differ
AttributeKarbonSAP Concur
Starting price$59/month$29/month
PlatformsWebWeb, Ios, Android
FoundedUnknown1993

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), 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 SAP Concur does not also cover.

Only in SAP Concur

  • Expense capture
  • Corporate card feeds
  • Policy engine
  • Approval routing
  • Travel booking
  • Travel agency integration
  • Duty of care
  • Invoice capture

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 SAP Concur
  • Tracking all client requests in workflows tied to jobsnot SAP Concur
  • Aligning hours worked with billable time per engagementnot SAP Concur
  • Automating period close by connecting practice management to accountingnot SAP Concur
  • Streamlining client document submission and approval workflowsnot SAP Concur

SAP Concur

  • A multinational with thousands of travellers where an audit committee has asked for evidence that travel policy is actually enforcednot Karbon
  • An organisation replacing spreadsheet expense claims and email approvals that cannot survive an external auditnot Karbon
  • A finance team trying to eliminate duplicate claims by matching corporate card feeds against submitted receiptsnot Karbon
  • A shared service centre processing high volumes of supplier invoices that needs capture and approval routing before postingnot 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

SAP Concur

  • Implementation is done through SAP or a partner and commonly costs a substantial multiple of the first year subscription, because the value sits entirely in the configured policy, approval hierarchy and ledger mapping rather than in the software as shipped.
  • Pricing is driven by transaction volume, expense reports and invoices processed, rather than by seats, so a business with seasonal travel or a growth year sees the bill move in ways headcount based budgeting does not predict.
  • The configuration that makes it valuable is also what makes it rigid, and organisations frequently find that changing an approval chain or adding a cost centre dimension requires a partner change order rather than an administrator's afternoon.
  • Contracts are typically multi year with limited exit, so an organisation that concludes after twelve months that a lighter expense tool would have been enough is still paying for the heavier one for the remainder of the term.
  • The three modules are licensed separately and the strongest case for the product depends on having travel, expense and card feeds together, so buying expense alone gives you a costly receipt system without the control loop that justifies the price.

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

SAP Concur

$29/month
  • Professional$8/month
    • Expense reporting
    • Receipt capture
    • Approvals
  • Premium$12/month
    • Travel booking
    • Invoice management
    • Analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Karbon if

Nothing in the data separates Karbon from SAP Concur on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Karbon review

Choose SAP Concur if

  • You need expense capture.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want corporate card feeds.
SAP Concur review

Questions people ask

Is Karbon or SAP Concur better?
Neither clearly leads. Karbon starts at $59/month and SAP Concur at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Karbon or SAP Concur?
Karbon starts at $59/month and SAP Concur at $29/month.
Does Karbon or SAP Concur run on more platforms?
Karbon runs on Web. SAP Concur 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 SAP Concur is typically brought in for.
What can Karbon do that SAP Concur cannot?
SAP Concur covers Expense capture, Corporate card feeds, Policy engine, Approval routing.

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.

Source
SAP Concur: Do we need SAP ERP to use Concur?

No. It integrates with SAP systems particularly well but it is regularly deployed alongside Oracle, NetSuite, Workday and other ledgers. The integration work is a line item in the implementation either way.

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.

Source
SAP Concur: Is it worth it for a company of a hundred people?

Usually not. Below a few hundred travellers the implementation cost and the contract commitment are hard to justify against lighter expense tools. The case turns on policy enforcement and audit, not on receipt scanning.

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.

Source
SAP Concur: How is it priced?

Broadly on the volume of expense reports and invoices processed, with the modules licensed separately. Because pricing is quoted rather than published, get the volume assumptions written into the contract and check what happens when you exceed them.

SAP Concur: Can it handle multiple countries and currencies?

Yes, that is one of its stronger areas, including per country tax treatment and VAT reclaim identification. Confirm coverage for your specific countries during the sales process rather than assuming global means every jurisdiction.

SAP Concur: How long does implementation take?

Plan in months, not weeks, for anything beyond a single entity with simple approvals. Multi entity rollouts with travel and invoice modules commonly run across a year in phases.

SAP Concur: What does the audit service actually do?

It has a team review a sample or all of your submitted claims against receipts and policy before approval, which some organisations use in place of internal reviewers. It is priced separately from the expense subscription.

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