Accounting · head to head
Medius Expense vs Polar
Medius Expense
Accounting
Expense management, formerly Expensya, now the expense module of the Medius spend platform
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
Polar
Accounting
Billing and revenue platform for AI and infrastructure companies
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Polar has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: 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.; Polar percentage-based fees higher than some specialized processors for high-volume transactions
- They diverge on capability: Medius Expense covers Receipt OCR, Polar covers Usage Billing.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Medius Expense and Polar actually diverge.
| Attribute | Medius Expense | Polar |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | On request | Free |
| Pricing model | quote | Percentage of transaction plus per-transaction fee |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web, 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 Medius Expense
- Receipt OCR
- Mileage and per diem
- VAT recovery
- Card reconciliation
- Approval workflows
- AP suite integration
Only in Polar
- Usage Billing
- Subscriptions
- Seat Management
- Prepaid Credits
- Hosted Checkout
- Cost Insights
- Merchant of Record
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Medius Expense
- A French or Spanish employer needing VAT-compliant receipt capture in local formats and languagesnot Polar
- A company already running Medius for supplier invoices that wants employee spend on the same platformnot Polar
- A finance team with heavy mileage claims needing statutory rates applied without spreadsheetsnot Polar
- A group consolidating several country expense tools into one European platformnot Polar
Polar
- Billing for token and API call consumption by LLM applicationsnot Medius Expense
- Managing tiered pricing for infrastructure usage-based servicesnot Medius Expense
- Handling subscription and usage hybrid modelsnot Medius Expense
- Monetizing AI APIs with usage metering and creditsnot Medius Expense
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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.
Polar
- Percentage-based fees higher than some specialized processors for high-volume transactions
- Merchant of record model may not suit companies preferring direct payment control
- Free Starter tier limited with 5% fees reducing appeal for production use
- Setup and integration effort required despite API simplicity
Pricing, plan by plan
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
Polar
Free- StarterFree
- 5% + $0.50 per transaction
- Free tier for testing
- Basic features
- Pro$20/month
- 3.8% + $0.40 per transaction
- Full platform access
- Cost insights
- Growth$100/month
- 3.6% + $0.35 per transaction
- Priority support
- Volume benefits
- Scale$400/month
- 3.4% + $0.30 per transaction
- Dedicated support
- Custom integration
Which should you pick?
Choose Medius Expense if
- You need receipt ocr.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want mileage and per diem.
Choose Polar if
- You need usage billing.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, API.
- You also want subscriptions.
Questions people ask
- Is Medius Expense or Polar better?
- Neither clearly leads. Medius Expense starts at On request and Polar at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Medius Expense or Polar?
- Polar has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Medius Expense and Free for Polar.
- Does Medius Expense or Polar run on more platforms?
- Medius Expense runs on Web, iOS, Android. Polar runs on Web, API.
- Can I use Polar for free?
- Yes. Polar has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Medius Expense starts at On request.
- What is Medius Expense best used for?
- Medius Expense is most often used for a french or spanish employer needing vat-compliant receipt capture in local formats and languages, a company already running medius for supplier invoices that wants employee spend on the same platform, a finance team with heavy mileage claims needing statutory rates applied without spreadsheets, a group consolidating several country expense tools into one european platform. Of those, a french or spanish employer needing vat-compliant receipt capture in local formats and languages and a company already running medius for supplier invoices that wants employee spend on the same platform are not what Polar is typically brought in for.
- What can Medius Expense do that Polar cannot?
- Medius Expense covers Receipt OCR, Mileage and per diem, VAT recovery, Card reconciliation. Polar covers Usage Billing, Subscriptions, Seat Management, Prepaid Credits.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Medius 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.
Polar: Do you handle international payments and taxes?
Yes, Polar acts as merchant of record in 100+ markets, handling payment processing, tax collection, and compliance automatically.
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.
Polar: Is there a free tier?
Yes, the Starter plan is free and charges 5% + $0.50 per transaction, ideal for testing and early-stage development.
SourceMedius Expense: Does it issue corporate cards?
No. It reconciles existing card feeds rather than issuing its own cards.
Polar: Do you offer discounts for startups?
Yes, the Startup Program provides the Scale plan free for 12 months for early-stage AI companies.
SourceRelated pages
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