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Accounting · head to head

Medius Expense vs Zoho Books

Medius Expense logo

Medius Expense

Accounting

Expense management, formerly Expensya, now the expense module of the Medius spend platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zoho Books logo

Zoho Books

Accounting

Simple, smart accounting software for growing businesses

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Zoho Books 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.; Zoho Books payroll only available in Texas and California, limiting US usefulness
  • They diverge on capability: Medius Expense covers Receipt OCR, Zoho Books covers Invoicing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Medius Expense and Zoho Books actually diverge.

Attributes where Medius Expense and Zoho Books differ
AttributeMedius ExpenseZoho Books
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
Free tierNoYes
FoundedUnknown1996

Identical on both: platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Zoho Books

  • Invoicing
  • Expense tracking
  • Bank reconciliation
  • Financial reports
  • Tax compliance
  • Zoho CRM
  • PayPal
  • Stripe

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 Zoho Books
  • A company already running Medius for supplier invoices that wants employee spend on the same platformnot Zoho Books
  • A finance team with heavy mileage claims needing statutory rates applied without spreadsheetsnot Zoho Books
  • A group consolidating several country expense tools into one European platformnot Zoho Books

Zoho Books

  • Invoicingnot Medius Expense
  • Expense managementnot Medius Expense
  • Tax preparationnot 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.

Zoho Books

  • Payroll only available in Texas and California, limiting US usefulness
  • Limited access to historical financial data compared to competitors
  • Customer support is slow with long response times and frustrating workarounds
  • Fewer integrations than QuickBooks Online and Xero
  • User limit restrictions (1-15 depending on plan) compared to Xero's unlimited users
  • Occasional inaccuracies in automatic exchange rate updates for international transactions

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

Zoho Books

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 user + accountant
    • Unlimited invoices
  • Standard$20/month
    • 3 users
    • Core accounting
  • Professional$60/month
    • 5 users
    • Advanced reporting
  • Premium$120/month
    • 10 users
    • Inventory management

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.
Medius Expense review

Choose Zoho Books if

  • You need invoicing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want expense tracking.
Zoho Books review

Questions people ask

Is Medius Expense or Zoho Books better?
Neither clearly leads. Medius Expense starts at On request and Zoho Books at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Medius Expense or Zoho Books?
Zoho Books has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Medius Expense and Free for Zoho Books.
Does Medius Expense or Zoho Books run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Zoho Books for free?
Yes. Zoho Books 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 Zoho Books is typically brought in for.
What can Medius Expense do that Zoho Books cannot?
Medius Expense covers Receipt OCR, Mileage and per diem, VAT recovery, Card reconciliation. Zoho Books covers Invoicing, Expense tracking, Bank reconciliation, Financial reports.

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.

Zoho Books: Does Zoho Books support payroll?

Zoho Books offers limited payroll integration available only in Texas and California currently. Outside these states, users must use separate payroll software.

Source
Medius 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.

Zoho Books: How many users can access one account?

User limits vary by plan: Free tier (1 user + accountant), Standard (3 users), Professional (5 users), Premium (10 users), Elite (15 users). Each business requires separate subscription.

Source
Medius Expense: Does it issue corporate cards?

No. It reconciles existing card feeds rather than issuing its own cards.

Zoho Books: What integrations does Zoho Books support?

Zoho Books integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, Razorpay, PayPal, Stripe, Salesforce, Google Sheets, and 500+ apps via Zapier. It integrates with other Zoho products like Zoho Inventory and Zoho Projects.

Source
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