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Accounting · head to head

Medius vs Pleo

Medius logo

Medius

Accounting

Accounts payable automation and supplier payments for mid-market finance teams, Marlin Equity owned

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Pleo logo

Pleo

Accounting

Smart company cards for forward-thinking teams

From
£9.5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Medius the sourcing, contract and procurement modules are considerably less developed than the AP core, so buying Medius as a full source-to-pay suite means accepting weak upstream tooling.; Pleo card delays and transaction limits impact usability, with limited regional acceptance in some areas
  • They diverge on capability: Medius covers Invoice capture and coding, Pleo covers Company cards.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Medius and Pleo actually diverge.

Attributes where Medius and Pleo differ
AttributeMediusPleo
Starting priceOn request£9.5/month
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidiOS, Android, Web
FoundedUnknown2015

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 Medius

  • Invoice capture and coding
  • Matching and exception handling
  • Fraud and anomaly detection
  • Supplier payments
  • Approval workflow
  • ERP integration

Only in Pleo

  • Company cards
  • Receipt capture
  • Expense categorization
  • Spend limits
  • Accounting sync
  • Xero
  • QuickBooks
  • Sage

What people use each for

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

Medius

  • A mid-market finance team where most spend arrives as an invoice with no purchase order to match againstnot Pleo
  • A group with several legal entities on different ERPs that wants one AP process across all of themnot Pleo
  • Reducing invoice fraud exposure with automated detection of supplier bank detail changesnot Pleo
  • Replacing a scanning bureau and a shared AP inbox with automated capture and exception-based reviewnot Pleo

Pleo

  • Employee expensesnot Medius
  • Spending autonomynot Medius
  • Expense automationnot Medius

Where each one falls short

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

Medius

  • The sourcing, contract and procurement modules are considerably less developed than the AP core, so buying Medius as a full source-to-pay suite means accepting weak upstream tooling.
  • Pricing is quote-only and driven by invoice volume, so a business with many low-value invoices pays disproportionately relative to the spend being controlled.
  • Payments are billed on transaction volume separately from the AP subscription, which is easy to omit from a cost comparison against a licence-only AP tool.
  • Private equity ownership since 2017 has produced an acquisition-driven product line, so payments and adjacent capability come from bought-in technology rather than the original platform.
  • ERP integration depth varies sharply by system, and organisations on less common or heavily customised ERPs face integration work that lengthens the implementation.

Pleo

  • Card delays and transaction limits impact usability, with limited regional acceptance in some areas
  • Receipt capture OCR inaccuracies and upload lag/glitches complicate expense categorization
  • Limited expense categories and tags reduce flexibility for complex accounting structures
  • Transaction approval workflows have minimal customization options
  • Lacks in-built forecasting tools and reporting is basic, providing limited insights into trends

Pricing, plan by plan

Medius

On request
  • Medius AP Automation$undefined/year
    • Two packaged AP automation tiers
    • Priced by invoice volume and entity count
    • Sourcing, contracts and procurement modules sold separately

Pleo

£9.5/month
  • Starter$9.5/month
    • Company cards
    • Real-time expense tracking
    • Automated reports
  • Essential$39/month
    • Reimbursements
    • Mileage and per diem
    • Vendor cards
  • Advanced$89/month
    • Cashback
    • Budgets
    • Multi-entity management
  • Beyond$179/month
    • Spending insights
    • Sub-wallets
    • Dedicated success manager

Which should you pick?

Choose Medius if

  • You need invoice capture and coding.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want matching and exception handling.
Medius review

Choose Pleo if

  • You need company cards.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want receipt capture.
Pleo review

Questions people ask

Is Medius or Pleo better?
Neither clearly leads. Medius starts at On request and Pleo at £9.5/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Medius or Pleo?
Medius starts at On request and Pleo at £9.5/month.
Does Medius or Pleo run on more platforms?
Medius runs on Web, iOS, Android. Pleo runs on iOS, Android, Web.
What is Medius best used for?
Medius is most often used for a mid-market finance team where most spend arrives as an invoice with no purchase order to match against, a group with several legal entities on different erps that wants one ap process across all of them, reducing invoice fraud exposure with automated detection of supplier bank detail changes, replacing a scanning bureau and a shared ap inbox with automated capture and exception-based review. Of those, a mid-market finance team where most spend arrives as an invoice with no purchase order to match against and a group with several legal entities on different erps that wants one ap process across all of them are not what Pleo is typically brought in for.
What can Medius do that Pleo cannot?
Medius covers Invoice capture and coding, Matching and exception handling, Fraud and anomaly detection, Supplier payments. Pleo covers Company cards, Receipt capture, Expense categorization, Spend limits.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Medius: Is Medius a procurement suite or an AP tool?

Primarily an AP automation platform with procurement modules attached. If sourcing is your main requirement, look elsewhere.

Pleo: What are Pleo's pricing tiers?

Pleo offers four pricing tiers: Starter (GBP 9.50/month), Essential (GBP 39.00/month), Advanced (GBP 89.00/month), and Beyond (GBP 179.00/month). Annual billing provides equivalent of two free months.

Source
Medius: Who owns Medius?

Marlin Equity Partners, which acquired it in 2017 and has funded several bolt-on acquisitions since.

Pleo: Does Pleo have a free tier?

No, Pleo does not offer a free tier or permanent free plan. All plans require payment with a free trial available for evaluation.

Source
Medius: How is it priced?

By quote, driven by invoice volume and entity count, with payments billed separately on transaction volume.

Pleo: What integrations does Pleo support for accounting?

Pleo integrates directly with Xero and QuickBooks, plus Sage 200, Sage 50, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Datev, and Visma e-conomic. Zapier integrations are also available.

Source
Medius: Does it replace our ERP?

No. It sits alongside the ERP and posts approved invoices into it.

Pleo: What platforms can access Pleo?

Pleo is accessible via iOS and Android mobile apps, and through a web interface. Physical and virtual cards are issued for spending.

Source
Pleo: Does Pleo support multiple currencies?

Yes, Pleo supports multi-currency spending and transactions. The platform is particularly strong for European teams with local payment methods.

Source
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