Accounting · head to head
Mercury vs Ramp
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Mercury treasury access requires a $250,000 balance held with Mercury; Ramp procurement module unavailable on Free plan; available as add-on on Plus
- They diverge on capability: Mercury covers Business checking, Ramp covers Corporate cards.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Mercury and Ramp actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting), founded (2019).
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 Mercury
- Business checking
- Savings accounts
- Virtual cards
- Team management
- API access
- Stripe
- FDIC insured
Only in Ramp
- Corporate cards
- Expense management
- Bill pay
- Accounting automation
- Spend insights
- NetSuite
- Sage Intacct
- PCI DSS
Both cover
- QuickBooks
- Xero
- SOC 2
- Web support
- Ios support
- Android support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Mercury
- Business banking and payments for startupsnot Ramp
- Managing treasury, invoicing and corporate cards from one accountnot Ramp
Ramp
- Corporate expense management and automationnot Mercury
- Accounts payable automation with AI invoice processingnot Mercury
- Multi-currency travel and policy managementnot Mercury
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Mercury
- Treasury access requires a $250,000 balance held with Mercury
- Non USD international wires carry a 1% conversion fee
- Choosing OUR wire coding, which covers intermediary bank charges, costs $15 per wire
- ACH invoicing is $1 per transaction on Mercury Plus and only free on the $299 a month Pro plan
- Advanced and recurring invoicing require Mercury Plus at $29.90 a month
Ramp
- Procurement module unavailable on Free plan; available as add-on on Plus
- Workday and Oracle Fusion integrations limited to Enterprise tier only
- Multi-entity functionality requires Plus tier or higher
- Local card issuance in 30+ countries limited to Enterprise tier
- Advanced ERP integrations require higher tier selection
Pricing, plan by plan
Mercury
Free- Mercury (Free)Free
- ACH payments
- Domestic wires
- Real-time payments
- Mercury Plus$29.9/month
- Invoice ACH debits
- Recurring invoices
- Invoicing API (500/month)
- Mercury Pro$299/month
- All Plus features
- Relationship manager
- Free ACH invoice debits
Ramp
Free- FreeFree
- Unlimited physical and virtual corporate cards
- Receipt collection and matching
- AI-powered OCR invoice capture
- Plus$15/month
- All Free plan features
- Auto-lock cards for compliance violations
- 24/7 phone support
- Enterprise$null/year
- All Plus plan features
- Custom pricing
- Workday and Oracle integrations
Which should you pick?
Choose Mercury if
- You need business checking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want savings accounts.
Choose Ramp if
- You need corporate cards.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Mobile apps.
- You also want expense management.
Questions people ask
- Is Mercury or Ramp better?
- Neither clearly leads. Mercury starts at Free and Ramp at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Mercury or Ramp?
- Mercury starts at Free and Ramp at Free.
- Does Mercury or Ramp run on more platforms?
- Mercury runs on Web, Ios, Android. Ramp runs on Web, Mobile apps.
- Can I use Mercury for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Mercury best used for?
- Mercury is most often used for business banking and payments for startups, managing treasury, invoicing and corporate cards from one account. Of those, business banking and payments for startups and managing treasury, invoicing and corporate cards from one account are not what Ramp is typically brought in for.
- What can Mercury do that Ramp cannot?
- Mercury covers Business checking, Savings accounts, Virtual cards, Team management. Ramp covers Corporate cards, Expense management, Bill pay, Accounting automation. Both handle QuickBooks, Xero, SOC 2, Web support.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Mercury: Is Mercury business banking free?
Mercury's base banking tier is free and includes ACH payments, domestic wire transfers, real-time payments, Bill Pay, and QuickBooks/Xero automations at no monthly cost.
SourceRamp: How much does Ramp Plus plan cost?
Ramp Plus plan costs $15 USD per user per month plus a platform fee based on team size. Annual billing provides a 20% discount compared to monthly billing.
SourceMercury: What does Mercury Plus add beyond the free tier?
Mercury Plus costs $29.90 per month and adds invoice ACH debits, recurring invoice capabilities, invoicing API with 500 calls per month, unlimited 1099 filings, and access to partner benefits.
SourceRamp: What accounting systems does Ramp integrate with?
Ramp Free and Plus plans integrate with QuickBooks Online and Xero. Plus plan adds access to additional ERP systems, and Enterprise plan supports Workday, Oracle, and advanced options.
SourceMercury: Does Mercury charge monthly account fees?
No, Mercury states there are no minimum account balance requirements, overdraft fees, required monthly fees, or account opening fees. The free tier includes essential business banking, with paid tiers available for additional features.
SourceRamp: Does Ramp offer a free plan?
Yes, Ramp Free plan includes unlimited corporate cards, AI invoice capture, receipt collection, multiple payment methods, QuickBooks and Xero integrations, and 24/7 chat support. No pricing is charged for the Free tier.
SourceRelated pages
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