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Software · head to head

Pleo vs Recurly

Pleo logo

Pleo

Software

Smart company cards for forward-thinking teams

From
£9.5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Recurly logo

Recurly

Software

The subscription management platform built for growth

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Pleo card delays and transaction limits impact usability, with limited regional acceptance in some areas; Recurly starter is $249 a month plus 0.9 percent of billing volume above the first $40K, so the cost rises with revenue rather than with usage
  • They diverge on capability: Pleo covers Company cards, Recurly covers Subscription billing.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Pleo and Recurly actually diverge.

Attributes where Pleo and Recurly differ
AttributePleoRecurly
Starting price£9.5/month$29/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsiOS, Android, WebWeb, Api
Founded20152009

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Pleo

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

Only in Recurly

  • Subscription billing
  • Revenue recovery
  • Payment gateway optimization
  • Analytics
  • API
  • Stripe
  • PayPal
  • Braintree

Both cover

  • PCI DSS
  • SOC 2
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Pleo

  • Employee expensesnot Recurly
  • Spending autonomynot Recurly
  • Expense automationnot Recurly

Recurly

  • Subscription billing and recurring invoicingnot Pleo
  • Dunning and failed payment recoverynot Pleo
  • Trials, plan changes and promotionsnot Pleo
  • Revenue recognition through the RevRec add-onnot Pleo
  • Shopify-native subscriptions with subscribe and savenot Pleo

Where each one falls short

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

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

Recurly

  • Starter is $249 a month plus 0.9 percent of billing volume above the first $40K, so the cost rises with revenue rather than with usage
  • All-Access is quoted at under 1 percent of billing volume with a $1M minimum, putting it out of reach of smaller merchants
  • Only one dunning campaign on Starter; multiple campaigns need All-Access
  • SSO, multicurrency and payments orchestration are All-Access only
  • Revenue recognition and the Engage churn tooling are separate add-ons at $850 and $1,600 a month

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Recurly

$29/month
  • CoreFree
    • Basic billing
    • Revenue recovery
    • Analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Pleo if

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

Choose Recurly if

  • You need subscription billing.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want revenue recovery.
Recurly review

Questions people ask

Is Pleo or Recurly better?
Neither clearly leads. Pleo starts at £9.5/month and Recurly at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Pleo or Recurly?
Pleo starts at £9.5/month and Recurly at $29/month.
Does Pleo or Recurly run on more platforms?
Pleo runs on iOS, Android, Web. Recurly runs on Web, Api.
What is Pleo best used for?
Pleo is most often used for employee expenses, spending autonomy, expense automation. Of those, employee expenses and spending autonomy are not what Recurly is typically brought in for.
What can Pleo do that Recurly cannot?
Pleo covers Company cards, Receipt capture, Expense categorization, Spend limits. Recurly covers Subscription billing, Revenue recovery, Payment gateway optimization, Analytics. Both handle PCI DSS, SOC 2, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
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
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
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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