Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Pleo vs Vena Solutions

Pleo logo

Pleo

Accounting

Smart company cards for forward-thinking teams

From
£9.5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vena Solutions logo

Vena Solutions

Accounting

FP&A planning that keeps Excel as the front end and puts a database and workflow behind it

From
On request
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; Vena Solutions vena publishes no pricing and contracts are modular, so two organisations of similar size can pay very different amounts and neither can benchmark without going through procurement.
  • They diverge on capability: Pleo covers Company cards, Vena Solutions covers Excel add-in interface.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Pleo and Vena Solutions actually diverge.

Attributes where Pleo and Vena Solutions differ
AttributePleoVena Solutions
Starting price£9.5/monthOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
PlatformsiOS, Android, WebWeb, Windows, Excel add-in
Founded2015Unknown

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 Pleo

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

Only in Vena Solutions

  • Excel add-in interface
  • Central multidimensional database
  • Workflow and approvals
  • Audit trail
  • Rolling forecasts
  • Close management
  • Power BI integration
  • ERP connectors

What people use each for

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

Pleo

  • Employee expensesnot Vena Solutions
  • Spending autonomynot Vena Solutions
  • Expense automationnot Vena Solutions

Vena Solutions

  • A finance team that wants governance and audit over budgeting but refuses to give up Excel formulasnot Pleo
  • Replacing a shared drive full of departmental budget workbooks with routed templates and tracked submissionnot Pleo
  • Consolidating actuals from more than one ERP into a single reporting set without a data warehouse projectnot Pleo
  • Running monthly rolling forecasts where the model is complex enough to need real spreadsheet logicnot 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

Vena Solutions

  • Vena publishes no pricing and contracts are modular, so two organisations of similar size can pay very different amounts and neither can benchmark without going through procurement.
  • Implementation services for data integration and template configuration typically make up a large part of first-year cost, often exceeding the licence, and that figure only appears in the proposal.
  • Excel dependency is structural: organisations on Google Workspace, or staff working only in a browser or on Chromebooks, cannot use the primary interface as intended.
  • Because it accepts existing spreadsheets, it can preserve years of undocumented logic and circular workarounds rather than forcing the clean-up that a rebuild on a purpose-built modelling tool would require.
  • Model performance degrades with very large dimensional models, so organisations that grow into genuinely large planning problems eventually hit the limits of the spreadsheet-first design and face a second migration.

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

Vena Solutions

On request
  • Vena Professional$undefined/year
    • Core planning platform and Excel add-in
    • Workflow, audit trail and version control
    • Standard support
  • Vena Complete$undefined/year
    • Everything in Professional
    • Power BI integration
    • Premium support and a customer success manager

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 Vena Solutions if

  • You need excel add-in interface.
  • You work on Web, Windows, Excel add-in.
  • You also want central multidimensional database.
Vena Solutions review

Questions people ask

Is Pleo or Vena Solutions better?
Neither clearly leads. Pleo starts at £9.5/month and Vena Solutions at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Pleo or Vena Solutions?
Pleo starts at £9.5/month and Vena Solutions at On request.
Does Pleo or Vena Solutions run on more platforms?
Pleo runs on iOS, Android, Web. Vena Solutions runs on Web, Windows, Excel add-in.
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 Vena Solutions is typically brought in for.
What can Pleo do that Vena Solutions cannot?
Pleo covers Company cards, Receipt capture, Expense categorization, Spend limits. Vena Solutions covers Excel add-in interface, Central multidimensional database, Workflow and approvals, Audit trail.

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
Vena Solutions: Do we have to give up Excel?

No, that is the point of the product. Excel is the interface, backed by a central database and workflow.

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
Vena Solutions: Is pricing published?

No. Vena quotes per organisation based on users, modules and services.

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
Vena Solutions: How much is implementation?

It is quoted separately and commonly forms a large share of first-year cost. Get it itemised before comparing against Anaplan or Adaptive.

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
Vena Solutions: Does it work without Microsoft Office?

Not properly. The Excel add-in is the main working surface.

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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