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Brex vs Ramp: corporate cards and spend management compared
Which platform is the better fit for your company?
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Last updated October 2026
Brex and Ramp both offer corporate credit cards bundled with spend management software, and both market themselves to startups and scaling companies. They share a lot of surface area: no personal guarantee, automated receipt capture, approval workflows, and integrations with the accounting tools you already use. The differences come down to pricing structure, reward programs, minimum requirements, and where each platform is heading.
Ramp | ||
|---|---|---|
Card network | Mastercard | Visa |
Free tier | Essentials at $0/year | Free, unlimited users and cards |
Paid plans | Premium $12/user/mo, Enterprise custom | Plus $15/user/mo ($12 annual), Enterprise custom |
Personal guarantee | None | None |
Credit check | None | None |
Minimum bank balance | ~$50K | ~$75K |
Credit limits | 10-20x higher than traditional cards | Based on cash balance and spend patterns |
Rewards | 1x base, up to 7x on rideshare | 1.5% universal cash back |
Bill pay | Limited | Built in |
Expense management | Included | Included |
Key integrations | AWS, Anthropic, GitHub, Slack (partner perks) | QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, Sage |
Notable | Capital One acquisition announced April 2026 | Automated savings insights |
Brex
Brex launched as a corporate card for startups and has expanded into a full spend management platform. The core value proposition remains compelling: high credit limits without a personal guarantee or credit check, underwritten against your company's cash balance rather than the founder's personal credit history. If your startup has at least $50K in the bank, Brex will typically extend a credit line 10 to 20 times larger than what a traditional bank card would offer.
The rewards program is one of the more aggressive in the corporate card space. The base earn rate is 1x points on all purchases, but category bonuses push that significantly higher: 7x on rideshare, 4x on travel bookings, 3x at restaurants, and 2x on software subscriptions. For teams that travel frequently or spend heavily on SaaS tools, these multipliers can add up fast compared to a flat cash-back rate.
Brex runs on the Mastercard network, which means broad acceptance worldwide. The platform includes receipt capture, customizable approval workflows, and granular card controls that let finance teams set per-card spending limits, restrict merchant categories, and lock or unlock cards instantly.
Beyond the card itself, Brex offers partner perks through its platform. These include credits and discounts with AWS, Anthropic, GitHub, and Slack, among others. For early-stage companies, these perks can offset a meaningful chunk of infrastructure and tooling costs.
Pricing is straightforward. The Essentials plan costs nothing per year, which covers basic card issuance and expense management. The Premium plan at $12 per user per month adds more sophisticated controls, and Enterprise pricing is custom.
One development worth noting: Capital One announced its acquisition of Brex in April 2026. The long-term implications for product direction, rewards, and pricing remain to be seen, but Capital One's backing could mean deeper banking integrations and broader financial services down the line.
Ramp
Ramp positions itself as the corporate card that saves you money, and its free tier is hard to argue with. The base plan includes unlimited users, unlimited physical and virtual cards, and a flat 1.5% cash back on all purchases. There is no annual fee and no per-user charge at the free level, which makes Ramp one of the most accessible corporate cards for companies that want to get started without committing to a monthly software bill.
The minimum bank balance requirement is higher than Brex at $75K in a US bank account, which may put Ramp out of reach for very early-stage companies. But once you qualify, the onboarding process is fast and the card ships quickly.
Where Ramp distinguishes itself is in expense automation and savings insights. The platform actively analyzes your company's spending and flags duplicate subscriptions, price increases, and unused software licenses. This proactive approach to cost reduction is baked into the product rather than offered as an add-on. Real-time expense tracking and automated receipt matching reduce the manual work that typically falls on finance teams or office managers.
Ramp also includes built-in bill pay, which Brex handles with less depth. If your company wants a single platform for both card-based spending and vendor payments, Ramp covers both without requiring a separate tool.
The accounting integration story is strong. Ramp connects with QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, and Sage, with automatic categorization and syncing that reduces month-end close time. For companies running on any of these platforms, the integration is deep enough to replace manual data entry almost entirely.
Ramp's paid tiers add more sophistication. The Plus plan at $15 per user per month ($12 if billed annually) unlocks advanced approval workflows, custom reporting, and more granular policy controls. Enterprise pricing is custom and typically runs in the $4,500 to $7,500 per month range for companies with around 300 employees.
Ramp runs on the Visa network. Like Brex, it requires no personal guarantee.
How to choose
The decision between Brex and Ramp often comes down to what your company values more: category-specific rewards or universal cash back with cost-saving automation.
Choose Brex if your team spends heavily in specific categories like travel, rideshare, restaurants, or software. The tiered rewards program can return significantly more value than a flat 1.5% rate when your spending is concentrated in those buckets. Brex also has a lower minimum bank balance requirement at $50K versus $75K, making it accessible to earlier-stage companies. The partner perks program is a real differentiator for startups that use AWS, Anthropic, or other platforms in the Brex ecosystem.
Choose Ramp if you want the simplest possible pricing (free for unlimited users), prefer a flat cash-back rate you do not have to optimize around, or need built-in bill pay alongside your corporate card. Ramp's automated savings insights are a unique feature that can pay for the platform many times over by catching wasteful spending you might not notice otherwise. The accounting integrations are also a step ahead, particularly for companies on NetSuite or Sage.
For companies that are growing quickly and expect to need enterprise-grade controls, both platforms offer custom plans, so the choice at the lower tiers does not lock you in permanently. It is worth signing up for Brex on the free Essentials plan or Ramp's free tier, testing both for a month, and seeing which workflow fits your team better before committing to a paid plan.
FAQs
Does Brex require a personal guarantee?
No. Brex underwrites your credit line against your company's bank balance, not your personal credit. There is no personal guarantee and no personal credit check.
Does Ramp require a personal guarantee?
No. Ramp also does not require a personal guarantee. Your credit limit is determined by your company's financials, not the founder's personal credit score.
What is the minimum bank balance for Brex?
Brex typically requires around $50K in your business bank account to qualify for a card.
What is the minimum bank balance for Ramp?
Ramp requires a minimum of $75K in a US bank account, which is higher than Brex's threshold.
Which has better rewards, Brex or Ramp?
It depends on your spending patterns. Brex offers category bonuses up to 7x on rideshare, 4x on travel, 3x on dining, and 2x on software. Ramp offers a flat 1.5% cash back on everything. If your spending is concentrated in Brex's bonus categories, Brex returns more value. If your spending is spread across many categories, Ramp's flat rate is simpler and often competitive.
Is Brex or Ramp better for early-stage startups?
Brex has a lower minimum balance requirement ($50K vs $75K), which makes it more accessible to very early-stage companies. Brex also offers startup partner perks with platforms like AWS and Anthropic that can save thousands in the first year.
Does Ramp include bill pay?
Yes. Ramp includes built-in bill pay as part of its platform, allowing you to manage vendor payments alongside card-based expenses in a single tool.
Does Brex include bill pay?
Brex offers some bill pay functionality, but it is not as fully featured as Ramp's built-in bill pay system.
What happened with the Capital One and Brex acquisition?
Capital One announced its acquisition of Brex in April 2026. The deal signals deeper integration with traditional banking infrastructure, though the full impact on Brex's product, pricing, and rewards structure has not been finalized.
Can I use both Brex and Ramp at the same time?
Yes. Some companies use Brex for categories where its rewards multipliers are highest (travel, rideshare, software) and Ramp for general spending where the flat 1.5% cash back applies. Running both adds some operational complexity, but it can maximize total rewards if your finance team can manage the split.
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