Brex
Corporate cards + spend management for startups.
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Book free discovery call →Quick summary of Brex
Brex is a corporate card and financial services platform for startups, founded in 2017 by Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi (Y Combinator W17). Originally famous for offering corporate cards to startups without personal guarantees, underwritten on cash balance rather than personal credit. Now expanded to a 'startup financial OS' including: corporate cards (virtual + physical), Brex Empower (spend management with expenses, budgets, approvals), Brex Travel (corporate booking with policies), Brex Cash / Treasury (4-5% APY high-yield operating cash account with FDIC sweep), bill pay, accounting integrations, and reimbursements. Best for VC-backed startups and mid-market companies — does not serve bootstrapped SMBs after a 2022 customer base pivot. The core card is free (revenue from interchange); Premium $25/user/month adds advanced controls. Rewards: 7x points on Brex Travel, 4x dining, 3x Apple, 2x recurring software, 1x everything else. Direct competitors: Ramp (cleaner spend management, more accessible, 1.5% flat cashback), Mercury IO (bundled with Mercury banking), traditional corporate cards from Amex/Chase (different audience), Capital on Tap (UK + SMB focused), Airbase (mid-market spend management). Brex wins on startup-friendly credit limits and premium travel rewards; Ramp wins on UI and accessibility; Mercury IO wins on banking integration.
⏱ 30-second verdict
- 10-20x credit limits vs traditional banks for venture-backed startups
- 7x points on travel, 4x on dining, 2x on SaaS — real rewards
- Won't approve bootstrapped startups — needs VC cash on the balance sheet
About
Corporate cards with no personal guarantee, plus expense management, bill pay, and travel booking. Designed for VC-backed companies.
🎯 Why it's useful
No personal-credit check. Limits scale with your funding/revenue, not your founder's FICO.
💜 Our take
The receipt-matching + Slack reminders mean expense reports literally don't exist anymore.
Key Features
Integrations
✓ Best for
VC-backed startups and growth-stage companies that need corporate cards without personal guarantees and want centralized spend management. Best for founders managing multiple team members' expenses at scale.
✗ Not ideal for
Bootstrapped startups and pre-seed companies (Brex targets VC-backed businesses), solo founders without employees, or companies seeking simple personal expense tracking.
How indie founders use Brex
Startup corporate card
Real credit limits underwritten on your cash balance instead of credit history. The default for VC-backed startups who'd get rejected by traditional banks.
Spend management + expense reports
Brex Empower handles receipts, categorisation, approval workflows, and accounting integrations. Replaces Expensify + Concur for most startups.
Corporate travel booking
Brex Travel handles flights, hotels, and trains with built-in spend policies. 7x points on travel makes a real dent in your annual T&E budget.
Treasury / high-yield cash
Park your VC funding in Brex Cash earning 4-5% APY across FDIC-insured partner banks. Better yield than checking, instant transfer to your card spend.
Brex is the corporate card built for startups that don't have credit history. Where traditional Amex or Chase will reject a 6-month-old company without revenue, Brex underwrites on cash in your bank (typically your VC funding) and gives you a real corporate card with 10-20x typical limits. For YC-stage startups, Brex was the only game in town for years. Now Ramp competes but Brex still owns the brand. The core product is the Brex card — virtual and physical cards with no personal guarantee, no foreign transaction fees, automated expense management, and integrations with your accounting stack. Rewards are real: 7x points on Brex Travel, 4x on dining, 3x on Apple, 2x on recurring software. For a startup spending heavily on SaaS and travel, the rewards pile up fast. Where Brex has expanded that matters: Brex Empower is their spend management platform (expense reports, budgets, approval workflows) that competes directly with Ramp. Brex Treasury offers a high-yield account on your operating cash (currently ~4-5% APY, sweep across multiple banks for FDIC). Brex Travel handles corporate travel booking with built-in policies. The pitch has shifted from 'startup credit card' to 'startup financial OS,' and it mostly delivers. The pricing model is unusual. Brex itself is free for the core card and spend management. Brex pays for itself via interchange fees (the 2-3% merchants pay on every transaction). Brex Premium at $25/user/month adds advanced controls, deeper integrations, and priority support. Most startups stay on free and get genuinely useful features without ever paying. The controversy: Brex famously dropped SMB customers in 2022 to focus on venture-backed startups and mid-market. If your startup isn't VC-funded with cash in the bank, Brex won't approve you. The 'we serve startups' positioning is really 'we serve VC-backed startups.' For bootstrapped founders, Ramp or Mercury IO are more accessible. My take: if you have VC funding sitting in your bank, get Brex. The card limits will be 10-20x what Chase will give you, the rewards on SaaS spend are best-in-class, and Brex Empower handles expense management without an extra subscription. If you're bootstrapped without significant cash reserves, Ramp is more accessible and arguably more polished on the spend-management side. Mercury IO (Mercury's spend management product) is the third option, often the right choice if you're already on Mercury for banking.
Pricing
Brex (Free)
- ✓Corporate cards + virtual cards
- ✓Expense management
- ✓Reimbursements
- ✓Free for the core product
Premium
- ✓Advanced controls + approvals
- ✓Deeper accounting integrations
- ✓Priority support
- ✓Vendor management
Enterprise
- ✓Custom credit limits
- ✓Multi-entity support
- ✓SSO + audit log
- ✓Dedicated CSM
Travel + Cash
- ✓Brex Travel: corporate booking with policies
- ✓Brex Cash: 4-5% APY on operating capital
- ✓Both included free with Brex card
Free cards and core platform · Premium tiers available · Pricing varies by spend volume and features; contact sales for custom quotes
Frequently asked questions
Is Brex free?
Yes for the core product. Brex card with expense management is completely free; they make money on merchant interchange fees. Premium at $25/user/month adds advanced controls and integrations. Most startups stay on free.
Brex vs Ramp, which should I pick?
Brex for VC-backed startups wanting higher credit limits and premium rewards (7x travel, 4x dining). Ramp for any startup or SMB wanting cleaner spend management and better cashback (1.5% flat). Ramp has the more polished UI; Brex has higher limits and better travel rewards. Many startups use both for different use cases.
Can I get Brex if I'm bootstrapped?
Probably not. Brex dropped SMB customers in 2022 and now focuses on venture-backed startups, mid-market, and enterprise. They need to see significant cash on the balance sheet (typically $50K-100K+ from VC funding) to approve. Bootstrapped founders should look at Ramp, Mercury IO, or traditional bank corporate cards.
Brex vs traditional Amex / Chase corporate cards?
Brex for startups: 10-20x higher limits, no personal guarantee, modern UX, integrated expense management. Traditional cards for established businesses with credit history: better travel benefits at the high end (Amex Plat), broader acceptance internationally. For most startups, Brex is the obvious choice.
What is Brex Cash / Brex Treasury?
A high-yield account on your operating capital, currently ~4-5% APY. Funds are FDIC-insured up to $6M via sweep across multiple partner banks. Useful for parking VC funding to earn yield while you spend it. Comparable to Mercury Treasury, often a deciding factor between the two platforms.
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