Ramp Alternatives for Startups (2026): Brex, BILL, Airwallex, Mercury, Rho, Navan, Expensify Compared

By Adlega editorial team Updated October 13, 2026 How we verify prices

Ramp's card and expense software is still free, but three things changed that send startups looking: since June 1, 2026 Bill Pay costs money unless you pay from Ramp's own checking account, Ramp no longer prints a cashback rate anywhere on its site, and it only takes US companies with at least $25,000 in a linked US bank account. Brex is the closest swap if you have raised money, Mercury's IO card if you want bank and card in one place, Airwallex if you pay in several currencies, BILL Spend & Expense if you cannot meet a cash minimum, Rho for a free account with cashback, and Navan or Expensify when travel or expense reports are the real job.

Why teams leave Ramp

Bill Pay fees from an outside bank (since June 1, 2026). Paid from an external bank, bills cost $0.59 per standard ACH, $1.99 per check, $10 per same-day ACH, $15 per domestic wire and $20 per SWIFT USD wire (3-month grace for customers who paid a bill before May 1, 2026). All waived from Ramp Checking. Ramp's pricing page still says "Free wires and same-day ACH via Bill Pay", which is true only if Ramp holds your cash.
No published cashback rate. Ramp's Rewards Terms say points accrue "at a rate and in an amount determined by Ramp" and exclude "foreign and non-USD transactions". The 1.5% on review sites is not on any Ramp page we read. Card FX "will not exceed 3%".
Eligibility. A corporation, LLC or LP with an EIN, a real US address, most operations and spending in the US, and at least $25,000 in a linked US bank account (down from $75,000 between March and October 2024; review sites quoting $75,000 are stale).
Plus pricing you cannot see in full. Ramp Plus rose from $12 to $15 per user a month in mid-2024, and a "platform fee based on team size" was added in late 2024 (first seen December 13, 2024). Ramp does not publish that fee.

On cash, Ramp Checking pays 2% APY (as of October 13, 2026, FDIC-insured via First Internet Bank and IntraFi); the "4.62%" Investment Account figure is a bond-portfolio yield to maturity on a hypothetical $10 million, with a fee of up to 0.15% from November 1, 2026, so do not compare it with money market yields. Full detail in Ramp pricing.

How we picked

A card with spend controls, a published price, a stated reward value, a known FX fee and clear eligibility. Where a vendor does not publish one of these, we say so rather than guess.

The alternatives

Brex

The nearest product to Ramp, plus a business account with $0 wires. Essentials is $0 per user, Premium $12 per active user a month. Brex pays points, not cashback: 1x general, 2x recurring software, worth 0.6 cent each as cash (1 cent on Brex travel), only on USD spend with US merchants; card FX up to 3%. Treasury (DGVXX money market fund) shows 3.56% to 3.91% by balance with no as-of date, a figure Brex switched to an annualised compounded basis between September 2 and October 3, 2026. Eligibility is stricter than Ramp's: US entity and address, plus equity funding with $50,000 in cash or more than $500,000 a year in revenue (down from $1 million in summer 2026). Capital One completed its acquisition of Brex on April 7, 2026. See Ramp vs Brex and Brex pricing.

BILL Spend & Expense (formerly Divvy)

$0 per user, with credit lines "from $1,000-$5M" set on approval and no published cash or revenue minimum, which makes it the option for a company that cannot meet Ramp's $25,000 bar. Rewards are weaker: 100,000 points equal $520 in cash back (0.52 cent a point; BILL's page prints "0.0052 cents", a labelling error), category multipliers apply only to the first $5,000 a month, and points cannot be redeemed for the first 12 months. BILL does not publish a card foreign transaction fee. Bill pay is BILL's separate AP product, from $49 per user a month.

Airwallex

For companies that pay in several currencies. Explore is free for up to 10 Spend users; Grow is $12 per active Spend user plus an unpublished platform fee. FX is 0.5% above interbank for major currencies (1.0% others), cards carry "zero international fees", SWIFT costs $15 to $25. The pricing page says "up to 2%" cash rebates, but the US terms we read give 1% (standing) or up to 1.5% (new-customer promotion, $2,000 monthly minimum). USD yield: 3.42% on Explore (money market funds, net, as of October 12, 2026). For some US customers Airwallex uses Evolve Bank & Trust, the Synapse partner bank that entered a Federal Reserve and Arkansas consent order announced June 14, 2024.

Mercury (IO card)

A free bank account with a charge card: 1.5% cashback, limits from your Mercury balances, no personal guarantee, 3% on non-USD spend. Reimbursing more than 5 active users a month needs Mercury Plus ($35, or $29.90 billed annually). Treasury pays 3.28% net under $2 million (MRGXX, as of October 12, 2026) from $250,000 at Mercury. Mercury Bank, N.A. has OCC preliminary conditional approval (April 24, 2026) and is not open. See Mercury pricing and Mercury vs Brex.

Rho

Account, cards, AP and expenses at $0, no per-user fee, $0 domestic ACH, wires and checks. Cashback up to 1.25% on daily terms, 1% on monthly terms (which need $25,000 at Rho or $75,000 including linked accounts); Rho Platinum pays more if payroll, revenue and half your assets sit at Rho. FX payments cost 1%; no card FX fee is stated. Treasury (IJTXX) pays 3.20% net under $2 million (as of October 9, 2026), $50,000 minimum. US-incorporated companies with a US address or a US-based owner with an SSN.

Navan

Travel first. Navan Business is free for companies up to 300 employees ("powered by travel providers' commission fees"); expense is free for the first 5 monthly expensing users, then $15 per user a month. No treasury, no bill pay, and card rewards and FX are not on its pricing page.

Expensify

Expense reports first, card optional. Collect is $5 per member a month (help center, USD); Control is $18 per member on annual or $36 pay-per-use, as low as half that with the Expensify Card, although the pricing page FAQ calls Control "custom". The card pays 1% cash back on US purchases (2% above $250,000 a month across cards) with "zero foreign transaction fees"; with Airwallex, it is one of two cards here that state no FX fee. No bill pay or treasury.

If you are leaving because of cost

Option	Fees a year (pre-seed / seed / Series A)	Cashback a year	Yield on cash a year
Ramp Free + Ramp Checking	$144 / $720 / $4,320 card FX, plus FX on international payments (not published)	Not published	$10,000 / $60,000 / $240,000 (2% APY)
Ramp Free, bills paid from an outside bank	$744 / $2,760 / $9,900 (wires plus card FX), plus $0.59 per ACH bill and FX (not published)	Not published	Depends on your bank
Brex Essentials	$144 / $720 / $4,320 card FX, plus FX on non-USD wires (not published)	Points, no flat rate	$12,635 (3.61%) / $92,750 (3.71%) / $376,000 (3.76%)
Airwallex Explore	$180 / $1,440 / $7,200 FX, plus international transfer fees (SWIFT $15 to $25, not modelled)	$432 / $2,160 / $8,160	$11,970 / $85,500 / $342,000 (3.42%)
Rho	$360 / $2,880 / $14,400 FX, plus card FX (not published)	$540 / $2,700 / $10,200	$11,200 (3.20%) / $83,750 (3.35%) / $355,000 (3.55%)
Mercury (free plan)	$504 / $3,600 / $18,720	$648 / $3,240 / $12,240	$11,480 (3.28%) / $85,750 (3.43%) / $363,000 (3.63%)

Activity profile is our assumption: pre-seed $500K cash ($150K operating), 2 domestic wires and 1 non-USD payment of $3,000 a month, $4,000 card spend (10% non-USD), 3 users; seed $3M ($500K), 6 wires, 4 x $6,000, $20,000 card (10%), 10 users; Series A $12M ($2M), 15 wires, 12 x $10,000, $80,000 card (15%), 30 users. Card FX at the published 3% ceiling where one exists. Yields: Ramp Checking 2% APY on all cash (deposit, FDIC via IntraFi, as of October 13, 2026); others on idle cash in money market funds, not FDIC-insured: Brex total treasury return on DGVXX (no as-of date printed), Airwallex Explore (as of October 12, 2026), Rho IJTXX net of fee (as of October 9, 2026), Mercury MRGXX net of fee (as of October 12, 2026). Airwallex cashback at its 1% standing US rate; Explore covers 10 Spend users, so at Series A Grow's $12 per user and an unpublished platform fee apply. BILL, Navan and Expensify are not in the model (no account or treasury). Computed in our banking cost model.

Fees run from almost nothing to the low five figures a year, mostly FX. Two lines move the total: Ramp's Bill Pay fees if your cash stays elsewhere ($600 a year in wire fees at pre-seed, $5,580 at Series A, before ACH bills), and yield on idle cash, which runs to five figures at seed and six at Series A. Ramp Checking's 2% is an FDIC-insured deposit rate, so it is lower than the money market funds but not the same risk. Run your own numbers, or compare all providers in startup banking costs by stage.

How to move off Ramp

Open the new card first (several set limits from linked cash), move recurring charges card by card, then cancel Ramp cards.
Redeem rewards before closing. Ramp's help center says cashback "will not expire" and can be redeemed only into Ramp Checking, but the Rewards Terms say unredeemed rewards are lost if you close the account.
Ramp Plus fees are non-refundable, so time a downgrade to your billing date.

Not hands-on tested yet: we have not opened an account with Ramp or the alternatives above, which require a US company and identity checks. Fees and rates come from each vendor's published pricing page, fee schedule and help center, read on October 13, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ramp really free?

The card and expense software is free. Ramp Plus costs $15 per user a month plus an unpublished platform fee, card FX costs up to 3%, and since June 1, 2026 Bill Pay charges per payment unless you pay from Ramp Checking.

What are the requirements to use Ramp?

A US corporation, LLC or LP with an EIN, a US physical address, most operations and spending in the US and at least $25,000 in a linked US business bank account. Sole proprietors are not accepted.

Which Ramp alternative has no cash minimum?

BILL Spend & Expense publishes none (credit is set on approval), and Mercury's pricing page states no minimum balance for its account. Brex requires $50,000 for funded startups.

Which card has no foreign transaction fee?

Expensify states "zero foreign transaction fees" and Airwallex "zero international fees" on cards (Airwallex does not say how a non-USD purchase funded from a USD balance is converted). Ramp, Brex and Mercury charge up to 3%; BILL and Rho do not publish a figure.