Navan (Formerly TripActions) vs Brex

by Gralio Feb 13, 2025

Navan excels in travel management with robust booking and policy features, while Brex offers a wider range of financial tools including corporate cards and business banking. Choose Navan if travel is a primary focus, and Brex for a more comprehensive financial platform.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 4182 reviews and 60 websites, saving 23 hours, 44 minutes of reading.

Navan (Formerly TripActions)

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Brex

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About

Navan is a software platform that manages business travel and expenses. It allows employees to book trips and log expenses while giving companies control over spending and offering real-time visibility. Navan integrates with existing card programs and automates expense reports and approvals. This platform is designed to save companies money and make travel and expense management easier for everyone.

Brex is a financial platform designed to help businesses manage their spending. It offers a suite of tools, including corporate cards with built-in controls, expense management software with AI-powered automation, and business banking with high-yield accounts. Brex aims to simplify financial operations for companies of all sizes, from startups to enterprises, with a focus on proactive spend control, automated workflows, and increased financial efficiency. It promises time savings through automation and improved compliance with company spending policies. However, it's important to note that Brex itself is a financial technology company, not a bank, and some banking services are provided through partner banks.

Summary

Main difference

Navan (Formerly TripActions) is a travel and expense management platform best suited for businesses with frequent travel needs, especially those with complex itineraries. Brex is a broader financial platform offering corporate cards, expense management, and business banking, ideal for businesses focused on spend control and financial efficiency.

Relative strengths of Navan (Formerly TripActions) (compared to Brex)

Superior travel booking and management features.
Strong travel policy enforcement capabilities.
Automated expense reporting and reimbursements.

Relative weaknesses of Navan (Formerly TripActions) (compared to Brex)

Limited financial tools compared to Brex.
Less focus on proactive spend control.
Customer service ratings are lower than Brex.

What companies are using Navan (Formerly TripActions) and Brex?

No data

DoorDash

Who should use Navan (Formerly TripActions) VS. Brex

Navan simplifies business travel and expense management. It's loved for its easy-to-use interface and quick reimbursements. Navan streamlines booking, automates expense reports, and integrates with existing card programs. However, users have noted some limitations with train ticket options and occasional slow flight searches. Best for businesses with frequent travelers.

Brex is a powerful financial platform simplifying spending management for businesses. It offers corporate cards, expense tracking, and business banking. Users praise its intuitive interface and efficient customer service. While some experience delays in reimbursements, many appreciate Brex's streamlined approach to financial operations.

Best for small to medium-sized businesses, but also suitable for larger enterprises.
Ideal for software, IT, telecommunications, media, entertainment, retail, education, manufacturing, and professional services.

Best for startups and growing businesses.
Ideal for industries like E-commerce, Retail, and Software.

Navan (Formerly TripActions) and Brex features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

Travel Booking and Management

Supported

Navan allows booking and managing business travel, with various options like flights, hotels, and cars.

Supported

Brex supports travel booking and management, including flights, hotels, and car rentals.
Automated Expense Management

Partially supported

Navan automates expense reports and reimbursements, streamlines processes, and integrates with accounting software.

Supported

Brex automates expense reports, reimbursements, and offers AI insights while integrating with accounting software.
Corporate Cards with High Credit Limits

Partially supported

Navan offers corporate cards but does not specify high credit limits.

Supported

Brex offers corporate cards with high, dynamic credit limits based on cash balance.
Apple Pay support

Not supported

Apple Pay is not mentioned in Navan documentation.

Supported

Brex supports Apple Pay for making purchases with your Brex card.
Mobile app support

Supported

Navan offers a mobile app for expense management on iOS and Android.

Supported

Brex provides a dedicated mobile app for managing expenses on the go.
Receipt management

Supported

Navan allows uploading, storing, and matching receipts to expenses.

Supported

Brex offers various ways to upload, store and match receipts to transactions.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

+0.09

Neutral sentiment

+0.13

Neutral sentiment
Customer Service

+0.41

Rather positive sentiment

+0.78

Strongly positive sentiment
Ease of Use

+0.88

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.95

Strongly positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

+0.37

Rather positive sentiment

+0.57

Rather positive sentiment
Ease of Implementation

+0.48

Rather positive sentiment

+0.2

Neutral sentiment
Scalability

+0.6

Rather positive sentiment

+0.75

Strongly positive sentiment

Navan (Formerly TripActions) and Brex Pricing

Navan offers two plans: Business and Enterprise. The Business plan is free for companies with up to 200 employees. The Enterprise plan is for larger organizations and requires a custom quote. Navan Expense, part of the Business plan, is free for the first 5 users.

User sentiment

Neutral

+0.09

See full Pricing page

Brex offers business financial management solutions with various features like global card acceptance, AI-powered expense management, and multi-entity support. They provide three main pricing plans: Essentials for startups, Premium for mid-sized companies, and Enterprise for large organizations. Brex also offers a Smart Card for simplified procurement.

Plans

User sentiment

Neutral

+0.13

See full Pricing page

Navan (Formerly TripActions) and Brex review insights

4162 reviews analysed from and

Users love

Simple and appealing design that focuses on what is necessary.
Expense tracking and management is easy.
Quick reimbursement.
Easy to use mobile app.

Works just like any other credit card.
Very easy to upload reciepts.
The UI is very easy to navigate and customer service is quick and efficient.
The site is extremely readable and intuitive, which makes navigating it a pure pleasure.
Brex makes it easy to manage the cards issued to the staff.

Users dislike

Limited train ticket options and lack of seat selection for train travel.
Flight search is slow and sometimes misses flights that are available directly with the airline.
Multi-city flight booking is difficult to use.
Unexpected charges and fees after booking.

Reimbursements taking significantly longer than Concur.
Some features only work on Desktop versi
The compliance reporting features could use improvement. Some of the data that comes through isn’t the most accurate.
Constant remiders of invoices that are due. ie hotel and rental car recpiets that will not be finalized for 3 or 4 days.

Navan (Formerly TripActions) and Brex Ratings

Glassdoor

3.2/5

(762)

Glassdoor

3.8/5

(474)

Company health

Employee growth

18% increase in the last year

2% increase in the last year

Web traffic

16% decrease in the last quarter

14% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

August 2022 - $2B

February 2022 - $1B

How effectively does each platform manage employee travel booking workflows?

Navan (formerly TripActions) is purpose-built for managing employee travel booking workflows, offering features such as travel booking, policy enforcement, expense management, and a mobile app. It streamlines the entire process from booking to reimbursement. While Brex offers expense management and corporate card integration, its focus is broader financial management, not specifically travel. Therefore, Navan provides a more comprehensive and specialized solution for managing employee travel booking workflows compared to Brex.

Which product offers better integration with existing accounting software systems?

Brex and Navan both offer integrations with accounting software. However, Brex more explicitly emphasizes accounting automation and integration as core features of its platform, suggesting a potentially tighter integration with existing accounting systems.

What are the advantages of Navan (Formerly TripActions)?

Navan (formerly TripActions) focuses specifically on travel and expense management, offering a dedicated platform for booking trips, managing itineraries, and automating expense reports. Its strength lies in its integrated approach to travel and expense workflows, potentially simplifying these processes for businesses that prioritize travel management. This specialization may be an advantage over Brex's broader financial platform if a company primarily seeks a comprehensive travel solution.

What are the disadvantages of Navan (Formerly TripActions)?

Navan has some limitations regarding its travel booking functionalities. Users have reported slow flight searches that sometimes miss cheaper flights available directly from airlines. Booking multi-city flights is reportedly difficult, and train ticket options are limited, with no seat selection. Finally, users have mentioned unexpected charges and fees appearing after booking, impacting budgeting accuracy.

Is Navan (Formerly TripActions) cheaper than Brex?

Navan's pricing is not necessarily cheaper than Brex's. Navan offers a free plan for smaller companies, while Brex's Essentials plan also starts at $0/user/month. Both offer custom-priced enterprise plans. Therefore, a direct price comparison isn't possible without specific company needs and usage.

Alternatives to Navan (Formerly TripActions) and Brex

SAP Concur

SAP Concur helps businesses of all sizes manage their travel expenses, invoices, and overall spending. It streamlines expense reports, automates invoice approvals, and provides real-time visibility into company spending. This helps control costs, reduce risks, and improve employee productivity. SAP Concur integrates with other software and offers a mobile app for employee convenience.

Airbase

Airbase is a spend management platform designed for mid-sized businesses. It combines expense management, accounts payable automation, and corporate cards in one platform. Airbase helps businesses track spending, automate approvals, and simplify accounting processes, from purchase requests to reconciliation. Airbase integrates with popular accounting software and aims to improve financial control and compliance.

Happay

Happay is a software platform designed to simplify how companies manage business travel, expenses, and payments. It allows employees to book their own travel while ensuring compliance with company policies and budgets. Happay automates expense reporting, streamlines approvals, and provides real-time spending insights to managers. It aims to reduce costs, eliminate paperwork, and make travel and expense management less time-consuming for employees and finance teams.

Precoro

Precoro is cloud-based software designed to simplify and automate a company's purchasing process. It helps businesses of all sizes track spending, manage approvals, and gain greater control over their procurement workflows. This is achieved through features like automated purchase orders, customizable approval processes, and detailed spending reports. Precoro integrates with popular accounting software, making it easy to manage finances. Its user-friendly design requires minimal training, allowing for quick implementation and adoption.

Volopay

Volopay is a financial platform designed for growing businesses. It offers corporate cards (both physical and virtual), expense management tools, and accounting integrations. This allows businesses to manage their spending, track expenses, automate payments, and streamline accounting processes, all within a single platform. Volopay aims to give businesses better control and visibility over their finances, saving them time and money.

Payhawk

Payhawk is an all-in-one financial platform designed for mid-sized to large companies. It helps you manage company spending with features like company cards, expense tracking, bill payments, and accounting integrations. Payhawk allows you to oversee all company spending in one system, automate tedious financial tasks, and simplify month-end reporting. It is a global solution with support for multiple currencies and countries.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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