Expensify vs. Concur vs. Rippling: Expense management tools comparison 2025

Managing business expenses shouldn't feel like wrestling with a spreadsheet monster. Yet for many finance teams, that's exactly what it is. Between tracking expenses, chasing receipts, untangling approval chains, and trying to close the books on time, expense management can quickly spiral into chaos.

The hidden costs of poor expense management go beyond wasted time. Companies lose an average of 5% of revenue to fraud and expense abuse. Manual data entry errors stack up, reimbursements drag on for weeks, and leaders make spending decisions without reliable data.

That's why choosing the right expense management tool matters more than ever. But here's the thing: while every vendor promises to "revolutionize" your expense process, the reality is far more nuanced. Some excel at simple receipt capture but struggle under complex workflows, others support enterprise compliance but require lengthy setup, and a few try to do everything, but with varying degrees of success.

In this comparison, I break down three leading solutions: Expensify, SAP Concur, and Rippling, and how they differ in their approach, so you can determine which one aligns best with your finance operations rather than becoming another source of frustration.

Quick comparison: Expensify vs. Concur vs. Rippling at a glance

Methodology: How I reviewed different expense management software

I evaluated these platforms using these key criteria:

• Direct testing and user feedback: Where possible, I tested core features firsthand. I also reviewed user ratings on G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius. When large numbers of users report the same issues or praise the same strengths, it provides a clear signal of how the platform behaves outside of polished demos.

• Product documentation and feature transparency: I reviewed official product documentation, feature pages, pricing breakdowns, and workflow explainers to understand how each tool presents its capabilities.

• Automation and policy handling: Each platform was assessed based on how effectively it supports complex scenarios, such as applying different rules by department, role, or location, and whether common policies can be implemented without excessive manual configuration.

• Integration ecosystem: Expense management does not operate in a vacuum. I looked at how deeply each platform integrates with accounting software, ERPs, HR systems, and other operational tools. 

• Total cost of ownership: Subscription pricing is only one part of the investment. I factored in implementation time, training needs, admin overhead, and potential consulting or support costs. 

• Scalability and long-term fit: I also looked at whether each platform can grow with a business as headcount, approval layers, and reporting needs become more complex.

Features comparison: Expensify vs. Concur vs. Rippling

Expense reporting process

At its core, every comprehensive expense management solution needs to handle the same basic task: employees submit receipts, managers approve them, and finance pays people back. But how each platform actually does this varies dramatically.

Rippling

Rather than treating expenses as a standalone workflow, Rippling expense management software embeds them into the same system that manages employee roles, departments, locations, and payroll. 

This gives it a major advantage: expense rules automatically adapt to who the employee is and where they work. For example, a field rep in Texas and a senior engineer in California can be assigned different spending limits or approval paths without creating separate policy versions manually.

Approvals are handled through dynamic workflows that factor in variables like amount, category, vendor, and employee hierarchy. So if someone exceeds a threshold or submit expenses, it can be routed to finance instead of just going to their direct manager. This helps prevent bottlenecks and ensures higher-risk spend is reviewed by the right person from the start.

Expensify

Expensify keeps things simple with its SmartScan technology. Snap a photo, and it extracts the details. For small teams that just need to track receipts without complex approval chains, it works well. 

However, its simplicity creates limits when expense policies get more layered or when teams need routing that depends on projects, regions, or complex hierarchies. In those cases, workflows may need more manual setup or external tools to fill the gaps.

Concur

Concur gives larger companies the policy depth they need. Its rules engine can support detailed approval paths and travel distinctions, such as applying different policies for domestic versus international expenses or routing based on project details. 

It’s often adopted by organizations that prioritize compliance and governance at scale. The trade-off is setup complexity. Getting Concur fully configured often requires significant time and coordination, and many users find the user interface heavier compared to modern alternatives.

Our verdict: Rippling provides the best balance of power and usability for growing companies. Its ability to leverage HR data for expense policies is unmatched. Concur suits enterprises with complex compliance needs, while Expensify works for simple use cases.

Travel management

Business travel creates unique headaches. Between booking flights within budget, tracking receipts across time zones, and making sure everything gets approved properly, travel expenses can quickly become a mess.

Rippling

Rippling Travel is built around the idea that policy enforcement should happen before a ticket is booked, guiding employees toward compliant options without confusion or back-and-forth approvals. Dynamic price caps adjust with market conditions, and rules can adapt automatically based on role, department, location, or seniority to reflect how different teams travel.

The booking experience feels familiar and consumer-like, giving employees access to major flight and hotel inventories, support for loyalty programs, and the ability to make changes in the app or with a live travel agent when needed.

Because it is fully connected to Rippling’s expense platform, each trip automatically flows into detailed expense reports, with receipts linked, approvals routed appropriately, and costs synced to the general ledger without manual entry.

Expensify

Expensify provides a basic built-in option for booking flights, hotels, cars, and trains directly within the platform, with simple policies that can be configured around role, budget, or destination. Its corporate card can be used to earn rewards on travel spend. However, its travel controls are better suited to lightweight needs and may feel limited for companies that require deeper policy enforcement or more advanced routing logic.

Concur

With connections to major travel providers and TMCs (travel management companies), Concur Travel offers wide-ranging booking options across flights, hotels, and ground transport. The platform is built to support travel programs at scale and integrates with its own expense and invoice modules. For companies with structured travel policies and compliance needs, its breadth of capabilities makes it a strong option. However, that depth often comes with added setup effort and a steeper learning curve compared to lighter travel tools.

Our verdict: Rippling offers the best blend of control, ease of use, and expense integration, making it a strong fit for growing companies that want advanced policies without heavy setup or admin overhead. Concur is best suited for large enterprises with complex travel programs and dedicated teams to manage them. Expensify works for lightweight travel needs but may fall short once policy depth or structured approvals become important.

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Invoicing and bill pay

Rippling

Rippling Bill Pay turns invoice processing from a headache into a hands-off workflow. Upload or forward bills, and AI extracts the relevant data. The magic happens in approval routing: bills flow to the right person based on vendor, amount, department, and custom rules you define.

Paying vendors across borders is just as seamless. You can send payments in local currencies while keeping your books in a single base currency, and the vendor portal lets suppliers update their own details, cutting down on back-and-forth communication. 

Because bill pay is part of Rippling’s broader spend ecosystem, bill data doesn’t get siloed. Everything connects to the same employee and vendor records, which makes approvals faster, reporting cleaner, and month-end close far less chaotic.

Expensify

Expensify includes basic bill pay functionality. You can upload invoices, route them for approval, and pay via ACH or card. The integration with expense management means vendor payments and employee reimbursements live in one place. For simple needs, it works. But the approval workflows are limited, and international payments require workarounds.

Concur

Concur Invoice is built for enterprise-level AP teams that want full visibility into supplier spend and compliance across their invoice lifecycle. It connects directly to major ERP systems and sits alongside Concur Expense and Concur Travel to create an end-to-end spending environment. While its strength lies in managing structured accounts payable processes at scale, the platform’s enterprise-focused design can feel heavy for smaller teams that don’t need that level of control or configuration.

Our verdict: Rippling delivers the strongest overall experience, combining powerful routing and AI-driven bill creation with a user-friendly workflow that doesn’t require heavy configuration. Concur is a fit for enterprises with formal AP structures and strict compliance requirements, while Expensify is best for small teams with straightforward approval chains and limited bill pay complexity.

Integrations

Rippling

Rippling approaches integrations differently by extending a unified employee data model across apps rather than simply syncing fields. When an employee’s department, role, or name changes in Rippling, that update can automatically cascade into connected systems, affecting expense policies, approval chains, app access, and accounting codes without manual intervention.

With more than 650+ pre-built integrations, the value lies not just in the volume of connections but in how deeply they tie into Rippling’s policy engine, identity management, and workflow automation. This allows third-party tools to operate as part of a single, coordinated system rather than a loose collection of separate apps.

Expensify

Expensify integrates with a wide range of tools across accounting, banking, HR, tax, travel, and practice management software. Popular platforms like QuickBooks, Xero, ADP, Uber, Lyft, and Delta connect directly, making it easy to sync expenses and financial data. The integrations work well for importing transactions and linking common workflows, but they operate primarily at a data-sync level rather than driving deeper automation or policy logic across systems.

Concur

Concur’s integration strategy is built for enterprises. It offers deep connections with SAP ERP, Oracle, major HR and finance systems, and an app center featuring partner solutions spanning VAT recovery, duty of care, travel risk management, sustainability reporting, and more. However, many of these integrations require IT configuration or support from implementation partners, which reflects the platform’s complexity and enterprise-level focus.

Our verdict: Rippling's intelligent integrations that extend beyond data sync provide the most value for growing companies. The ability to maintain consistency across systems while automating workflows sets it apart. Concur offers enterprise options but with corresponding complexity. Expensify keeps things simple for basic business software needs.

Security

Rippling

Rippling takes security seriously with SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and ISO 27018 certifications. But certifications only tell part of the story. The platform's approach to role-based access control, leveraging the same HR data that powers expense policies, creates granular security without complexity. Multi-factor authentication, SSO support, and detailed audit trails come standard. The ability to control who sees what based on their role in the company adds an extra layer of protection.

Expensify

Expensify provides solid security basics: data and password encryption, PCI-DSS compliance, and SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II audits. For most small to mid-sized businesses, this covers the essentials. The security features are straightforward to implement, fitting Expensify's overall simplicity-first approach.

Concur

Concur operates at an enterprise security standard, backed by global certifications such as ISO 27001, ISO 9001, PCI DSS Level 1, SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II, BS10012, and regular Sarbanes-Oxley audits. Security reports are publicly accessible through the SAP Trust Center, reinforcing transparency and regulatory alignment for audited environments.

Our verdict: All three platforms meet modern security standards, but Rippling stands out for how it applies security dynamically through role-based controls tied to employee data. Concur is geared toward environments with strict regulatory demands, while Expensify keeps security lightweight for simpler use cases.

Expensify vs. Concur vs. Rippling: Pricing

Rippling

Rippling’s expense management pricing starts at $11 per user per month, with final costs depending on the modules you include. You can begin with expense management and expand into payroll, HR, or IT as needed, which makes scaling straightforward. Its automation depth and ability to consolidate multiple workflows into one system can offer strong value as usage grows.

Expensify

Expensify offers a free plan for individuals with unlimited SmartScans. The Collect plan ($5 per user per month) covers basic needs like receipt capture, reimbursements, and travel booking. The Control plan ($9 per user per month) adds ERP/HR integrations, custom rules, and SSO. It’s a cost-effective option for small teams that need to track expenses without broader automation or platform-level capabilities.

Concur

Concur does not publish standard pricing, which usually signals enterprise-level packaging and negotiated contracts. Costs are typically customized based on scale, features, and implementation scope, with onboarding and configuration often involving professional services.

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Expensify vs. Concur vs. Rippling: Reviews

Here's how real users rate each platform across major review sites:

Looking more closely at G2's detailed ratings, Rippling leads across the usability metrics that matter most for day-to-day operations:

Expensify vs. Concur vs. Rippling: Pros and cons

Rippling pros and cons

Pros:

• Unified platform combining HR, IT, spend, payroll, and expense management, which reduces separate systems and manual handoffs

• Automation that links employee data to expense and bill policies (department, role, location), enabling fewer manual approvals and fewer exceptions

• Ability to extend modules over time (start with expense, then add payroll, IT, HR), making it scalable for growing companies

• Native features like corporate cards, vendor payments, and bill pay help simplify the finance stack in one environment

• Role-based access and real-time audit trails, along with SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certifications, support both usability and security

Cons:

• The breadth of capabilities means initial setup can be more involved than lighter tools, particularly if onboarding multiple modules, although customer support is available to guide the process

• Because the platform combines many functions, change management and training may require more effort across HR, IT, and finance teams, but initial setup can lead to less effort in the long run

• While automation is powerful, misconfigured workflows can generate unintended transactions or approvals if not well governed

Expensify pros and cons

Pros:

• Easy to use and familiar for small teams and individual users

• Offers a low-cost entry point, including a free tier with unlimited SmartScans

• Built-in travel booking and corporate card capabilities offer convenience in a single interface

• Works well for simple approval chains and lightweight expense policies

Cons:

• Lacks deep automation tied to HR or payroll data, so approvals and reimbursements often require manual routing

• Reimbursements are not processed through payroll and may lack full visibility once paid out

• Scaling introduces fragmentation, requiring multiple systems for HR, payroll, and expense insights

• Advanced controls, role-based automation, and spend visibility are weaker compared to more integrated platforms

SAP Concur pros and cons

Pros:

• Travel and expense functionality designed for companies with mature T&E programs

• Integrations with SAP ERP, Oracle, and other large enterprise finance/HR systems

• Enterprise-grade compliance support (ISO 27001, ISO 9001, PCI DSS Level 1, SOC 1/2, BS10012, SOX audits)

• Robust policy configuration for complex approval routing across departments, regions, or subsidiaries

Cons:

• User experience is frequently described as outdated and difficult to navigate compared to modern platforms, reflected in Concur's G2 scores for ease of use, setup, and admin, which trail both Rippling and Expensify

• Setup and integrations often require IT support or implementation partners, increasing time and cost

• No native corporate card offering, which leads to separate reconciliation processes

• Updates and change requests can be slow due to enterprise-scale governance and configuration layers

Rippling: The best alternative to Expensify and Concur

Rippling Spend keeps costs in check, offering automated expense management, receipt capture, corporate cards, and bill pay from one unified platform.

While Expensify focuses on lightweight spend workflows and Concur centers on enterprise travel and compliance, Rippling connects expenses to employee roles, departments, approval chains, and financial reporting in one place. That structure allows it to respond in real time when people change roles, move offices, or shift budgets.

Plus, with Rippling corporate cards, you can set custom spending policies to block out-of-policy transactions before they can even be completed, helping teams achieve spend compliance. As a bonus, Rippling corporate cards also offer cash back on eligible purchases.*

While most expense management solutions only allow for basic employee-manager approval chains, with Rippling’s advanced policy engine, you can set hyper-custom policies based on the vendor, dollar amount, and expense category, helping you easily block out-of-policy expenses. Automated workflows can also help you control spending, alerting you when a department's expenses sharply increase. 

With Rippling, you can: 

• Automatically route expenses and bills to the right approver every time. 

• Flag out-of-policy spending with hyper-custom policies, like by vendor or value, for further review. 

• Close the books faster with AI-powered transaction categorization and integration with your accounting systems.

Expensify vs. Concur vs. Rippling FAQs