Expensify vs Zoho Books
Expensify and Zoho Books are both accounting & finance tools. Expensify is aimed at small businesses and enterprise, while Zoho Books is aimed at small businesses. Expensify costs less, from $5/mo versus $20/mo for Zoho Books. Both have a free plan.
Receipt scanning, expense reports and corporate cards for SMBs
Affordable accounting with a free tier
| Pricing | Freemium · $5 | Freemium · $20 |
| Starting price | $5/mo | $20/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | 14 days |
| Built for | Small businesses, Enterprise, Freelancers | Small businesses |
| Platforms | web, ios, android | web, ios, android |
| Country | US · 2008 | IN · 2011 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Expensify if
Small and mid-size companies that reimburse employee spending and want proven receipt scanning with low per-member pricing.
- Collect at $5 per member is cheap and needs no annual commitment
- Control pay-per-use bills only members active that month
- SmartScan and the mobile app are fast and well proven
Look elsewhere if: US companies wanting free card-led spend management or very simple bookkeeping (Ramp, Brex or QuickBooks fit better).
Choose Zoho Books if
SMBs seeking value and multi-country compliance.
- Excellent value
- Free plan for small businesses
- Strong compliance coverage
Look elsewhere if: US businesses tied to QuickBooks-savvy accountants.
Expensify vs Zoho Books pricing
Expensify
- Submit$0Free for individuals submitting expenses to an approver
- Collect$5/member/moPay-per-use only; approvals, reimbursements, QuickBooks and Xero
- Control (Annual)$18/member/moAs low as $9 with the Expensify Card; 12-month commitment
- Control (Pay-per-use)$36/member/moNo commitment; billed per active member each month
Zoho Books
- Free$0Revenue under $50K/yr, 1 user + accountant, 1,000 invoices/yr
- Standard$20/org/mo$15/mo billed annually; 3 users
- Professional$50/org/mo$40/mo billed annually; 5 users, inventory, projects
- Premium$70/org/mo$60/mo billed annually; 10 users, custom modules
- Elite$150/org/mo$120/mo billed annually; full inventory management
Expensify · Key features
- SmartScan receipt capture that reads merchant, date and amount from photos
- Expensify Card with automatic transaction matching and real-time limits
- Multi-level approval workflows and rule-based policy enforcement
- Next-day and global reimbursements to employee bank accounts
- Mileage, distance and per diem tracking in the mobile app
- Built-in travel booking tied to expense policies
Cons
- Control pricing mixes annual sizes, pay-per-use and card discounts
- Annual subscription size can only be reduced at renewal
- Recent app redesign moved familiar features around
Zoho Books · Key features
- Invoicing, quotes and recurring billing
- Bank feeds and reconciliation
- Inventory and projects
- Multi-country tax compliance
- Client portal and workflows
- Zoho suite integration
Cons
- UI can feel busy
- Best inside Zoho ecosystem
- Support variable
Expensify vs Zoho Books: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Expensify or Zoho Books?
Expensify starts at $5/mo and Zoho Books at $20/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Expensify and Zoho Books have a free plan?
Yes, both Expensify and Zoho Books have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.