You're eyeing Brex, but its $100,000 revenue minimum is still ahead of you. Or maybe you hit the threshold, only to discover the corporate card limits and approval workflows don't match how your five-person team actually operates. The gap between what enterprise-focused platforms assume and what growing businesses need creates friction at every stage.
The business banking landscape now includes platforms built for specific situations: freelancers with irregular income, ecommerce sellers managing multiple payment processors, and teams that need flexible account structures without venture-backed requirements. We evaluated five alternatives based on transparent pricing, banking flexibility, and proven adoption among small businesses.
Alternative #1: Relay — Great for Multi-Account Cash Flow Management
Checking your balance shouldn't require mental math to figure out what's already committed. Single-account platforms force you to remember which portion of your balance covers payroll, which covers taxes, and which is actually available to spend.
Relay solves this with up to 20 separate checking accounts1 that let you see exactly what's available for each purpose, plus automated percentage-based transfers that set aside taxes, profit, and operating expenses the moment deposits arrive.
Key Relay Features
The platform includes 50 virtual and physical cards2 with spending controls that let you set limits per card, restrict purchases to specific categories, and require manager approval before transactions go through.
Month-end reconciliation becomes automatic with direct QuickBooks Online and Xero connections that sync transactions without CSV exports. Team members get one of seven permission levels, from view-only access to full admin controls. Automated transfer rules support Profit First methodology: set fixed dollar amounts or percentage-based allocations that move money into designated accounts the moment deposits arrive.
Each account has its own balance, account number, and transaction history, providing true separation rather than virtual organization within a single balance.
Relay Pricing
Starter: No monthly maintenance fees for basic banking
Grow: $30 monthly subscription fee for small teams with growing cash flow complexity
Scale: $90 monthly subscription fee for larger teams that want to scale faster
Why Businesses Choose Relay vs. Brex
Brex's eligibility requirements and sudden 2022 account closures left smaller businesses scrambling for alternatives. Relay's no-minimum-balance requirements and transparent tier-based pricing mean your account access doesn't depend on hitting revenue milestones: you qualify based on being a business, not on matching an investor profile.
The combination of tax set-asides, approval workflows, spending controls, and native accounting connections gives Relay feature parity with enterprise platforms at small business pricing. Instead of paying enterprise rates or piecing together multiple tools, you get the full stack in one platform.
Alternative #2: Found — Great for Freelancers and Independent Contractors
Opening a business bank account as a freelancer often means proving revenue you don't have yet or passing credit checks that penalize irregular income. Traditional banks want two years of tax returns and consistent deposits before approving applications.
Found eliminates these barriers with zero-requirement onboarding: no credit checks, no minimum balance requirements, and no revenue thresholds to get started.
Key Found Features
Tax season hits and you realize you've been spending money that should have gone to quarterly payments. Found's automated tax savings allocation sets aside a percentage of every deposit before you can spend it, so April 15th doesn't become a scramble for cash you already used.
The platform charges 1.75% for instant transfers, 1% for express transfers, $1.75 per cash deposit, $15 for outgoing wire transfers, and $1 per check payment. Found Plus subscribers get direct import to QuickBooks Online from linked accounts, eliminating manual transaction entry. The mobile-first interface handles everything from invoicing to expense tracking without switching between apps.
Found Pricing
Free tier: No monthly maintenance fees for basic banking services
Found Plus: $19.99/month or $149.99/year for enhanced features
Why Businesses Choose Found vs. Brex
Brex's qualification criteria exclude most freelancers by design. Found flips this entirely with zero-friction account opening that doesn't penalize irregular income or thin credit history.
The free tier's CSV-only accounting connection creates manual work at month-end, and the single-account structure means tracking allocated funds mentally rather than seeing them separated visually. For solo operators who value simplicity and barrier-free access over organization tools, that tradeoff works.
Alternative #3: Ramp — Great Overall Value with Enterprise Features
Your team keeps approving software subscriptions that overlap with tools you already pay for, and nobody notices until the annual review. Duplicate spending and missed savings opportunities add up across departments, but tracking them manually takes hours you don't have.
Ramp addresses this with AI-powered spend insights that automatically flag redundant subscriptions and negotiate better rates with vendors. The platform requires $25,000 in cash in any U.S. business bank account for eligibility verification, positioning it for established businesses with substantial working capital.
Key Ramp Features
Chasing down receipts and categorizing expenses manually eats hours every month that finance teams could spend on actual analysis. Ramp tracks expenses in real time and automatically categorizes transactions, so you're not sorting through credit card statements trying to remember what each charge was for.
Unlimited virtual cards let you issue spending limits per vendor, project, or employee without waiting for physical cards to arrive. Direct connections to QuickBooks Online, Xero, and enterprise accounting systems like NetSuite, Sage Intacct, and Oracle keep your books updated automatically, with 150+ additional integrations available. No foreign transaction fees mean international purchases don't come with surprise charges at month-end.
Ramp Pricing
Plan with no monthly maintenance fees: Full features including unlimited virtual and physical cards, card issuing controls, and expense policy enforcement
Plus plan: $15/user/month for advanced features including auto-lock cards for policy violations, custom travel policies, and advanced accounting connections
Why Businesses Choose Ramp vs. Brex
Both platforms target growth-stage companies, but Ramp's AI-powered spend analysis actively finds money you're wasting on duplicate subscriptions and overpriced vendor contracts. Instead of just tracking what you spend, Ramp tells you where you're overpaying.
The $25,000 cash requirement limits accessibility for earlier-stage businesses, and the platform focuses on expense management rather than banking infrastructure. If your primary pain point is duplicate subscriptions and vendor negotiations, Ramp delivers. If you need comprehensive banking with cash flow organization, you'll likely pair Ramp with a separate primary bank account.
Alternative #4: Mercury — Great for Flat-Rate Predictability
Startups raising capital need banking that speaks investor language: Treasury management for idle funds, venture debt access, and financial infrastructure that scales with funding rounds. Standard small business accounts lack these features, forcing founders to maintain multiple banking relationships as they grow.
Mercury addresses this gap with venture-focused banking that includes Treasury services and institutional-grade features from day one.
Key Mercury Features
Leaving six figures sitting in a checking account earning nothing while you wait for the next funding round costs real money in lost interest. Mercury's Treasury services put idle cash to work automatically, with transfer rules that sweep excess balances into higher-yield accounts without manual intervention.
Multiple checking and savings accounts support target balances that trigger automatic transfers when accounts exceed thresholds, zero-balance sweeps at day's end, and percentage-based distribution for incoming deposits. Basic expense management with card controls and spending limits handles day-to-day operations. Flat-rate pricing regardless of employee count means costs stay predictable as you scale, and no charges for incoming domestic wire transfers keep investor funding transfers simple.
Mercury Pricing
Base plan: Business banking with no monthly maintenance fees
Mercury Plus: $29.90/month for additional features and streamlined invoicing
Why Businesses Choose Mercury vs. Brex
Brex pivoted away from smaller accounts toward mid-market and enterprise, leaving some customers without a clear home. Mercury maintained focus on the startup segment without sudden eligibility changes.
The platform's strength lies in scaling with funding rounds: Treasury management grows with your idle cash, and investor-friendly infrastructure stays relevant through Series A and beyond. If you're optimizing for investor relations and idle fund management, Mercury fits well. If your priority is operational visibility into committed vs. available funds for daily business decisions, Mercury's feature set emphasizes different problems.
Alternative #5: Novo — Great for ecommerce businesses
Ecommerce sellers reconciling Stripe payouts, Shopify deposits, and marketplace payments spend hours matching transactions across disconnected systems. When your payment processors don't talk to your bank account, closing the books means manual cross-referencing that eats into time you could spend growing sales.
Novo addresses this with direct connections to Stripe, Shopify, and Slack that pull transaction data into one place.
Key Novo Features
Unexpected fees on basic transactions drain margins that ecommerce sellers already operate on thin. Novo offers unlimited fee-free transactions including ACH transfers and mailed paper checks, so payment processing doesn't come with surprise costs.
The platform integrates with QuickBooks Online and Xero for exporting transactions, provides up to $7/month in ATM fee refunds, and includes expense tracking and invoicing tools with recurring invoice options. Novo Reserves lets you create internal budgeting buckets within your checking account for organizing funds, with automatic percentage-based allocations from incoming deposits that set aside money for taxes, inventory, or operating expenses before you spend it elsewhere.
Novo Pricing
No monthly maintenance fees for all banking features (checking account maintenance, transfers, card issuance)
Why Businesses Choose Novo vs. Brex
Brex never prioritized the pain points ecommerce operators face daily. Novo's direct payment processor integrations solve exactly that: matching Stripe payouts and marketplace deposits to your actual bank balance without spreadsheet reconciliation.
The Reserves feature helps with budgeting by creating virtual divisions within a single balance. Your total balance still shows as one number, which works fine if you're disciplined about not spending allocated funds. For ecommerce businesses prioritizing payment processor integration over cash flow segmentation, Novo delivers solid value.
How to Choose the Right Brex Alternative
These platforms serve different needs. Here's what to consider:
Business Size and Cash Position: Relay, Found, and Novo have minimal or no cash requirements, making them accessible at any stage. Ramp's $25,000 requirement puts it out of reach for businesses still building reserves.
Connection Requirements: If you need automated bookkeeping, prioritize platforms with automatic QuickBooks Online syncing rather than CSV exports. Relay and Ramp offer native connections; Found requires the Plus tier for direct import.
Fee Sensitivity: Calculate total costs including wire transfers, foreign transactions, and monthly subscriptions. Relay, Found, and Novo offer no monthly maintenance fees on their base tiers, while Ramp and Mercury charge for premium features.
Team Complexity: Consider how many people need account access and what controls you need over their spending. Found works best for solo operators, while Relay and Mercury support teams of 25+ with granular permission levels.
Start with your biggest operational pain point, whether that's cash flow visibility, expense tracking, or payment processor integration, and let that guide your platform choice.
Find Your Right Brex Alternative
The right platform depends on what problem you're solving. Expense management tools like Ramp excel at spend visibility, while ecommerce-focused platforms like Novo streamline payment processor reconciliation. For businesses that need their banking itself to enforce cash flow discipline, Relay's banking platform turns the account structure into a financial management system rather than just a place to hold money.
Sign up for Relay to see how separating your cash by purpose changes the way you manage your business finances.
Disclosures
1Relay is a financial technology company and is not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC. FDIC deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured bank. Certain conditions must be satisfied for pass-through deposit insurance coverage to apply. 2The Relay Visa® Debit Card is issued by Thread Bank, member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. The Relay Visa Credit® Card is issued by Thread Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc and may be used anywhere Visa credit cards are accepted.
