Expensify vs Zoho Expense: Evaluating the right platform

Expensify and Zoho Expense are two familiar names in expense management. Both promise to streamline reporting and reimbursement—but they cater to different use cases. Expensify is focused and mobile-first; Zoho Expense offers deeper integration if you're already using Zoho apps.

Still, many finance leaders end up dealing with trade-offs: a tool that’s too basic or one tied into a broader system you don’t fully use. Below we’ll compare Expensify and Zoho Expense on core features, pricing, and user sentiment — then show why Ramp offers a more balanced alternative.

Expensify at a glance

Expensify is best known for mobile receipt scanning and reimbursements. Employees can snap photos of receipts, log mileage, and get reimbursed quickly. Its simplicity makes it a favorite among small teams and startups.

Where Expensify falls short is in scalability. Approval workflows are limited, advanced features come with higher tiers, and integrations are mostly geared toward SMB accounting platforms. As complexity grows, Expensify often struggles to keep up.

Zoho Expense at a glance

Zoho Expense is part of the larger Zoho suite, which includes CRM, HR, and finance applications. Its biggest appeal is tight integration with Zoho’s other tools — making it attractive for businesses already committed to that ecosystem.

On its own, Zoho Expense provides mileage tracking, receipt capture, approval workflows, and reporting. But the trade-off is that it can feel less flexible for companies outside Zoho, and the interface is often described as less intuitive than modern standalone tools.

Expensify vs Zoho Expense: how the features compare

Expensify emphasizes simplicity, while Zoho Expense leans into its suite connections. Ramp takes a different path, combining automation, cards, and integrations in a single platform that scales.

What users say on G2

Features and pricing only tell part of the story. Real-world experiences often highlight gaps that don’t show up in comparison charts. On G2, both Expensify and Zoho Expense earn solid overall ratings, but the feedback reveals important differences in usability, flexibility, and long-term fit.

Expensify

• Ease of use: 4.5/5
• Meets requirements: 4.3/5
• Pros: simple mobile experience, fast reimbursements
• Cons: limited scalability, extra costs for advanced features

Zoho Expense

• Ease of use: 4.4/5
• Meets requirements: 4.2/5
• Pros: affordable pricing, strong value when bundled with Zoho apps
• Cons: dated interface, less flexible outside Zoho ecosystem

Overall, Expensify is praised for its ease of use, while Zoho Expense is recognized for affordability and bundled value — but both come with trade-offs that finance leaders should weigh carefully.

Key considerations when comparing Expensify and Zoho Expense

G2 reviews highlight how both tools serve their purpose, but also expose their limitations. For finance leaders making a decision, the choice often comes down to a few bigger-picture questions about fit, growth, and flexibility.

Ecosystem dependency vs. flexibility

Zoho Expense shines when it’s used alongside the broader Zoho suite. The integration with other Zoho apps can be powerful — but for teams not invested in that ecosystem, the tool can feel disconnected from the rest of their finance stack. Expensify, on the other hand, is more agnostic, but its integrations are lighter and focused mostly on SMB accounting.

Simplicity vs. completeness

Expensify is designed to be lean and easy to use, which works well for small teams but can quickly feel restrictive as needs evolve. Zoho Expense offers more layered functionality, but that added breadth can introduce extra complexity, especially for businesses not already standardized on Zoho tools.

Long-term scalability and lock-in

For growing companies, Expensify risks becoming too basic once headcount and approval needs increase. Zoho Expense can scale within its suite, but that often requires deeper buy-in across multiple Zoho products. Businesses weighing the two are essentially choosing between outgrowing their system or committing to a single vendor’s ecosystem.

Pricing: what you’ll actually pay

Pricing models can be just as important as features when evaluating expense tools. While both Expensify and Zoho Expense start with per-user fees, the way pricing scales — and what’s included — looks very different.

Expensify
Collect starts at $5 per member/month; the Control plan is custom-priced per active member. Discounts may apply based on commitment and card usage.

Zoho Expense
A Free plan covers up to 3 users. Paid tiers are Standard (from $5 per active user/month, 3-user minimum) and Premium (from $9 per active user/month, 3-user minimum), with additional enterprise options.

Ramp: built to scale without compromises

Expensify is lightweight but limited, and Zoho Expense delivers the most value only when paired with the broader Zoho ecosystem. Ramp takes a different approach: one platform that combines corporate cards, bill pay, travel, and automation in a way that’s flexible enough for any stack — and powerful enough to scale.

On G2, Ramp earns higher ratings than both Expensify and Zoho Expense:

• Ramp: 4.8/5
• Expensify: 4.5/5
• Zoho Expense: 4.4/5

Finance leaders consistently point to Ramp’s intuitive design, ease of onboarding, and integrated cards as reasons why it outperforms both competitors.

Expense management without the busywork

With Ramp, receipts are automatically matched to transactions, policies are enforced in real time, and expenses sync directly into accounting. Finance teams spend less time chasing down employees and more time focusing on strategy.

Cards designed for control

Ramp includes unlimited virtual and physical cards with built-in limits and controls. Unlike Expensify, which is limited to its own card, and Zoho Expense, which doesn’t offer native cards, Ramp makes proactive spend management part of the platform itself.

Integrations beyond a single ecosystem

Ramp works with QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, and Sage, as well as HRIS and collaboration tools. Unlike Zoho Expense, which is strongest when bundled with other Zoho apps, Ramp integrates across different systems so finance teams aren’t locked into one vendor’s ecosystem.

Real savings you can measure

On average, Ramp customers save 5% annually by uncovering duplicate subscriptions, negotiating vendor contracts, and surfacing spend inefficiencies. These savings go beyond automation — they directly improve the bottom line.

Fast to implement, easy to use

Teams can get Ramp live in days rather than months, with an intuitive interface that consistently earns higher ease-of-use ratings than both Expensify and Zoho Expense. Finance leaders highlight fast onboarding and lower ongoing admin as key reasons for switching.

Together, these differences make Ramp the rare alternative that combines usability, flexibility, and scalability — without hidden costs or ecosystem lock-in.

Bottom line

Expensify is simple but struggles with scale. Zoho Expense is affordable and fits best if you’re already tied into the Zoho ecosystem.

Ramp gives finance leaders the best of both worlds: automation, scalability, and visibility — without hidden costs or lock-in. That’s why more than 45,000 finance teams trust Ramp to modernize spend management. With Ramp, you don’t have to choose between simplicity and flexibility — you get both in one platform.