Rho pricing is $0 for the software. Rho charges no subscription, no per-user fee and no platform fee for its banking, corporate cards, expense management and Bill Pay, and it charges nothing for ACH, domestic wires or checks. Like Ramp and Brex, it earns on its banking and card products rather than on software fees. The costs you actually pay are 1% on foreign currency transfers, a $15 optional SWIFT fee, a $30 international wire recall fee, and the requirement to run your payables through a Rho checking account.
That makes Rho one of three US spend platforms with a free core plan, next to Ramp and Brex. Below is what Rho's own pricing page lists, how it compares with Ramp and Brex on the lines that change the bill, and the one question that decides whether "free" is actually free for your company: are you willing to move your banking?
How much does Rho cost?
Rho costs nothing to use for most US companies. Its pricing page lists $0 for subscription fees, $0 per user, $0 for same-day ACH, wires and checks, $0 checking account minimum fees and $0 for its connected accounts payable, expense and accounting automation. Rho's help center puts it plainly: banking, corporate cards, expense management and Bill Pay are included at no software cost on any account.
The paid lines are narrow. A foreign currency transfer costs 1%, an optional SWIFT fee on international wires is $15 and recalling an international wire is $30. Rho Treasury, the optional cash management service, is run by a registered investment adviser that charges a management fee disclosed in its ADV brochure. Rho also mentions enterprise capabilities for companies with 250 or more employees, such as multi-entity management and deeper ERP work, without printing a price for them.
Rho vs Ramp vs Brex: published pricing
| Line | Rho | Ramp | Brex | Expenditure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core plan | $0, no per-user fee | Free $0 per user a month | Essentials $0 per user a month | $20 per seat a month billed yearly, from 3 seats |
| Paid plan | None published; enterprise features at 250+ employees | Plus $15 per user a month plus a platform fee based on team size, 20% off annual | Premium $12 per user a month | Growth $35, Scale $55 per seat a month billed yearly |
| ACH and checks | $0 same-day ACH, wires and checks | Bill Pay ACH $0.59 and check $1.99 from an outside bank; eligible fees waived from a Ramp checking account | Not compared here | We do not pay bills |
| Foreign currency | 1% on FX transfers; $15 optional SWIFT fee | Not compared here | Not compared here | Not applicable |
| Card rewards | 1.25% standard cash back, up to 2% with Rho Platinum, on up to $1,000,000 of eligible spend a year | Cash back on Ramp card spend | Points on Brex card spend | Keep your existing card and its rewards |
| Accounting sync | QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, Sage Intacct and Xero | QuickBooks Online and Xero on Free; NetSuite and Sage Intacct on Plus | Major ledgers, deeper on Premium | QuickBooks Online, Xero and NetSuite |
| What you move | Your operating account, if you use Bill Pay | Card spend; checking for fee waivers | Card spend | Nothing; works on your current bank and cards |
Rho figures come from rho.co/pricing, Rho's help center and FAQ. Ramp figures come from ramp.com/pricing and ramp.com/bill-pay, and Brex figures from brex.com/pricing. All are list prices before any negotiated terms. For the full detail on the other two, see our Ramp pricing breakdown and Brex pricing breakdown.
Is Rho really free?
Yes, for the software, and the catch is structural rather than hidden. Rho earns on its banking and card products, so the free price assumes your cash and your card spend live at Rho. Rho's own FAQ says its Bill Pay runs on your Rho checking account. If you want Rho's payables tools, you are opening a business bank account, not just signing up for software.
For a startup that has just raised and is choosing its first bank, that is a fair trade. For a company that already runs payroll, loans and a line of credit through a US bank it likes, "free" means a banking migration: new account numbers for every customer and vendor, new ACH authorizations, new positive pay setup and a new bank for your auditors to confirm.
Who is eligible for Rho?
Rho accepts LLCs, C-corporations and other US-incorporated entities, and it does not take sole proprietorships. The application asks for an EIN, formation documents, ownership details for anyone holding 25% or more and a government ID for owners and signers. Rho's corporate card needs no personal guarantee and no personal credit check. It is a charge card, so the full statement balance is paid each period rather than carried with interest.
That no-guarantee point matters to founders. Ramp and Brex work the same way, which is one reason the three show up on the same shortlist. The practical difference is where each one wants your money. Ramp's eligibility rules, as its support pages describe them, ask for at least $25,000 in a US business bank account. Rho asks you to bank with Rho.
Rho vs Ramp: which costs less?
On software, both are $0 at the entry level. Rho stays $0 as you grow, while Ramp moves the features finance teams tend to want next, such as line-item auto-coding, NetSuite and Sage Intacct sync and three-way match, to Plus at $15 per user a month plus a platform fee. On payments, Rho is $0 for ACH, wires and checks from Rho checking. Ramp Bill Pay charges $0.59 per ACH and $1.99 per check from an outside bank and waives eligible fees when you pay from a Ramp checking account.
So for a company that will move its operating account, Rho is usually the cheaper of the two. For a company that keeps its bank, Ramp Free with payment fees is often cheaper than switching. Our AP automation cost comparison prices a real month of bills on Rho, Ramp, BILL, Melio and QuickBooks Bill Pay side by side.
Rho vs Brex: which is better for a startup?
Both charge $0 per user on the entry plan, and Brex Premium adds advanced features at $12 per user a month. Rho's pitch is one platform for banking, cards, bill pay and expenses at no software cost. Brex, now part of Capital One, leans on its card, its global reach and its Premium controls. Startups that want a single place for their cash and payables usually lean Rho. Teams spending heavily abroad or wanting Premium's policy depth tend to compare Brex more closely. Our Ramp vs Brex comparison covers the card side in more detail.
What does it cost to switch banks to Rho?
No fee is charged, but the time is real. Plan for updating vendor and customer payment details, moving recurring ACH debits, reissuing any positive pay files, telling your lender and updating the bank feed in your ledger. You also need your old account's history in the books. If that history only exists as PDF statements, a PDF bank statement to QuickBooks converter gets it into QuickBooks Online without retyping months of transactions.
When Rho is not the answer
Rho is a strong choice when a company is happy to make it the bank. It is the wrong shape when the real problem is not the cost of software but the state of your expense data: receipts arriving in five inboxes, card charges on three different banks' cards, invoices coded to "miscellaneous" and nobody approving anything before it hits the ledger. Moving banks does not fix that; it moves it.
That is the job we built Expenditure for. We read every receipt and invoice at line level, code each line to your QuickBooks Online, Xero or NetSuite chart of accounts, check it against your policy, route it for approval and sync the approved record to your ledger. It works on the bank and cards you already have, including Amex, Chase, a local bank or a Rho card if you do switch. We never move or hold money, and we never sell or train on your financial data. We also flag duplicate subscriptions, unused seats and vendor price increases, which is where most of the savings in a spend review come from.
The honest comparison: Rho is free and we are not. Starter is $20 per seat a month billed yearly, Growth with policy and approvals is $35 and Scale is $55, with a three-seat minimum on Starter and Growth. Three Growth seats cost $1,260 a year. You pay that when keeping your current bank matters more than a $0 software line, or when the work you need done is coding and approvals rather than payments. The Expenditure plans and pricing page lists what each plan covers.
Questions to ask before you move to Rho
- Which of our current bank relationships (loans, lines of credit, payroll, merchant deposits) would stay behind, and what does running two banks cost us in time?
- How much of our card spend qualifies for the 1.25% standard or up to 2% Platinum cash back, and does it exceed $1,000,000 a year?
- How much of our vendor spend is in foreign currency at 1%?
- Does our ledger sync need anything beyond QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, Sage Intacct or Xero?
- Who codes and approves spend today, and does moving banks change that at all?
If the answer to the last question is "no, the same people will still be chasing receipts," fix the coding and approval problem first. That is the part that shows up in your close every month, whichever bank holds the cash.