TL;DR: Alaan is strong in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and weaker everywhere else, so most people shopping for an alternative are either outside that region or want software-renewal tracking rather than corporate cards. Pleo and Payhawk cover Europe, Ramp and Brex cover the US, and LemSubs covers the subscription side without cards at all.
Alaan pairs corporate cards with expense and spend controls, and it is one of the better options in the Gulf. The two reasons people look elsewhere are geography and scope: cards do not help if the problem is fifty software subscriptions nobody owns. Here is the honest map of both.
Free tier available; paid tiers quoted per company
| Tool | Price | Best for | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| LemSubs | Flat monthly | Tracking software subscriptions, owners, seats and renewals in any region | No corporate cards and no expense reimbursement |
| Pleo | Free tier, paid from ~£39/mo plus per user | European teams wanting cards plus receipt capture | Per-user pricing adds up quickly on larger teams |
| Payhawk | Quote only | Multi-entity, multi-currency European groups | Enterprise sales process and no public pricing |
| Ramp | Free core product | US companies wanting cards and spend controls at no software cost | US entities only |
| Brex | Free tier, paid Premium | Venture-backed US startups | Eligibility is tighter than it looks, and non-US support is limited |
| Spendesk | Quote only | Finance teams wanting approvals and invoice management together | Annual contracts, quoted pricing |
| Alaan | Free tier; paid quoted | UAE and Saudi companies wanting local cards with spend controls | Regional focus; light on software renewal tracking |
Solves the half of the problem cards do not: what you already pay for, who owns it, how many seats are idle, and when it silently renews. Region-agnostic and priced flat.
Price: Flat monthly · Watch out for: No corporate cards and no expense reimbursement
The most widely used European equivalent. Cards, receipts, approvals and clean accounting integrations. Good self-serve onboarding, no sales call required.
Price: Free tier, paid from ~£39/mo plus per user · Watch out for: Per-user pricing adds up quickly on larger teams
Built for companies with entities in several countries and a real finance function. Overkill below that, genuinely strong above it.
Price: Quote only · Watch out for: Enterprise sales process and no public pricing
Free because it earns interchange, and still one of the strongest products in the category. If you are US-based, it is the default comparison.
Price: Free core product · Watch out for: US entities only
Cards, banking and expenses in one place, aimed at funded startups. Excellent when you fit the profile.
Price: Free tier, paid Premium · Watch out for: Eligibility is tighter than it looks, and non-US support is limited
Strong on approval workflows and supplier invoices rather than just cards. A better fit than Alaan for process-heavy finance teams in Europe.
Price: Quote only · Watch out for: Annual contracts, quoted pricing
Kept on the list honestly: in the Gulf, local card issuing, Arabic support and regional compliance are real advantages that global tools do not match.
Price: Free tier; paid quoted · Watch out for: Regional focus; light on software renewal tracking
LemSubs gives you the subscription half of spend management — every tool, its owner, its seats and its renewal date, with a warning before it renews.
Who it is not for: LemSubs is not a card issuer and does not handle expense claims or reimbursements. If you need corporate cards, use Pleo, Ramp, Payhawk or Alaan alongside it.
Pleo or Payhawk in Europe, Ramp or Brex in the US. For tracking software subscriptions rather than issuing cards, LemSubs works in any region.
Ramp's core product is free for US companies, and Pleo and Brex both have free tiers. Coverage and eligibility vary by country, so check your entity first.
Cards control new spending. SaaS spend management controls what you already pay for — duplicate tools, idle seats and auto-renewals. Most companies waste more money on the second, and many end up running both.
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