Comparison
Mercury vs Pleo
A side-by-side look at Mercury and Pleo — pricing, regions, integrations, pros and cons. Use the recommender if you'd rather have an AI pick for you.
Mercury
Banking built for startups.
Mercury is a tech-forward business bank for startups, offering checking, savings, treasury, debit cards and the IO charge card with up to 1.5% cashback.
Pleo
Smart company cards for European teams.
Pleo is Europe's leading spend management platform, pairing physical and virtual cards with automated expense reports, invoice management and accounting integrations across 30+ EU/UK markets.
Side-by-side
| Spec | Mercury | Pleo |
|---|---|---|
| Tagline | Banking built for startups. | Smart company cards for European teams. |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, USA | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Founded | 2017 | 2015 |
| Regions | US | EU, UK |
| Card type | Debit + IO Credit | Prepaid + credit (market dependent) |
| Pricing | Banking free; Mercury IO requires $25k+ avg balance. | Starter free up to 3 users; Essential €45/mo; Advanced €89/mo; Beyond custom. |
| Rewards | 1.5% cashback on Mercury IO. | 1% cashback on Advanced+ in select markets. |
| Best for | US-incorporated startups, VC-backed companies, Remote founders | European SMBs, Distributed teams, Companies using Xero/QuickBooks EU |
| Integrations | QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite | Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, Datev, Economic, Visma |
Mercury: pros & cons
- Best banking UX for startups
- No monthly fees
- Strong treasury product
- US incorporation required
- Not a traditional bank — partner bank model
Pleo: pros & cons
- Strong European footprint
- Best-in-class UX
- Local accounting integrations
- Per-user pricing adds up
- Limited US presence