Comparison
Mercury vs Spendesk
A side-by-side look at Mercury and Spendesk — 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.
Spendesk
The 7-in-1 spend management platform for finance teams.
Spendesk unifies corporate cards, invoice payments, expense claims, approval workflows, budgets and pre-accounting — purpose-built for European mid-market finance teams.
Side-by-side
| Spec | Mercury | Spendesk |
|---|---|---|
| Tagline | Banking built for startups. | The 7-in-1 spend management platform for finance teams. |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, USA | Paris, France |
| Founded | 2017 | 2016 |
| Regions | US | EU, UK |
| Card type | Debit + IO Credit | Prepaid + credit (FR market) |
| Pricing | Banking free; Mercury IO requires $25k+ avg balance. | Custom pricing based on users and modules. |
| Rewards | 1.5% cashback on Mercury IO. | — |
| Best for | US-incorporated startups, VC-backed companies, Remote founders | Mid-market, Multi-entity European groups, Finance teams that need approval workflows |
| Integrations | QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite | Datev, Netsuite, Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, Cegid |
Mercury: pros & cons
- Best banking UX for startups
- No monthly fees
- Strong treasury product
- US incorporation required
- Not a traditional bank — partner bank model
Spendesk: pros & cons
- Workflow depth
- European compliance built-in
- Banking license (Spendesk Financial Services)
- Opaque pricing
- Heavier than Pleo for small teams