Index › Spend and procurement › Corporate cards › Small business › September 2026 Edition

Corporate cards for small business buyers

Asked as “corporate card program”, and as “business credit card with spend controls”, on behalf of a small B2B company. 42 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, twelve models each.

Standing

Ramp

Clear leader

74% of first choices, clear leader.

ShowinginAll 41 categories →

By buyer segment

The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment; they sit side by side and are never added together.

Small business

Ramp74%Clear leaderThis page Mid-market

Ramp69%Clear leaderStanding →Enterprise

Ramp51%Clear leaderStanding →

01The standing

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all twelve models, for a small B2B company. Ordered by share.

ProductFirst-choice shareNegative rateLabelsQuadrant

Ramp7%60endorsed leader

BILL Spend & Expense0%39accepted challenger

Airwallex0%12accepted challenger

Brex23%56accepted challenger

Show the two products at 0%, ordered by negative rate

American Express29%17criticized challenger

Rho0%14accepted challenger

Bars are the share of first choices, 0 to 100Every product with at least 10 labels here. Every product name links to its vendor page.

Head to head

Ramp vs BILL Spend & Expense Ramp vs Brex BILL Spend & Expense vs Brex

One product takes 74% of first choices here, so the chart would put five markers in one corner and one at the far edge. The two measurements it plots are columns in the standing above: share, and the negative label rate. One product carries a negative rate above 25% in this category. Jump to the standing

02What they warned about

Seven of twelve models held their first choice under the paraphrase. Claude Haiku 4.5, GPT-5.4 mini, Llama 4 Maverick, Qwen 3.7 Flash and Kimi K2 changed. A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.

Brex

23%

13 of 56 labels negative · 9 of 12 models · 2 hard negative

“If you are a traditional or bootstrapped small business, avoid fintech platforms built heavily around venture-capital-funded models.” Gemini 3.5 Flash, negative prompt

American Express

29%

5 of 17 labels negative · 5 of 12 models · 1 hard negative

“Avoid "Traditional" Bank Cards: Most major banks (Chase, Amex, Capital One) charge annual fees” Qwen 3.7 Flash, budget prompt

Ramp

4 of 60 labels negative · 4 of 12 models

“Some newer SaaS corporate card programs (like Ramp) require businesses to maintain substantial cash balances in a U.S. bank account, which may not be feasible for all small businesses.” Mistral Small, negative prompt

WEX

100%

3 of 3 labels negative · 3 of 12 models · 3 hard negative

“WEX: Currently holding very low ratings (e.g., ~1.4/5 stars on Trustpilot), users frequently cite frustration with inaccessible customer service” Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt

03What they cite

Citations exist only for the models that return a source list: twelve of the twelve in this edition, and all six flagship models on the expanded tier.

Sites the answers cite

65 of 72 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 12 of 12 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 6 of those lists are Google grounding redirects that name no site and are left out of the counts. 920 links across 194 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page.

nerdwallet.com

43 answers · 79 citations · 10 models

rippling.com

vendor site · Rippling33 answers · 53 citations · 10 models

forbes.com

30 answers · 45 citations · 9 models

ramp.com

vendor site · Ramp26 answers · 60 citations · 10 models

cpaforge.com

21 answers · 21 citations · 9 models

brex.com

vendor site · Brex20 answers · 38 citations · 7 models

use.expensify.com

vendor site · Expensify19 answers · 20 citations · 10 models

nav.com

17 answers · 20 citations · 10 models

airwallex.com

vendor site · Airwallex16 answers · 17 citations · 7 models

itilite.com

vendor site · ITILITE15 answers · 16 citations · 7 models

work-management.org

15 answers · 15 citations · 9 models

payhawk.com

vendor site · Payhawk14 answers · 14 citations · 8 models

Pages the answers cite

The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.

nerdwallet.com/business/credit-cards/best/corporate

30 answers · 10 models

cpaforge.com/best/best-corporate-cards-small-business

21 answers · 9 models

rippling.com/blog/best-business-credit-cards

20 answers · 8 models

use.expensify.com/resource-center/guides/evaluating-corporate-card-programs

18 answers · 10 models

forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/best-corporate-credit-cards

15 answers · 7 models

nerdwallet.com/business/credit-cards/best

15 answers · 8 models

rippling.com/blog/best-commercial-credit-cards-business

15 answers · 7 models

work-management.org/accounting/best-corporate-cards

15 answers · 9 models

airwallex.com/en-us/blog/compare-corporate-business-cards

14 answers · 6 models

itilite.com/blog/corporate-credit-cards-for-small-businesses

14 answers · 6 models

04How they answered

Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.

ModelDirect“What is the best corporate card program for a small B2B company?”Paraphrase“Which business credit card with spend controls would you recommend to a small business that sells to other businesses?”Comparative“What are the top corporate card programs for a small team and how do they differ?”Budget-constrained“What is the best corporate card program for a small company with a tight budget?”Scale-constrained“We are a 30 person company evaluating a corporate card program. What should we look at?”Negative“Which corporate card programs should a small business avoid or be cautious about?”

Claude Haiku 4.5no first choiceBrex, RampChanged

One alternative

U.S. Bank Triple Cash Rewards Visa® Business Card

Ramp

Three alternatives

Airwallex, Rho, Rippling Spend

against: BrexBILL Spend & Expense

Three alternatives

American Express Blue Business Cash, Chase Ink Business Unlimited, Ramp

no first choiceagainst: Brex

GPT-5.4 miniRamp

Three alternatives

American Express, Brex, Expensify

Capital One Spark Cash PlusChanged

Two alternatives

Brex, Ramp

Ramp

Three alternatives

Airbase, American Express Business cards, Brex

Ramp

One alternative

American Express Corporate Purchasing Card

against: Amex Corporate Platinum, Corporate Gold Card, Corporate Green Cardno first choiceagainst: American Express, Stripe

Gemini 3.5 FlashRamp

Five alternatives

Airwallex, American Express Business Gold, BILL Spend & Expense, Brex, Chase Ink Business Preferred

RampHeld

Three alternatives

Airwallex, BILL Spend & Expense, Brex

Ramp

Five alternatives

Airwallex, American Express, BILL Spend & Expense, Brex, Chase Ink

BILL Spend & Expense, Ramp

Two alternatives

American Express Blue Business Cash, Chase Ink Business Unlimited

against: BrexRamp

Three alternatives

Airwallex, BILL Spend & Expense, Wise Business

against: American Express, Chaseagainst: American Express Business Platinum, Brex, Capital One Spark, Ramp

Perplexity SonarRamp

Four alternatives

Airwallex, American Express, BILL Spend & Expense, Brex

RampHeld

One alternative

Capital on Tap

Ramp

Four alternatives

BILL Spend & Expense, Brex, Rho, Rippling Spend

U.S. Bank Triple Cash Rewards Visa® Business Card

Three alternatives

Chase Ink Business Unlimited, Ramp, Rippling Spend

against: Brexno first choicenothing named

Grok 4.1 FastRamp

Three alternatives

BILL Spend & Expense, Brex, Rho

RampHeld

Three alternatives

BILL Spend & Expense, Brex, Capital One Spark Cash Plus

BILL Spend & Expense, Ramp

One alternative

Rho

against: American Express Business Gold, BrexRamp

Three alternatives

BILL Spend & Expense, Chase Ink Business Unlimited, Rho

against: BrexRamp

Three alternatives

BILL Spend & Expense, Brex, Rho

against: American Express, J.P. Morganagainst: AXIS, American Express Blue Business Plus, Amex Corporate Platinum, Brex, Capital One Spark Cash Plus, Chase Ink, Corpay, HDFC, ICICI, Ramp, WEX

Mistral SmallRamp

Two alternatives

Brex, Mercury

RampHeld

One alternative

Brex

Ramp

Five alternatives

BILL Spend & Expense, Brex, Expensify, Rho, Rippling Spend

Ramp

One alternative

BILL Spend & Expense

no first choiceagainst: Brex, Ramp

DeepSeek V4 FlashRamp

Two alternatives

BILL Spend & Expense, Brex

RampHeld

Three alternatives

BILL Spend & Expense, Brex, Chase Ink Business Preferred

against: American Express Blue Business PlusRamp

Five alternatives

BILL Spend & Expense, Brex, Mercury, Navan, Rho

Ramp

Two alternatives

BILL Spend & Expense, Chase Ink Business Cash

Ramp

Three alternatives

BILL Spend & Expense, Brex, Rippling Spend

against: American Express, Chase Inkagainst: American Express Business Platinum, Bank of America Business Advantage, Brex, Capital One Spark Cash Plus, CorTrust Bank Visa Business Credit Card, First PREMIER Bank, Ramp, U.S. Bank business cards

Llama 4 MaverickRampBILL Spend & ExpenseChangedRamp

Four alternatives

Airwallex, BILL Spend & Expense, Brex, Rho

Ramp

Two alternatives

BILL Spend & Expense, Expensify

no first choicenothing named

Qwen 3.7 FlashRamp

Three alternatives

Airwallex, American Express, Brex

Capital One Spark Cash PlusChanged

Two alternatives

American Express, Brex

Ramp

Two alternatives

BILL Spend & Expense, Brex

Ramp

One alternative

BILL Spend & Expense

against: American Express, Brex, Capital One, Chaseno first choiceagainst: Citi, Corpay, WEX, Wells Fargo

Kimi K2Ramp

Two alternatives

Brex, Mercury

Capital One Spark Cash PlusChanged

Five alternatives

American Express Business Gold, Brex, Chase Ink Business Preferred, Mercury, Ramp

Ramp

Three alternatives

BILL Spend & Expense, Brex, Rho

Ramp

Two alternatives

BILL Spend & Expense, Brex

Ramp

Two alternatives

Brex, Mercury

against: American Express Business Gold, Brex, Capital One Spark Cash Plus

GLM 4.7 FlashXRamp

Two alternatives

American Express, Brex

RampHeld

Two alternatives

Brex, Mercury

Ramp

Five alternatives

Airwallex, American Express, BILL Spend & Expense, Brex, Rho

Airwallex

Three alternatives

BILL Spend & Expense, Ramp, Rho

against: Brexno first choiceagainst: Atlantica, Bread, Citi, Credit One, First Progress, Indigo Card, J.P. Morgan, Luxury Card, Mission Lane, OpenSky, Petal, Premier Bank, Synchrony, WEX

MiniMax M2.5Ramp

Two alternatives

Brex, Capital One Spark Miles

RampHeld

Three alternatives

American Express Business Platinum, Brex, Capital One Spark Cash Plus

Ramp

Three alternatives

Airbase, BILL Spend & Expense, Brex

Airwallex, Chase Ink Business Unlimited

Three alternatives

American Express Blue Business Plus, Capital One Spark 1% Classic, Ramp

no first choicenothing named

Bold is the first choiceAlternatives are counted; the count opens them.What the answer argued against

05The record

One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, and latency. Full answer text is in the free responses file. Download the record

Seventy-two rows: every prompt, every model, every answer.

Prompt	Model	Version string	Time (UTC)	Searched	Sources	Latency
Direct recommendation	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 18:47	no	0	5 s
Direct recommendation	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 20:29	yes	3	5 s
Direct recommendation	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 21:17	yes	16	54 s
Direct recommendation	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 18:45	yes	20	5 s
Direct recommendation	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 17:53	yes	45	19 s
Direct recommendation	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 19:22	yes	14	9 s
Direct recommendation	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 20:03	yes	30	35 s
Direct recommendation	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 19:58	yes	5	2 s
Direct recommendation	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 18:54	no	0	29 s
Direct recommendation	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 18:38	yes	13	29 s
Direct recommendation	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 20:48	yes	19	82 s
Direct recommendation	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 18:22	no	0	58 s
Paraphrase	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 20:41	yes	18	7 s
Paraphrase	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 19:44	yes	5	7 s
Paraphrase	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 19:28	yes	19	23 s
Paraphrase	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 18:57	yes	20	5 s
Paraphrase	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 19:05	yes	30	16 s
Paraphrase	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 21:02	yes	17	10 s
Paraphrase	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 18:57	yes	27	40 s
Paraphrase	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 21:01	yes	5	3 s
Paraphrase	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 18:44	no	0	28 s
Paraphrase	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 20:10	yes	18	51 s
Paraphrase	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 19:17	yes	25	170 s
Paraphrase	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 17:55	yes	9	45 s
Comparative	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 20:11	yes	15	9 s
Comparative	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 18:13	yes	5	7 s
Comparative	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 18:58	yes	10	22 s
Comparative	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 18:05	yes	20	9 s
Comparative	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 20:20	yes	43	17 s
Comparative	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 19:36	yes	5	6 s
Comparative	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 20:17	yes	24	24 s
Comparative	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 18:24	yes	5	3 s
Comparative	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 18:51	yes	14	33 s
Comparative	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 19:57	yes	10	58 s
Comparative	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 20:59	yes	10	57 s
Comparative	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 21:01	yes	5	18 s
Budget constrained	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 20:38	yes	9	8 s
Budget constrained	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 21:04	yes	2	5 s
Budget constrained	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 21:57	yes	12	56 s
Budget constrained	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 20:33	yes	20	5 s
Budget constrained	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 20:37	yes	29	17 s
Budget constrained	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 20:48	yes	5	4 s
Budget constrained	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra`	2026-09-17 20:03	yes	30	36 s
Budget constrained	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 20:46	yes	6	4 s
Budget constrained	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 19:18	yes	10	31 s
Budget constrained	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 18:37	yes	13	34 s
Budget constrained	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 18:10	yes	9	19 s
Budget constrained	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 20:29	yes	8	29 s
Scale constrained	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 18:55	no	0	7 s
Scale constrained	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 18:30	no	0	6 s
Scale constrained	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 19:36	yes	13	19 s
Scale constrained	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 20:08	yes	20	8 s
Scale constrained	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 20:10	yes	13	11 s
Scale constrained	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 19:58	no	0	5 s
Scale constrained	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 19:14	yes	10	18 s
Scale constrained	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 18:50	yes	5	4 s
Scale constrained	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 18:07	yes	5	28 s
Scale constrained	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 19:11	yes	15	40 s
Scale constrained	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 19:25	yes	15	34 s
Scale constrained	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 18:51	yes	5	21 s
Negative framing	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 20:41	yes	17	8 s
Negative framing	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 20:58	yes	5	10 s
Negative framing	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 19:00	yes	20	30 s
Negative framing	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 19:46	yes	20	8 s
Negative framing	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 19:26	yes	41	17 s
Negative framing	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 18:04	yes	5	5 s
Negative framing	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 21:09	yes	29	23 s
Negative framing	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 18:29	yes	5	3 s
Negative framing	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 19:06	yes	10	34 s
Negative framing	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 18:26	yes	30	35 s
Negative framing	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 17:57	yes	26	107 s
Negative framing	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 20:29	yes	24	32 s

Normalization in this category

Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.

Category-scoped readings

American Express Business Platinum Card read as American Express Business Platinum

Divvy read as BILL Spend & Expense

Divvy (BILL Spend & Expense) read as BILL Spend & Expense

JPMorgan read as J.P. Morgan

JPMorgan Chase read as J.P. Morgan

Rippling read as Rippling Spend

Unresolved, counted raw

AXIS

Amex/Chase-style business cards

Bread (formerly Comenity)

Capital One Spark Cash Select

Capital on Tap

Corporate Gold Card

Corporate Green Card

Expensify Visa Commercial Card

First PREMIER Bank

First Progress

HDFC

ICICI

Slash Platinum Visa® Card

U.S. Bank business cards

US Bank Leverage Business Credit Card

Discontinued, still offered

No shut-down product was recommended here.

Corporate cards for small business buyers

By buyer segment

01The standing

02What they warned about

03What they cite

Sites the answers cite

Pages the answers cite

04How they answered

05The record

Normalization in this category

Also in spend and procurement