Affiliate Disclaimer: TravelForBusiness.org participates in affiliate programs, including Amazon Associates, and may earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. This comparison contains no affiliate links, and Navan, Perk and SAP Concur did not pay to be included.
Picking a corporate booking tool looks simple in a demo and gets complicated in month three. Travelers want a consumer-grade app, finance wants clean data and policy control, and whoever signs wants to know the real cost.
For most companies the shortlist comes down to three names. This navan vs concur comparison adds the third serious option, Perk (the company formerly known as TravelPerk), and looks at how each one books travel, handles expenses, connects to your finance stack and charges for it. Every product fact below was checked against the vendors’ own pages in October 2026.
The short version:
- Navan: best for companies up to a few thousand employees that want one modern app for travel, expense and cards, and no separate travel agency. Free for travel booking at companies up to 300 employees.
- Perk: best for small and mid-sized companies, especially with travelers in Europe, that want a simple booking flow, a free entry plan and travel, spend and events in one place.
- SAP Concur: best for large enterprises, SAP shops and companies that already run Concur Expense or want to keep their travel management company (TMC).
Navan vs Perk vs SAP Concur at a Glance
| Navan | Perk | SAP Concur | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Growing companies that want travel, expense and cards in one app | SMBs and mid-market, strong in Europe, growing in the US | Large and global enterprises, SAP customers |
| Booking model | Own booking platform and in-house 24/7 travel agents | Own booking platform and 24/7 travel support | Online booking tool; bookings are fulfilled by a TMC partner |
| Expense | Navan Expense, Navan cards or your own corporate card | Perk Spend with bring-your-own-card (US and Europe) | Concur Expense, plus add-ons such as Detect, Request and Drive |
| Pricing model | Travel free up to 300 employees; expense free for 5 users a month, then per user; Enterprise on quote | Free Starter plan with a fee per booking; paid plans with a lower booking fee | Custom quote, plus TMC fees |
| AI features | Expense Chat agent that drafts out-of-pocket expenses (US) | MCP connector for Claude, ChatGPT and other AI assistants | Joule agents for expense drafting and pre-submit audit, Microsoft 365 Copilot integration |
Navan: One App for Travel, Expense and Cards
Navan (formerly TripActions) was built as a booking app first and added expense management and corporate cards later. It has been a public company since its Nasdaq listing in October 2025 under the ticker NAVN (TechLeap). We covered the platform in depth in our Navan review and the complete Navan guide; here is how it stacks up against the other two.
How Navan books travel
Navan acts as its own travel agency. Travelers search flights, hotels, rail and cars in the Navan app, policies and approval flows are applied while they book, and changes can be made self-serve or through Navan’s 24/7 travel agents. You do not need a separate TMC contract. Navan’s pricing page lists global inventory with exclusive rates, unlimited policy and approval workflows, customizable reports and more than 30 HRIS integrations on the free Business plan (Navan).
Navan Rewards is the feature travelers notice first: when someone books below the policy limit, they earn rewards. It is a simple nudge toward cheaper bookings.
Expense and cards
Navan Expense uses the same traveler profile and policies as booking. You can connect your existing corporate or business cards or use Navan cards, scan receipts, and export to most ERPs (Navan). In March 2026 Navan launched Expense Chat, an AI agent that turns a receipt photo or a mileage entry into a coded expense, asks for missing details and submits it for the traveler. It is currently available to US customers only (Navan).
Navan pricing model
Navan Business is for companies with up to 300 employees. Travel booking is free with no trip limit, and expense management is free for the first five users who submit expenses each month, after which a per-user monthly fee applies. Larger organizations move to Navan Enterprise on a custom quote, which adds unlimited travelers and expense users, a dedicated account executive and customer success manager, custom implementation and negotiated corporate rates (Navan).
Watch out for: Navan replaces a TMC rather than working alongside one, so if your company has a global agency contract, moving to Navan means ending it. Enterprise contracts are typically annual or multi-year.
Perk (Formerly TravelPerk): Travel, Spend and Events
If you last looked at this market a year ago, you may know Perk as TravelPerk. The Barcelona-based company rebranded to Perk in November 2025 to signal that it now covers more than travel: it serves more than 10,000 companies and bundles booking with expense and payment tools (Skift).
How Perk books travel
Like Navan, Perk runs its own booking platform with global inventory and 24/7 travel support, so no separate agency is needed. Even the free Starter plan includes travel restriction alerts, one travel policy and simplified reporting. Premium raises that to 10 policies, advanced reporting, budget tracking, single sign-on and HR integrations, and Pro adds unlimited policies, unlimited legal entities, custom reporting and negotiated corporate rates (Perk).
Expense: Perk Spend
Perk Spend launched in Europe first and expanded to the US on September 15, 2026. The US version works with bring-your-own-card, so you keep your existing corporate card program, and it reconciles with Perk Travel in one system. Perk says a US corporate charge card is coming (PYMNTS). On the spend side, Pro adds custom approval flows, custom per diems, all ERP connectors including SAP, and an open API (Perk).
Perk also launched an MCP connector in July 2026 that lets finance teams, travel managers and travelers query trips, expenses, invoices and approvals in plain language from Claude, ChatGPT and other MCP-compatible AI assistants, with booking and expense submission through the assistant on the roadmap (Perk).
Perk pricing model
Perk is the only one of the three with a self-serve free plan you can start today: Starter has no platform fee and charges a percentage per booking. Premium and Pro charge either a monthly platform fee or a fee per active user, plus a lower percentage per booking. Perk switched its default pricing to a per-active-user model in September 2026, so check the current page before you compare quotes (Perk).
Watch out for: per-booking fees add up at high travel volume, so model your expected annual trips before choosing a plan. Very large or highly regulated global programs usually outgrow Perk faster than Navan or Concur.
SAP Concur: The Enterprise Standard
SAP Concur is the incumbent. Many large companies have run Concur Expense for years, and Concur Travel is the booking tool that plugs straight into it. The product family is broad: Concur Expense, Concur Travel, Concur Request for pre-trip approvals, Concur Detect for AI-driven audit, Drive for mileage, TripLink for bookings made outside the program, Concur Invoice for accounts payable, and TripIt Pro for travelers (SAP Concur).
How Concur books travel
This is the biggest structural difference. Concur Travel is an online booking tool, not an agency. SAP states that working with one of its TMC partners is a requirement for activating Concur Travel, and that every booking needs a TMC to fulfill it (SAP Support). That is a drawback if you want one vendor and one invoice, and a real advantage if you already have a global TMC contract with negotiated rates and duty-of-care services you want to keep.
At SAP Concur Fusion in March 2026, SAP also announced a new Concur Travel experience with guest bookings and more airline content, and expanded features in Complete, the travel and expense offering co-developed with Amex GBT (SAP).
Expense, AI and integrations
Concur Expense remains the reference product for complex expense rules, multiple entities and audit requirements. SAP is adding Joule AI agents: an Expense Automation Agent that drafts reports and a Pre-Submit Audit Agent that flags receipt discrepancies, both in early adopter programs with general availability expected later in 2026. Joule also works inside Microsoft 365 Copilot, and Amex virtual cards can be created and managed in Concur Expense (SAP). For smaller companies, SAP lists QuickBooks and Xero integrations (SAP Concur).
Concur pricing model
SAP Concur does not publish prices. Pricing depends on modules, volume and configuration, and you request a quote (SAP Concur). Remember to add the TMC’s transaction or management fees to the total cost, because Concur Travel cannot run without one.
Watch out for: implementation takes longer than with Navan or Perk, and the traveler experience depends partly on the TMC you pair it with.
Score Your Company: Booking Tool Fit Scorecard
Feature lists only go so far. The right tool depends on your size, where your travelers are, what you already run and whether you want to keep a travel agency. Answer the seven questions below and the scorecard rates each platform and explains the result.
Booking Tool Fit Scorecard
Answer seven questions about your company. The scorecard rates how well Navan, Perk and SAP Concur fit your situation and explains why.
The scores are a rule-of-thumb guide based on each vendor’s published plans and features as of October 2026, not a quote. Run a demo or a pilot with real trips before you sign.
Head-to-Head: Where Each Tool Wins
| Criterion | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cost for small companies | Navan | Travel booking is free on Navan Business, up to 300 employees |
| Fastest start | Perk | Free self-serve Starter plan, no sales call needed |
| Traveler experience | Navan | Consumer-style app, in-house agents and rewards for saving |
| European travelers | Perk | European roots, multi-entity support and Perk Spend live in Europe first |
| Keeping your TMC | SAP Concur | Built to work with TMC partners; Navan and Perk replace the agency |
| SAP ERP integration | SAP Concur | Part of SAP; Perk offers an SAP connector on Pro |
| Complex expense and audit rules | SAP Concur | Deepest rule engine, Detect audit and Joule audit agent |
| AI assistant access | Perk | MCP connector for Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants |
How to Choose the Right Booking Tool
1. Decide whether you want a TMC
This one question splits the market. Navan and Perk are the agency. Concur needs one. If your company values a dedicated account team at a TMC, negotiated airline deals through that agency or specific duty-of-care services, Concur keeps that model intact. If you would rather have one vendor, one app and one support line, look at Navan and Perk first. Our guide to travel management companies explains what a TMC adds.
2. Start from your expense system
Switching expense tools is harder than switching booking tools, because policies, card feeds, approval chains and accounting exports all live there. If you already run Concur Expense and it works, adding Concur Travel is the path of least resistance. If you have no expense tool yet, Navan and Perk both let you start with travel and add spend later.
3. Model the real cost
Compare total cost over a year, not list prices. For Navan, count monthly expense users above the free five. For Perk, multiply your expected bookings by the booking fee and add the platform or per-user fee. For Concur, add the license quote to the TMC fees. Your per diem policy and approval rules should be part of the comparison too, because not every plan supports custom per diems.
4. Check the integrations you cannot live without
List your HRIS, ERP, card program and single sign-on provider, then ask each vendor for a live demo of those exact connectors. SAP S/4HANA points toward Concur. QuickBooks, Xero and NetSuite work with all three, but the depth differs per plan.
Tips for Switching Booking Tools
- Export at least 12 months of booking and expense data from your current system before you cancel it.
- Rewrite your travel policy before you configure the new tool, not after. Old rules copied into a new system keep old problems.
- Pilot each shortlisted tool with ten real trips and one approver, and check how clean the data is when it reaches finance.
- Make sure travelers download the new app and complete their profiles, including loyalty numbers, before their first trip.
Final Verdict
There is no single winner in the navan vs concur debate, because the two tools are built on different models. Navan is the best fit for most growing companies that want one modern app for booking, expenses and cards, and it is hard to beat on cost below 300 employees. Perk is the easiest place to start, with a free self-serve plan and a strong offer for companies with travelers in Europe, and its expansion of Perk Spend to the US makes it a more complete alternative. SAP Concur remains the safe choice for large enterprises, SAP customers and anyone who wants to keep a TMC.
If you are under 300 employees, start with Navan and Perk. If you are on SAP or already run Concur Expense, start with Concur. Then pilot your top two with real trips before you sign.
Related Articles
- Navan Review 2026
- Navan vs Competitors: Which Brand Wins?
- Navan Guide: Complete Guide to Navan Products and Services
- Complete Guide to Travel Management Companies
- What Are the 4 C’s of Corporate Travel Management?
- What Does a Travel Manager Do?
- Per Diem Explained: How Business Travel Per Diems Work
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: What is the main difference between Navan and SAP Concur?
Answer: Navan is an all-in-one platform that acts as its own travel agency, with booking, expense and cards in one app. SAP Concur Travel is an online booking tool that requires a TMC partner to fulfill bookings, and it is usually paired with Concur Expense. Navan suits companies that want one vendor; Concur suits enterprises that want to keep a TMC or run SAP.
Question: Is TravelPerk the same as Perk?
Answer: Yes. TravelPerk rebranded to Perk in November 2025. The booking platform is the same, but the company now also sells expense management (Perk Spend) and event tools under the Perk name.
Question: Is Navan free?
Answer: Navan Business is free for travel booking at companies with up to 300 employees, with no trip limit. Expense management is free for the first five users who submit expenses each month, then charged per user. Larger companies need Navan Enterprise, which is priced on a custom quote.
Question: Does Perk have a free plan?
Answer: Yes. The Perk Starter plan has no platform fee for travel. You pay a percentage fee per booking instead. Premium and Pro plans add more policies, integrations and support for a monthly or per-user fee plus a lower booking fee.
Question: Do I need a travel agency with SAP Concur?
Answer: Yes. SAP states that working with one of its TMC partners is required to activate Concur Travel, because the TMC fulfills every booking. Concur Expense can be used without Concur Travel.