Navan Review [2024]: Is This Travel Platform Worth It?

Looking for a business travel management tool? You’ve probably come across Navan. In this Navan review we’ll use our experience of reviewing travel platforms to give you the low down. We’ve spent years using various travel solutions so we know what matters most and where to find the hidden costs in Navan pricing.

In this review we’ll cover pricing, user feedback and compare Navan to competitors. By the end you’ll have all the info you need to decide if Navan is for you.

Let’s dive in to explore whether Navan delivers on its promises.

Who Is Navan For?

Product Overview: Navan at a Glance

What Does It Come With?

• Global Travel Inventory: Book flights, hotels and cars worldwide.
• Expense Management: Track, categorize and report expenses within the platform.
• Dedicated Support: Support team available by phone, chat or email.

How Is It Different From Competitors?

• Simple Interface: Unlike some corporate travel tools, Navan’s interface is designed to be easy to use, even for non techy people.
• Budgeting: Navan has real time budget controls that many of our competitors don’t, so you can optimize your travel spend without sacrificing quality.
• Seamless Integration: It integrates with your existing expense tracking and reporting systems which can be a challenge with other platforms.

My Personal Opinion: Is Navan Worth It?

I’ve used Navan for corporate travel and can confidently say it’s a great tool for businesses that want a hassle free travel management solution. Here’s what I liked:

What I Liked:

What I Didn’t Like:

Navan Pricing: Is It Worth the Cost?

Navan has a flexible pricing model to suit businesses of all sizes. They have a FREE tier that allows up to 5 users to try it out with NO RISK.

Is It Worth It?

Navan’s pricing is competitive with other travel management platforms when you consider the time and cost savings from automating expense reporting and travel bookings. Most users find the pricing matches the value—especially when it comes to simplifying complex corporate travel and controlling costs with real-time budgeting.

If cost is a concern, remember Navan’s plans scale with your business so you’re not paying for features you don’t need. The time saved in booking and expense management plus better budget control usually justifies the cost for most companies.

Features Breakdown: Navan’s Key Tools and Benefits

Navan offers a comprehensive set of features designed to streamline business travel. Here’s a closer look at what makes each one special and how they can make your life easier.

1. All-in-One Travel Management

• What is it?: Navan combines booking, itinerary tracking, and expense management in one platform. This means you can handle flights, hotels, and car rentals, plus manage expenses, all without switching between different tools.
• Why is it special?: Unlike other platforms that only focus on one aspect of travel, Navan ensures you have everything you need in one dashboard, reducing complexity.
• My experience: I loved having everything centralized. Previously, I used multiple apps and sites, which made tracking a pain. With Navan, I didn’t have to worry about missing a flight update or losing an expense receipt—it was all there.

2. Automated Expense Reporting

• What is it?: This feature automatically captures and categorizes expenses as you book travel, making it easy to generate reports without manual entry.
• Why is it special?: Most travel platforms focus solely on bookings, but Navan also tracks your spending in real-time and organizes it for you. This reduces errors and ensures you stay within budget.
• My experience: As someone who dislikes manual data entry, this was a game-changer. Expense reports that used to take hours now take minutes, and I didn’t have to worry about losing receipts or forgetting to log an expense.

3. Budget Control and Compliance

• What is it?: Navan allows you to set company-wide or team-specific budget controls. It will flag out-of-policy bookings and suggest alternatives that fit your spending limits.
• Why is it special?: Instead of retroactively checking spending, Navan enforces policy compliance in real-time, ensuring you stay on track from the start.
• My experience: This feature was a big win for our finance department. By catching potential overspending early, we avoided unexpected budget spikes. Plus, it gave me peace of mind knowing that any booking would align with company guidelines.

4. Mobile App

• What is it?: Navan’s mobile app lets you manage your travel on the go, from booking flights to updating itineraries or tracking expenses.
• Why is it special?: The mobile app ensures you’re never disconnected from your travel plans. Whether you need to adjust a booking or track your expenses, everything’s in your pocket.
• My experience: On a recent business trip, I had to change my hotel reservation at the last minute. The mobile app made this quick and seamless—no need to call customer service or wait for email confirmations. It was all handled in a few taps.

5. 24/7 Customer Support

• What is it?: Navan offers round-the-clock customer service to handle any issues, from booking errors to emergency changes.
• Why is it special?: While many platforms only offer limited support, Navan provides 24/7 access, ensuring you can get help anytime, anywhere.
• My experience: When I faced an emergency flight cancellation late at night, Navan’s support team was incredibly responsive and resolved the issue within minutes. Their reliable customer service saved me a lot of stress.

6. Seamless Integration

• What is it?: Navan integrates with other business tools like expense management platforms, making it easy to sync travel data and streamline reporting.
• Why is it special?: Unlike some travel tools that operate in a silo, Navan works well with the systems you already have in place, reducing the need for manual data entry or duplicate work.
• My experience: Our team benefited from the integration with our expense management tool. Instead of having to manually transfer data, everything synced automatically, making the post-trip reporting process painless.

Use Cases: How Different Businesses Use Navan

Navan isn’t a one size fits all solution; it’s designed to cater to the travel needs of different types of businesses. Here’s how different companies can use Navan.

1. Small Businesses and Startups

• Use Case: For startups or small businesses on a tight budget, Navan’s affordable pricing and all in one travel management makes it easy to book, track expenses and stay within budget.
• Benefit: Navan helps small teams avoid the mess of multiple tools and gives real time budget control to prevent overspending.
• Example: A small tech startup can manage travel for conferences and client meetings, save time and reduce administrative overhead with automated expense reports.

2. Medium-Sized Businesses

• Use Case: Medium sized businesses with growing teams struggle to enforce travel policies and track expenses across departments. Navan helps you maintain oversight as your business grows.
• Benefit: Navan’s budgeting tools and real time policy enforcement ensures teams stay compliant with travel guidelines, while simplifying the process for booking and expense management.
• Example: A marketing agency with employees traveling to events and client sites all the time can use Navan to enforce budget limits, track expenses automatically and give travelers a seamless booking experience.

3. Large Corporations

• Use Case: Large enterprises have complex travel policies, multiple departments and high travel volumes. Navan’s customizable features allows for solutions tailored to different teams and regions.
• Benefit: Navan gives real time insights into travel expenses, so finance departments can monitor spending and identify cost savings, while travelers get a user friendly booking experience.
• Example: A multinational consulting firm can use Navan to centralize travel across global teams, ensure policy compliance and reduce administrative workload through automation.

4. Remote and Hybrid Teams

• Use Case: For companies with remote or hybrid teams, Navan makes booking for individual employees and teams traveling to meet in person easy.
• Benefit: The platform’s flexibility allows employees to manage their own travel while adhering to company policies, so teams spread across multiple locations can meet when needed.
• Example: A remote-first software company can use Navan to plan travel for annual retreats or team offsites, while tracking expenses automatically and staying within budget.

5. Nonprofits and Educational Institutions

• Use Case: Organizations like nonprofits and universities that are donor or government funded need to keep a close eye on travel expenses to stay within budget.
• Benefit: Navan’s expense tracking and budget control tools ensures compliance with funding requirements, while the user friendly platform makes travel booking for staff and volunteers easy.
• Example: A nonprofit organization coordinating volunteers for disaster relief can use Navan to book travel, track costs and ensure donor funds are being used effectively.

6. Professional Services Firms

• Use Case: Law firms, accounting firms and other professional services firms with high travel demands for client meetings need a solution to manage frequent bookings and complex itineraries.
• Benefit: Navan’s automated itinerary management and expense reporting lets consultants and attorneys focus on clients, not travel logistics.
• Example: A law firm with lawyers traveling for depositions and client meetings all the time can use Navan to manage multi-city itineraries while staying within the firm’s travel policy.

Navan is flexible and scalable for all industries and business sizes. Small business or global corporation, Navan helps you travel better and track expenses.

Conclusion: Is Navan Right for Your Business?

After investigating Navan’s features, pricing and use cases I highly recommend Navan for businesses looking to simplify corporate travel management. From its all in one platform that combines booking, expense tracking and itinerary management to budget control and automated reporting Navan delivers on its promise to simplify and optimise business travel.

For those worried about pricing the benefits – time saved, real time budget oversight and compliance – often outweigh the cost especially for businesses with frequent travel. While set up for larger teams takes some time the long term convenience and cost savings make it worth it.

In summary Navan is a solid, easy to use solution for corporate travel management for small businesses to large enterprises.

Try Navan today and see how it can save you time and money.

Not sure if Navan is for you? Check out the next section where we look at other travel management tools that might be better for you.

Alternatives to Navan: What Else is Out There?

While Navan is a top pick for many companies, it’s not the only travel management tool out there. Here are a few others that offer a different value proposition that might be a better fit for your business.

1. Concur Travel & Expense

• Positioning: Concur is a well known name in corporate travel and expense management, and has all the features for large enterprises.
• Key Differences: Unlike Navan which is user friendly and for businesses of all sizes, Concur is more complex and better suited for large companies with very specific needs and complex workflows. It has deeper integration with enterprise software like SAP but at the cost of a steeper learning curve.
• Who It’s For: Concur is for large companies with complex compliance and reporting requirements, especially those already using SAP.
• Proof: Concur’s advanced integration and custom workflows give it an edge for big companies. But the complexity will overwhelm smaller teams and lacks the ease of use that Navan provides.

2. TripActions

• Positioning: Like Navan, TripActions simplifies corporate travel but focuses on AI powered travel management and real-time recommendations.
• Key Differences: TripActions has a more dynamic, AI driven experience with predictive pricing and real-time booking suggestions. While this can be a plus, the platform can feel too automated for users who like to have more manual control.
• Who It’s For: If you’re a tech savvy company that values cutting edge automation and real-time data, TripActions might be for you. But if you prefer a more hands on approach, it can be overkill.
• Proof: TripActions’ real time AI can help companies optimize costs dynamically, but many users find Navan’s simpler interface is more intuitive and easier to manage especially for teams without a tech background.

3. TravelPerk

• Positioning: TravelPerk is about flexibility and scalability, offering a modular approach where companies can add only what they need.
• Key Differences: TravelPerk is for small to medium sized businesses that want customizable travel solutions without committing to an all in one platform. It has a flexible pricing model and à la carte features but doesn’t offer the same seamless integration or all encompassing experience that Navan does.
• Who It’s For: If you’re a small business looking for flexibility and budget friendly options, TravelPerk might be the better choice. If you want an all in one experience, Navan is the more comprehensive solution.
• Proof: TravelPerk’s flexibility is a plus for businesses that don’t need a full suite of features, but if your company needs a robust end to end travel management tool, Navan’s all in one solution is the better option.

4. Egencia

• Positioning: Egencia, owned by Expedia, is for enterprise level companies with global travel needs.
• Key Differences: Egencia is more focused on enterprise travel solutions and global compliance, has extensive reporting and analytics. But it lacks Navan’s intuitive interface and simplicity, it’s better suited for companies with very complex travel needs.
• Who It’s For: Egencia is for large, globally distributed companies that need detailed reporting and compliance tools.
• Proof: While Egencia has extensive reporting capabilities, it can feel clunky for day to day use especially compared to Navan’s streamlined approach which is designed for ease of use and efficiency.

Each has its pros but Navan wins on ease of use, flexibility and travel and expense management. If you’re looking for an all in one user friendly platform that scales with your business, Navan is the top choice. But if you’re a large enterprise with more niche needs, Concur or Egencia might be worth considering. If you need flexibility or AI features, TravelPerk or TripActions might be the better fit.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions About Navan

1. What is Navan, and how does it work?

Navan is a comprehensive business travel management platform that streamlines booking, expense tracking, and itinerary management. It consolidates travel-related tasks into one platform, offering real-time budget controls, automated expense reporting, and 24/7 customer support to make business travel easier for companies of all sizes.

2. How much does Navan cost?

Navan uses a flexible pricing model tailored to each business’s travel needs. For small businesses, pricing starts at around $10 per active user per month, while larger organizations with more complex needs may pay between $20-$30 per active user per month. For enterprise-level solutions, custom pricing is typically provided.

3. How is Navan different from other travel management platforms?

Navan stands out for its user-friendly interface, real-time budget controls, and automated expense management. Unlike some other platforms that cater primarily to large enterprises, Navan is scalable for businesses of all sizes and focuses on ease of use, while still offering robust features for more complex travel needs.

4. Does Navan offer a mobile app?

Yes, Navan has a mobile app that allows users to manage travel bookings, itineraries, and expenses on the go. This is especially useful for frequent travelers who need real-time access to their travel plans and expense reports.

5. What kind of customer support does Navan provide?

Navan offers 24/7 customer support, ensuring you can get assistance whenever needed, whether for booking changes, cancellations, or any other travel-related issue.

6. Is Navan suitable for small businesses?

Yes! Navan is designed to be scalable and offers flexible pricing that makes it accessible to small businesses. It’s especially beneficial for companies that want to manage travel efficiently and reduce administrative burdens without needing enterprise-level tools.

7. Can Navan handle international travel?

Absolutely. Navan supports global travel by offering access to international flight, hotel, and car rental options. It also helps companies maintain travel policy compliance across multiple countries and currencies, making it ideal for businesses with global travel needs.

8. How does Navan help control travel expenses?

Navan offers real-time budget controls and allows companies to set travel policies that flag out-of-policy bookings. It also provides cost-saving suggestions and automatically tracks expenses to ensure compliance with your company’s travel budget.

9. Is there a learning curve with Navan?

While the platform is intuitive, there may be a slight learning curve for larger teams or companies with complex travel policies. However, once implemented, most users find it easy to navigate and appreciate the time saved through automation.

10. Can Navan integrate with other business tools?

Yes, Navan integrates with expense management and other enterprise tools, making it easier to sync travel data, streamline reporting, and reduce manual work.