Assessment
Cledara gives each software subscription its own virtual card, so every tool has an owner, an approval and a budget. It finds tools already paid for, flags renewals and unused seats, and syncs the spend to the accounting system. Use it when SaaS bills sit on a shared card or on employees' expenses and nobody can say what the company pays for.
Cledara was founded in London, England, in 2018 by Cristina Vila Vives and has offices in New York and Barcelona. It raised a $20M Series A led by CommerzVentures in 2022 and says it has more than 1,000 customers in 32 countries. Its cards are issued by Modulr in the UK and Europe and by CBW Bank in the US.
It fits a company with dozens or hundreds of software tools and a finance team that wants control. It is a weaker fit for a business that needs a full bank account or cards for travel and general spending.
Rating by criterion
Each of the eight criteria below is scored out of 100.
Sector criteria
Cledara is not a bank account. Money is loaded to pay for software, and the cards are issued by Modulr, an e-money institution, or CBW Bank in the US. Keep the main business account elsewhere.
Each subscription gets its own virtual card with a limit, an owner and approvals, and a card can be frozen to cancel a tool cleanly. Cards are for software spend, not general expenses.
Cledara finds existing SaaS spend, tracks renewals and unused licences and captures invoices for each charge. It is built for finance and IT, not for payroll or bills.
It syncs spend and invoices to accounting systems, including NetSuite, and connects to other tools to show who uses what. Check the connection for your own stack.
Vendor criteria
The product has added spend optimisation and software discovery on top of cards. Ask how renewal negotiation support works on the higher plans.
Sign-up is online, and Cledara helps move existing subscriptions onto its cards. Plan time to update the payment details with each vendor.
Plans are published: Basic ~$75 a month, Premium ~$200 a month and Pro from ~$500 a month, with a ~$150 a month spend optimisation add-on. FX and card fees should be checked on the pricing page.
Plans are monthly or annual. Ask about any minimum term on the Pro plan and how card details are handed back if you leave.
Against its peers
These are the other companies in business banking and treasury, with their ratings.
Fact file
| Customers | More than 1,000 in 32 countries, according to Cledara |
|---|---|
| Card issuers | Modulr FS (FCA 900573) and Modulr Finance B.V.; CBW Bank in the US |
| Plans | ~$75, ~$200 and from ~$500 a month |
| Series A, 2022 | $20M led by CommerzVentures |
| Offices | London, New York and Barcelona |
Competitive landscape
Spend management tools a finance team would compare with Cledara.
Cledara: 77
Key leadership
Cristina Vila Vives founded Cledara in 2018 and is chief executive, after nine years at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Brad van Leeuwen joined as co-founder in 2020 and is chief operating officer.
How this review was created
This profile gives our own assessment of Cledara to companies selecting a Business banking & treasury provider. The Fintech Index receives nothing for featuring a firm, for sponsorship, or for advertising, and Cledara gave us no payment for the profile.
The rating equals the average of eight criteria, with every criterion running from 0 to 100. Four address buyer needs in this sector, and four address the company together with its commercial terms.
Ratings are our editorial judgment, made from public information: pricing and legal pages, product documentation, compliance disclosures, and filings. Fact-checking took place on October 23, 2026.