SoLo Funds is a peer-to-peer (P2P) cash advance app. It offers borrowing and lending options, and anyone who has a membership can lend or borrow from other members.
Like other cash advance apps, SoLo Funds offers loans with no interest, and there are no membership fees. Loan amounts range from $20 to $575 — higher than most of its cash advance app competitors. It also reports payments to the credit bureaus to help with credit building.
But it’s not perfect. The few SoLo Fund customer reviews out there are mixed, and loan terms are capped at 35 days. And if you need a lot of cash immediately, keep in mind your first loan amount is limited to $100.
Here are some great alternatives to the SoLo Funds app, highlighting different needs like longer repayment terms, larger amounts or when you need instant delivery.
Chime SpotMe has a free, optional overdraft feature that's attached to Chime's checking account. Unlike Solo Funds, it's not a loan. Rather, it's a way for Chime users to avoid overdraft fees if they overspend on their Chime debit card. Limits start at $20 and may increase up to $200, depending on your direct deposit activity and other factors.
To be eligible for SpotMe, you need to have at least $200 in qualifying deposits direct deposited into your Chime checking account each month. To activate the feature, go into your Chime app settings and switch on the Overdraft fee-free option. Your SpotMe overdraft limit will be listed underneath this option.
Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC. Direct deposit: Early access to direct deposit funds depends on the timing of the submission of the payment file from the payer. We generally make these funds available on the day the payment file is received, which may be up to 2 days earlier than the scheduled payment date. SpotMe: Chime SpotMe is an optional, no fee service that requires a single deposit of $200 or more in qualifying direct deposits to the Chime Checking Account each at least once every 34 days. All qualifying members will be allowed to overdraw their account up to $20 on debit card purchases and cash withdrawals initially, but may be later eligible for a higher limit of up to $200 or more based on member’s Chime Account history, direct deposit frequency and amount, spending activity and other risk-based factors. Your limit will be displayed to you within the Chime mobile app. You will receive notice of any changes to your limit. Your limit may change at any time, at Chime’s discretion. Although there are no overdraft fees, there may be out-of-network or third party fees associated with ATM transactions. SpotMe won’t cover non-debit card transactions, including ACH transfers, Pay Anyone transfers, or Chime Checkbook transactions. See Terms and Conditions.
Pros
Get other Chime users to send you boosts to increase your SpotMe limit
Cleo is a financial and cash advance app that makes it easier to track your money and save more. It comes in a free and paid version. The free version offers a range of features that allow you to track your spending and bills, autosave and ask questions about your finances in natural language text.
Its paid version, called Cleo Plus, includes everything the free version has plus cash advances through the app, overdraft protection and spending rewards, aka cashback, to your Cleo wallet. Cleo also has a credit builder program with a secured Visa card, but this program costs extra. While you can potentially borrow more through SoLo funds, Cleo offers more financial services and tools.
Available in all states
Pros
Ask questions about your finances
No interest charged on cash advances
Support available with free version
Cons
Paid plan costs $5.99 a month
Same-day transfers cost $3.99
Mixed customer reviews
Loan amount
Up to $250
Loan Term
Varies
Turnaround time
3 to 4 days standard transfer. Same day with $3.99 express fee.
Loan amount
$20 - $250
Turnaround time
3 to 4 days standard transfer. Same day with $3.99 express fee.
You don't need to have Albert's paid membership to access cash advances, similar to SoloFunds. Albert does have a lower cash advance max amount of $250, but repayment is due on your next paycheck date, so repayment may be a little easier with Albert since it aligns with your pay schedule. The longest term allowed with SoloFunds is 15 days after the loan is issued. Albert also doesn't charge any late fees, even if you miss a payment. With SoloFunds, there's a late fee of 15% of the principal amount plus $5 if you miss the repayment date.
However, Albert doesn't have the best reviews, with most complaints revolving around the inconvenience of being automatically signed up for the paid membership free trial with account creation. There's also no customer service phone number, so resolving issues isn't the easiest according to past users.
Brigit is a financial wellness app that offers free advances on your next paycheck within 20 minutes of the request — if you're already a member and have a linked debit card. Sign up to have advances sent to your account if you're in danger of overdrafting.
The Brigit app is free to use, which includes budgeting and monitoring features. But you must have the Plus plan at $8.99 a month to access cash advances. You're only permitted to borrow up to $250 in each pay period, and Brigit doesn't accept joint checking accounts. And unlike SoLo Funds, it doesn't report cash advance repayments to the credit bureaus — though it offers a separate credit builder product that does.
If the typical $500 max borrow amount from a cash app won't cut it, then a personal loan from Upstart might. Upstart offers loans from $1,000 to $50,000, with rates ranging from 7.8% to 35.99%. There's no minimum credit score required — though most borrowers are in the 600 range. Upstart puts more weight on factors like your education, income and work history than your credit.
Upstart is available in all states, has no prepayment penalties and transfer time is typically within one business day. Its customer reviews are also very positive.
However, you may have to pay an origination fee as high as 12% of the loan amount. And unlike SoLo Funds or other cash advance apps, you'll have to pay interest charges and lock into a repayment term between three and five years.
OppLoans offers bad credit personal loans with no credit check, and unlike Solo Funds, you can potentially take up to 9 to 18 months to pay your loan back in most states. It also offers higher loan amounts than Solo Funds – up to $4,000 if you qualify.
But unlike Solo Funds and cash advance apps, it charges interest on its loans. APRs can hit up to 179% with OppLoans, but on the plus side it offers same-day funding if your loan is approved before 12 p.m. CT. It also reports your payments to the three major credit bureaus to help improve your credit score.
Not available in: Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia
Cash App — backed by Square — is well-known for its peer-to-peer payment system, allowing you to send money to friends and family easily, but it also has a myriad of other banking features. You send and receive money for free within the app, get discounts with Cash App Pay, invest in crypto and stocks, and possibly borrow small loans up to $200.
Cash App's Borrow feature is still in its early stages, but qualified users may be able to borrow $20 to $200 with 5% interest, with four week terms. SoloFunds' terms max out at 15 days. However, the Borrow feature isn't widespread just yet — eligibility requirements aren't completely clear, but you'll likely need to be an active user, have good credit and have a qualifying bank account. And there are late fees if you miss a payment — 1.25% per week until you repay the loan.
Dave is a great alternative to SoLo Funds and is cheaper compared to other apps, with its basic monthly membership only costing $1. Like SoLo Funds, Dave has an optional tip feature instead of charging interest fees on advances. Its ExtraCash feature offers cash advances up to $500 with no interest or credit check — and no late fees. While SoLo Funds also doesn't require a monthly fee, it does have high late fees.
Dave's funding has two delivery speeds: the free standard and express. Standard delivery sends money within three business days whereas express delivery is within eight hours for a fee from $1.99 to $11.99 — depending on where the money is going and the amount you request.
Possible Finance offers short-term installment loans with amounts up to $500 with two-month terms, which you repay in four equal installments. SoLo Funds has a shorter maximum term of only 35 days, despite the slightly higher advance amount.
Possible Finance's rates vary by state, but it's much more expensive than SoLo Funds — expect to pay around $15 to $20 per $100 borrowed. If you want to repay the loan early, there are no prepayment penalties, but Possible Finance doesn't accept partial payments. Like SoLo Funds, Possible Finance reports repayments to credit bureaus, so you may see an increase in your credit score if you repay on time.
Available in: Alabama, California, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington
Pros
Longer term than SoLo Funds
Reports payments to credit bureaus
No prepayment penalties
Payment dates depend on pay schedule
Cons
High mandatory fees
Doesn't accept partial payments
Lower max amount than SoLo funds
Loan amount
$50 - $500
Interest rate type
Fixed
Loan Term
2 to 8 weeks
Turnaround time
As fast as 1 business day
Loan amount
$50 - $500
Turnaround time
As fast as 1 business day
Alternative for more investing opportunities: MoneyLion
MoneyLion offers 0% APR cash advances up to $500 — in addition to a wide range of other features, including an investment account. How much you can borrow with the cash advance depends on your account activity and income. MoneyLion's additional products work synergistically with the cash advance: If you use other MoneyLion products, you could increase your advance amount as high as $1,000.
However, you likely won't qualify for the maximum amount the first time you borrow. MoneyLion states that it can take about three to eight weeks to become eligible for the maximum advance. And your borrowing limit is 30% of your recurring direct deposit schedule.
When you first start out with SoLo Funds, you're eligible for a cash advance up to $100 right away.
Available in: Alabama, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Pros
Cash advances up to $1,000
Multiple finance features, including investing
Overdraft protection
Cons
Must have eligible account and direct deposit
Takes weeks to unlock higher amounts
Loan amount
Up to $500 or $1,000 with RoarMoney account
Loan Term
Due by your next pay date
Turnaround time
Up to 5 days or instant for a fee of $0.49 to $8.99
Loan amount
$50 - $500
Turnaround time
Up to 5 days or instant for a fee of $0.49 to $8.99
How SoLo Funds compares
SoLo Funds is a solid P2P lending platform, with a high lending amount compared to other cash borrowing apps. Other cash apps such as Dave, Earnin and Possible allow you to borrow up to $500, and others like Vola only allow you to borrow up to $300.
SoLo Funds is one of the few that reports payments to the credit bureaus so you can build or improve your credit, though many other apps offer credit-building features separately.
There’s an optional feature to tip from 0% to 15% of your amount, and a voluntary donation that goes to SoLo Funds investors and a nonprofit. Like other cash apps, the tipping option gives lenders incentive to fund your loan. There are late fees, and if you don’t repay the loan within the term, you owe a late fee of 10% of your principal on the 35th day after the loan originated.
Bethany Hickey is a personal finance writer at Finder, specializing in banking, lending, insurance, and crypto.
Bethany’s expertise in personal finance has garnered recognition from esteemed media outlets, such as Nasdaq, MSN, Yahoo Finance, GOBankingRates, SuperMoney, AOL and Newsweek. Her articles offer practical financial strategies to Americans, empowering them to make decisions that meet their financial goals. Her past work includes articles on generational spending and saving habits, lending, budgeting and managing debt.
Before joining Finder, she was a content manager where she wrote hundreds of articles and news pieces on auto financing and credit repair for CarsDirect, Auto Credit Express and The Car Connection, among others.
Bethany holds a BA in English from the University of Michigan-Flint, and was poetry editor for the university’s Qua Literary and Fine Arts Magazine.
How likely would you be to recommend finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Advertiser Disclosure
finder.com is an independent comparison platform and information service that aims to provide you with the tools you need to make better decisions. While we are independent, the offers that appear on this site are from companies from which finder.com receives compensation. We may receive compensation from our partners for placement of their products or services. We may also receive compensation if you click on certain links posted on our site. While compensation arrangements may affect the order, position or placement of product information, it doesn't influence our assessment of those products. Please don't interpret the order in which products appear on our Site as any endorsement or recommendation from us. finder.com compares a wide range of products, providers and services but we don't provide information on all available products, providers or services. Please appreciate that there may be other options available to you than the products, providers or services covered by our service.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
