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Apps like Venmo

Venmo makes it easy to send money to friends and family, but alternatives like Cash App and Chime have more perks.

Venmo is one of the most popular peer-to-peer (P2P) apps, boasting over 80 million users to date. Venmo is great for sending money to friends and family. It costs nothing to link your bank account to send cash, and there are no fees for receiving payments. Venmo also offers a teen account and a Venmo Debit Card with no monthly fees.

Despite its strengths, Venmo lacks some features found in other popular P2P apps like Cash App, Chime and PayPal.

6 apps similar to Venmo

Alternative for the most similar

Cash Card by Cash App

Go to site
Fee$0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0

Alternative for an all-in-one app

Chime® Checking Account

Refer a friend to Chime using your referral link, and if they complete a $200 direct deposit within 45 days of opening their new account, you both get $100.
Go to site Read review
Fee$0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0
Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services and debit card provided by The Bancorp Bank N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.
ATMs: Out-of-network ATM withdrawal fees may apply except at MoneyPass ATMs in a 7-Eleven, or any Allpoint or Visa Plus Alliance ATM.
Deposit: Once the retailer accepts your cash, the funds will be transferred to your Chime Checking Account. Cash deposit fees may apply if using a retailer other than Walgreens and Duane Reade.
Mobile Deposit: Mobile Check Deposit eligibility is determined by Chime in its sole discretion and may be granted based on various factors including, but not limited to, a member's direct deposit enrollment status.
Chime Savings Account: Chime Checking Account is required to be eligible for a Savings Account.
APY: The Annual Percentage Yield (“APY”) is variable and may change at any time. The disclosed APY is accurate as of May 22, 2023. No minimum balance required. Must have $0.01 in savings to earn interest.
Get Paid Early: 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.
Credit Builder: The secured Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card is issued by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa credit cards are accepted. Please see the back of your card for its issuing bank. To apply for Credit Builder, you must have received a single qualifying direct deposit of $200 or more to your Checking Account. The qualifying direct deposit must be from your employer, payroll provider, gig economy payer, or benefits payer by Automated Clearing House (ACH) deposit OR Original Credit Transaction (OCT). Bank ACH transfers, Pay Anyone transfers, verification or trial deposits from financial institutions, peer to peer transfers from services such as PayPal, Cash App, or Venmo, mobile check deposits, cash loads or deposits, one-time direct deposits, such as tax refunds and other similar transactions, and any deposit to which Chime deems to not be a qualifying direct deposit are not qualifying direct deposits.
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.

Alternative for cash back debit card

PayPal Debit Card

4.3
★★★★★

Finder score

Go to site Read review
Fee$0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0

Alternative for sending money in other currencies

Revolut

Get a $10 cash reward when you first use you card on a qualifying $1+ transaction. Terms & Conditions apply.
Read review
APYUp to 4.25%
FeeFrom $0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0
Money loaded on your prepaid card is held at Metropolitan Commercial Bank and money in your Savings Vaults is held at Sutton Bank. Money at each bank is FDIC insured up to $250,000 in the event of Metropolitan Commercial Bank's or Sutton Bank's failure.
Securities products are not FDIC Insured, not bank guaranteed and may lose value.

*The Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is a variable rate and may change at any time. These APYs are accurate as of 16 March 2023. Monthly fees apply for Premium and Metal plans. Terms and Conditions Apply. Standard customers can earn up to 3.25%, while Premium and Metal customers can earn up to 4.25%. No minimum amount required. Savings Vault services provided by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC.

Alternative for quick P2P payments

Zelle®

Fee$0 per month

Alternative for Apple users

Apple Pay

Fee$0 per month

How Venmo compares

Venmo is a solid P2P money app if you regularly send small amounts to friends and family. The app is free, it’s free to send payments to users, and it offers the no-fee Venmo Debit Card and the Venmo Visa Credit Card with rewards. But you can only send cash to other Venmo users. And if you need to cash out your Venmo balance immediately, you’ll pay an instant transfer fee of 1.75%, costing a minimum of $0.25 and a maximum of $25.

Pros

  • Free to send and receive P2P payments
  • Teen account
  • Free debit card
  • Credit card with rewards

Cons

  • No international payments
  • Can only send to other Venmo users
  • Instant transfer fee of 1.75%

Frequently asked questions

Does Venmo need your bank account?

Venmo accepts US bank accounts, debit cards, credit cards and some prepaid debit cards.

Can I pay someone on Venmo with a credit card?

Yes, Venmo allows you to make payments with a linked credit card.

Which is better: Cash App or Venmo?

On the Apple App Store, Venmo has a 4.9-star rating from over four million ratings, and Cash App has a 4.8-star rating from over six million ratings as of June 2024. Venmo has 4.2 stars on Google Play out of over 700k ratings, while Cash App has a higher 4.6-star rating out of over three million ratings. In terms of reviews, they’re both highly rated money apps with millions of users, with Cash App raking in millions more downloads and ratings. Both also use Plaid to link to existing bank accounts.

Cash App is better for investing or savings, as Venmo doesn’t have an investing platform or savings account. However, Venmo offers a rewards credit card, and it has a social feed where you can view friends’ transactions.

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To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Holly Jennings as part of our fact-checking process.
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Written by

Editor, Banking

Bethany Hickey is the banking editor and personal finance expert 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. See full bio

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