Earnin offers a quick way to get an advance on your next paycheck without completing an application or paying fixed fees. Instead, you download the app, connect it to your bank account and get an advance of up to $100 a day, up to $500 a pay period. App Store customers give it a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars and it scores a 4.5 out of 5 stars on Google Play, as of May 2021.
While its basic service can be cheaper than a payday loan, Earnin isn’t for everyone. You must receive direct deposit from your employer for the app to work. These apps are similar to Earnin, but might offer for stronger perks, faster turnaround or better meet your needs in general.
Our 6 top picks for apps like Earnin
- If you want automatic advances: Brigit
- If you want to boost your credit: Possible
- If you want to avoid fees: Dave
- If you’re a frequent borrower: Vola Finance
- If you want to keep track of your finances: MoneyLion
- If you want zero-interest cash advances: Even
For automatic advances
Brigit is designed to help you avoid overdraft fees on your checking account. It's a no-frills app that does one thing: Gives you access to a pay advance when you're in danger of overdrawing your account. Brigit offers up to $250 per pay cycle with no interest or fees if you have an unexpected expense pop up. And while it takes up to two business days for a normal advance, Brigit can also monitor your bank account and automatically send an advance if you're at risk of an overdraft.
Pros
- Helps avoid overdrafts
- No-interest cash advance
Cons
- $9.99 monthly subscription fee
- No additional financial tools
| Loan amount | Up to $250 |
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| Interest rate type | Fixed |
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| Loan Term | Varies |
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| Turnaround time | Same business day to 2 business days |
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| Loan amount | Up to $250 |
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| Turnaround time | Same business day to 2 business days |
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Go to site
on Brigit's secure site
For boosting your credit
Possible Finance Mobile Installment Loans
Possible Finance technically provides short-term loans — which means you can expect to pay anywhere from $15 to $20 when you take out an advance. But unlike Earnin and other pay advance apps, it reports your payments to the three major credit bureaus to help you build your credit score. It also has same-day funding available if you have a Visa debit card. So while it may be on the pricey end for borrowers who need frequent advances, it can be a useful tool if you want to avoid more expensive installment loan options.
- Available in: California, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington
Pros
- Borrow up to $500
- Same-day funding available
- Helps build credit
Cons
- High fees
- Only available in seven states
- Must meet income requirement
| Loan amount | Up to $500 |
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| Interest rate type | Fixed |
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| Loan Term | Up to 2 months |
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| Turnaround time | As fast as 1 business day |
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| Loan amount | Up to $500 |
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| Turnaround time | As fast as 1 business day |
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Go to site
on Possible Finance's secure site
For avoiding fees
Dave is a banking app that also offers no-interest loans designed to help you avoid overdraft fees. It's a good choice if you're struggling to stick to a budget: Dave notifies you when you're about to run out of funds, anticipating regular expenses like rent and utilities. Its advances are only for $100 or less, however, and there is a minimal monthly membership fee of $1.
Pros
- Helps develop healthy spending habits
- No interest
Cons
- Limited advance amount of $100
- Turnaround up to three days
| Loan amount | Up to $100 |
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| Interest rate type | Fixed |
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| Loan Term | Varies |
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| Turnaround time | Same business day to 3 business days |
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| Loan amount | Up to $100 |
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| Turnaround time | Same business day to 3 business days |
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Read review
For frequent borrowers
Unlike Earnin, Vola Finance requires you to have a paid membership to qualify for an advance. While not the most expensive membership option out there — Vola's basic tier starts at $4.99 — it may be expensive if you don't need frequent help. However, Vola is more than just a pay advance app. It monitors your finances and helps you avoid overdraft fees. And you won't need to work regular hours, either. As long as you maintain an average account balance over $150, you may qualify for an advance.
Pros
- Tools to manage finances
- No regular work hours required
- Notifications for low account balance
Cons
- Membership tiers aren't transparent
- Minimum $150 average balance required
- Lower maximum advance
| Loan amount | Up to $300 |
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| Interest rate type | Fixed |
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| Loan Term | Varies |
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| Turnaround time | As early as same business day |
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| Loan amount | Up to $300 |
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| Turnaround time | As early as same business day |
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Read review
For keeping track of finances
MoneyLion Instacash advances
MoneyLion is an all-around personal finance app that also happens to also offer small-dollar loans. It goes far beyond Earnin, offering a no-fee checking account, 0% APR cash advances, credit monitoring and even credit-builder loans of up to $500 starting at 5.99% APR. But to access its an Instacash Advance, cashback rewards and weekly credit score updates, you must be a Plus member. This comes with a $2.99 monthly fee, plus a $50 deposit into an investment account.
Pros
- Multiple financing options
- No interest
- Easily track financial health
Cons
- Requires MoneyLion checking account
- Must sign up for Credit Builder Plus account
- Advances limited to $250 per pay period
| Loan amount | Up to $250 |
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| Interest rate type | Fixed |
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| Loan Term | Varies |
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| Turnaround time | As early as same business day |
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| Loan amount | Up to $250 |
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| Turnaround time | As early as same business day |
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Read review
For zero-interest cash advances
Even is a budgeting app that also offers a free advance on wages you've already earned through its Instapay feature. On top of this, Even helps you stick to a budget by alerting you about upcoming bills and how much you need for them. There is a monthly $2.99 fee to access its basic budgeting and saving tools. To become a Plus member and access Instapay, you must work for an employer that offers it as a benefit. But, like Earnin, advances are limited to the hours you've already worked.
Pros
- Instant funding available through Walmart
- Helps you stay on top of bills
Cons
- Available through select employers
- Plus membership required
- Advance limited to wages you've already earned
| Loan amount | Up to 50% of earned wages |
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| Interest rate type | Fixed |
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| Loan Term | Varies |
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| Turnaround time | Same business day to 1 business days |
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| Loan amount | Up to 50% of earned wages |
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| Turnaround time | Same business day to 1 business days |
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Read review
Our methodology: How we chose these apps
When choosing these pay advance apps, we considered each product’s fees, turnaround time, terms, financing options and perks. We also looked at customer reviews on sites such as the Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot to find out what was most important to them.
Employer-sponsored pay-advance apps
Some companies have started to offer employees an option to withdraw from the wages they’ve already earned before their paycheck is due. Typically, employers offer this as a benefit by signing on as a partner with an app that charges a monthly membership fee for its services. Some companies cover this fee, while others pass it on to their employees.
Pay-advance apps are more common for hourly employees in industries like retail and fast food, especially at big chains like Walmart and McDonald’s. Some companies that employ a lot of employees who rely on short-term loans have started to offer these advances as a benefit to attract more potential job applicants.
PayActiv
Calling itself a holistic financial wellness platform, PayActiv offers instant access to up to 50% of your earned wages with no interest to cover an emergency expense. You can also use the app to pay your bills, send money between bank accounts, set up savings goals and even score discounts on some prescription drugs. Rather than a monthly membership fee, it charges a one-time fee of $0 to $5 each time you use its pay-advance service.
PayActiv currently partners with businesses in:
- Health care
- Human resources
- Education
- Senior care
- Retail
- Restaurant
- Manufacturing
- Nonprofit
- Telemarketing
DailyPay
Employers can offer DailyPay as an HR tech benefit to give employees access to their pay as it’s earned. Each hour you work is added to your advance credit, which you can draw from for a small fee, typically $2.99 for instant funding or $1.25 for next-day funding. When payday rolls around, DailyPay automatically deducts your advance from your bank account.
It currently partners with companies in the following industries:
- Quick service restaurant
- Transportation
- Hospitality
- Housekeeping
- Health care
- Restaurant
- Hotel
- Retail
- Telemarketing
- Finance
- Amusement park
FlexWage
The FlexWage app gives you access to your earned wages by directly deducting them from your employer’s bank account for a $5 transfer fee. That way, you won’t have to make any repayments and there’s no interest charge. On top of this, FlexWage also issues a payroll card attached to a checking account that your employer can use to directly deposit your paycheck for faster access to your wages.
Unlike many other pay apps, FlexWage is tight-lipped about the businesses it partners with. Employers can find out if it’s a good fit for their business by reaching out to its sales team through an online form.
How else can I get cash fast?
Pay advance apps can’t help every borrower in every situation. You might also want to look into these alternatives:
- Alternative short-term lenders. Providers like LendUp offer short-term loans at a lower cost than payday lenders, with a chance to build your credit. These can still be more expensive than a personal loan, however.
- CDFI Loans. Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) are typically local banks or credit unions that can offer small-dollar short-term loans at a lower cost than payday lenders. These might have a longer turnaround but can be one of the cheapest options.
- Credit card cash advance. If you already have a credit card, you can withdraw a cash advance from an ATM in an emergency. Check your card’s cash advance rates first and have a plan to pay it off to avoid paying more than you need in interest.
- Installment loans. When you need more than you earned this month, installment loan providers typically offer loans from $1,000 to $10,000 — though they can be more costly than a pay advance app.
- Payday loans. When you’ve exhausted all other options, payday lenders can get you cash as soon as the same day. Make sure you work with a legit lender and compare providers to get the most affordable loan.
Compare our picks for the best payday loans and alternatives to explore more options.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to questions you might have when you’re looking for an alternative to Earnin.
Can a pay advance improve my credit score?
Probably not. A pay advance technically doesn’t count as a loan, so the app you use won’t report on-time payments to the credit bureaus. If you’re interested in building your credit score, you might want to look into the MoneyLion app’s credit-builder loans.
Do I need to have good credit to qualify?
Generally, no. In fact, many of these apps don’t check your credit rating at all, instead looking at your past few paychecks.
I don’t get paid through direct deposit. Are there any pay-advance apps I can use?
You’ll likely have more luck with an employer-sponsored app. Ask your HR department if it offers pay-advance benefits. If not, you might want to suggest that your company partner with one — there’s a chance other employees could benefit too.
I have some money that I don’t want to spend in next couple of months;I needed someone who is in need of a loan to take this money and who is willing to pay back in 5months time
Hi Codredo,
Thanks for contacting Finder.
It might interest you to invest in peer-to-peer lending. This type of lending involves borrowing money from individual investors. Here are the requirements for some prominent P2P lenders:
– SocietyOne: Need to be a sophisticated investor
– RateSetter: Individuals over the age of 18 can lend from just $10
– MoneyPlace: Currently need to be a wholesale or institutional investor, but retail investors are coming soon
– Harmoney: Currently only sophisticated investors can apply, opening to retail investors soon
– Marketlend: Open to retail investors
Hope this helps.
Kind Regards,
Faye
Payday advance when receiving disability
Hi Miriam,
Thanks for getting in touch! At this time the payday apps are unable to pay out earnings from Social Security, Disability, or other government benefits.
You may check this page out again from time to time to see any updates.
Hope this helps!
Best,
Nikki
I have been turned down for every loan I apply for.
Hi Van,
Thank you for your comment.
I am sorry to hear about your applications being turned down. If this happens, it’s often because the lender found something that didn’t meet their criteria when they did a full search of your information. You may be able to find out what it is by asking the lender.
Additionally, please take a look at our page on how to improve your chances of approval. Hope this helps.
Regards,
Jhezelyn
Where and how can I acquire $700-$1,400 in the next 48 hours for May’s and June’s rent?
Hi Raj,
Thank you for reaching out.
For fast approval loans, you can refer to our article Compare personal loans with fast approval. These lenders can get you funds the same day you apply. You can filter your search by choosing your credit score and your state and click “Show Me My Personalized Options” and compare from there. You can click Go To Site or Enquire Now button to be redirected to the lender’s page where you can apply.
Hope this helps! 😊
Kind Regards,
Mai