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Loans like Advance America

Compare more lenders that offer payday and installment loans – with potentially lower APRs.

Advance America has been around for more than 25 years, with thousands of stores nationwide. It has a fast online application with an advertised instant approval decision. Advance America offers multiple borrowing products, including payday loans, installment loans, title loans and even lines of credit.

While many people turn to it for short-term loans, it charges high rates that can exceed 700% APR.

If you need a short-term loan, personal loan or just a little something to get through your next paycheck, we’ve gathered ten alternative lenders similar to Advance America to help you avoid those high APRs and risky lending options.

10 lenders like Advance America

Alternative for credit building

Cleo

8.2 Great

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Cleo offers three levels of service. For free, members can request a cash advance through customer support, and qualify for $20 to $70 advances at first, eventually qualifying for up to $250 in advances. Advances are easier to request through the app if you pay the $5.99 monthly subscription fee, which also comes with personal financial management tools.

If you're willing to pay $14.99 per month, you can access credit builder tools, which includes a secured credit card, early access to your paycheck and up to $500 in emergency cash advance if you set up direct deposits. And Cleo reports to all three credit bureaus, which can help you build credit if you keep up on your payments.

Loan amount$20 - $250
Turnaround time3 to 4 days or instant for a fee.
Costs$5.99 monthly membership fee to access cash advances
  • Available in all states

Alternative for larger daily amounts

EarnIn

9.5 Excellent

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EarnIn is a cash advance app that lets you borrow up to $750 of your earned wages before payday with its Cash Out feature. This borrowing limit is significantly higher than most cash advance apps, and unlike payday loans, there's no interest or financing fees to use Cash Outs.

To qualify for EarnIn Cash Outs, you need to be employed, have regular direct deposits and earn a minimum of $320 each pay period. You can transfer $150 a day to a linked bank account or more than $150 per day to an EarnIn card. Regular transfers are available in one to three business days or in minutes for a fee.

Loan amountUp to $750
Turnaround time1 to 3 business days or within minutes for a fee starting at $2.99 per transfer
CostsFree to use or within minutes with a fee as low as $2.99 per transfer
  • Not available in: Connecticut

Alternative for no instant delivery

Albert

8.8 Great

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Albert is a banking app that offers cash advances up to $250. What sets it apart from other cash advance apps is the quick delivery option and no membership requirement. For a small fee of $6, you can get instant delivery of your cash advance. While you don't need the paid membership to access the cash advances, new users are automatically enrolled in the paid plan and have 30 days to cancel their membership before being charged.

If you decide to stick with the paid membership called Genius, it's $96 per year and you can get instant delivery of your advances for free. However, Albert doesn't have the best reputation on review platforms, with many customers complaining that it was difficult to cancel their Genius enrollment. Customer support appears to be lacking — they don't have a customer service phone line.

Loan amount$25 - $250
Turnaround timeInstant
Costs$11.99 monthly subscription to access overdraft protection
  • Available in all states

Alternative for payment flexibility

Brigit

8.4 Great

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Brigit offers cash advances up to $250 per pay period for a monthly $8.99 to $14.99 monthly membership fee fee. And if your bank balance is low, it offers free repayment extensions on advances and in-app alerts to let you know if you're at risk of overdraft – or you can set it to transfer funds to your account automatically.

To extend your due date, go into the app and choose another repayment date. But to get an extension, you need to have at least two prior consecutive on-time payments. And while its advance limits are lower than some apps, Brigit's monthly fee includes a credit builder program and up to $1 million in identity theft protection.

Loan amount$50 - $250
Turnaround time1 to 3 business days or instant with a Premium subscription or for a fee.
CostsBrigit Plus: $8.99/month; Brigit Premium: $14.99/month
  • Available in all states

Alternative for fair credit personal loans

Avant personal loans

6.9 Standard

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If you need more than a couple hundred dollars and have fair credit, consider Avant. It offers personal loans up to $35,000 with APRs starting at 9.95%. The minimum credit score requirement is only 550, and it also accepts self-employment income. You can prequalify with a soft credit check as well.

However, you'll pay an administrative fee up to 9.99% when you take out the loan. And in 2021, Avant ran into trouble with regulators and had to pay $1.6 million over its debt collection practices. There are also over 1004 customer complaints on its BBB profile.

Min. credit score550
APR9.95% to 35.99%
Loan amount$2,000 to $35,000
  • Not available in: Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Virginia, West Virginia

Alternative for bad credit personal loans

OneMain Financial personal loans

6.8 Standard

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OneMain Financial doesn't have any set credit score requirements, making it an option for borrowers with steady income and rocky credit histories. Rates are high for a personal lender, starting at 18% APR, but that's still lower than Advance America. There is an origination fee of 1% to 10%, deducted from your loan amount, which can be up to $20,000.

OneMain also offers secured and unsecured personal loans, so if you want a chance at a lower rate, you can secure your loan with a qualifying asset. It's available in most states, has over 1,000 physical branches across 44 states and offers same-day turnaround.

Min. credit scoreNot specified
APR18% to 35.99%
Loan amount$1,500 to $20,000
  • Not available in: Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont

Alternative for multiple money needs

Cash App

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Cash App is a top-ranking app in app stores, and for good reason. It has a simple peer-to-peer (P2P) payment system, multiple banking features, investing options, and its newest feature is Cash App Borrow. Qualifying users can borrow from $20 to $200 within the app, but there is a 5% interest rate and must be repaid within four weeks.

However, the Borrow feature is in its pilot phase, so not everyone will have access and eligibility is not clear just yet. According to Cash App representatives, it's limited in state availability, the most active users may have better odds of getting access and you need a certain credit score to qualify.

Loan amount$20 - $200
Turnaround timeSame day
Costs5% flat fee
  • Available in all states

Alternative for debt consolidation

Tally+ Express Line of Credit

7.4 Great

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Tally calls itself a debt-fighting app, and it offers a line of credit specifically tailored for credit card debt consolidation. The line of credit is up to $20,000, which Tally can send directly to your creditors. There are no prepayment penalties or origination fees.

There are three Tally membership tiers, but you don't need a paid membership to get the line of credit. However, the paid membership Tally+ offers rate discounts and possibly access to a larger line of credit — if you're willing to shell out $300 per year. Alongside the line of credit, Tally also offers credit card management features and late fee protection to help you stay out of debt.

Min. credit score660
APR7.90% to 29.99%
Loan amount$2,000 to $20,000
  • Available in: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin

Alternative for large paycheck advances

MoneyLion Instacash advances

9 Excellent

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MoneyLion is a finance app that can offer large paycheck advances through its Instacash product — from $50 to $500 when you link a qualifying checking account. There's no membership requirement to borrow the base amount, no interest and no credit check. If you sign up for the paid membership RoarMoney, you may be able to borrow up to $1,000 or 80% of your paycheck. MoneyLion also allows multiple advances with no cooldown period, as long as you have the income history to show you can repay it.

Without the paid membership, advance funding may take up to five days. With RoarMoney, funding can be as soon as 24 hours. However, MoneyLion has run into some trouble with regulars and was sued in late 2022 by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) for overcharging service members and has thousands of complaints on its Better Business Bureau (BBB) profile.

Loan amount$50 - $500
Turnaround timeUp to 5 days or instant for a fee of $0.49 to $8.99
CostsFree
  • 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

Alternative for installment loans

Possible Finance Mobile Installment Loans

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Possible Finance is an app that lets you borrow short-term installment loans up to $500. Terms are very short, only lasting up to two months, and funding can be as soon as one business day. Rates vary by state but plan on paying around $15 to $20 per $100 borrowed, which can work out to APRs as high as 460%.

There's no credit check, repayments align with your pay schedule and Possible Finance gets decent customer reviews. However, Possible Finance has limited state availability — it's only available in 18 states. With rates as high as 460%, it's also a high-cost loan.

Loan amount$50 - $500
Turnaround timeAs fast as 1 business day
  • 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

How does Advance America compare?

Advance America offers fast, online payday advances, installment loans, title loans and lines of credit. However, all these lending options are considered risky, especially compared to traditional personal loans. Its high APRs aren’t very attractive, either, and it has limited state availability.
Advance America charges high interest rates and may be more pricey than other options like personal loans and cash apps. To learn more about this lender, read our Advance America review.

Pros

  • Payday loans as small as $50
  • In business for over 25 years
  • Offers online title loans in some states
  • Online calculator breaks down loan costs

Cons

  • APRs run high
  • Faced previous lawsuits
  • Not available in all states
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To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Holly Jennings and reviewed by Anna Serio, a member of Finder's Editorial Review Board.
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Banking editor

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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