Earnin is a popular fintech app designed to give you early access to your paycheck without a high-interest payday loan. Other features include low balance alerts and the chance to win free cash when you put money into savings. But Earnin isn’t the only app of its kind.
In this article, I’ll cover 16 other apps that provide similar features to Earnin.
Let’s first take a look at Earnin to see how it works.
Table of Contents
How Earnin Works
Before diving into the best Earnin alternatives, let’s first take a look at the Earnin app features:
- Cash Out: Receive up to $500 of your paycheck each pay period before payday.
- Balance Shield: Get alerts when you have a low bank account balance. You can use the Cash Out feature to fund your bank account.
- WeWin: Get a ticket for every $10 your deposit into a free FDIC-insured account to win money.
- Earnin Express: Your paycheck can deposit up to two days earlier than your current checking account.
This platform is currently fee-free and doesn’t charge interest for any service. You can leave optional tips to help pay their operating expenses. Your initial cash advance limit is $100. However, this threshold can increase once you establish a consistent income history and complete a minimum number of monthly activities (i.e., debit card transactions, minimum deposit thresholds, etc.). Other platforms have similar policies that incrementally increase your advance limit.
Best Apps Like Earnin
Possible Finance
Possible Finance is an option but you will pay interest charges on your payday loan. However, it’s worth considering if you have bad credit and earn at least $750 in monthly direct deposits. The platform states its cash advance fees are between 150% and 200% APR.
You won’t pay a fixed monthly charge like some platforms charge. So, it can be better for a one-off loan. This service also doesn’t provide banking accounts or debit cards you may need to enroll in first before qualifying for an advance.
Possible is temporarily only able to give out loans in the following states: CA, ID, LA, OH, WA, UT, AL, DE, IA, FL, IN, KS, KT, MI, MS, MO, OK, RI, SC, TN, TX. (we will update this when this changes)
- Cash Advance Limit: $500
- Interest Fee: 150-200%
- Monthly Cost: Varies
Learn more about Possible Finance
Chime
Chime is an online financial technology company offering a checking account and a savings account. You won’t get a cash advance but can enjoy several perks without paying a service fee:
- Overdraft protection up to $200*
- 60,000+ fee-free ATMs~
- Automatic savings
- Get paid up to 2 days early with Direct Deposit^
- Cash Advance Limit: N/A
- Interest Fee: N/A
- Monthly Cost: $0.
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. The Chime Visa® Debit Card is issued by The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. Please see back of your Card for its issuing bank.
^Early access to direct deposit funds depends on payer.
˜Out-of-network ATM withdrawal fees may apply except at MoneyPass ATMs in a 7-Eleven location, or any Allpoint or Visa Plus Alliance ATM.
*Eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply.
Need to borrow money quickly and cheaply?
Monevo is a marketplace where you can find a low-cost personal loan in just 60 seconds. Enter in how much you need (as little as $1,000 and as much as $100,000) along with your personal details and you’ll get an answer in just a few minutes.
Checking will NOT affect your credit score.
Current
Current Bank can be a great option if you want an online checking account with budgeting tools. A free monthly account lets you get a debit card for purchases, 40,000+ fee-free ATMs, one budgeting category, and one savings pod account. The free plan doesn’t let you get your paycheck up to two days early. You must upgrade to the Premium Account ($4.99/month) for these perks:
- Receive direct deposits up to two days early
- Unlimited budgets by spending category
- Up to three savings pods
- Immediate release of gas station holds
- Overdraft protection
Unfortunately, this service doesn’t offer cash advances. But you can qualify for overdraft protection of up to $100 which can be an excellent alternative.
- Cash Advance Limit: N/A
- Interest Fee: N/A
- Monthly Cost: $0 or $4.99 ($36/year for teen accounts)
Varo
The Varo Money platform offers free online banking and up to $100 in cash advances. The advance limit is lower than several platforms but can help you in a pinch. While cash advances are fee-free, you pay a maximum $5 fee. Advances of $20 or less are free. Other reasons to consider this service include:
- Earn up to 15% back on debit card purchases
- 55,000+ fee-free ATMs
- Receive direct deposits up to two days early
- High-interest savings account
- Free secured credit card
There are no monthly service fees.
- Cash Advance Limit: $100
- Interest Fee: $0 to $5
- Monthly Cost: $0
Empower
Empower provides online banking services including:
- Cash advances up to $250
- Paycheck deposits up to two days early
- Up to 10% cashback on debit card purchases
- Unlimited withdrawals from over 37,000 ATMs
Other features include a budgeting tool, weekly savings goals, and earning 0.01% APY on deposits. There is a recurring monthly subscription fee of $8 after a 14-day free trial.
- Cash Advance Limit: $250
- Interest Fee: None
- Monthly Cost: $8
Brigit
Consider using Brigit if you want a few tools to help build credit, avoid bank fees, and get cash advances. The free membership plan provides financial insights to improve how you earn and save money. However, you will need to upgrade to the Plus plan ($9.99/month) for these perks:
- Cash advances
- Overdraft protection
- Credit builder
- Credit report monitoring
- Up to $1 million in identity theft protection
The credit builder feature lets you set aside as little as $5 per month into a 12-month credit builder loan that can boost your score by reporting on-time payments to each credit bureau. To learn more about Brigit, check out our Brigit review for more.
- Cash Advance Limit: $250
- Interest Fee: None
- Monthly Cost: $0 or $9.99
Dave
The Dave Banking app offers an FDIC-insured account and other perks. For example, you can receive up to $200 in paycheck advances when setting up direct deposits. Other perks include:
- 32,000+ free ATMs
- Automatic budgeting
- Find side hustles
- Build a credit history
The platform monitors your TransUnion credit report with LevelCredit for the first 12 months (then $100 per year). After that, you can add recurring payments that merchants don’t report to the credit bureaus to improve your credit score. Consider Experian Boost as well to help improve credit.
- Cash Advance Limit: $200
- Interest Fee: 0%
- Monthly Cost: $0
Albert
Albert is a free and feature-rich banking app featuring:
- Up to 20% back on debit card purchases
- 55,000+ fee-free ATMs
- Cash advances up to $250
- Receive direct deposits up to two days early
- Savings goals
- Investing in stocks and themes
You can receive a payment advance of up to $250 instantly if you pay a small fee. Otherwise, it takes up to three days to receive your cash advance for free. Several apps charging a monthly fee are more likely to offer free, instant transfers. In addition to the banking features, you can invest as little as $1 with a self-managed or automated portfolio.
- Cash Advance Limit: $250
- Interest Fee: 0%
- Monthly Cost: $0 (Pay what is fair pricing)
MoneyLion
MoneyLion offers a generous $1,000 cash advance limit with 0% APR when you make qualifying direct deposits with their Safety Net service. If you don’t have qualifying deposits, your Instacash advance limit can be $250. Your limit is 30% of your paycheck, but your limit can be lower and is initially $25. Other platform features include:
- FDIC-insured RoarMoney deposit account
- Invest debit card purchase round-ups
- 55,000+ surcharge-free ATMs
- Earn cashback from online purchases
- Receive direct deposits up to two days early
- Spend tracking reports
- Low APR credit builder loans
This service is best for building credit and earning debit card rewards on local and online purchases.
- Cash Advance Limit: $1,000
- Interest Fee: 0%
- Monthly Cost: $1
One Finance
One Finance provides a debit card with a credit line when you enroll in direct deposit. Not quite a cash advance, but similar. You pay a 1% interest rate (12% APR) on your outstanding balance. You might also be able to receive your employer and government direct deposits up to two days early, as most apps like Earnin offer. You can also earn up to 3% APY on the first 10% of your direct deposits (up to $1,000 per month). In addition to these perks, you can get a $0 annual fee secured credit card to build credit. Applying doesn’t affect your credit score.
- Cash Advance Limit: N/A
- Interest Fee: 12% APR
- Monthly Cost: $0
Even
Even is very similar to Earnin, but you need to ask your employer to partner with the platform. You can also check your employee benefits package to see if this service is available. Some of the benefits include:
- On-demand pay advances (up to 50% of your paycheck)
- High-interest savings account
- Budgeting tools
- Track projected earnings
- Cash Advance Limit: Up to 50% of paycheck
- Interest Fee: 0%
- Monthly Cost: None
SoLo Funds
SoLo Funds lets you lend or borrow money for short-term purposes. This app can give you more flexibility than a standard cash advance app but you only have 15 days to repay the loan. It’s possible to choose your repayment terms as long as the lender agrees. For example, you can set these details:
- Loan amount ($50 to $500)
- Payback date (up to 15 days)
- Lender appreciation tip
You can get instant access to your funds as it may only take three hours to complete the application process. Your loan request remains active for three days for a lender to approve. Before agreeing to the loan terms, you can review your interest rate and total fees. Your loan fee can be $0 with a quick repayment. The upper limit is 12% of the loan amount. It’s optional to leave a tip for the lender as well. If you’re in good financial shape, you can also lend money to borrowers and earn interest income.
- Cash Advance Limit: $500
- Interest Fee: $0 to 12% of the loan request
- Monthly Cost: $0
Zirtue
Zirtue makes it easier to borrow money from friends as the app creates a lending contract and collects payments from you. You can borrow between $20 and $1,000 with a payback period between 3-36 months. Each loan has a 5% APR. This service has several safeguards in place to help preserve your friendship. First, both of you can agree on a repayment schedule and borrowing amount to protect your friendship. Second, this loan won’t impact your credit score either. Friend and family loans can have lower fees and potentially higher borrowing limits than other lending platforms. This service won’t impact your credit score either. This service is more like a personal loan as Zirtue doesn’t offer cash advances.
- Cash Advance Limit: N/A
- Interest Fee: N/A
- Monthly Cost: $0
Vola
Vola offers several services:
- Cash advances of up to $300
- Overdraft fee protection
- Spending analysis
- Budgets
- Debit card
Your monthly service fee depends on which services you enroll in and your monthly activity. Using the fee-free Vola debit card can help reduce your monthly fees. Other services can be better if you want to pay a flat monthly fee instead of a tiered charge that can be rather pricey.
- Cash Advance Limit: $300
- Interest Fee: 0%
- Monthly Cost: $2.99 to $28.99
The Bottom Line on Apps Like Earnin
There are many apps like Earnin that offer a variety of banking services. These services can make getting paid early, maximizing your purchases, and earning a high-interest rate on your savings a lot easier. When comparing services, compare the borrowing fees and monthly service fees as you decide which platform is the best fit for your money needs.
