Best Cash Advance Apps of 2024 (2024)

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Pros

• Multiple free ways to access wages

• Access up to $1,000 if employer allows

• No tips or subscription fees

• Free instant funding with direct deposit

Cons

• Only available through your employer

• Loan Amounts: $25 to $500
• Time to Repay Terms: Next paycheck
• Fees: $1 subscription fee, 15% suggested tip, and $1.99 to $13.99 express funding

Dave offers other ways to access instant cash beyond its ExtraCash feature, which offers up to $500 ahead of payday, depending on individual eligibility criteria. The app also offers side hustle opportunities, including real-time payments for completing surveys. And since you earn the money, it doesn’t need to be repaid. This gives Dave users more ways to get money when they need it.

However, Dave charges a number of fees, including a $1 monthly subscription fee and express funding fees that can be expensive. For example, sending a $500 advance to an external bank account in less than an hour costs $13.99. You can get an ACH transfer that takes one to three business days free of charge, but there’s still a suggested tip of 15%. However, that tip is entirely optional and won’t impact your future eligibility. Repayment is automatic, but Dave will never overdraft a customer’s account, so you don’t have to worry about any additional fees from your bank.

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Key Specs

Pros & Cons

Why We Chose It

Service Details

Investopedia's Rating

Bottom Line

Varo is our top choice for the transparent fee schedule and long repayment terms, but the app requires a Varo bank account. If you’re looking for a cash advance from a company that doesn’t require you to set up a deposit account or pay a subscription fee, consider Earnin or MoneyLion. MoneyLion is also a top pick for customer service.

If your employer partners with Payactiv, that’s your best bet for low-fee access to your earned wages. If you can use the other tools offered with the Empower app, the subscription fee may be worth it for you. The same goes for Dave—we particularly like the in-app side hustle opportunities.

What Is a Cash Advance App?

There are many different varieties of cash advance apps. Some provide interest-free loans (which typically come with other fees or a suggested tip) while others only offer you access to the wages you’ve already earned. In any case, a cash advance app is a way to get a small amount of money. Repayment typically occurs automatically on your next payday.

Cash advance apps are a much safer alternative to payday loans, which come with APRs of nearly 400% and often trap borrowers in a cycle of debt. Cash advance apps often protect you from overdraft fees and don’t allow additional advances prior to repayment. But fees from suggested tips, subscription fees, and express funding fees can add up.

Pros and Cons of Cash Advance Apps

Alternatives to Cash Advance Apps

• Credit union payday alternative loans (PALs): These loans offered by federal credit unions require you to be a member for at least a month, but they can provide between $200 and $1,000 in an emergency. You’ll have at least a month to repay, and potentially up to six months. Plus, interest rates are capped at 28%.
• Personal loans: Personal loans provide a sum of money that is repaid in fixed monthly installments over time. Personal loans come with higher borrowing limits, and some online lenders can fund a loan as soon as the next business day. However, these loans require a credit check. You’ll need excellent credit to qualify for the lowest rates, but emergency loans for bad credit borrowers are available.
• Buy Now, Pay Later or point-of-sale financing: If you need to buy something online, you may be offered the chance to split your payments without incurring interest. You may also receive an offer for point-of-sale financing, which is a loan used to pay for your purchase. Many stores offer these options, but they only help you fund a purchase. They can’t provide cash for any need.
• Friends and family loans: The quickest and cheapest way to get a loan is to ask a friend or family member for help. Just make sure to budget for repayment so you don’t damage your relationship with the person helping you out.

Methodology

To produce our list of the best cash advance apps, we researched and evaluated 10 leading services. We looked at a variety of factors in four broad areas, and assigned weights to each to generate our rankings:

• Loan details, such as minimum and maximum amounts, and repayment terms (35%)
• Loan costs, including subscription fees, instant advance fees, and suggested tips (30%)
• Borrower requirements like account requirements (5%)
• Customer experience, which includes company reputation, and availability of helpful financial tools and services (30%)

We also calculated an effective APR for each lender, which factored in costs like subscription fees and instant cash transfer fees, but we did not include suggested tip amounts. For all services we chose the maximum loan amount and for services that require payment “from the next paycheck,” we assigned a 14-day term. Both of those choices pushed the effective APR down. We did not include this calculated figure in our ranking.