If you’re looking for some quick cash but don’t want to get stuck with a payday loan, apps like Cleo offer short-term loans until your next payday, and they don’t charge any interest.
But Cleo is a sassy, AI-powered bot that regularly uses such colloquialisms as “pissed off,” drops f-bombs and throws up the occasional middle finger. Not all borrowers will appreciate that type of attitude from their lending app.
If Cleo isn’t for you, there are plenty of similar apps to choose from.
Disclaimer: DebtHammer may be affiliated with some of the companies mentioned in this article. DebtHammer may make money from advertisements or when you contact a company through our platform.
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Here are a few of the best apps like Cleo
Cleo is far from the only cash advance app out there. The fintech industry is filled with competitors. We’ve assessed each of these apps, and here are some that we like the best:
Albert
Albert offers cash advances of up to $250. The catch? You must subscribe to the Genius program to be eligible, and that costs a hefty $14.99 per month. Of course, you get other benefits with a Genius subscription, including the ability to speak with actual people who can help you with your savings goals.
- Cash advance amount: Up to $250
- Credit check: No
- Fees: Small “convenience” fees if you need instant cash advances
- Other services: Banking, investing, balance monitoring,
- Perks: Cashback on purchases made with the Albert debit card, bill negotiation
READ MORE: Apps like Albert
Brigit
Brigit will help you bridge the gap between paydays. It offers some free features, but to be eligible for an advance, you’ll have to subscribe to the Plus plan, which costs $9.99 per month.
- Cash advance amount: Up to $250
- Credit check: No
- Fees: No late fees or interest fees
- Free plan services: Financial insights and advice and a platform to find opportunities to earn extra money.
- Pro plan services: Free plan stuff as well as credit building, identity theft protection, instant deposits, automatic advances, flexible repayment plans
- Perks: Not really
- Plus Plan: $9.99 per month
READ MORE: Apps like Brigit
Dave
Dave’s Extracash allows subscribers to borrow up to $500 until payday, and the monthly subscription fee is one of the lowest you’ll find at $1 per month.
- Cash advance amount: Up to $500 with Extracash
- Credit check: No
- Fees: $1 per month membership fee
- Other services: Banking, budgeting help, goal setting and balance monitoring
- Perks: Banking members get free access to Level Credit, which reports your on-time rent payments to the credit bureaus.
- Pro Plan: None offered
READ MORE: Apps like Dave
Earnin
Earnin actually offers you access to wages you’ve already earned. You can get an advance of up to $100 per day or a maximum of $750 per pay period. Earnin doesn’t have a monthly subscription fee. You’ll just have to pay a small fee if you need to have your transfers expedited, and Earnin requests tips up to $13.
- Cash advance amount: Up to $100 per day or $750 per pay period
- Credit check: No
- Fees: A small fee for users who opt for Lightning Speed advances. No information on the fee.
- Other services: Balance Shield, Cash Out (early access/money on the day you’ve earned it), Earnin’ Express, finance tools, savings tools,
- Perks: No monthly membership fee, borrowing limits are higher than similar apps
- Pro plan: None
Empower Cash Advance
Empower doesn’t check your credit score, but it will charge you $8 per month in membership fees (after a free 14-day trial). If you choose to stick with your existing bank account (instead of opening a spending account with them), advances will cost $3 per deposit. If you do sign up for their spending account, your debit card offers some useful cash-back rewards.
- Cash advance amount: Up to $250
- Credit check: No
- Fees: $8 per month membership fee, late fees, $3 fee to have an
- advance deposited in an external bank account, fees for instant transfers range from $1 to $8 for advances below $300, or if your advance is between $300 to $500, the lesser of $20 or 3% of the draw amount.
- Other services: Banking
- Perks: Earn cash back when you use the Empower debit card
- Pro plan: None
READ MORE: Apps like Empower
FloatMe
FloatMe offers small cash advances up to $50. That’s a pretty small maximum, and first-time users start out with loan amounts as low as $10. That’s not very much in proportion to the $3.99 monthly fee, which was increased in January 2024.
- Cash advance amount: up to $50
- Credit check: No
- Fees: $4.99 per month membership fee
- Other services: Financial insights
- Perks: None
- Pro plan: No
READ MORE: Apps like FloatMe
Klover
Klover offers small cash advances up to $200 with no interest or late fees. The catch: Klover makes money from selling your data through its commerce data platform called Attain. You also won’t be able to immediately advance yourself the full $200. Klover uses a point system, and you need ot accrue points from completing tasks in order to be able to increase your advance amount.
- Cash advance amount: Up to $200
- Credit check: No
- Fees: Instant transfers can cost up to $17
- Other Services: Financial advice, real-time price comparisons, credit monitoring (all only available with a Klover+ subscription)
- Perks: Cash out your points for Amazon gift cards
- Pro plan: $3.99 per month for Klover+
READ MORE: Apps like Klover
MoneyLion
MoneyLion Instacash offers cash advances up to $500 (or $1,000 for people who use other MoneyLion products). There is no mandatory monthly subscription fee, no credit check and MoneyLion doesn’t charge interest on advances. The advances are free (aside from the optional tip) if you can wait up to three business days for the money. If you need it right away, you’ll have to pay the “Turbo” service fee. The amount of that fee varies by the amount of your advance.
- Cash advance amount: Up to $500 in Instacash advances
- Credit check: Not for Instacash users
- Fees: Small fee for “Turbo” services (based on the advance amount).
- Other services: banking, credit building, investing, crypto, financial planning
- Perks: Cashback rewards, safety net, financial tracking
- Pro plan: Monthly subscriptions range from $1 to $19.99, depending on which services you choose to use.
READ MORE: Apps like MoneyLion
Possible Finance
Possible’s “cash advances” are more like small-dollar installment loans for borrowers with bad credit, so they allow you to borrow more and they don’t have to be paid back in full on your next payday. However, the fees are significantly higher than the alternatives.
- Possible’s cash advance amount: Up to $500
- Credit check: Yes
- Fees: Between $10-$25 per $100 borrowed, depending on your state
- Other services: None
- Perks: None
- Pro plan: None
READ MORE: Apps like Possible Finance
Online banking apps
Online banking apps can also be a way of getting cash advances. A lot of them offer access to direct deposits early. Some also offer gap loans to help you keep your account in the black from one payday to the next.
Every day there are more and more online banking apps to choose from. Here are two that we know to be safe and reliable.
Chime
You’ve probably seen commercials for Chime. It calls itself the #1 most loved banking app.
Chime offers a number of traditional banking services, including traditional checking accounts (Chime calls them spending accounts). Account holders receive a Visa debit card that includes free withdrawals at any of Chime’s in-network ATMs. And if you’ve been struggling to get approved for a credit card, the Chime Credit Builder Visa credit card could be the solution. If you have qualifying direct deposits, you can access your paychecks up to two days before the deposit is scheduled to arrive.
Chime’s cash advance feature is called SpotMe. SpotMe isn’t really a true cash advance, it’s actually overdraft protection. It means you can buy an item or pay a bill, even if you know there isn’t enough money in your account to fully cover the transaction.
Let’s say you buy something for $50 but it turns out you only have $30 in your spending account. The SpotMe program will cover the remaining $20 for you so that you don’t have to worry about overdraft fees. Customers who qualify for the program start out with $40 in SpotMe funds. Over time as they build a consistent repayment history, that amount will increase to as much as $200.
To qualify for SpotMe, you need to have direct deposit set up with your Chime account and the deposit must come from a “qualifying” depositor. PayPal transfers don’t fulfill this requirement, so gig workers and freelancers will have to turn to one of the cash advance apps that are compatible with Chime.
Varo
Varo is one of Chime’s top competitors. Like Chime, it offers traditional financial services like checking and savings accounts. The nice thing about these accounts is that they are fee-free and cost nothing to open. Varo also offers mobile bank deposits, allowing users to deposit cash at Green Dot locations like Walgreens, 7-11, Safeway, etc.
Varo Advance is the platform’s cash advance program. You can use this cash advance when your account balance gets too low or is unlikely to cover all your expenses before your next payday. You will pay a small fee for advances over $50, which tops out at $5 per $100. Repayment terms are flexible. You can pay the money any way you choose if it is repaid in full within 30 days.
The fee is relatively high, though, ranging from $1.60 for a $20 advance up to $40 for a $500 advance.
To qualify for Varo Advance, you must hold an open Varo account with a positive balance and have direct deposits of $800 or more sent to your Varo account each month.
READ MORE: Cash advance apps that work with Varo
Employer-sponsored cash advance apps
Some employers allow their employees to get advances on their paychecks. They facilitate the advances by pairing with companies like:
- One@Work (formerly Even Instapay)
- Branch
- Amazon Anytime Pay
- Axos Bank Direct Deposit Express
- Flexwage
- Dailypay
- PayActiv
Some of these cash advance apps also pair with companies like Uber, DoorDash, etc, so gig workers have an opportunity to get their pay faster. The drawback? Eligibility is limited to workers whose employers choose to participate.
Peer-to-peer loan apps
Another way to fund the gap between paydays is to use a peer-to-peer lending app. These apps are exactly what they sound like. Users request money. Other users fund those requests.
Many peer-to-peer lending apps promise huge loans, “even with bad credit!” Many are predatory lenders in disguise. Here are three of the most-trustworthy options:
- SoLo Funds
- LenMe
- Zirtue
What you need to know about Cleo
Cleo is designed as the “sassy” alternative for cash advances. It offers small cash advances with no hidden fees or interest charges (unless you need the money transferred instantly) that are repaid from your next paycheck.
But Cleo is sarcastic, drops the occasional f-bomb and even flips users the bird sometimes. That type of attitude won’t appeal to everyone.
While some Cleo services are available for free, you must have a monthly subscription in order to be eligible for advances up to $250. Cleo Plus costs $5.99 per month, while Cleo Builder, which includes extra features designed to help you boost your credit score, costs $14.99 per month. Cleo also offers budgeting tools and will mock (or praise) your spending habits.
To use the service, you’ll have to download the mobile app, which is available on Google Play for Android and Apple’s App Store for ios.
READ MORE: Cleo review
Why are loan apps like Cleo better than payday loans?
There are a number of reasons why apps like Cleo are better than payday loans. They are more convenient. You can access the funds you need directly from your phone. They charge fewer fees. Very few of these apps have any interest charges at all. Most offer financial management tools, budgeting help, and other perks along with their advances. And if you’re unable to pay them back on your next payday, you have a few options, so you won’t get stuck in the payday loan debt trap. More than 90% of American payday loan borrowers end up regretting their payday loan. Don’t be one of them.
The bottom line
The Cleo app is a useful tool, but it isn’t for everyone. If you’re looking for a more traditional financial app that offers free cash advances, you have plenty of options.
FAQs
They are cheaper, more convenient, and less predatory than payday loans. There are no interest charges, and many don’t have hidden fees. There is often more flexibility if you need to extend your repayment period.
Companies realize workers prefer to be paid more often than every other week. Instead of reconfiguring the entire payroll system, they can sign up for a program like Dailypay or One@Work. However, it can sometimes be difficult to know whether your company participates and whether you’re eligible for earned wage access, and the apps themselves aren’t great about listing participants. The best way to find out is to ask your human resources department, and if they haven’t signed up, suggest it as an option.
Some do — it depends on the app. Many employer-sponsored advance apps offer prepaid cards. Apps that connect to your bank accounts typically do not.
