The question is, first and foremost: why use Brigit if there are other apps as good or better than Brigit?
Brigit is different from an average expense manager (although it provides the respective functionality) because it allows a user to get a loan in the blink of an eye.
Get up to $250. No credit check. No interest. Budget and save smarter with Brigit. This is the pitch that lays it all before you.
Without a cash advance app like Brigit, one would be forced to accept the conditions of their bank and therefore pay back overdraft fees that sometimes are crazily high. If there are a lot of payments linked to one’s credit card, the card balance can easily drop below zero; and if it happens way too often over the course of a year, you may be surprised how much money goes down the sinkhole. That’s where Brigit comes in.
Not only does Brigit track periodic expenses and produce statistics-based insights, it demonstrably saves you all the money that would otherwise be spent on annoying overdraft fees.
Is there a catch of some kind? There doesn’t seem to be one.
Now that we know the prerequisites of Brigit loans, it is quite easy to discern the basic features in dozens of other similar apps. It is going to help us rationally determine if a certain app is “better” or “worse” than others. We are interested in the subscription price, the maximum loan, and interest rates, if any.
Keep reading, we’re going to compare apps similar to Brigit, such as Dave, Chime, Earning, Zintego Invoice Maker, and others.
One noticeable difference between Dave and Brigit is that the former runs on a fixed 1-dollar subscription fee while in the case of the latter you’ve got to choose either a Free plan or $9.99 per month Premium. To tell the truth, one buck is a small price; it is merely a humble expression of gratitude and a means to keep the development going.
The payday loan size is $100 which is obviously less than what Brigit offers but still enough to afford you a Netflix subscription, a couple of Patreon pledges, and perhaps a car refueling. And of course, a pizza night can be squeezed in.
Dave’s handy knowledge base will help you get started.
Get Dave on AppStore and Google Play.
Subscription fee, $
$1 per month
Free/$9.99 per month
Max loan size, $
100
250
Annual Percentage Rate
It sounds much like a “money loan”, doesn’t it? The borrowing limit is $250 per day. Those looking for more apps like Brigit and Dave should consider MoneyLion as the primary alternative for its high ranking among its users. It is possible to take a few consecutive loans thus participating in the MoneyLion credit builder program.
The short-term loan comes with zero annual percentage rate (APR). If a user is willing to borrow larger sums of money, the monthly membership fee (which is $1 initially) will rise up to $19.99 and the APR values will vary.
Along with the usual finance management tools, MoneyLion has a built-in means to manage personal investments, which is why it is sometimes regarded as a Swiss Army knife for everything finance-related.
Get MoneyLion on AppStore and Google Play.
Subscription fee, $
1/19.99 per month
Free/$9.99 per month
Max loan size, $
250/1000
250
Annual Percentage Rate
5.99-29.99%
This one has made it to the list of payday apps like Brigit because, in a sense, it lets you have your money where you need it in a few minutes.
Specifically, InGo processes your checks and speeds up the flow of cash between your accounts. It spares the check owner from the necessity of passing through a time-consuming withdrawal procedure. New businesses rely on that speed for their survival. Stable enterprises find it just plain convenient, and if you’re not a businessman, then you’ll surely need it to cash a check once in a while. It’s free if you’re not in a hurry. A small price of $5 applies to nearly instantaneous operations.
Get InGo on AppStore and Google Play.
Subscription fee, $
Free/5 per transaction
Free/$9.99 per month
Max loan size, $
N/A
250
Annual Percentage Rate
N/A
The reason to use some other apps like Brigit and Earnin is because oftentimes there is a shortage of money right before the payday or a couple of days before it. If only one could receive the payment earlier, there would never be a need to take payday loans!
Chime magic works exactly for that purpose: the much needed money will be deposited to your account and be ready to use up to two days before the scheduled payday. How does it work? Chime skips all the routine your bank makes the money go through after the sender has submitted the deposit.
There also is a 0% APR credit builder program. Chime is ready to lend up to $100 if you’re a little short; and there are no hidden fees for this. If you never experience money shortages, set up a savings account with Chime instead.
Chime is affiliated with VISA which enables it to deliver its services for free. However, you are welcome to leave an optional tip as a token of gratitude: it won’t affect the app performance at all.
On top of that, the Chime team is eager to share some useful pieces of advice concerning finance: an unemployment guide, for instance.
Get Chime on the official website.
Subscription fee, $
Free
Free/$9.99 per month
Max loan size, $
100
250
Annual Percentage Rate
Even is less similar to Brigit than anything on the list so far, not to imply that Brigit is worse of course. It takes payday loans to another level, with a serious research-driven approach.
Rather than helping individuals manage their finances, Even formally binds employers and employees, enabling the latter to lend an amount of money that is precisely calculated, based on a given employee’s salary history. Such a responsible approach excludes all risks for all parties involved.
So those who want to withdraw their salary more than once a month and free of any kind of schedule will find the stress of financial insecurity lifted off their shoulders with Even. The Plus account price is $2 per week, otherwise, each transaction will involve a small commission fee.
Providing a plethora of finance management and insight tools, Even is valued for its versatility and precision.
Get Even on AppStore or Google Play.
Subscription fee, $
Varied/2 per week
Free/$9.99 per month
Max loan size, $
N/A
250
Annual Percentage Rate
N/A
Check out our article “7 Best Apps Like Snapchat – Top Alternatives in 2024“
To expand your knowledge of payday loan apps, try out Branch. It never hurts to be aware of the existing alternatives because you’ll be able to choose the most favorable conditions and the most convenient design.
Branch focuses on developing and striving economies across the world: India, Kenya, and Nigeria, to name a few. Depending on the country, the maximum loan size is approximately up to $700 converted to local currency.
Here is the interesting part: no credit history is required to ask for credit. Instead, Branch asks for private smartphone data and uses machine learning algorithms to determine a user’s eligibility for a loan and its size. The annual percentage rates will vary too.
It goes without saying that the Branch team will do their best to protect their users’ data and do not intend to trade it.
Get Branch on Google Play.
Subscription fee, $
Free
Free/$9.99 per month
Max loan size, $
700
250
Annual Percentage Rate
Up to 400*
* depending on a user’s country of residence.
Keep reading, we have more apps like Brigit and Branch here.
It is evident that Earnin users highly value the app: its high ratings clearly show that.
The loan amount ranges from $100 to $500 judging on the general trustworthiness of a user’s account. Earnin creators prefer not to call those payouts “loans” because they are actually the money you earned during your working hours. The Earnin app used to be called ActiveHours prior to 2019 to emphasize its importance for people whose working schedule exceeded the usual 8 hours per day. Anyway, it’s a pity that you only get paid for your work after it’s done, on your payday.
Charging overdraft fees is not fair so Earning does not charge them, it’s as simple as that. The service runs on its users’ donations, without obligatory monthly fees.
There is more to it: let Earnin negotiate the conditions and payments of your health insurance coverage on your behalf. If the negotiation turns out successfully, then the payment terms will improve and/or the bill total will drop down.
There are more additional nice features, too. The Tip Jar, for example, can be used to reward oneself, for fun, or just as a regular savings account. The Balance Shield feature will send appropriate notifications and automatically withdraw some money in advance (if set up that way) when the balance runs dangerously low.
It is guaranteed that more apps like Brigit, Dave, and Earnin will appear in the future because each of these has a different set of features that may or may not appeal to a certain user.
Get Earnin on the official website.
Subscription fee, $
Free or pay-what-you-want
Free/$9.99 per month
Max loan size, $
500
250
Annual Percentage Rate
Get inspired by our article “Apps Like Klarna: The 15 Best Alternatives“.
DailyPay has made it to the list of best apps like Brigit for the same reason Even did: it even revised the idea of the monthly salary, making it an “on-demand” payment. Employees are relieved from their financial insecurities and the feeling that they work for free in-between their paydays. At the same time, employers enjoy the contentment of their workforce without additional costs. DailyPay would only collect transfer fees, no other fees are involved.
Using DailyPay as a payment tool may be presented as an additional incentive during the recruitment process.
The app reviews are overwhelmingly positive; and because most of them were left by actual users obviously, the app is worth checking out. DailyPay cooperates with Wisely which means that setting up their account would be particularly easy for Wisely pay card owners.
Download DailyPay on AppStore and Google Play.
Subscription fee, $
1.99/2.99 per transaction*
Free/$9.99 per month
Max loan size, $
N/A
250
Annual Percentage Rate
N/A
* depending on whether a user is willing to wait or wants a near-instant transaction.
Whenever you run into a little emergency that can be solved with some cash, Empower is there to lend you up to $250. No interest, no late fees, no credit check. Besides, it is among the apps like Brigit that accept debit and prepaid cards.
Aside from that, Empower comes with the following list of common services: interest checking, automated savings, expenditure tracking, and smart recommendations.
There’s a tiny APY of 0.25% that applies to Empower loans and the price for a full suite of money control services is $8 flat.
Do you want to have some fun? Pass Empower’s financial personality test!
Get Empower on AppStore and Google Play.
Subscription fee, $
8 per month*
Free/$9.99 per month
Max loan size, $
250
250
There is more than one way to save. Money-wise, taking a loan with zero APR is not different from making an online purchase with a huge discount if you were going to make that purchase anyways. And what about striking a 0% APR deal to buy a product you love? The point is to spend less while being able to buy more.
Affirm is a shopping management tool, more than apps like Brigit. Storing all the information about scheduled payments in one place is quite convenient, especially if you used to lose track of them. Besides, you are the one who chooses the schedule itself.
Affirm aggregates offers from thousands of shops displaying only those that you personally might be interested in. And vice versa: shop owners would be interested to work with Affirm to bring their goods to more people.
Affirm works online, so no download required. Create an account and start shopping right away.
The cash advance apps are not meant to be abused, and they won’t solve the problem of chronic lack of cash if there is one already. There is no such thing as free lunch.
One way or another, a certain score will apply to your account (whether explicit or implicit) and you will only be eligible to take maximum size loans, if any, if the said score is sufficiently high. In case of Empower, the score is based on a simple average of direct deposits. So payday loan apps like Brigit may not work out for you if you ruin the trustworthiness of your account with late deposits.
One more thing to remember is that although the finance management application itself may not charge hidden fees, a credit card issuer (e.g. VISA, MasterCard, etc) and a bank, to which the money account is linked, will probably have a set of fees that you are not yet aware of. Think about foreign transaction fees or ATM withdrawals, for example.
The good apps educate their users rather than performing all the magic under the hood. Some of the companies that designed the aforementioned apps offer the service of negotiating your debts: they certainly have the necessary legal knowledge to do so. It would be great if you had that knowledge also.
There is definitely no point in considering the loans with annual percentages attached to them when better alternatives are readily available.
Finally, now that you know that some of the apps charge only as much as you can spare, those probably should be given preference.
You are probably familiar with a common marketing technique that is as old as the world itself: the three yes’s one. The point is, when you find a loan application that is ideal in all regards, they got you to say “yes” three times already. The next “yes” will go easier for you. When the terms of service change (and they tend to change not in your favor), you are still likely to keep using a given app.
That said, it is a smart move, to have a couple of new apps like Brigit in mind for 2024, should such an unexpected change happen. Let’s hope it never happens though!
Brigit ensures that you have access to extra $250 (if you qualify for the credit, of course) and as long as your credit card balance hits zero. There are no overdraft fees and you are free to choose between the free or paid versions of the app.
In short, yes, Brigit loans are as safe as it gets. Getting to work with banks and payment providers entails strict regulations, and an app like Brigit must pass all of them. Besides, it never hurts to read through their Terms and Conditions to be sure. Check Brigit app reviews here.
The Premium plan adds some more fancy tools into your budget planning toolbox while all the basic stuff is still available in the Free plan.
Your bank credits stay the same, just like your Brigit credit is only between you and Brigit. Those two – the bank and the app – have no communication with each other to the extent that it would affect your credit.
