EarnIn Cash App Review [2024]: Get Paid Faster

What is EarnIn?

EarnIn¹ <p>EarnIn is not a bank. Access limits are based on your earnings and risk factors. Available in select states. Terms and restrictions apply. Visit <a href="https://www.earnin.com/">EarnIn.com</a> for full details</p> is a mobile app that allows you to draw up to $150 per day with a max of $750 between paydays from your earned wages before payday. It gives you access to your earned pay without fees or interest. So if you don’t want to pay anything, you don’t have to. 

EarnIn has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has been accredited since June 2019.

Who is EarnIn best for?

• Full-time workers who need an occasional paycheck advance
• People who need cash fast
• People who want free overdraft protection

EarnIn is a good option for full-time workers who need an occasional advance on their paycheck. To use EarnIn, you need a regular pay schedule — weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, or monthly — and a fixed work location that EarnIn can use to track your work activity.

It’s also best for someone who needs cash fast for an unexpected bill. As soon as EarnIn verifies your earnings with your employer, you have the option to access funds within minutes for an added fee. You’ll pay $2.99 to $5.99 for each expedited transfer to your bank, but this is much cheaper and safer than a predatory payday loan.² <p>Lightning Speed is an optional service that allows you to expedite the transfer of funds for a fee. Depending on the product, the fee may be charged by EarnIn or its banking partner. See the <a href="https://www.earnin.com/privacyandterms/terms-of-service/fees">LS Fee table</a> for details.</p> However, I’ll note that the app starts with very low paycheck advance limits, so you might not find EarnIn that helpful until you’ve used it for at least a few weeks. Don’t expect the first time you use it to solve your cash shortage problems.

I also think EarnIn can be a good option for people looking for free overdraft protection. Sure, many banks, especially online banks, offer this for checking, but it often requires a linked savings account. EarnIn automatically pulls up to $100 from your on-demand pay to cover any shortages. This means that the app will move money you’ve received as an advance to cover shortages in your linked bank account as needed so you don’t get slapped with overdraft fees.

Who should consider an alternative to EarnIn?

EarnIn isn’t great for freelancers, part-time workers, or self-employed individuals. You can’t use the app unless you have a consistent pay schedule and earn at least $320 each paycheck.

And because most users start with an $85 per-paycheck limit (but it varies from $0 to $150), it won’t work for someone who needs to cover large bills right away. Yes, you can eventually get access to up to a max of $750 between paydays, but this could take weeks or months of steady use and responsible banking. And even then, you’re still limited to only $150 in withdrawals a day — so it would take five days to get the full $750.

How does EarnIn work?

EarnIn is an app-based service, so you handle everything from your smartphone. You simply connect your bank account and add information about your employment. This allows EarnIn to confirm where you work and understand your pay schedule. Note that EarnIn will have ongoing access to details about your pay and deposit history if you link a bank account.

Cash Out

As you work, you can use EarnIn to gain early access to your paycheck by doing one of the following to set up your paycheck:

• Using your employer-provided work email address to validate your pay
• Granting EarnIn GPS permissions so it knows when you’re at work
• Providing EarnIn with your electronic timesheet or printed timesheet to manually add your earnings

By sharing your location, EarnIn can learn your work schedule and automatically add earnings after you’ve finished work. EarnIn supports remote workers, but you won’t be able to use GPS to track earnings if you travel or work from home.

You can access a max of $750 between paydays, but most people start with a limit of around $85. The limit you’re approved for can range from $0 to $150, though. You won’t pay any interest or fees, and there’s no credit check involved. Standard transfers take one to two business days to hit your account.

EarnIn will automatically take what you owe from your next paycheck, which is typical for a paycheck advance app.

Balance Shield

EarnIn’s Balance Shield protects you from overdrafts while using the app. If your account is at risk of being overdrawn, EarnIn can automatically transfer up to $100 from your on-demand pay to protect your balance. You can also set EarnIn to let you know when your balance reaches a certain threshold between $0 and $500 so you can transfer extra funds yourself.

This feature can be useful if you run primarily on a single checking account or your bank doesn’t offer overdraft coverage. But for most people, I’d suggest just using your bank’s overdraft protection linked to a savings account. Many offer this service at no cost, generally up to a maximum of $50 to $200.

Early Pay

With EarnIn’s Early Pay feature, you can get your paycheck up to two days early. So if you typically get paid on Friday, you might get your paycheck on Wednesday instead.

This is often referred to as early direct deposit, and it typically maxes out at two days early. This is different from a paycheck advance because you’re not borrowing the money and then paying it back when you get paid — you’re just getting paid a little sooner if your employer processes your deposit ahead of time.

This feature would be a nice touch if it weren’t for the cost. EarnIn charges $2.99 per paycheck for Early Pay. Plenty of banks offer free early direct deposit, including Ally and Capital One.

You also have to deal with the hassle of switching your direct deposit over to EarnIn. I wouldn’t recommend Early Pay for most people unless it’s a feature your current bank doesn’t offer.

Tip Yourself

If you need help saving toward your goals, you may appreciate the Tip Yourself feature. It functions similarly to reverse budgeting, which emphasizes paying yourself first by saving before doing anything else with your money. You can stash anywhere between $1 to $100 daily in your Tip Jar.

EarnIn lets you maintain up to five Tip Jars at a time with a combined maximum total of $2,000. These funds are held in an account at Evolve Bank & Trust and FDIC-insured up to $250,000.

I’m glad to see that these funds are covered by insurance, but I’d strongly recommend against leaving any money in Tip Jars because they don’t earn any interest. You’d be better off opening a dedicated high-yield savings account instead to maximize your earnings.

Credit monitoring

EarnIn provides free access to your Vantage Score 3.0® as well as a mini version of your credit report that covers your credit usage, open accounts, and payment history. It can also send you fraud alerts to help you stay on top of issues.

These features aren’t bad, but you’ll find similar tools with most credit card accounts.

Financial calculators

EarnIn also offers a few financial calculators. These include:

• Budget calculator
• Rent calculator
• Personal loan calculator
• Credit card payoff calculator
• Student loan calculator
• Auto loan calculator
• Mortgage loan calculator

The nice thing about these is that you can use them whether you’re a customer or not and many pull regional data based on your ZIP code.

EarnIn alternatives

If you’re ever in a situation in which you can’t pay your bills because you’re forced to wait for payday, EarnIn might be a solution that can help you figure out how to manage your money better. Having access to your pay as soon as you’ve worked for it can be a big help.

If EarnIn doesn’t sound like it’s for you, that’s OK. Other apps offer immediate access to your earned wages.

Payactiv

Payactiv offers on-demand access to your pay with slightly different limits. You can get up to $750 per transaction, which is far more than EarnIn’s $150 daily limit. And if you send your direct deposit straight to the Payactiv® Visa Card, the limit increases to $1,500. Like EarnIn, funds are debited from your next paycheck to cover advances.

On the whole, this makes Payactiv a better choice for employees who need larger sums of emergency cash. It’s also good if you’ll need physical cash, as you can pick up your earned wages at your local Walmart.

That said, one major drawback of Payactiv is that you need to work for an employer that offers the service to qualify for paycheck advances. Otherwise, you may only be eligible for early direct deposits. EarnIn is a better choice if you don’t have a job that uses Payactiv.

Chime

If speed is your priority, choose Chime MyPay. It gets you your earned wages in less than 24 hours without any fees. This is faster than EarnIn’s free one- to two-business-day turnaround. And if you do need your money right away, Chime’s fee is lower at just $2 for instant deposits.

One caveat about Chime is that you need to move your paycheck to the company to access MyPay. It also only lets you access up to $500, which might not be enough in a big emergency.

Something that Chime offers that EarnIn doesn’t is credit-building tools, including the Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® Credit Card.³ <p>The secured Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card is issued by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa credit cards are accepted. Please see the back of your card for its issuing bank.&nbsp; To apply for Credit Builder, you must have an active Chime® Checking Account.</p> This makes it a good pick if you’re looking for a way to build your credit score back up. Chime also provides a higher overdraft coverage limit of up to $200 with SpotMe®.⁴ <p>SpotMe® for Credit Builder is an optional, no interest/no fee overdraft line of credit tied to the Secured Deposit Account; SpotMe on Debit is an optional, no fee service attached to your Chime Checking Account (individually or collectively, “SpotMe”). Eligibility for SpotMe requires $200 or more in qualifying direct deposits to your Chime Checking Account each month. Qualifying members will be allowed to overdraw their Chime Checking Account and/or their Secured Deposit Account up to $20 in total, but may be later eligible for a higher combined limit of up to $200 or more based on member’s Chime account history, direct deposit frequency and amount, spending activity and other risk-based factors. Your SpotMe Limit will be displayed to you within the Chime mobile app. You will receive notice of any changes to your SpotMe Limit. Your SpotMe Limit may change at any time, at Chime or its banking partners’ discretion. Although there are no overdraft fees, there may be out-of-network or third party fees associated with ATM transactions or OTC cash withdrawal fees at retailers. SpotMe won't cover non card transactions, including ACH transfers, Pay Anyone transfers, or Chime Checkbook transactions. <a href="https://www.chime.com/policies/">SpotMe on Credit Builder Terms and Conditions</a>.</p>

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