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Apps like Venmo

Venmo makes it easy to send money to friends and family, but alternatives like Cash App and Chime have more perks.

Venmo is one of the most popular peer-to-peer (P2P) apps, boasting over 80 million users to date. Venmo is great for sending money to friends and family. It costs nothing to link your bank account to send cash, and there are no fees for receiving payments. Venmo also offers a teen account and a Venmo Debit Card with no monthly fees.

Despite its strengths, Venmo lacks some features found in other popular P2P apps like Cash App, Chime and PayPal.

6 apps similar to Venmo

Alternative for the most similar

Cash App Card

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If you split a bill with your friend, you'll likely ask if they use Cash App or Venmo. Arguably one of Venmo's top competitors, Cash App is very similar to Venmo with additional features. Cash App lets you send and receive P2P payments with no fees, get a fee-free prepaid Cash App Card with discounts on select purchases you activate in the app, file your taxes, invest with Cash App Invest and even earn up to 4% APY on savings. Just like Venmo, Cash App also has a teen account for ages 13 and older and requires the sponsorship of a parent or guardian. On the downside, Cash App is known for being riddled with scammers, there's no 24/7 customer support and you can't make international transactions except with the UK.
Fee$0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0

Alternative for an all-in-one app

Chime® Checking Account

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on Chime's secure site
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Like Venmo, Chime is a fintech company with partner banks. While Chime is known for its banking services, it can also send P2P payments to anyone with a debit card with its feature Pay Anyone. The recipient doesn't even need Chime — a major leg up over apps like Venmo, as they require the recipient to have the same app to receive transfers. On top of the free P2P payments, Chime is a fully loaded digital banking app. It features an online checking and savings account with no monthly fees, opening deposit or balance requirements. If you have direct deposit of at least $200 per month, you may get access to features like the line of credit MyPay and its overdraft service SpotMe®. Chime also has 24/7 live customer support, something Venmo lacks, and it offers a free federal and state tax filing service.
Fee$0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0

Alternative for cash back debit card

PayPal Debit Card

8.6 Great

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One of the most well-known and widely accepted payment systems worldwide, PayPal is a great option for money transfers — domestically and internationally. And since it actually owns Venmo, you can send money to Venmo from your PayPal account. PayPal lets you send money to other PayPal users for free within the Friends and Family tab using either your PayPal balance or directly with your linked bank account. PayPal also has a no-fee debit card linked to your PayPal balance that can earn cashback rewards and points. And unlike many P2P apps, it accepts mobile check deposits and cash deposits at Green Dot locations. You can send international payments, buy or sell crypto and use PayPal in online stores. Also, it allows for international transactions and has 24/7 customer support, things you don't get with Venmo. Just watch out for random fees, like a 2.5% foreign transaction fee with the PayPal Debit Card.
Fee$0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0

Alternative for sending money in other currencies

Revolut

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Venmo can't do international payments. If you frequently send money to friends and family overseas, Revolut is worth considering. Its free Standard plan has no monthly fees and a ton of perks. You can send and receive money with other Revolut users at no cost in 15 different currencies, and you can spend in over 150 currencies. Revolut also offers free currency exchange allowances. There's also a split bill feature, up to 2.75% APY on savings balances with Standard, and you can do stock trading with no commission fees. For kids, there's the free Revolut <18 account if a parent or guardian has Revolut themselves. Just know that Revolut has complicated fees and rules about ATM withdrawals, and you'll pay $10 for receiving domestic wires. Plus, its higher savings APYs and more exchange allowances require a paid plan.
APYUp to 3.50%
FeeFrom $0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0

Alternative for quick P2P payments

Zelle®

A few years younger than Cash App, Zelle is another P2P money app. It's convenient because if you bank with a major institution, you may already have Zelle in your bank app. It's integrated with over 2,000 financial institutions, including Bank of America, Chase, Discover, PNC and Wells Fargo. Like Venmo, Zelle offers fee-free P2P transfers to other US bank accounts. It's also available on the App Store and Google Play. Zelle's speed is nearly unmatched, with the recipient typically receiving their money within minutes. However, you can't cancel a payment if the recipient is enrolled in Zelle because the transfers clear so quickly. Zelle requires only a US bank account to send or receive payments, but you can't make international payments or send money with a credit card. While it's a great alternative to Venmo for its free P2P transfers, it lacks nearly all the other extra features that Venmo has, like a debit card or teen banking option.
Fee$0 per month

Alternative for Apple users

Apple Pay

Most modern Apple devices already include Apple Pay without downloading another app. By simply adding a card to your Apple Wallet, you can send money to other Apple users through Messages with Apple Cash and use Apple Pay for online and in-store purchases. The no-fee Apple Cash card is automatically in your Apple Wallet, functioning much like a Venmo balance. Apple Wallet also accepts most types of cards, including credit, debit, prepaid and even some gift cards. And with Family Sharing, parents can give kids their own Apple Cash cards. However, you can't fund your Apple Cash balance using a credit card.
Fee$0 per month

How Venmo compares

Venmo is a solid P2P money app if you regularly send small amounts to friends and family. The app is free, it’s free to send payments to users, and it offers the no-fee Venmo Debit Card and the Venmo Visa Credit Card with rewards. But you can only send cash to other Venmo users. And if you need to cash out your Venmo balance immediately, you’ll pay an instant transfer fee of 1.75%, costing a minimum of $0.25 and a maximum of $25.

Pros

  • Free to send and receive P2P payments
  • Teen account
  • Free debit card
  • Credit card with rewards

Cons

  • No international payments
  • Can only send to other Venmo users
  • Instant transfer fee of 1.75%

Frequently asked questions

Does Venmo need your bank account?

Venmo accepts US bank accounts, debit cards, credit cards and some prepaid debit cards.

Can I pay someone on Venmo with a credit card?

Yes, Venmo allows you to make payments with a linked credit card.

Which is better: Cash App or Venmo?

On the Apple App Store, Venmo has a 4.9-star rating from over four million ratings, and Cash App has a 4.8-star rating from over six million ratings as of June 2024. Venmo has 4.2 stars on Google Play out of over 700k ratings, while Cash App has a higher 4.6-star rating out of over three million ratings. In terms of reviews, they’re both highly rated money apps with millions of users, with Cash App raking in millions more downloads and ratings. Both also use Plaid to link to existing bank accounts.

Cash App is better for investing or savings, as Venmo doesn’t have an investing platform or savings account. However, Venmo offers a rewards credit card, and it has a social feed where you can view friends’ transactions.

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To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Holly Jennings as part of our fact-checking process.
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Written by

Banking editor

Bethany Hickey is the banking editor and personal finance expert at Finder, specializing in banking, lending, insurance, and crypto. Bethany’s expertise in personal finance has garnered recognition from esteemed media outlets, such as Nasdaq, MSN, Yahoo Finance, GOBankingRates, SuperMoney, AOL and Newsweek. Her articles offer practical financial strategies to Americans, empowering them to make decisions that meet their financial goals. Her past work includes articles on generational spending and saving habits, lending, budgeting and managing debt. Before joining Finder, she was a content manager where she wrote hundreds of articles and news pieces on auto financing and credit repair for CarsDirect, Auto Credit Express and The Car Connection, among others. Bethany holds a BA in English from the University of Michigan-Flint, and was poetry editor for the university’s Qua Literary and Fine Arts Magazine. See full bio

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