Venmo vs Payactiv
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Venmo
A fast, safe, and social way to send and receive money with friends and family. Easily split bills, buy crypto, and manage your finances with integrated debit and credit cards.
- Send and receive money
- Split payments among friends
- Buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency
- Venmo credit and debit cards
- Teen accounts
- Business profiles
- Instant transfers and direct deposit
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Venmo is the fast, safe, social way to pay and get paid. Join over 90+ million people who use the Venmo app today SEND AND RECEIVE MONEY Pay and get paid for anything from your share of rent to a gift. Add a note to each payment to share and connect with friends SPLIT A REQUEST AMONG MULTIPLE VENMO FRIENDS You can now send a payment request to multiple Venmo friends at once and customize the amount each person owes GET REWARDED WITH THE VENMO CREDIT CARD Earn up to 3% cash back on your eligible top spend category¹ —we’ll do the math. Split card purchases with Venmo friends, and shop everywhere Visa® credit cards are accepted—online, in-store, worldwide² BUY CRYPTO WITH AS LITTLE AS $1 Buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency right on the Venmo app. New to crypto? Learn more with in-app resources. Crypto is volatile, so it can rise and fall in value quickly. Be sure to take it at a pace you're comfortable with³ SHOP WITH THE VENMO DEBIT CARD Spend your money in Venmo everywhere Mastercard® is accepted around the globe — and earn cashback from some of your favorite spots. Terms apply: venmo.me/rewards⁴ VENMO TEEN ACCOUNTS A debit card of their very own and a Venmo account to send money to trusted friends and family⁵. All with no minimum balance or monthly fee DO BUSINESS ON VENMO Create a business profile for your side gig, small business, or anything in between—all under your same Venmo account MANAGE YOUR MONEY Get your Venmo money in the bank within minutes using Instant Transfer⁶. Want your paycheck up to two days earlier* than your normal payday? Try Direct Deposit ¹Use of cash back is subject to the terms of the Venmo account. See Rewards Program Terms: https://www.synchronycredit.com/gecrbterms/html/RewardsTerms.htm ²Application subject to credit approval. You must be at least 18 years old and reside in the US or its territories to apply. You must have a Venmo account in good standing, that has been open for at least 30 days prior to application The Venmo Credit Card is issued by Synchrony Bank pursuant to a license from Visa USA Inc. VISA is a registered trademark of Visa International Service Association and used under license ³Terms apply. Only available in the US and limited in certain states. Buying and selling cryptocurrency is subject to a number of risk and may result in significant losses. Venmo does not make any recommendation regarding buying or selling cryptocurrency. Consider seeking advice from your financial or tax adviser ⁴The Venmo Mastercard® is issued by The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated. Mastercard and the circles design are registered trademarks of Mastercard International Incorporated. The Bancorp Bank, N.A. is issuer of the Card only and not responsible for the associated accounts or other products, services, or offers from Venmo ⁵ The Venmo Teen Debit Card is available for eligible users 13-17 years old with parent or legal guardian sign up. Terms apply ⁶ Transfer speed depends on your bank and could take up to 30 minutes. Transfers are reviewed which may result in delays or funds being frozen or removed from your Venmo account. * The availability of Direct Deposit is subject to your employer sending paycheck information 1-2 days in advance of payday. Early access compared to standard banking practice of posting funds at settlement and subject to your employer providing pay information to the bank prior to payday. It may take up to two pay cycles for Direct Deposit to take effect. Transactions are reviewed, which may result in delays or funds being frozen or removed from your account. Emoji artwork is provided by emojitwo.github.io/, originally released as emojione.com/ by Ranks.com with contributions from the Emojitwo community and is licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode Venmo 2211 N. First St., San Jose, CA 95131
Payactiv
Access your earned wages before payday, pay bills on time, and manage unexpected expenses with user-friendly digital tools. This app helps you achieve financial stability and reach your financial wellness goals without predatory loans or interest.
- Early access to wages
- Government payment early access
- Spending and saving tools
- Low balance alerts
- Payactiv Visa Card
- Integrated bill pay
- Touchless payments
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With Payactiv, access your hard earned wages before payday, pay bills on time avoiding late and overdraft fees, and handle unexpected expenses with our user-friendly digital tools. Payactiv provides you with the foundation to maintain financial stability and equips you with the necessary tools to help you reach your financial wellness goals and thrive—without payday loans or interest. Just your money at your fingertips. With Payactiv, you can expect: 1. Earlier access to your money: - Enjoy your paycheck up to 2 days early.1 - Receive government payments up to 4 days early.1 - Gain immediate access to earned wages.2 2. Spending and saving tools to achieve your financial goals: - Always stay informed about what's safe to spend. - Easily track your spending habits at a glance. - Receive low balance alerts. - Set up automatic transfers from earned wages. 3. The Payactiv Visa® Card*: A card designed without hidden fees: - No minimum balance requirements. - No overdrafts. - No monthly or inactivity fees. - Access surcharge-free withdrawals at 37,000+ MoneyPass® ATMs. - Enjoy free integrated bill pay. - Withdraw cash at tellers in participating banks. - Send and receive funds to other enrolled members with no transfer fees. 4. Convenience and security you can rely on: - Seamlessly use the card with Google Pay or Apple Wallet. - Utilize touchless payments at stores. - Benefit from Visa's Zero Liability protection.3 - Easily lock or replace lost or stolen cards. - Access 24/7/365 support in English and Spanish. *Central Bank of Kansas City does not administer, nor is liable for earned wage access. The Payactiv Visa Prepaid Card is issued by Central Bank of Kansas City, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Certain fees, terms, and conditions are associated with the approval, maintenance, and use of the Card. You should consult your Cardholder Agreement and the Fee Schedule at payactiv.com/card411. If you have questions regarding the Card or such fees, terms, and conditions, you can contact us toll free at 1 (877) 747-5862, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 1 Many (but not all) employers, government benefits providers, and other originators send direct deposits early with an effective date of 1-4 days later. Beginning with your second direct deposit of at least $5 from the same source, the Central Bank of Kansas City (CBKC) will post the funds to your Payactiv Visa Prepaid Card when we receive it, rather than on the effective date. This may result in your having access to the funds sooner. The date CBKC receives your direct deposit and the effective date are controlled by the originator. 2 Earned Wage Access requires employer participation. 3 Visa’s Zero Liability Policy does not apply to certain commercial card and anonymous prepaid card transactions or transactions not processed by Visa. Cardholders must use care in protecting their card and notify their issuing financial institution immediately of any unauthorized use. Contact your issuer for more detail.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Venmo at every 11 days against Payactiv's every 2 months. Venmo also leads on ratings volume (15M vs 78K) and chart position (#6 vs #136). Payactiv's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and review sentiment (36% vs 15%). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Venmo against 4.7 for Payactiv. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Venmo has 15M ratings behind it against 78K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 15% of Venmo's written reviews are positive against 36% of Payactiv's.
Venmo ships an update every 11 days, Payactiv every 2 months. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Venmo | Payactiv |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (15M ratings) — better | 4.7 (78K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 14.6% of reviews | 35.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 15M — better | 78K |
| Update frequency | Every 11 days — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #6 — better | #136 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 701 MB | 47 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Venmo | PayActiv Inc. |
Customer experience
Venmo
Payactiv
User reviews
Venmo
From 15M App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Reliable, user-friendly, and convenient
- 🔒 Robust security features
- 👍 Untrustworthy vendor protection
- 💡 Investing feature built-in
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and glitchy app
- 🔒 Weak account security
- 🔒 Unreliable customer support
- 💰 Holds funds without explanation
- 💰 Freezes accounts without notice
Payactiv
From 78K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Quick access to money
- 👍 Convenient feature
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🚀 Helpful in emergencies
- 👍 Wonderful app
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Hours/funds not updating properly
- 🔒 Security and login issues
- 💩 Poor customer service
- 💰 High fees
Bugs and requests
Venmo
Reported bugs
4 issues- Payments getting declined without reason
- Accounts being frozen or deleted unexpectedly
- Delays in fund transfers and withdrawals
- Inability to access own money in account
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to cancel transactions
- Faster money transfers
- Better account management tools
- Improved customer service
Payactiv
Reported bugs
3 issues- App not loading or logging in
- Funds disappearing or not updating
- Issues linking bank accounts and cards
Requested features
4 requests- Same-day access to funds
- Reduce withdrawal fees
- Improve app stability and reliability
- Better customer support
In-app purchases
Venmo
No in-app purchases
Payactiv
No in-app purchases









