Comparison

Payactiv vs medZERO

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Early access to wages
  • Government payment early access
  • Spending and saving tools
  • Low balance alerts
  • Payactiv Visa Card
  • Integrated bill pay
  • Touchless payments
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

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.

About

medZERO

Access funds instantly to cover out-of-pocket healthcare costs over time. Enjoy zero interest and zero fees on eligible expenses like glasses or past medical bills. Enrollment takes under 5 minutes.

Highlights
  • On-demand access to funds
  • Pay for healthcare expenses over time
  • Zero interest financing
  • Zero fees
  • Quick enrollment (under 5 minutes)
  • Account information at your fingertips
Features
Read full description

medZERO gives you on-demand access to funds to pay out-of-pocket healthcare expenses over time—at ZERO interest and ZERO fees. If you’re eligible for medZERO membership, you can pay for your out-of-pocket healthcare expenses- that’s everything from new glasses to old doctor bills- over time with ZERO interest and ZERO Fees. The medZERO app takes less than 5 minutes to enroll in and brings you instant access to your on-demand funds- as well as all your account info at your fingertips.​

Screenshots

Payactiv4 screens
medZERO4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: medZERO at 100% against Payactiv's 36%. medZERO also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Payactiv's advantage is ratings volume (78K vs 6) and chart position (#174 vs unranked). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

medZERO holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Payactiv has 78K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 36% of Payactiv's written reviews are positive against 100% of medZERO's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Payactiv ships an update every 2 months, medZERO fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Payactiv versus medZERO: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPayactivmedZERO
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (78K ratings)5.0 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews35.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings78K — better6
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#174 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPayActiv Inc.medZERO, Inc.

Customer experience

Payactiv

All ratings67,229 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral1.6%
Negative4.7%
Written reviews769 reviews
Positive35.8%
Neutral6.9%
Negative57.3%

medZERO

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

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

medZERO

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Payactiv

No in-app purchases

None

medZERO

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Payactiv free?
Payactiv is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is medZERO free?
medZERO is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Payactiv or medZERO?
medZERO is rated higher. Payactiv averages 4.7 out of 5 from 78K ratings, while medZERO averages 5.0 from 6 ratings.
Do Payactiv or medZERO have ads?
Neither Payactiv nor medZERO shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Payactiv or medZERO?
Payactiv ships an update every 2 months, and medZERO fortnightly. Most recently, Payactiv was updated on October 13, 2026 and medZERO on October 7, 2026.

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