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Explore the best seven money transfer apps like Venmo for sending and receiving money on the go. Now you can split bills, pay rent, or send gifts – all with ease. We cover fees, sending limits and more in our comprehensive guide.
Thanks to Venmo, the “I left my wallet at home” excuse doesn’t work.
As one of the most popular mobile payment services, Venmo makes it easy to send and receive money digitally.
But it’s not the only money-transferring app on the market.
If you feel like Venmo lacks the features or transfer limits you need in a payment processing app, it helps to know what other options are available.
We’ve selected and tested out the best alternatives to Venmo for 2024 across aspects like user experience, transaction limits, and cost-effectiveness to help you choose the perfect platform for your needs.
If you’re in search of lower fees or more generous transfer limits, the following apps like Venmo offer similar benefits:
- Chime Pay Anyone
- Cash App
- PayPal
- Zelle
- Apple Cash
- Google Pay
- Meta Pay
We’ve broken these 7 apps down for you.
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#1 – Chime Pay Anyone
With Chime Pay Anyone, you can send and receive money online instantly and with no fees. 2
To use Pay Anyone, follow these steps in the Chime app:
- Log in to your Chime mobile app.
- Select the Pay Anyone tab.
- Search for your friend’s name, $ChimeSign, or enter an email or phone number if your recipient isn’t on Chime.
- Enter the amount you want to send.
- Confirm the amount and recipient and choose ‘Pay Now’ to send the money.
There are no instant transfer fees and you can pay anyone – even if they don’t have a Chime account – as long as they have a valid debit card.
Chime’s Pay Anyone feature offers unlimited transfers and you can cancel transactions while they are processing for extra control.
| Chime | Venmo | Cash App | PayPal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instant cash-out fee | None | Up to 1.75% | 1.5% | 1% |
| Both people need an account? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 24/7 customer support? | Yes | No | No | No |
Sending Limits
Send and receive an unlimited amount of transactions per month. Your personal sending limits are automatically determined based on your Chime account history.
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#2 – Cash App
It’s completely free to send and receive money, stocks, or even Bitcoin with Cash App.
That means you can transfer money to a friend’s debit card or bank account and you’ll pay zero dollars for your transfers. All it takes to pay someone is their phone number, email, or $cashtag.
| 🤓Overdraft Apps Tip: Looking to transfer funds but your friends aren’t using Cash App? Unlike Chime Pay Anyone (where your recipient doesn’t need an account), Cash App will require both parties to have an account. If they’re not already using the Cash App, they’ll be prompted to create an account to accept the payment. If they don’t create and verify their account within 14 days, the payment gets returned to you. |
Cash App can also draw money from a linked bank account or card so you can transfer funds even when your account balance is zero (which means you won’t be able to skip out on paying for lunch, but neither can anyone else!).
Sending Limits
Cash App lets you send and receive up to $1,000 within a 30-day period. You can send a maximum of $250 a week.
You can increase your sending limits by verifying your identity (using your full name, date of birth, and Social Security Number) and linking a bank account.
#3 – PayPal
PayPal is a popular payment app that allows you to send and receive money quickly and securely.
Here’s how it works:
- Choose the recipient: Enter their name, PayPal user name, email or mobile number.
- Choose the amount: Pick the total amount and the currency you want to send it in.
- Choose ‘Send’: One click of the app will send your funds to someone else (in America or globally).
The app charges fees for certain transactions.
It’s fee-free to send money from your PayPal account to friends and family within the US, with a $0.10 per transaction fee.
It’s a 2.9% fee (plus $0.30 per transaction fee) for sending money using a credit or debit card as well as a PayPal Credit or PayPal Debit Card.
Sending Limits
PayPal offers daily and weekly sending limits. Your exact limits vary depending on your account and transaction history.
If you don’t have a PayPal account, you can send a one-time payment of up to $4,000.
If you have a verified PayPal account, there’s no limit on the total amount of money you can send. You can send up to $60,000 in a single transaction, but that amount may be limited to $10,000.
If you haven’t verified your PayPal account, there will be a limit on the total amount of money you can send. You’ll be able to view this amount when you go to send money.
If you want to increase your sending limit, you can request an increase by verifying your account. This may include adding a bank account, linking a credit or debit card, or providing other personal information.
#4 – Zelle
Zelle lets you transfer funds directly among bank accounts – even if your friends and family bank somewhere different to you.
Unlike other apps like Venmo, Zelle transfers are instant and free, which is what makes it so popular.
To get started, enroll your email or phone number through your mobile banking app or the Zelle app. Next, enter the email address or phone number of the recipient. Hit ‘Send’ and money will be transferred almost immediately as long as the recipient has a Zelle account.
Although Zelle is in over 2,000 banking apps already, some financial institutions may have slightly different processes. Zelle doesn’t charge any fees to send or receive money, but check with your institution for any specific fees on their end.
Sending Limits
Zelle doesn’t set sending limits on linked banks or credit unions. Each connected institution will place limits which may be higher for certain customers.
If your bank or credit union doesn’t offer Zelle, your weekly send limit is $500 and your weekly receive limit is $5,000. You can’t request to increase or decrease your limits.
#5 – Apple Cash
“Send it. Spend it. Stash it.”
That’s the motto of Apple Cash which comes built into your iPhone and makes it easy to send and receive money.
Similar to Google Pay’s Wallet, your Apple Pay is a digital card that lives in your wallet and can be used to make purchases in store, online or via apps, as well as to transfer money to friends and family.
Sending or receiving money is free. However, you’ll need to wait between 1-3 business days. If you want to send or receive money instantly, there is a 1.5% fee, subject to a $0.25 minimum and $15 maximum.
When someone sends you money, the app stores it as “Apple Cash.” You can choose to keep the funds in your digital wallet and spend them via Apple Pay. Or, transfer the money to your bank account and withdraw it from an ATM – it’s up to you.
Sending Limits
- Send or receive a minimum of $1 per message
- Send or receive a maximum of $10,000 per message
- Send or receive a maximum of $10,000 in a 7-day period
- The maximum amount you can hold in your Apple Cash balance is $20,000.
If you’re part of Apple Cash Family (meaning you’re under 18), you’ll be able to send between $1 and $2,000 per message. Your 7-day maximum sending limit will also be capped at $2,000.
#6 – Google Pay
Google Pay is a fast and easy way to pay on websites, apps or in-store with cards saved to your Google Wallet.
Google Pay is free to use although there may be fees associated with the bank who issued your card. You can link up to five payment methods in your Google Wallet, so there’s plenty of flexibility.
You can use your Google Pay account to send money to friends and family as long as they have a debit card or linked bank account. If the person you want to send money to isn’t on the Google Pay app, you can still use a debit card or a Google Pay balance to send them money.
Sending Limits
Your combined spending limit is a weekly rolling limit. If you add money to your account on a Thursday at 10am, that transaction won’t count against your limit starting at 10:01am the following Thursday.
The amount that you can send in a 7-day period depends on whether you’ve verified your account.
- If your identity is verified: $5,000
- If your identity is not verified: $500
Without verifying your identity, you’ll be capped at a lifetime sending limit of $5,000, so it’s worth going through the verification process. This is pretty standard like most payment processing apps and includes your name, address, date of birth, and Social Security Number.
#7 – Meta Pay
If you’re one of the 192 million Americans using Facebook Messenger, you can also take advantage of Meta Pay (formerly Facebook Pay) as an alternative to transferring money through Venmo.
Meta Pay is integrated with Facebook and all of Meta’s platforms, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and participating online stores, so there’s no need to download separate apps.
Here’s how you could use Meta Pay:
- Facebook: Use Meta Pay to shop, donate, buy tickets for events, or games.
- Instagram: Use Meta Pay to shop or make donations.
- Messenger: Use Meta Pay to send money to friends and family.
To use Meta Pay, enter your payment details (including the debit card, credit card or PayPal account you want to use) and you can start sending and receiving money from friends and family or using your funds to make purchases.
There are no fees to use Meta Pay but keep in mind that PayPal may charge fees for certain transactions if you use that as your payment method.
Sending Limits
Transaction limits for Meta Pay depend on the type of payment method you use:
| Payment Method | Limit Per Transaction | Limit Per 30-Day Period |
|---|---|---|
| Visa debit card | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Mastercard debit card | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| PayPal | $3,000 | $5,000 |
Your limits may vary depending on your financial institution. There may also be fees imposed by your bank which are separate from Meta Pay.
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- Funds are automatically debited from your Checking Account and typically deposited into the recipient’s Checking Account within seconds. Pay Anyone transactions will be monitored and may be held, delayed or blocked if the transfer could result in fraud or another form of financial harm. Sometimes instant transfers can be delayed.
- Funds are automatically debited from your Checking Account and typically deposited into the recipient’s Checking Account within seconds. Pay Anyone transactions will be monitored and may be held, delayed or blocked if the transfer could result in fraud or another form of financial harm. Sometimes instant transfers can be delayed.
