Are you looking for the best apps like Affirm? You’ve landed in the right place. The kind of flexibility Affirm offers with payment choices is unparalleled. It is the best choice, whether it is a fee structure or higher purchasing limits. With it, you never pay more than what you see at the point of sale.
However, it doesn’t come with all the bells and whistles; sometimes interest rates can go as high as 30%, and it reports your payment history to Experian, which in turn may affect your credit score.
Keep your pecker up – we did all the heavy lifting for you to find the best Affirm alternatives. So without any further ado, let’s dive into the article.
Apps similar to Affirm (Best Companies)
As the name suggests, with Afterpay, you can shop and pay for over six weeks without interest. Founded in 2014, in Australia, it is now in over six countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand.
As of now, it has more than 3.6 million active users who contributed over $519.2 million AUD alone in 2021.
Like Affirm, it houses a wide range of categories and brands, so it’s almost easy to go after the stuff that takes Afterpay.
Not only does it have a collection of your favorite online shops and in-stores, but it has also pioneered a smooth way to pay for the stuff.
It doesn’t check your credit, and there are no surprising fees as long as you pay on time.
How Does Afterpay Work?
- Install the app, and sign up.
- To shop online, pick Afterpay as your payment method at checkout.
- To shop in-store. Set up and add the Afterpay card to your digital wallet, and tap to pay with Apple Pay or others.
- Pay an upfront fee for the first out of four installments and the rest over 6 weeks.
- No interest, no credit check, no monthly fees.
- Exclusive deals & rewards on specific stores.
- Easy approval process.
- Plethora of online and in-stores.
- Late payment fee.
- No option to schedule payment.
- Spending limits.
- May encourage bad spending habits.
- First installment at checkout.
Explore: The Best Afterpay Alternatives
Next up in the line is one of the most popular Sweden-based fintech companies, Klarna. It’s a pay-in-four credit service founded in 2005, providing flexible payment services to more than 70 million customers across 17 countries. It’s unquestionably the world’s leading pay-later platform for smarter and more flexible shopping.
It allows you to buy stuff and pay over time, interest-free. Not only does it let you split payments, but it also offers the flexibility to pay on your own schedule.
It has an instant approval process that involves a soft credit inquiry that doesn’t impact a credit score.
What’s more, you can pay in 4 from cross-devices: desktop, smartphone, and chrome extension. Klarna lets you shop from thousands of in-store and online shops and apps, making it easier for users to opt for something they want to buy.
How does Klarna work?
- Go to the app, or website to create an account.
- Once approved, browse your favorite brands, choose an item, and select “Klarna” at checkout.
- Pay the first installment and the rest every two weeks or 30 days.
- For in-store purchases, simply link the Klarna card to Apple pay, Google Pay, or any other digital wallet. Tap and pay.
- Flexible payment options.
- Monthly financing for larger purchases.
- Shop popular stores: H & M, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Shien, and the list goes on and on.
- No subscription fee or interest.
- Use it anywhere in the U.S. store accepting Visa.
- Grab deals and unlock rewards.
- Available on cross platforms.
- Lofty Late fees and returned fees.
- Hard credit inquiry for financing larger products.
This U.S–based company claims to be the highest-rated Pay Later solution. Sezzle lets you pay in four bite-sized installments over six weeks with 0% interest.
The startup was founded in 2016 and has already amassed nearly 7.5 million active users worldwide. It houses big brand assets that help you shop from a wide range of categories – including automotive, arts & crafts, clothing health, and more.
Simply sign up, receive instant approval, and search for the product in over 44,000 stores. At checkout, select Sezzle, and follow the prompts to secure the order.
There is no credit check, no surprising fee to tick you off. However, akin to other similar companies, you might get charged for not paying on time.
However, it offers free guidance and education to build credit and the flexibility to pay when you want.
How to Sezzle?
- Get approval after Signing up.
- Shop over at your favorite store.
- Select Sezzle at check-out, pay 25% of the order value up-front, and complete your order.
- Sign up for the Sezzle Virtual card and activate tap and pay to shop at online and in-store retailers.
- No credit check, No monthly fee, No interest.
- Flexible payment, 4 installments over six weeks.
- Doesn’t report payments to credit bureaus (Only Sezzle Up)
- Soft credit check.
- Late fees and Rescheduled fees.
- 25% down payment.
- Doesn’t build credit.
Zip is another popular platform you can lean on to elevate your shopping experience. Through it, you can buy a product and slash the price in four easy payments. It houses big brands like Amazon, Target, Walmart, Levis, and Walmart, to name a few.
You can shop by category, choose your store, pick a product, and then select Zip at checkout – this is how it works. You’ll pay for the first fee-due installment while processing the order, and the rest over six weeks.
On the flip side, it charges a $1 convenience fee for each payment made in four installments. Apart from that, it may impose a hefty $7 late fee per installment, which means you might end up paying an additional $24 for each failed due.
To sum up, it is a fantastic platform for shopping from a plethora of brick-and-mortar retailers.
How does Zip work?
- Sign up, and it will approve your account instantly.
- Browse through hundreds of brands online or with the app and pick a product you like.
- Tap ‘Pay with Zip’, fill in your card details, and checkout in seconds.
- To shop in-store, add the virtual Zip card to your wallet via the In-store tab, with the amount you plan on spending.
- No Easy transparent payments with no hidden fees.
- Various online and in-store.
- Smooth refund process.
- 1$ convenience fee for each installment.
- Need approval process for every purchase.
- Waives late fees and reports them to major credit bureaus.
If you don’t know, Paypal also offers Pay in 4 services to many countries – including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and a few more. Apart from that, it provides a revolving line of credit similar to a credit card, as well as cash advances.
To pay over time with PayPal, tap the PayPal icon, select Pay in 4 at checkout, make your first payment, and then make the rest every two weeks. It does a soft credit pull to approve your account, with no impact on your credit score.
The best part of being a Paypal user is that you will find a plethora of retailers supporting it as a payment option at check-out.
Some of the notable names that accept PayPal are Addidas, Beauty.com, Groupon, eBay, Puma, and more. Unlike other alternatives, it gives you more ways to pay online and in-store.
How to Pay in 4 with Paypal.
- Create an account, add card details and wait for approval.
- Go to any PayPal-supported store, find stuff, and tap on ‘Paypal credit’.
- At checkout, select ‘pay in 4’ and secure your order after paying an initial down payment.
- Interest-free, no recurring or hidden fees.
- Soft credit check.
- Pay via cryptocurrency option.
- Loyalty and rewards.
- Millions of retailers.
- Turns purchases into bite-sized purchases.
- Paypal credit for long-term financing.
- Purchases are capped at $1500.
- No payment flexibility.
- May charge a late fee.
When it comes to paying for later solutions, Splitit takes a unique spin. It allows users to split payments into smaller chunks and pay via their existing credit cards.
Splitit doesn’t require a credit pull or deposit, or you’ll not pay any interest along the way. However, with Splitit, you only get a paying option with a credit card, as it doesn’t support debit cards, bank accounts, or prepaid cards.
What makes it stand apart from the rest is its ability to offer up to 24 installments that you can choose at the time of purchase.
As to the store directory, you’ll find hundreds if not thousands of online retailers that accept Splitit, making it one of the best companies like Affirm.
Though it has no wider base of merchants, competing with Klarna or Afterpay, it doesn’t charge a late fee, which is unique in the market. Besides, unlike some, it lets you shop with your reward credit card with full perks associated with it.
How to Splitit?
- Sign up, and get an instant approval decision.
- Shop over various online stores with the app and select ‘Splitit’ as a payment option.
- Choose an installment term.
- Fill in your credit card details and checkout securely.
- No late fees, interest, or monthly fees.
- Pay in 24 split dues or over a six-month period.
- No credit check, easy approval.
- Early payments.
- No credit bureaus reporting.
- Automatic installment payments.
- Limited retailers compared to other competitors.
- Doesn’t accept debit cards.
- Doesn’t build credit even if you pay on time.
- Retailers may set a limit on purchases.
When it comes to BNPL services, Perpay takes a unique spin. It allows you to build your payment history and credit score while shopping. Unlike other apps, it splits payments into small portions and automatically pays over time from your paycheck.
Even more, you can grow your FICO score over time with on-time payments, and paying is not even an issue. According to Perpay, users can grow their credit score by an average of 35 points.
To enroll, simply answer a few questions asked during the approval process, and you may be eligible if you fit into their criteria. As per the company, a user must have an average annual income of $15,000 with at least three months of active cash flow from the current employer.
Eligible consumers get access to shop for thousands of products without paying all upfront. And users who want to get into credit building with Perpay must complete two successful orders using their spending limit.
As to repayments, the company offers flexible options with the basic plan – a premium plan unlocks more options while offering an opportunity to build credit. The platform is free to join – but to build credit, you have to shell out just as low as $2 every month.
So far, the platform has over 3 million active users enjoying shopping differently. Some top brands supporting Perpay are Apple, Beats, Nintendo, MCM, Samsung, etc.
If you want some breathing room with your payments, Zebit is the best option to go with. There are no interest or monthly fees, so if you find yourself short on cash one month (or aren’t able to pay in full), there are no consequences. Plus, it offers free shipping on items over $99 and a great selection of major brands—ranging from J.Crew to Apple—at competitive prices.
Interested? Take advantage of their 90-day no-interest payment plan and buy something like an iPad Pro at a reduced price while spreading out your payments into three different monthly installments.
For those who might not have enough money saved up to make a large purchase all at once, Zebit lets you break down your purchases into small amounts over time, much like other Affirm competitors.
BNPL apps: Are they any good?
BNPL apps allow you to pay in installments over a period of time without interest. While many of these options sound too good to be true, BNPL apps like Affirm offer easy-to-use payment plans that are often cheaper than traditional credit card payments.
The best part? If you settle the bill on time, there will be no interest. However, inclining totally on such services can trigger impulsive spending and cause a bad effect on your wallet.
Final Notes
For a broader shopping experience, we have listed a few incredible apps like Affirm. Whichever application you go for, make sure to pay off your installments on time. These apps may incur late fees if you miss or fail to make a payment.
Also, a few listed apps report your payment history directly to the major credit bureaus, which might affect your ability to take out a loan in the future. However, these companies have transparent financial terms, so there will be no surprise charges unless you reimburse all your installments.
