DailyPay
Earned wage access that lets employees draw earned pay before payday, at no cost to the employer.
Free for employers
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Bottom line
DailyPay is an earned wage access benefit for employers with large hourly workforces that want to offer pay before payday without changing payroll. Employers pay nothing to implement or offer it. Employees can take free next-business-day transfers or pay a fee for instant ones, listed at $3.49 on the small business page, with fees varying by employer.
Stands out for: DailyPay lists more than 180 pre-built payroll, HCM and time integrations, from ADP and Workday to restaurant POS systems, and publishes a developer portal with a REST API, SDKs and embeddable Elements. Cycle and Tips extend it beyond EWA into off-cycle and tip payouts.
Watch out for: The cost lands on employees: instant transfers carry a fee that varies by employer, and only next-business-day transfers are free. Capterra has only 11 reviews, and reviewers rate customer service lower than the product.
Overview
DailyPay connects to an employer's payroll and time-management systems, calculates each worker's shift earnings and makes a portion available in the DailyPay app. Employees can transfer to a bank account, debit card or pay card, and any unused earnings arrive on payday as normal. DailyPay funds the transfers and recoups them at the end of the pay period through normal payroll, so the employer's working capital is not affected.
For employers, the Client Portal shows usage and engagement, and add-ons such as Cycle, Reward and Tips handle off-cycle payments, instant bonuses and same-day tips. The employee app adds the DailyPay Visa Prepaid Card, free credit monitoring, goal-based savings, Perks discounts and a Bill Manager. Developers can embed On-Demand Pay through a REST API, SDKs and DailyPay Elements.
Who it's for
Best for
- Hourly-heavy employers in healthcare, retail, restaurants and staffing
- HR teams using retention and recruiting as the main business case
- Employers on mainstream payroll such as ADP, UKG, Workday or Paylocity
- Small businesses of 50 or fewer employees via the self-serve product
Not ideal for
- Employers that want a fully fee-free benefit for every transfer type
- Companies looking for a payroll replacement rather than an add-on
Key features
On-Demand Pay. Employees see earnings grow after each reported shift and can transfer a portion before payday, with the rest paid on payday as normal.
Client Portal. Employers get a dashboard of employee usage, transactions and engagement to manage the program.
Cycle and Tips. Cycle sends off-cycle pay such as termination pay or corrections, and Tips pays out digital tips the same day.
DailyPay Visa Prepaid Card. Employees without a bank account can receive pay on a card with savings jars and cash back offers.
AI features
| What the AI does | Plan |
|---|---|
| Uses AI algorithms to detect suspicious account activity and reduce unauthorized access to employee earnings | Included in the platform |
Only features named in the vendor's own documentation. Anything sold separately is marked as an add-on.
Pricing
DailyPay says it is a zero-cost benefit for employers, with no fee to implement and no fee to offer. Employees pay instead: the small business page lists instant transfers at $3.49, notes that fees vary by employer, and says next-business-day transfers are free. On-Demand Pay fees are waived for transfers to a DailyPay Visa Prepaid Card set up with direct deposit. The small business product is for employers with 50 or fewer employees; larger employers use the enterprise service through a demo. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.
Checked 19 Sep 2026. Vendors change prices without notice.
Is DailyPay expensive?
DailyPay starts at Free for employers. We list 43 payroll tools in total. 2 have a free tier, and those with a public price typically start around $49 a month.
- 27 quote-based
- 2 free tier
- 12 public price
Worked out automatically from every payroll listing, so it updates as the directory changes.
Pros and cons
Pros
- No implementation or program fee for employers
- More than 180 pre-built payroll, HCM and time integrations
- Published developer portal with REST API, SDKs and Elements
Cons
- Employees pay for instant transfers, with fees that vary by employer
- Small business self-serve is limited to 50 or fewer employees
- Only 11 Capterra reviews, with lower marks for customer service
Integrations
ADP Workforce Now Workday UKG Pro Paylocity Paycor Paychex SAP SuccessFactors Oracle HCM Cloud
How DailyPay compares
See all DailyPay alternatives, with what each one does differently and a head to head for every pairing.
| Tool | Free tier | From | MCP | API | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DailyPay (this tool) | ✓ | Free for employers | – | ✓ | |
 Payactiv Payactiv is also free for employers and publishes its fee table, with no-fee transfers to its Visa card when direct deposit of $200 or more per pay period is set up. | ✓ | Free for employers | – | ✓ | Compare |
| | – | Sales-quoted | – | ✓ | Compare |
 Legion Legion is workforce management for hourly scheduling and labor forecasting, and it appears on DailyPay's list of supported timekeeping systems. | – | Sales-quoted | – | – | Compare |
PayactivFree for employers Free tier API
Payactiv is also free for employers and publishes its fee table, with no-fee transfers to its Visa card when direct deposit of $200 or more per pay period is set up.
Sales-quoted API
Paylocity is a full HCM and payroll suite, a fit if you want to change payroll systems rather than add an EWA layer on top of one.
LegionSales-quoted
Legion is workforce management for hourly scheduling and labor forecasting, and it appears on DailyPay's list of supported timekeeping systems.