Brigit does not require a subscription to get an advance. No fee is required to get an advance, and the paid plans are optional extras. The catch is you have to ask for it.
Brigit is a cash advance app. You link a checking account, it looks at your recent transactions, and if you qualify it advances you between $25 and $500 before payday with no credit check and no late fees. It is built by Bridge It, Inc., a financial technology company that says plainly it is not a bank. This is one of the better known apps on our list of the best cash advance apps, and it is also one of the most confusing to price.
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This review covers what Brigit really costs, what the paid plans add, how big your advance is likely to be, and who should skip the subscription entirely.
- Tap to get an advance within seconds
- Get up to $500
- No credit check is required and no interest
- Pay it back without hidden fees or “tips"
The app has over 15 million users and a 4.8 rating from more than 580,000 ratings on the Apple App Store. Big numbers for this category.
The one to hold onto is the average advance of $72. That’s what a typical request looks like.
Get the Brigit app and see what you qualify for.
What you get with Brigit
Brigit sells a free tier and two paid tiers, and the advance sits in the free one. Here is what each piece does.
Instant Cash advance
The core product. The range is $25 to $500, or $25 to $250 for Maine residents. Brigit doesn’t publish how it sets your number. It only says eligibility comes from its own underwriting and risk models, and you have to qualify every time you ask. So treat $500 as a ceiling, not a promise. The average advance is $72, and a new account should expect something in that neighborhood.
Two rules shape how you use it. You cannot request a new advance while one is still outstanding, and if you do not repay, Brigit suspends access to future advances until the balance is cleared. Brigit also states it has no legal or contractual claim against you for failing to repay. That’s unusual wording and worth knowing, but it won’t stop your bank from charging its own fees if a debit bounces.
Standard delivery is free and takes up to three business days. Express delivery usually lands within 20 minutes, needs a linked debit card, and carries an optional fee of $0.99 to $5.99 depending on the advance size. It is collected when you repay.
Autopilot
Autopilot is an optional setting. If Brigit’s algorithm predicts you are about to overdraw, it sends an advance on its own. That can save you from a surprise overdraft fee, and it can also quietly turn borrowing into a habit. You can switch it off in the app any time. Decide on purpose.
Credit Builder
Credit Builder costs $15.99 a month. Brigit arranges an installment loan for you, holds the money in a secured account where you cannot spend it, and reports your payments and balance to all three bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. You can save as little as $1 a month toward it, and your savings can be withdrawn at any time in the app. There is no hard credit pull and no minimum credit score. The accounts are provided by Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC. Some users’ scores may not improve, and a small temporary dip is possible when the account opens. If building credit is the real goal, compare it with other credit building apps before paying $15.99 a month for it.
Budgeting, credit monitoring and identity protection
The Plus tier adds budgeting and analysis tools, credit monitoring and identity theft insurance, and there’s a $1 million identity theft protection promise if there’s a data breach. Useful, but free apps cover budgeting and credit monitoring too. Don’t pay a monthly fee for these alone.
What Brigit actually costs
This is where Brigit gets slippery. A monthly subscription of $8.99 to $15.99 may apply, and you can cancel anytime. There’s a Plus plan and a $15.99 Premium plan, and the dollar ranges on Brigit’s own pages don’t line up exactly. Short version: the price shown in the app is the one that counts. Read it before you confirm anything.
| What | Cost | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Advance, standard delivery | Free | No subscription needed |
| Advance, express delivery | $0.99 to $5.99 | Optional, free on Premium |
| Subscription | $8.99 to $15.99 per month | Optional |
| Credit Builder | $15.99 per month | Optional |
Do the yearly math before you subscribe. At $8.99 a month the subscription adds up to $107.88 a year, and at $15.99 it is $191.88. Brigit’s savings math assumes an average overdraft fee of $34, so a single avoided overdraft pays for roughly four months at the low end. If you only borrow once or twice a year, that is a bad trade.
Here’s the part worth the whole review.
You can get an advance without a subscription and without paying the subscription fee. You just email Brigit support and say you want an advance without subscribing to one of its plans. The address is on the terms page.
If the advance is all you want, that’s the cheapest way to use the app. The only cost is the optional express fee if you’re in a hurry.
Canceling has one snag. You can cancel any time, even with an advance outstanding, but you’re still charged for the month you cancel in.
Pros and cons
What works
- You can get an advance without paying for a subscription
- No credit check and no late fees on the advance
- Standard delivery is free, express is capped at $5.99
- Up to $500, with Autopilot as an optional overdraft guard
- Credit Builder reports to all three bureaus with no hard pull
- You can repay early with no penalty
What does not
- Brigit does not say how it sets your amount, and the average advance is only $72
- The subscription range differs between the homepage and the terms
- Getting an advance with no subscription means emailing support
- Credit Builder is $15.99 a month and results are not guaranteed
- Needs a checking account at a supported bank with 90 days of visible transactions
- One advance at a time, and missed repayment suspends future advances
- Not available in all states, and Maine caps at $250
How to get an advance
Signup takes about two minutes and approval comes in minutes. Here’s the flow.
- Download Brigit and create an account. You need to be 18 or older and a U.S. citizen or legal resident
- Link your checking account. It has to be at a supported bank or credit union and let Brigit see the last 90 days of transactions
- Wait for your offer. Brigit decides how much you can request
- Choose standard delivery for free, or express for a fee if you have a debit card linked
- Pick or confirm a repayment date. Brigit can debit after the later of your due date or the next positive deposit it sees, so keep the money in the account
If your bank will not link, or you use a neobank, our guide to cash advance apps that work with Chime covers options built for that setup. And if Brigit turns you down, the list of apps like Brigit is the next place to look.
Is Brigit safe to use
Brigit uses the same 256-bit encryption that banks use and won’t sell your personal information to third parties. It connects through data aggregators, so it can see your transactions without your bank password. It is a financial technology company, not a bank, so the Credit Builder side runs through Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC, and FDIC coverage applies there only if certain conditions are met.
The bigger risk is the habit, not the app.
An advance repaid on payday leaves the next pay period shorter, and Autopilot makes it easy to borrow again without noticing. Its overdraft predictions are advisory, not a guarantee. If you’re borrowing every month, the problem is the budget, and an app won’t fix that.
How Brigit compares to other cash advance apps
Brigit’s edge is that the advance doesn’t depend on a subscription, as long as you ask. Its weak spot is the size of the typical advance. Here’s how it lines up.
- Tilt also goes up to $500, but charges a flat $8 monthly subscription whether you borrow or not
- Klover has no mandatory monthly fee
- Cleo leads with a chat-based budgeting assistant and puts the advance behind it
- EarnIn advances against hours you have already worked and runs on optional tips
For a longer list of alternatives, see apps like EarnIn and the full cash advance apps comparison.
Is Brigit worth it
Brigit is worth a look if you want a small advance now and then and don’t mind sending one email to skip the subscription. It costs nothing unless you pay for express delivery.
It’s a harder sell if you pay for a plan and only borrow occasionally. $107.88 to $191.88 a year buys a lot of protection you may never use.
Use it for the gap you actually have. If $72 won’t cover it, a different app may fit better. Read the price in the app before you confirm, and cancel anything you don’t need.
Check your Brigit advance amount to see your offer before you pay for any plan.
Frequently asked questions
Advances run from $25 to $500, with a $25 to $250 range for Maine residents. The average advance is $72, so most people start well below the top. Brigit does not publish how it sets your amount, and you have to qualify each time you ask. You can check your amount with Brigit after linking your bank.
No. You aren’t required to enroll in a subscription to receive an advance, and no fee is required to obtain one. To skip the plan, email Brigit support and say you want an advance without subscribing. The subscription, which the homepage lists at $8.99 to $15.99 a month, is optional, and you can start by downloading Brigit to see the price in the app.
Not for an advance. Brigit advertises no credit check on advances. Credit Builder also uses no hard credit pull and has no minimum credit score. Brigit does note that a small temporary dip in your score is possible when a Credit Builder account opens.
Standard delivery is free and takes up to three business days. Express delivery usually arrives within 20 minutes, needs a linked debit card, and has an optional fee that runs from $0.99 to $5.99. It is collected when you repay, and Premium members pay no express fee. You can try Brigit and compare both options in the app.
Brigit doesn’t charge late fees. If you don’t repay, it suspends future advances until the balance is paid in full. It also states it has no legal or contractual claim against you for failing to repay. Your bank may still charge its own overdraft or returned payment fee if a debit fails, so contact Brigit before the repayment date if the money will not be there.
Where to go next
If you need less than Brigit’s average offer, $100 instant loan apps covers the smaller options. If Brigit does not work out, apps like Brigit lists the closest alternatives. And if the shortfall keeps repeating, the durable fix is on the income side, so look at the bills causing the gap before you borrow again.
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Free every week. Unsubscribe anytime.
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