Tilt
- Best for: Workers with steady pay who need an occasional small advance
- What Sets It Apart: Refunds overdraft fees its repayment debits cause; a credit line that builds credit history
- Loan Amounts: $10 to $500 advances, averaging $96 for first-time and $178 for repeat customers (Q3 2026); line of credit $200 to $400, up to $1,000
- Terms: Advances repaid in one debit on payday; line of credit draws on payday, in 2 or 4 installments, or on a chosen date
- Features: Free delivery, usually within a business day, or within a minute to a Tilt debit card
- Monthly Fee: $8 after a 14-day first-time trial, waived for advances on request
- APR: None on advances; line of credit interest-free when repaid in full on payday, up to 35.99% otherwise
- Cost: Instant delivery $1 to $8, or 3% at $300 and up; line of credit late fee up to $20
- Credit Needed: No credit check for advances; no minimum score for the line of credit
- Pros: No collections on an unpaid advance; overdraft fees covered; line of credit reported to all three bureaus
- Cons: $96 a year unless waived; instant delivery fees; not in every state; one product at a time
Use Tilt for an occasional advance of up to $500 before payday, but ask it to waive the $8 monthly subscription first, since that fee costs $96 a year whether or not you borrow. Skip it if you’d borrow every pay period, which calls for a budget or a credit union loan instead.
Tilt, called Empower until August 2025 and unrelated to the retirement company Empower, advances workers $10 to $500 before payday with no interest or credit check, for a subscription of $96 a year. If you take one advance a month at $178, the average offer to repeat customers, and repay it in two weeks, the $8 monthly fee equals an annual percentage rate (APR) of about 117% by our math.
Key Features
- Advance amounts set from your checking account’s income and spending, with average offers of $96 to first-time and $178 to repeat customers in the third quarter of 2026
- $8 a month after a 14-day trial for first-time customers, waived for advances if you email help@tilt.com and ask
- Free delivery, usually within a business day to your bank or a minute to a Tilt debit card
- Repayment taken automatically on payday, unless you reschedule with support by 3 p.m. Pacific a business day ahead
- A FinWise Bank line of credit, $200 to $400 at first and up to $1,000 later, interest-free when repaid in full on your next payday and up to 35.99% APR otherwise
Pros
- No collections or credit reporting on an unpaid advance
- Overdraft fees from Tilt’s repayment debits refunded once you send proof
- Line of credit payments reported to Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion
Cons
- An $8 monthly charge whether or not you borrow, unless you get the waiver
- Instant delivery elsewhere, usually within 15 minutes, costs $1 to $8, or 3% at $300 and up ($7.50 at most in Maryland and Wisconsin)
- No advances in Connecticut, Maine, or Washington, D.C., and no line of credit in 11 states and D.C.
- One Tilt product at a time, so an unpaid advance must be repaid before Tilt offers its line of credit or credit cards like the Tilt Motion or Tilt Engage
Workers with steady pay who’d otherwise overdraw now and then should get the waiver and take free delivery, so an advance costs nothing. Borrowers who’d take one every pay period need a budget or a credit union’s small loan more than another advance.
Learn more about Tilt or see how it compares to the best cash advance apps.
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