We chose as the best overall Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) app because of its lack of fees, wide acceptance by merchants, and strong overall performance in our scoring model. Depending on your shopping needs and habits, another BNPL app may serve you better. For example, Klarna has 🦂no fixed purchase limits and PalPal Pay in 4 is accepted by 30 million merchants. If you’re a Cash App user, you can now make BNPL purchases with Cash App Afterpay, a new partnership between the two familiar fintechs.
The best buy now, pay later apps offer multiple pay⛎ment options (including monthly installments for large purchases), charge few fees, are accepted by the merchants you shop at, and have strong customer s🍰ervice and reputations for fair dealing.
Best Buy Now, Pay Later Apps
- Best Overall: Affirm
- Best for Large Purchases: Klarna
- Best for Merchant Network: 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询: PayPal Pay in 4
- Reputation and Trust: 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询: Cash App Afterpay
- Best for Flexibility: Sezzle
Best Overall : Affirm
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Affirm online bank logo
- Payment Plans: Pay in 4, Monthly
- Purchase Limits: $50–$5,000
- Reports to Credit Bureaus: Yes
Affirm gets the nod for b♒est overall due to its lack of fees (it doesn’t even charge a late fee), and its strong overall showing acro🅠ss the board in our rating model.
No fees
Purchases up to $5,000
Many 0% options
Late payments may hurt your credit score
Affirm offers two payment plans: Pay in 4 and an installment loan for bigger purchases. With Pay in 4, your purchase is broken down into four equal payments you pay every two weeks (you may or may not have to make the first payment at the time of purchase). The monthly installment plan, which is like a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:personal loan, comes in re♎payment terms from 3 months to 60 months and inter﷽est rates between 0% and 36%.
Aff🐽irm is accepted by a quarter of a million merchants. You can make purchases using the app, an Affirm debit card, a one-time virtual credit card, or via a digital wallet (including Apple Pay). Payments come from a bank account you specify during𒁏 setup; autopay is optional.
Despite so much going for it, Affirm stumbles when it comes to customer satisfaction. In J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Buy Now, Pay Later Customer Satisfaction study, it scored 607 (out of 1,000), the lowest among the pure BNPL providers included in the study. On a positive note,🌌 its mobile apps earn high scores in both the Apple and Androi🌜d stores.
Since its founding in 2012, Affirm has processed 17 million transactions. Its headquar⛎ters are in San Francisco, California.
Additional Details
Interest | 0% for Pay in 4, Pay in 2, Pay in 1; 0%–36% for monthly installment loans |
---|---|
Fees | None |
Repayment Frequency | Biweekly, Monthly |
Autopay | Optional |
Best for Large Purchases : Klarna
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Klarna
- Payment Plans: Pay in 4, Pay in Full, Pay in 30, Monthly
- Purchase Limits: None
- Reports to Credit Bureaus: Yes
Klarna offers multiple payment options, including a monthly installment loan🎃 option for large purchases. That’s good because it’s the only BNPL app in our r💦esearch with no fixed spending limit.
No fixed purchase limit
High customer satisfaction ratings
Multiple ways to split a purchase
Late fee
Autopay is required
Limited repayment options
Klarna offers four point-of-sale payment plans: Pay in 4, Pay in Full, Pay in 30, and Monthly. The monthly plan is an 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:installment loan with three- to 60-month terms and interest rates from 7.99% to 33🍸.99%. Pay in 4, and the others are interest-free. If you decide to use a virtual credit car🐷d (at a merchant that does not offer Klarna as an option, for example), you’ll be charged a one-time card fee of up to $3.
It’s good to know ༒you can use a virtual card nearly anywhere to split your payments with Klarna, but you may not need to very often. That’s because Klarna is accepted by 675,000 merchants. You can use Klarna through the app, through a browse𒊎r extension, and with a credit card. You can also pay using “Klarna Balance,” which is the store of cashback you earn for shopping with Klarna and any merchant refunds you’ve gotten.
Your payments to Klarna are automatically withdrawn from the payment method you choose (a debit card or a credit card). If you need more time, you can reschedule a 🐭payment later (once per order).
Klarna earns good ratings from online reviewers, and its mobile app is highly rated in both the Android and Apple stores. In J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Buy Now, Pay Later Customer Satisfaction study, it scored 638 (out of 1,000). That was the highest rating among pure BNPL services, but it was well below the top-rated service in the study, American Express’s “Plan-It,” at 706.
Klarna was founded in Stockholm, Sweden, i𝕴n 2010.🎃
Additional Details
Interest | 0% for Pay in 4, Pay in Full, Pay in 30; 7.99%–33.99% for installment loans |
---|---|
Fees | Late fee: $7; One-time card fee: $1–$3 |
Repayment Frequency | Biweekly, monthly |
Autopay | Required |
Best for Merchant Network : PayPal Pay in 4
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PayPal
- Payment Plans: Pay in 4, Monthly
- Purchase Limits: $1,500 Pay in 4; $10,000 Monthly
- Reports to Credit Bureaus: Yes
PayPal Pay in 4 is accepted everywhere PayPal is accepted. That’s 30 million merchants of all types, online and off, large and small. ♋
Accepted by millions and millions of merchants
Wide range of purchase limits
No fees
No payment rescheduling
Autopay is required for Pay-in-4
PayPal offers two 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:point-of-purchase paymenꦡt plans with its service: Pay in 4 and Pay Monthly. Pay in 4 is the no-interest payment plan that you can use for purchases between $30 and $1,500 and pay off in six weeks. Pay Monthly covers purchases from $49 to $10,00 that you can pay off in 3,6,12 or 24 months (at interest rates from 9.99% to 35.99%).
You can use PayPal’s BNPL service just about everywhere—and in any currency PayPal supports. Payments come from an account you determine at signup: a debit card, credit card, bank account, or PayPal Balance. Purchases come with PayPal’s “Purchase Protection,” which can help you get a refund if a product doesn’t𝔉 🧜arrive or is significantly different from what you expected.
PayPal Pay in 4 finished about middle of the pack for pure BNPL services in J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Buy Now, Pay Later Customer Satisfaction study; it scored 621 (out of 1,000). Online reviewers ha🦄ve not been kind to PayPa♕l, but mobile app users have given the service high scores in Android and Apple stores.
PayPal was founded in 1998 (as “Confinity” and l🔥ater renamed). Since that time, it has processed more than 25 billion digital transactions. Today, it is headquartered in San Jose, California.
Additional Details
Interest | 0% for Pay in 4; 9.99% to 35.99% for installment loans |
---|---|
Fees | None |
Repayment Frequency | Biweekly, Monthly |
Autopay | Optional |
Reputation and Trust : Cash App Afterpay
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Cash App Afterpay
- Payment Plans: Pay in 4, Monthly
- Purchase Limits: Up to $5,000
- Reports to Credit Bureaus: No
Cash App Afterpay (formerly just “Afterpay”) outperformed every other BNPL service in the Reputation and Trust category in our mathematical rating model. It has few regulatory complaints, high ratings from online reviewers🐓, and its mobile apps are highly ranked in the app stores.
Strong customer reviews
Fraud protection
Highly rated mobile app
Late payment fee
Inflexible monthly payment term
Limited customer service contacts
Cash App Afterpay offers two point-of-sale payment plans: a Pay-in-4 plan and a Pay-monthly plan. Pay in 4 breaks your purchase into four payments over ꦦsix weeks (the first payment is made at the time of purchase). The monthly plan is for larger purchases (up to $5,000 with select merchants) and is repaid monthly over six or 12 months.
Cash App Afterpay is accepted by 425,000 merchants. To use the app in-store, you must create an Afterpay Card digital credit card ಞand add it to your smartphone’s digital wallet.
Cash App Afterpay charges no setup fees or interest for Pay in 4 purchases. Monthly plans charge interest between 0%–35.99%. The service offers many ways to repay, including debit and credit cards, bank accounts, digital wallets, and pre-paid cards for one-time payments. Autopay is optional, although opting in is a good idea because Cash App Afterpay charges a fee of up 🅷to $8 per late payment. The app delivers reminders to help you stay on track, and you can reschedule one payment per order (but not the first or the last ones) should you need more time.
Cash App Afterpay has gotten strong online reviews, and its mobile app is highly rated in the Apple and Android app stores. In J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Buy Now, Pay Later Customer Satisfaction study it scored 617 (out of 1,000)—in the lower third of pure BNPL apps reviewed and well behind the study’s leader (‘Plan It’ from American Express). Our researchers rated the website experience a 4 (out oไf 5). The site’s coll൩ection of FAQs is broad and deep. Users can find answers to most issues with a simple search. (Investopedia’s scoring model rewards companies that are transparent with their policies.)
Cash App Afterpay is a partnership between the diversified fintech Cash App and BNPL service Afterpay. Cash App was founded in 2013 and is heꦺadquartered in New York, New York. Afterpay was founded in 2012 and is based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Additional Details
Interest | 0% for Pay in 4; 0%–35.99% for installment loans |
---|---|
Fees | Late fee: $8 |
Repayment Frequency | Biweekly, Monthly |
Autopay | Optional |
Best for Flexibility : Sezzle
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Sezzle
- Payment Plans: Pay in 2, Pay in 4, Monthly
- Purchase Limits: $10-$50 minimum; Maximum not disclosed
- Reports to Credit Bureaus: For Sezzle Up customers
Sezzle offers a few ways to break up your payments, several ways to pay off your balance, and multiple opportunities to reschedule a payment due date (for freꦅe 😼and with a fee).
Free reschedules
Several payment options
Long-term financing
Lots of fees
Long-term financing through a third party
Credit monitoring tools
Sezzle lets you split payments in several different ways: Pay in 2, Pay in 4, and Pay Monthly. Pay in 2 and Pay in 4 are no-interest payment plans, although you will pay a finance charge, w♉hich is . Pay Month꧙ly is an installment loan you repay over three to 48 months. Pay Monthly loans are offered through Sezzle’s partner, Bread. Interest rates and other terms are not disclosed, so review your offer in the app carefully.
Sezzle is accꦇepted at 40,000😼 merchants. With a Sezzle one-time or multiple-use virtual credit card, you can split payments with Sezzle virtually anywhere.
You pay off your split Sezzle payments with a credit or debit card or via ACH from a bank account. One of Sezzle’s many fees is a “Late Saver” fee that may be charged if a bank account is not set as your default payment option. A bank account is also required to participate in Sezzle’s “Sezzle Up” program. It offers users 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:credit monitoring and credit score improvement too🙈ls. Moreover, Sezzle will report Sezzle Up users’s on-time payments and current balances to the credit bureaus, improving your credit score if you make timely payments.
You can reschedule a payment du🧜e date once per order for free. If you need more time, you can reschedule again for a fee.
Sezzle has earned generally positive ratings from online reviewers, and its mobile app is highly rated in both the Android and Apple stores. In J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Buy Now, Pay Later Customer Satisfaction study, it scored 615 (out of 1,000), near the bottom of the results. Inves🔥topedia researchers gave low marks for both the online experience 🎃and the educational resources available (2 out of 5).
Sezzle was ♍founded in 2016 an▨d is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Additional Details
Interest | Finance charge: $0-$7.49 |
---|---|
Fees | Late fee: Up to $15; Reschedule fee: Up to $7.50; Non-ACH payment fee: $7.50; Failed payment fee: Up to $5 |
Repayment Frequency | Bi-weekly, Monthly |
Autopay | Required |
Compare the Best Buy Now, Pay Later Apps
BNPL App | Overall | Costs & Fees | Borrower Requirements | Customer Experience | Merchants & Integration | Reputation & Trust |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Best Overall |
4.8 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 2.8 |
Best for Large Purchases |
4.8 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.4 |
Best for Merchant Network |
4.3 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 3.3 |
Best for Reputation and Trust |
4.1 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 4.4 |
Best for Flexibility |
3.5 | 2.2 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 3.8 |
Why Trust Us
Investopedia collected and analyzed 320 key data points from eight leading buy now, pay later apps to evaluate the most important factors for readers choosing a BNPL app. We used this data to review each company based on cost, payment plans, reputation, and other factors. Investopedia developed this process to provide an unbiased, comprehensive review to ensure our readersꦆ make the right decision for their needs. Investopedia launched in 1999 and has been helping readerဣs find the best buy now, pay later apps since 2021.
How We Choose the Best Buy Now, Pay Later Apps
To ๊evaluate and rank buy now, pay later (BNPL) providers, we collected ไ320 data points from eight BNPL services. We researched and evaluated costs and fees, loan amounts and terms, customer experience, provider reputation and trust, and more. We weighted the data and applied a rigorous mathematical model to rank the services in our database and generate Investopedia’s star ratings. We grouped those weighted factors into five broad areas:
- Costs and Fees: 30%
- Borrower Requirements & Loan Terms: 25%
- Customer Experience: 18%
- Merchant and Integration: 10%
- Reputation & Trust: 17%
To maintain the integrity of the data following collection and analysis, Investopedia’s compliance team monitors changes to key details, like interest rates and fees. Compliance team members then update our pages to ensure they are accurate as of the da🤡te on the byline.
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Oliver Rossi / Getty Images
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