Brigit App Review: Pros, Cons, And Alternatives

Brigit is a fintech app designed to help people avoid overdraft fees, build credit, and improve their overall financial health. The app is primarily designed for younger people or anyone who sometimes needs a small cash advance between paydays. Instead of offering traditional loans, Brigit focuses on short-term cash advances, budgeting tools, and credit-building products. 

What Is Brigit?

Brigit was founded in 2017 by Zuben Mathews and Hamel Kothari, and is headquartered in New York City. The company states that its mission is to "help everyday Americans build healthier financial habits and reduce financial stress." Over the years, Brigit has become one of the more recognizable names in the cash advance and credit-building space, competing with similar apps like Earnin and Dave. 

What Does It Offer?

Brigit offers several financial wellness tools designed to help users manage their day-to-day finances and improve their credit. Here's a closer look at its key features: 

Instant Cash

Brigit's Instant Cash feature allows eligible users to access small cash advances before their paycheck arrives. Unlike a traditional payday loan company, Brigit doesn't charge interest on its advances. Instead, users pay a monthly subscription fee for the service. Cash advances range from $25 to $500 based on eligibility. However, Brigit says on its website that the average advance is around $75. 

Brigit Cash Advances - At-A-Glance

• Cash advances from $25 - $500 (not available in all states)
• No late fees 
• No credit check required 
• Extensions available on repayment (no extra fees) 
• Standard delivery within 2-3 business days 
• Express delivery available for a fee (delivery in as little as 20 minutes)

Brigit's Instant Cash will appeal to people who find themselves short of cash from time to time. While living paycheck to paycheck is not ideal, Brigit can help you avoid paying costly overdraft fees or taking out expensive payday loans.  

Credit Builder

Brigit can help users build credit by providing them with secured installment loans that report to the major credit bureaus. Users make small monthly payments, and Brigit reports them to help build a positive credit history over time. 

The beauty of this product is that you can qualify with no credit or bad credit, and Brigit won't do a hard credit check. There are no upfront fees, security deposits, or interest charges, because the costs are covered through your monthly Brigit subscription fee.

To get started, simply open a Credit Builder account, choose how much you want to save each month (as little as $1). Once activated, your payments will be reported to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Once your "repayment" term is finished, you'll get back the amount that you saved.  

Brigit Credit Builder - At-A-Glance

• Included in your Brigit subscription 
• Build credit for as little as $1 month 
• No interest charges, security deposits, or upfront fees 
• Reports to three major credit bureaus
• Your savings are returned to you when your repayment period expires. 

Finance Helper

Finance Helper is a free budgeting tool available to all Brigit users. You can sync your bank account to track your spending habits, monitor bill payments and recurring expenses, and receive personalized financial insights. The app also provides alerts for upcoming bills and potential overdraft risks. 

Personally, I think this tool should be used to improve your financial habits so you can reach a point where you don't have to rely on taking out Brigit Instant Cash advances (or any other cash advance, for that matter). 

Deals & Offers

Brigit Deals & Offers gives users access to discounts, promotions, and special offers from partner companies. Offers vary over time, but typically include savings on shopping, services, and financial products. While this product isn't Brigit's biggest draw, it's a nice add-on that you might get some extra value from, assuming you take advantage of the available offers. 

Are There Any Fees?

Brigit uses a subscription-based model, which is refreshing for its transparency. You just need to decide if it's worth the cost. Here's how the plans break down: 

How Does Brigit Compare?

Brigit positions itself as a full-service financial wellness app rather than just a cash advance provider. From my perspective, alternatives like Earnin focus heavily on early paycheck advances. Access is tied directly to your hours worked and uses a tip-based model instead of mandatory subscription fees for some services. 

Some users may prefer Earnin if they want occasional advances without committing to a monthly subscription. Dave, on the other hand, combines cash advances with banking features, side hustle opportunities, and budgeting tools. Dave may be the best choice if you're looking for an all-in-one fintech banking experience.

How Do I Open An Account?

You can open a Brigit account and connect your bank account within minutes through its website or mobile app. The app has a 4.8+ rating on both the Apple App Store and Google Play, with millions of downloads. 

Is It Safe And Secure?

Brigit uses the same levels of encryption and security measures you would get with your online banking. It also states on its website that it does not not sell its users personal information to third parties. It also uses a Plaid, a secure third-party, to connect your bank account to Brigit. 

How Do I Contact Brigit?

Like many fintech companies, Brigit doesn't offer customer support by phone. However, you can chat with its AI agent, Sonny, 24/7. And if you don't get an answer, you'll be connected to a human Customer Care Associate who will respond to your inquiry within 24 hours. You can also email [email protected]. 

Is It Worth It?

If you're looking for a free financial tracking app, Brigit is definitely worth considering. Its cash advance feature can also be helpful if you occasionally need access to small amounts of cash between paychecks. However, if that's the case, I would focus on building an emergency fund so that you don't need to use cash advances at all. While Brigit doesn't charge interest on its advances, you're still paying an $8.99 monthly fee, which adds up. 

I can't recommend the credit builder tool, just because I think $15.99/month is too much to pay for this service. Instead, I would look for cheaper options, including a secured credit card with a small limit, provided you pay the balance off in full every month. 

Check out Brigit here >>