Fees checked against each app’s own terms Not financial advice
Best Cash Advance Appswhat each one really costs

MoneyLion Instacash: what $100 really costs

In brief

MoneyLion’s Instacash has no membership fee. Instant “Turbo” delivery costs 7.5% to a MoneyLion Spend account or 9% to an outside account. The free standard option only delivers to MoneyLion Spend, so without a Spend account you pay 9% to get the money at all. On its published terms, $100 delivered instantly and repaid in 14 days costs $7.50, or 196% APR; waiting for the standard transfer costs $0.00.

Fees and terms checked · Not financial advice

MoneyLion Instacash · instant

$100 advance · repaid in 14 days · instant delivery

Membership none
Turbo to MoneyLion Spend (7.5%) $7.50
Tip $0.00
True cost$7.50
196%effective APR

7.50 ÷ 100.00 × (365 ÷ 14) × 100 = 195.5%

MoneyLion Instacash · if you wait

$100 advance · repaid in 14 days · standard delivery

Membership none
Standard delivery (1–5 business days, to MoneyLion Spend only) $0.00
Tip $0.00
True cost$0.00
0%effective APR

0.00 ÷ 100.00 × (365 ÷ 14) × 100 = 0.0%

In our ranking of cash advance apps, that puts MoneyLion at 4 of 14 by the cost of a $100 instant advance. See the full ranking or change the amount and dates in the calculator.

Every published price

Quoted from MoneyLion’s own pages, checked November 8, 2026. Each line links to where it says so.

ChargePriceFrom MoneyLion’s page
Membership not required You can unlock Instacash® for free. ... There is no monthly fee and no interest. Any Turbo fees and tips are completely optional.moneylion.com
Turbo to MoneyLion Spend (7.5%) $7.50 on $100 Optional Turbo delivery fee (in minutes) ... Any eligible disbursement amount ... MoneyLion Spend Account: 7.5% of the Instacash Advance amount, capped at $14.99moneylion.com
Turbo to an outside debit card or account (9%) $9.00 on $100 Optional Turbo delivery (within minutes*) to your external debit card or eligible external checking account – 9% of the advance amountmoneylion.com
Standard delivery (1–5 business days, to MoneyLion Spend only) $0.00 Standard delivery is free and is available only when you choose your MoneyLion Spend Account as your disbursement destination, except that if you are unable to open or maintain a MoneyLion Spend Account, MoneyLion may make free standard delivery to an external Linked Account available to you.moneylion.com
Tips optional Optional tip (tips do not affect your eligibility, Instacash Advance limit, Disbursement Limit, or delivery options) $0 and upmoneylion.com
Instacash monthly administrative fee $0.00 Monthly administrative fee $0moneylion.com

Plans

PlanPer monthNote (from MoneyLion’s pages)
No membership$0.00Instacash limit up to $500, or up to $1,000 with qualifying recurring direct deposits into MoneyLion Spend.
Credit Builder Plus membership$19.99Optional. 'Alternatively, you can sign up for a paid MoneyLion membership, which can also increase your Instacash limit up to $700.' Price from moneylion.com/pricing.

What other amounts cost

Repaid in 14 days, with any membership counted for one month. Small advances cost the most per dollar: a fee that doesn’t shrink with the amount weighs more on $25 than on $200. Blank cells mean MoneyLion doesn’t publish that price.

AdvanceInstantAPRIf you waitAPR
$25.00 $1.88 196% $0.00 0%
$50.00 $3.75 196% $0.00 0%
$100.00 $7.50 196% $0.00 0%
$150.00 $11.25 196% $0.00 0%
$200.00 $14.99 195% $0.00 0%
$300.00 $14.99 130% $0.00 0%
$500.00 $14.99 78% $0.00 0%

Limits, eligibility and repayment

Maximum
$1000.00 get Instacash cash advances up to $500 ... Increase your limit up to $1000² Become a MoneyLion Spend customer and set up qualifying recurring direct deposits to increase your limit. moneylion.com
To start
$10.00 Link an external account: Start with a minimum of $10 Instacash. First direct deposit of at least $5 to MoneyLion Spend? Unlock $50 help.moneylion.com
Who can get it
MoneyLion must be able to detect Eligible Direct Deposits into an Eligible Account. ... It may take up to three (3) consecutive deposits from one employer ... Help: Be at least 60 days old. Receive regular income deposits. moneylion.com
Credit check
No, per its own pages No! We don’t do any sort of credit pull or credit check during or after an Instacash request. moneylion.com
Repayment
The scheduled repayment date for each Instacash Advance will be disclosed to you when you initiate an Instacash Advance. The scheduled repayment date will generally be aligned with your regular direct deposit date, as determined by MoneyLion. moneylion.com
Interest
Instacash is a 0% APR cash advance service provided by MoneyLion. ... This service has no mandatory fees. apps.apple.com
States
Availability of specific Services may vary by jurisdiction and may be limited or unavailable in certain states or U.S. territories. moneylion.com
Bank connection
Plaid We use service providers, including Plaid Technologies Inc. (“ Plaid ”) and others, to gather end user data from external financial institutions, e.g., to link your Linked Account. moneylion.com
Works with Chime
Yes (in a blog post on its own site) Several cash advance apps work with Chime, including Albert, Cleo, Dave, MoneyLion, Tilt and Varo, though each has its own eligibility rules, fees and funding speed. moneylion.com

Worth knowing

  • Instacash pays out at most $100 per disbursement (MoneyLion FAQ); larger limits come in several transfers, each with its own Turbo fee.
  • Tips are optional and counted here as $0.
  • MoneyLion’s app-store example ($4.99 Turbo fee on $40) doesn’t match its current percentages; we use the pricing page.

Regulatory actions

From official sources only. A complaint states allegations; it is not a finding.

  • Mayor and City Council of Baltimore (Baltimore City Department of Law) (complaint): Baltimore sued under its Consumer Protection Ordinance. It alleges that Instacash Advances are payday loans marketed as 'zero interest' earned wage access, and that MoneyLion hides fees and manipulates users into 'tips'. The City says total costs exceed 10 times Maryland's 33% maximum consumer-loan APR. Date is the press release (2025-10-06); a later City release calls it the 'October 1, 2025' action. Status: MoneyLion removed the case to the District of Maryland (No. 1:25-cv-03692, 2025-11-10). The court denied remand on 2026-06-01, and MoneyLion's motion to dismiss was fully briefed by 2026-10-02 (CourtListener). Pending. Source
  • New York Attorney General (complaint): AG Letitia James sued MoneyLion in New York Supreme Court. She alleges that Instacash advances are usurious payday loans and that the ads were deceptive ('0% APR', fee-free, '$500'). The complaint says MoneyLion charged mandatory instant fees (e.g. $8.99 on a $100 two-week advance, about 234% APR), solicited tips, and set a $100 per-transaction cap that forced repeat fees, with more than half of loans above 500% APR. The suit seeks restitution and penalties. Status: MoneyLion removed the case to the Southern District of New York (No. 1:25-cv-04093). The court granted New York's motion to remand to state court on 2025-11-12, and the case continues in New York Supreme Court, New York County. No state-court ruling or settlement was found on an official site as of 2026-11-08. Source
  • CFPB (complaint, later stipulated final judgment): The CFPB sued in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (No. 1:22-cv-08308) under the Military Lending Act and the CFPA. It alleged that MoneyLion charged servicemembers and their dependents APRs above the MLA limit and omitted required disclosures. It also alleged that MoneyLion misrepresented that borrowers owed payments on loans void from inception, would not let consumers with unpaid balances leave the membership program, and kept charging membership fees after cancellation requests. These were installment loans and memberships, not Instacash advances. Amended complaints were filed 2023-06-13 and 2025-04-22. Status: Resolved: the parties filed a proposed stipulated final judgment on 2025-11-21 and the court entered it on 2025-11-24. It requires $1.75 million in consumer redress (per the CFPB page). The CFPB lists the status as Post Order/Post Judgment. Source

Close to MoneyLion on cost

Chime MyPay

$3.00 · 78% APR

EarnIn Cash Out

$5.99 · 156% APR

Tilt Cash Advance (formerly Empower)

$8.00 · 209% APR

Klover Balance Advance

$9.49 · 247% APR

Sources for this page

How costs are calculated, what is left out and how to send a correction: methodology.

Cite this page

Best Cash Advance Apps. "MoneyLion Instacash: the true cost of a $100 advance." Updated November 8, 2026. https://bestcashadvanceapps.com/apps/moneylion/