APIs · head to head
Astra vs Moov
Astra
APIs
Instant payments API for push-to-card, card-to-account and FedNow transfers
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
Moov
APIs
Payments API with a published rate card covering card acceptance, ACH and instant payouts
- From
- $500/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Astra push-to-card costs materially more per transaction than ACH, so a platform that switches all payouts to instant sees payment costs rise sharply, and the usual answer of charging the recipient for speed only works where recipients will pay.; Moov the 500 US dollar monthly minimum makes Moov unattractive below roughly 80,000 dollars a month of card volume, since the minimum rather than the rate becomes your effective price.
- They diverge on capability: Astra covers Instant disbursements, Moov covers Interchange-plus card acceptance.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Astra and Moov actually diverge.
Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Astra
- Instant disbursements
- Card to account
- Net debit mode
- FedNow and RTP transfers
- Routing logic
- SDK
- Sandbox
Only in Moov
- Interchange-plus card acceptance
- Instant payments
- Wallets
- Payment links and invoices
- Virtual cards
- Account verification
- Card account updater
Both cover
- ACH transfers
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Astra
- A gig or marketplace platform paying workers to their debit cards at the end of a shift rather than on a weekly ACH cyclenot Moov
- An insurer settling small claims instantly to a claimant debit card to remove the cheque processnot Moov
- A lending product disbursing approved funds in seconds so the borrower experience matches the approval decisionnot Moov
- A consumer fintech letting users fund a new account from an existing debit card so the balance is usable immediatelynot Moov
Moov
- A vertical SaaS company embedding payments that needs published unit economics to price its own product before signing anythingnot Astra
- A marketplace paying contractors that wants same-day ACH and instant push-to-card in one API with the cost of each visiblenot Astra
- A platform that must hold balances for end users between collection and payout without becoming a money transmitternot Astra
- A software company moving off a legacy gateway that wants interchange-plus transparency instead of a blended rate that hides interchange increasesnot Astra
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Astra
- Push-to-card costs materially more per transaction than ACH, so a platform that switches all payouts to instant sees payment costs rise sharply, and the usual answer of charging the recipient for speed only works where recipients will pay.
- Original Credit Transaction support is not universal across card issuers, so a proportion of payouts fall back to slower rails and you must build and explain a two speed experience rather than promising instant to everyone.
- The programme depends on Cross River Bank as sponsor, a bank with concentrated fintech exposure and a documented regulatory history, so a single supervisory action on that institution is a direct operational risk to your payouts.
- Nothing is published on pricing, and per transaction economics vary by rail and volume, so small platforms cannot estimate cost before a sales conversation and have limited leverage in it.
- FedNow reach still depends on the recipient bank participating, so instant account-to-account is not available to every recipient and the routing logic has to degrade gracefully, which is more integration work than the single API framing suggests.
Moov
- The 500 US dollar monthly minimum makes Moov unattractive below roughly 80,000 dollars a month of card volume, since the minimum rather than the rate becomes your effective price.
- The 50 cent monthly charge per active wallet penalises platforms with many end users who transact rarely, and that cost grows with your user base rather than your revenue.
- United States only, so any platform with international sellers or buyers needs a second provider and a second reconciliation process.
- At very high volume the published interchange-plus markup is less competitive than a directly negotiated acquiring relationship, so success eventually creates a reason to leave.
- The ecosystem of prebuilt integrations, plugins and third-party tooling is far smaller than Stripe's, so anything outside the core API, from tax handling to subscription logic, is work you build yourself.
Pricing, plan by plan
Astra
On request- Astra Payments$undefined/year
- Per transaction pricing quoted by volume and rail
- Push-to-card economics differ materially from ACH
- Net debit mode available in place of prefunding
Moov
$500/month- Standard$500/month
- 500 USD monthly minimum, no setup fee
- Card online at interchange plus 0.60% and 15c
- Tap to pay at interchange plus 0.50% and 15c
- Custom$undefined/month
- Negotiated rates for high volume
- Specialised business models
- Dedicated support
Which should you pick?
Choose Astra if
- You need instant disbursements.
- You work on API, Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want card to account.
Choose Moov if
- You need interchange-plus card acceptance.
- You work on Web, API, iOS, Android.
- You also want instant payments.
Questions people ask
- Is Astra or Moov better?
- Neither clearly leads. Astra starts at On request and Moov at $500/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Astra or Moov?
- Astra starts at On request and Moov at $500/month.
- Does Astra or Moov run on more platforms?
- Astra runs on API, Web, iOS, Android. Moov runs on Web, API, iOS, Android.
- What is Astra best used for?
- Astra is most often used for a gig or marketplace platform paying workers to their debit cards at the end of a shift rather than on a weekly ach cycle, an insurer settling small claims instantly to a claimant debit card to remove the cheque process, a lending product disbursing approved funds in seconds so the borrower experience matches the approval decision, a consumer fintech letting users fund a new account from an existing debit card so the balance is usable immediately. Of those, a gig or marketplace platform paying workers to their debit cards at the end of a shift rather than on a weekly ach cycle and an insurer settling small claims instantly to a claimant debit card to remove the cheque process are not what Moov is typically brought in for.
- What can Astra do that Moov cannot?
- Astra covers Instant disbursements, Card to account, Net debit mode, FedNow and RTP transfers. Moov covers Interchange-plus card acceptance, Instant payments, Wallets, Payment links and invoices. Both handle ACH transfers.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Astra: Who is the sponsor bank?
Cross River Bank. All banking and payment services run through that relationship, so the bank should be part of your diligence rather than an implementation detail.
Moov: Does Moov publish its prices?
Yes, in unusual detail: interchange-plus card rates, per-transaction ACH and RTP charges, dispute and return fees, and the monthly minimum are all on the pricing page.
Astra: Do I have to prefund payouts?
Not necessarily. Astra offers a net debit arrangement where disbursements settle against a reserve rather than a permanently funded float account, which is the main working capital argument for the product.
Moov: What is the monthly minimum?
500 US dollars, with no setup fee. Wallet charges and transaction fees count towards it.
Astra: Is every payout instant?
No. Push-to-card requires the recipient card issuer to support Original Credit Transactions, and FedNow requires the recipient bank to participate. The rest fall back to ACH.
Moov: Can I use Moov outside the United States?
No. Moov handles US payments only, though it accepts international cards at an extra 1.5 percent.
Astra: What does it cost?
Nothing is published. Pricing is per transaction and varies by rail and volume, and card rails cost considerably more than ACH.
Moov: Is Moov a bank?
No. It is a payments platform working with partner financial institutions, so account and settlement arrangements depend on those partners.
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