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Payroll · head to head

DailyPay vs Payhawk

DailyPay logo

DailyPay

Payroll

On demand pay integrated with United States payroll and time systems

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Payhawk logo

Payhawk

Payroll

Modular spend management combining corporate cards, accounts payable, procurement and travel

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: DailyPay instant transfers cost the employee roughly $2.49 to $3.99 each, deducted from the transfer, so a worker taking money twice a week pays a meaningful share of a low wage over a year.; Payhawk buying the full stack of Travel, Accounts Payable, Cards and Procurement separately costs more than a single suite price, since each module carries its own flat monthly fee.
  • They diverge on capability: DailyPay covers Payroll and time integration, Payhawk covers Corporate cards.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DailyPay and Payhawk actually diverge.

Attributes where DailyPay and Payhawk differ
AttributeDailyPayPayhawk
Pricing modelquotePer module per month

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Payroll).

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 DailyPay

  • Payroll and time integration
  • Instant and standard transfers
  • DailyPay prepaid card
  • Off cycle payments
  • Employer controls
  • Automatic payroll reconciliation
  • Savings features
  • Adoption reporting

Only in Payhawk

  • Corporate cards
  • Accounts payable automation
  • Procurement module
  • Travel booking
  • ERP integrations
  • Multi-entity consolidation

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

DailyPay

  • A national restaurant or retail chain using same day pay as a recruitment claim in a tight hourly labour marketnot Payhawk
  • A staffing agency paying temporary workers immediately after a completed shiftnot Payhawk
  • A healthcare employer covering nurse and aide shift gaps with instant pay incentivesnot Payhawk
  • An employer eliminating manual payroll advances and off cycle cheque runs for final paynot Payhawk

Payhawk

  • A multi-entity European business wanting one system for cards, expenses and payables across currenciesnot DailyPay
  • A finance team that wants to price spend management before a sales call rather than negotiating blindnot DailyPay
  • A company wanting only accounts payable automation without paying for card issuing it does not neednot DailyPay
  • A mid-market business standardising ERP-integrated expense reporting ahead of a fundraise or auditnot DailyPay

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

DailyPay

  • Instant transfers cost the employee roughly $2.49 to $3.99 each, deducted from the transfer, so a worker taking money twice a week pays a meaningful share of a low wage over a year.
  • The fee free route pushes workers onto the DailyPay prepaid card as their direct deposit destination, which monetises them through interchange instead, so no path is genuinely free of cost to the worker.
  • The employer usually pays little, which removes the internal pressure to negotiate down a fee that falls entirely on staff.
  • Integration touches payroll and time and attendance systems, so employers with fragmented or on premise time capture face a slow implementation and inaccurate accrual until data quality is fixed.
  • United States state level earned wage access laws now differ on disclosure, fee caps and whether the product counts as credit, so multi state employers must track a moving compliance picture rather than a single federal rule.

Payhawk

  • Buying the full stack of Travel, Accounts Payable, Cards and Procurement separately costs more than a single suite price, since each module carries its own flat monthly fee.
  • The unlimited-seats model is a poor fit for a company issuing cards to only a handful of employees, since the fixed module price does not scale down.
  • Card issuing depends on Payhawk's own banking partners rather than a company's existing bank, so switching away later means reissuing cards and re-training staff on a new tool.
  • Procurement is a separate paid module rather than a built-in feature, so a company evaluating "Payhawk" from marketing material may be looking at capability it has not actually bought.
  • International card acceptance and FX handling vary by market, and companies with material spend outside Europe report gaps compared to global card issuers.

Pricing, plan by plan

DailyPay

On request
  • DailyPay for employers$undefined/year
    • Employer cost quoted per customer and often minimal
    • Employee pays approximately $2.49 to $3.99 per instant transfer
    • Standard next business day transfers are free to the employee

Payhawk

On request
  • Travel$299/month
    • Integrated travel booking
    • Unlimited employee seats
  • Accounts Payable$349/month
    • Invoice capture and approval routing
    • Unlimited document processing
  • Cards and Expenses$449/month
    • Unlimited card transactions
    • Multi-entity expense management
  • Procurement$499/month
    • Purchase request and approval workflow
    • Vendor management

Which should you pick?

Choose DailyPay if

  • You need payroll and time integration.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want instant and standard transfers.
DailyPay review

Choose Payhawk if

  • You need corporate cards.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want accounts payable automation.
Payhawk review

Questions people ask

Is DailyPay or Payhawk better?
Neither clearly leads. DailyPay starts at On request and Payhawk at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DailyPay or Payhawk?
DailyPay starts at On request and Payhawk at On request.
Does DailyPay or Payhawk run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is DailyPay best used for?
DailyPay is most often used for a national restaurant or retail chain using same day pay as a recruitment claim in a tight hourly labour market, a staffing agency paying temporary workers immediately after a completed shift, a healthcare employer covering nurse and aide shift gaps with instant pay incentives, an employer eliminating manual payroll advances and off cycle cheque runs for final pay. Of those, a national restaurant or retail chain using same day pay as a recruitment claim in a tight hourly labour market and a staffing agency paying temporary workers immediately after a completed shift are not what Payhawk is typically brought in for.
What can DailyPay do that Payhawk cannot?
DailyPay covers Payroll and time integration, Instant and standard transfers, DailyPay prepaid card, Off cycle payments. Payhawk covers Corporate cards, Accounts payable automation, Procurement module, Travel booking.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

DailyPay: Does the employee pay a fee?

Yes for instant transfers, roughly $2.49 to $3.99 each depending on the employer programme. Next business day transfers are free.

Payhawk: Is Payhawk pricing really public?

Yes, module pricing (Travel, Accounts Payable, Cards and Expenses, Procurement) is published starting at 299 to 499 dollars a month per module, or bundled as Payhawk Complete.

DailyPay: Can employees avoid the fee entirely?

Yes, by using the DailyPay prepaid card as their direct deposit account, which gives instant access without the transfer fee but earns DailyPay interchange instead.

Payhawk: Does it charge per seat?

No, each module includes unlimited employee seats; the fixed monthly fee does not increase with headcount.

DailyPay: Does the employer fund the advances?

No. DailyPay funds transfers and recovers them at the payroll run, so employer cash flow is unchanged.

Payhawk: Can we buy just one module?

Yes, modules are sold separately, so a company can buy Accounts Payable without Cards or Procurement.

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