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Payroll · head to head

Hastee vs Wagestream

Hastee logo

Hastee

Payroll

United Kingdom earned wage access, now part of the Zellis group

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Wagestream logo

Wagestream

Payroll

Financial wellbeing platform with flexible pay, savings and coaching for UK and US employers

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Hastee beyond the free £100 monthly allowance the employee pays 2.5 per cent per withdrawal, so a worker drawing weekly funds the benefit themselves unless the employer opts to subsidise it.; Wagestream employees pay a flat fee of around 1.95 pounds per transfer, so frequent users pay a meaningful annual sum to access wages they have already earned.
  • They diverge on capability: Hastee covers Earned wage withdrawals, Wagestream covers Stream pay.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hastee and Wagestream actually diverge.

Attributes where Hastee and Wagestream differ
AttributeHasteeWagestream

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), 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 Hastee

  • Earned wage withdrawals
  • Free monthly allowance
  • Payroll and time integration
  • Employer policy controls
  • Financial wellbeing content
  • Employer subsidy option
  • Employer reporting
  • Code of practice alignment

Only in Wagestream

  • Stream pay
  • Build savings
  • Track
  • Coaching
  • Employer subsidy
  • Rostering integration

What people use each for

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

Hastee

  • A care provider offering shift workers early access to pay to reduce reliance on high cost creditnot Wagestream
  • A hospitality employer using early pay access as a recruitment and retention claimnot Wagestream
  • A Zellis or Moorepay payroll customer adding wage access without a separate payroll integration projectnot Wagestream
  • An employer replacing ad hoc manual salary advances processed by finance each monthnot Wagestream

Wagestream

  • A care provider with thousands of shift workers using flexible pay to fill unpopular shiftsnot Hastee
  • A retailer under ESG scrutiny that wants to subsidise the transfer fee and evidence a genuine benefitnot Hastee
  • An employer whose staff use payday lending and who wants a cheaper alternative inside payrollnot Hastee
  • A logistics operator wanting savings-from-pay alongside early access rather than advances alonenot Hastee

Where each one falls short

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

Hastee

  • Beyond the free £100 monthly allowance the employee pays 2.5 per cent per withdrawal, so a worker drawing weekly funds the benefit themselves unless the employer opts to subsidise it.
  • A 2.5 per cent charge on money the employee has already earned is expensive when annualised over frequent small withdrawals, which undercuts the financial wellbeing framing used to sell it internally.
  • Earned wage access is not directly regulated as consumer credit in the UK, so protections rest on a voluntary code of practice rather than FCA rules, and employees have weaker recourse than with a regulated credit product.
  • Zellis acquired Hastee in June 2025, so employers on non Zellis payroll systems face roadmap uncertainty about how long standalone integrations remain a priority.
  • Accrual accuracy depends on payroll and time data quality, so employers with monthly batch payroll or weak attendance capture get conservative limits that disappoint the staff the benefit was sold to.

Wagestream

  • Employees pay a flat fee of around 1.95 pounds per transfer, so frequent users pay a meaningful annual sum to access wages they have already earned.
  • Employers who do not subsidise the fee are, in effect, offering a benefit funded by their lowest-paid staff, which is an awkward position when unions or ESG reporting examine it.
  • Transfers are capped at a share of earned wages, commonly around half a month, so it does not resolve a genuine income shortfall and can delay someone seeking real debt help.
  • It needs accurate payroll and rostering feeds; employers with legacy or multiple payroll systems face long integrations before launch.
  • Uptake concentrates in a minority of staff who use it repeatedly, so headline adoption figures overstate how broadly the benefit is felt across a workforce.

Pricing, plan by plan

Hastee

On request
  • Hastee for employers$undefined/year
    • Free for the employer to offer in the standard model
    • Employee gets one free withdrawal per month up to £100
    • Further withdrawals charged to the employee at 2.5 per cent of the amount

Wagestream

On request
  • Wagestream$undefined/year
    • Employer platform fee quoted, commonly per employee per month
    • Employee pays roughly 1.95 per wage transfer unless subsidised
    • Employer can part-subsidise or fully fund the transfer fee

Which should you pick?

Choose Hastee if

  • You need earned wage withdrawals.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want free monthly allowance.
Hastee review

Choose Wagestream if

  • You need stream pay.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want build savings.
Wagestream review

Questions people ask

Is Hastee or Wagestream better?
Neither clearly leads. Hastee starts at On request and Wagestream at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hastee or Wagestream?
Hastee starts at On request and Wagestream at On request.
Does Hastee or Wagestream run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Hastee best used for?
Hastee is most often used for a care provider offering shift workers early access to pay to reduce reliance on high cost credit, a hospitality employer using early pay access as a recruitment and retention claim, a zellis or moorepay payroll customer adding wage access without a separate payroll integration project, an employer replacing ad hoc manual salary advances processed by finance each month. Of those, a care provider offering shift workers early access to pay to reduce reliance on high cost credit and a hospitality employer using early pay access as a recruitment and retention claim are not what Wagestream is typically brought in for.
What can Hastee do that Wagestream cannot?
Hastee covers Earned wage withdrawals, Free monthly allowance, Payroll and time integration, Employer policy controls. Wagestream covers Stream pay, Build savings, Track, Coaching.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Hastee: Does the employee pay?

Yes. One withdrawal per month up to £100 is free; after that the employee pays 2.5 per cent of the amount withdrawn.

Wagestream: What does an employee pay?

A flat fee of roughly 1.95 pounds per transfer, unless the employer subsidises part or all of it.

Hastee: Can the employer make it genuinely free for staff?

Yes. Hastee offers employer paid terms where the company absorbs the transaction fee, but this is a negotiated option rather than the default.

Wagestream: Is it a loan?

No. It is access to wages already earned, netted off at payroll, so there is no interest and no credit agreement.

Hastee: Who owns Hastee now?

Zellis, the UK payroll group that also owns Moorepay and Benefex, acquired Hastee in June 2025.

Wagestream: Can employers cover the fee?

Yes. Employer subsidy is a standard option and is the difference between a genuine benefit and a cost passed to staff.

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