Is Extend or Immediate better?

Neither clearly leads. Extend starts at Free and Immediate at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Extend or Immediate?

Extend has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Extend and On request for Immediate.

Does Extend or Immediate run on more platforms?

Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.

Can I use Extend for free?

Yes. Extend has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Immediate starts at On request.

What is Extend best used for?

Extend is most often used for a small business wanting free vendor-level virtual card controls without opening a new card programme, a company with an existing amex or bank business card wanting tighter per-vendor spend limits, a finance team wanting predictable per-user pricing rather than a private quote for spend management, a larger business wanting api-driven automated card issuance tied to its existing card relationship. Of those, a small business wanting free vendor-level virtual card controls without opening a new card programme and a company with an existing amex or bank business card wanting tighter per-vendor spend limits are not what Immediate is typically brought in for.

What can Extend do that Immediate cannot?

Extend covers Virtual card issuing, Per-card spend controls, Approval workflows, Receipt auto-matching. Immediate covers Earned wage access, Digital tip disbursement, Off-cycle payments, Pay cards.

Payroll · head to head

Extend vs Immediate

Extend

Payroll

Virtual card issuing and spend controls layered onto existing business credit cards

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Immediate

Payroll

On-demand pay, off-cycle payments and digital tips for US hourly employers

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Extend has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Extend it depends on an existing business credit card relationship, so a company without a qualifying Amex, Visa or Mastercard business card cannot use it as a standalone card issuer.; Immediate as with the whole category, the employee pays a fee for instant access, so a benefit sold internally as free to staff is not free to the staff using it.
They diverge on capability: Extend covers Virtual card issuing, Immediate covers Earned wage access.
Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Extend and Immediate actually diverge.

Attributes where Extend and Immediate differ
Attribute	Extend	Immediate
Starting price	Free	On request
Pricing model	Per user per month, free starter tier	quote
Free tier	Yes	No

Identical on both: 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 Extend

Virtual card issuing
Per-card spend controls
Approval workflows
Receipt auto-matching
ERP integrations
API access

Only in Immediate

Earned wage access
Digital tip disbursement
Off-cycle payments
Pay cards
Payroll deduction
Employer reporting

What people use each for

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

Extend

A small business wanting free vendor-level virtual card controls without opening a new card programmenot Immediate
A company with an existing Amex or bank business card wanting tighter per-vendor spend limitsnot Immediate
A finance team wanting predictable per-user pricing rather than a private quote for spend managementnot Immediate
A larger business wanting API-driven automated card issuance tied to its existing card relationshipnot Immediate

Immediate

A restaurant group ending end-of-shift cash tip handouts and the cash handling that goes with itnot Extend
An employer that must issue final pay quickly on termination in states with strict deadlinesnot Extend
A hotel or care operator with unbanked staff needing pay cards alongside wage accessnot Extend
A high-turnover hourly employer using same-day pay access as a recruiting messagenot Extend

Where each one falls short

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

Extend

It depends on an existing business credit card relationship, so a company without a qualifying Amex, Visa or Mastercard business card cannot use it as a standalone card issuer.
The free Starter plan is capped at five users and 100 cards a month, which small but growing teams will outgrow quickly and need to upgrade past.
The Pro plan enforces a ten-user minimum, so a company with only two or three people who need virtual cards pays for unused seats.
Rewards, credit terms and dispute resolution still run through the underlying card issuer, so Extend cannot improve or change those terms; it only adds a control layer on top.
Deeper ERP integrations such as NetSuite and Dynamics 365 are reserved for the custom-quoted Enterprise tier, so companies needing them lose the pricing transparency of the published Starter and Pro plans.

Immediate

As with the whole category, the employee pays a fee for instant access, so a benefit sold internally as free to staff is not free to the staff using it.
It is a smaller provider than DailyPay or Payactiv, so the library of certified payroll and time system integrations is narrower and custom file work is more likely.
Earned wage access rules differ by US state and continue to change, which creates compliance work for multi-state employers that the vendor cannot remove.
Tips, off-cycle payments and advances are priced separately, so the apparent low headline cost fragments into several line items once you use the full bundle.
Pay card programmes attract regulatory and reputational scrutiny in the US, and an employer defaulting staff onto a card rather than a bank account risks complaints and state law problems.

Pricing, plan by plan

Extend

Free

StarterFree
- Up to 5 users and 10 guests
- Up to 100 virtual cards per month
- One expense category
Pro$11.99/month
- 10 user minimum
- Up to 500 virtual cards per month
- Custom approval workflows and QuickBooks Online integration
Enterprise$undefined/month
- Unlimited users and virtual cards
- API access for automated card issuance
- NetSuite and Dynamics 365 integration, dedicated account manager

Immediate

On request

Immediate$undefined/year
- Employer pricing quoted, often minimal or per employee per month
- Employee transaction fee for instant access to funds
- Tip disbursement and off-cycle payments priced separately

Which should you pick?

Choose Extend if

You need virtual card issuing.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, iOS, Android.
You also want per-card spend controls.

Extend review

Choose Immediate if

You need earned wage access.
You work on Web, iOS, Android.
You also want digital tip disbursement.

Immediate review

Questions people ask

Is Extend or Immediate better?: Neither clearly leads. Extend starts at Free and Immediate at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Extend or Immediate?: Extend has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Extend and On request for Immediate.
Does Extend or Immediate run on more platforms?: Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Extend for free?: Yes. Extend has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Immediate starts at On request.
What is Extend best used for?: Extend is most often used for a small business wanting free vendor-level virtual card controls without opening a new card programme, a company with an existing amex or bank business card wanting tighter per-vendor spend limits, a finance team wanting predictable per-user pricing rather than a private quote for spend management, a larger business wanting api-driven automated card issuance tied to its existing card relationship. Of those, a small business wanting free vendor-level virtual card controls without opening a new card programme and a company with an existing amex or bank business card wanting tighter per-vendor spend limits are not what Immediate is typically brought in for.
What can Extend do that Immediate cannot?: Extend covers Virtual card issuing, Per-card spend controls, Approval workflows, Receipt auto-matching. Immediate covers Earned wage access, Digital tip disbursement, Off-cycle payments, Pay cards.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Extend: Does Extend replace our business credit card?

No, it issues virtual cards against an existing American Express, Visa or Mastercard business credit line rather than opening a new card programme.

Immediate: What does the employer pay?

Pricing is quoted and often minimal or a small per-employee-per-month charge; most vendor revenue comes from employee instant transfer fees.

Extend: Is there really a free plan?

Yes, the Starter plan is free for up to five users, ten guests and 100 virtual cards a month.

Immediate: Can it replace cash tip-outs?

Yes. Digital tip disbursement is one of its main draws for restaurants and hospitality.

Extend: What does Pro cost?

11.99 dollars per user per month billed annually, or 12 dollars monthly, with a ten-user minimum.

Immediate: Is Immediate still trading?

Yes. It is an independent Birmingham, Alabama company and joined the American Fintech Council in 2025.

Extend vs Immediate

Extend

Immediate

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Extend

Only in Immediate

What people use each for

Extend

Immediate

Where each one falls short

Extend

Immediate

Pricing, plan by plan

Extend

Immediate

Which should you pick?

Choose Extend if

Choose Immediate if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Extend

More on Immediate

Keep looking

Other head to heads