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Payroll · head to head

Immediate vs OnPay

Immediate logo

Immediate

Payroll

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OnPay logo

OnPay

Payroll

Single-plan United States payroll with unlimited pay runs and support for awkward tax situations other providers avoid

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; OnPay onPay operates only in the United States, so the first international hire means a second payroll vendor and a separate compliance model.
  • They diverge on capability: Immediate covers Earned wage access, OnPay covers Single plan.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Immediate and OnPay actually diverge.

Attributes where Immediate and OnPay differ
AttributeImmediateOnPay
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), 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 Immediate

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

Only in OnPay

  • Single plan
  • Tax filing and payment
  • Vertical payroll support
  • Benefits brokerage
  • Workers compensation
  • Contractor payments
  • Basic HR tools
  • Accounting integrations

What people use each for

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

Immediate

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

OnPay

  • A farm running agricultural payroll that needs Form 943 rather than the standard quarterly filingnot Immediate
  • A church or nonprofit with clergy compensation rules that mainstream providers decline to handlenot Immediate
  • A restaurant group needing tip credit and minimum wage make-up calculated correctly each pay periodnot Immediate
  • A small business that wants one price for payroll rather than a tiered plan it has to keep upgradingnot Immediate

Where each one falls short

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

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.

OnPay

  • OnPay operates only in the United States, so the first international hire means a second payroll vendor and a separate compliance model.
  • There is no native mobile application, only a responsive web interface, which employers with field or shift-based staff notice immediately.
  • The HR functionality is administrative and does not replace an HRIS, so performance, learning and any real workflow automation need another product.
  • Time and attendance is handled through integrations rather than natively, meaning hours arrive from a third-party system that has to be reconciled when it disagrees with payroll.
  • Reporting is functional but limited, and companies that want cost analysis by department, project or location generally export to a spreadsheet rather than build it in the product.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

OnPay

On request
  • OnPay$undefined/month
    • One published plan combining a flat monthly base fee with a per person charge
    • No feature tiers, upgrades or add-on modules
    • Unlimited pay runs and multi-state filing included

Which should you pick?

Choose Immediate if

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

Choose OnPay if

  • You need single plan.
  • You also want tax filing and payment.
OnPay review

Questions people ask

Is Immediate or OnPay better?
Neither clearly leads. Immediate starts at On request and OnPay at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Immediate or OnPay?
Immediate starts at On request and OnPay at On request.
Does Immediate or OnPay run on more platforms?
Immediate runs on Web, iOS, Android. OnPay runs on Web.
What is Immediate best used for?
Immediate is most often used for a restaurant group ending end-of-shift cash tip handouts and the cash handling that goes with it, an employer that must issue final pay quickly on termination in states with strict deadlines, a hotel or care operator with unbanked staff needing pay cards alongside wage access, a high-turnover hourly employer using same-day pay access as a recruiting message. Of those, a restaurant group ending end-of-shift cash tip handouts and the cash handling that goes with it and an employer that must issue final pay quickly on termination in states with strict deadlines are not what OnPay is typically brought in for.
What can Immediate do that OnPay cannot?
Immediate covers Earned wage access, Digital tip disbursement, Off-cycle payments, Pay cards. OnPay covers Single plan, Tax filing and payment, Vertical payroll support, Benefits brokerage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

OnPay: How is OnPay priced?

As a single published plan with a flat monthly base fee plus a charge per person paid, with no feature tiers. Contractors are charged at the same per person rate as employees.

Immediate: Can it replace cash tip-outs?

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

OnPay: Does it handle payroll outside the United States?

No. It is US-only, in all fifty states, including multi-state filing at no extra cost.

Immediate: Is Immediate still trading?

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

OnPay: Why do farms and churches use it?

It supports Form 943 agricultural filing, clergy housing allowance and Social Security exemption rules, and 501(c)(3) nonprofit payroll, which several larger providers do not.

OnPay: Is there a mobile app?

No. Employers and employees use a responsive web interface, which is a genuine gap for shift-based workforces.

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