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Payroll · head to head

Immediate vs Openwage

Immediate logo

Immediate

Payroll

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Openwage logo

Openwage

Payroll

UK earned wage access charging a transparent 1 percent transfer fee, free for employers

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.; Openwage it is UK-only, tied to UK payroll cycles and regulation, so it is not usable for international workforces.
  • They diverge on capability: Immediate covers Earned wage access, Openwage covers On-demand pay.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Immediate and Openwage actually diverge.

Attributes where Immediate and Openwage differ
AttributeImmediateOpenwage
Pricing modelquotePer-transfer fee, paid by the employee

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 Immediate

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

Only in Openwage

  • On-demand pay
  • Transparent per-transfer fee
  • Payroll and T&A integration
  • No credit impact
  • Automatic payday reconciliation
  • Employer-free deployment

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 Openwage
  • An employer that must issue final pay quickly on termination in states with strict deadlinesnot Openwage
  • A hotel or care operator with unbanked staff needing pay cards alongside wage accessnot Openwage
  • A high-turnover hourly employer using same-day pay access as a recruiting messagenot Openwage

Openwage

  • A UK employer with shift or hourly staff wanting an on-demand pay benefit at no cost to the businessnot Immediate
  • An employee wanting to know the exact cost of an advance before requesting one, rather than an opaque feenot Immediate
  • A company already running standard UK payroll and time and attendance systems wanting straightforward integrationnot Immediate
  • An HR team comparing earned wage access providers on published unit economics rather than sales quotesnot 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.

Openwage

  • It is UK-only, tied to UK payroll cycles and regulation, so it is not usable for international workforces.
  • Even a published, low fee still means employees effectively pay to access their own earned money, and frequent use compounds that cost over a year.
  • The 50% cap on gross (not net) earned pay can overstate what an employee can actually draw once tax and deductions are accounted for, creating confusion at the point of request.
  • As with all earned wage access, dependency on the product is a symptom of insufficient pay cadence or amount that the advance itself does not fix, and can mask a deeper compensation problem an employer should address directly.
  • Accuracy is entirely dependent on the employer's payroll and time and attendance data being current, so errors upstream produce incorrect available-balance figures for employees.

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

Openwage

On request
  • Openwage$undefined/month
    • Free for employers to offer
    • 1% fee per transfer, minimum £1, paid by the employee
    • No interest and no credit check

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 Openwage if

  • You need on-demand pay.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want transparent per-transfer fee.
Openwage review

Questions people ask

Is Immediate or Openwage better?
Neither clearly leads. Immediate starts at On request and Openwage at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Immediate or Openwage?
Immediate starts at On request and Openwage at On request.
Does Immediate or Openwage run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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 Openwage is typically brought in for.
What can Immediate do that Openwage cannot?
Immediate covers Earned wage access, Digital tip disbursement, Off-cycle payments, Pay cards. Openwage covers On-demand pay, Transparent per-transfer fee, Payroll and T&A integration, No credit impact.

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.

Openwage: Who pays the fee?

The employee, at 1% of the amount transferred with a minimum of £1; the employer benefit itself is free.

Immediate: Can it replace cash tip-outs?

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

Openwage: Is it a loan?

No, Openwage states it is not a loan or credit product; there is no interest and no credit score impact.

Immediate: Is Immediate still trading?

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

Openwage: How much can an employee access?

Up to 50% of gross wages already earned in the current pay period.

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