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Payroll · head to head

Openwage vs PayFit

Openwage logo

Openwage

Payroll

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
PayFit logo

PayFit

Payroll

Native payroll and HR for small and mid-sized companies in a small number of European countries

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Openwage it is UK-only, tied to UK payroll cycles and regulation, so it is not usable for international workforces.; PayFit coverage is limited to a handful of European countries and the company withdrew from Germany in 2023, so any buyer with expansion plans should assume the country they need next will not be supported.
  • They diverge on capability: Openwage covers On-demand pay, PayFit covers Native payroll engine.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Openwage and PayFit actually diverge.

Attributes where Openwage and PayFit differ
AttributeOpenwagePayFit
Pricing modelPer-transfer fee, paid by the employeequote

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 Openwage

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

Only in PayFit

  • Native payroll engine
  • Statutory filing
  • Payslip generation
  • Time off management
  • Expenses
  • Employee records
  • Automated variable pay
  • Accounting export

What people use each for

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

Openwage

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

PayFit

  • A French company of 50 people leaving a payroll bureau that charges per payslip and returns work slowlynot Openwage
  • A Spanish or Italian employer that needs payroll calculated in-country rather than routed through an intermediarynot Openwage
  • A UK subsidiary of a European group that wants payroll on the same platform as the parent where the country is supportednot Openwage
  • A finance team that wants payroll journals exported directly into the local accounting system without manual mappingnot Openwage

Where each one falls short

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

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.

PayFit

  • Coverage is limited to a handful of European countries and the company withdrew from Germany in 2023, so any buyer with expansion plans should assume the country they need next will not be supported.
  • There is no employer of record capability, so hiring one person in an unsupported country means adding a separate vendor and a separate employment model.
  • The HR modules cover time off, expenses and records but do not replace an HRIS, and companies with performance, learning or ATS requirements will run PayFit alongside another system.
  • Pricing is quoted per country as a platform fee plus a per employee charge, which makes cross-border cost comparison awkward and means a small subsidiary can carry a disproportionate fixed cost.
  • The product is built for small and mid-sized employers, and companies past a few hundred employees report hitting limits in complex collective agreement handling and in bulk data correction workflows.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

PayFit

On request
  • PayFit$undefined/year
    • Monthly platform fee plus a charge per paid employee
    • Pricing differs by country of employment
    • Payroll calculation and statutory filing

Which should you pick?

Choose Openwage if

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

Choose PayFit if

  • You need native payroll engine.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want statutory filing.
PayFit review

Questions people ask

Is Openwage or PayFit better?
Neither clearly leads. Openwage starts at On request and PayFit at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Openwage or PayFit?
Openwage starts at On request and PayFit at On request.
Does Openwage or PayFit run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Openwage best used for?
Openwage is most often used for a uk employer with shift or hourly staff wanting an on-demand pay benefit at no cost to the business, an employee wanting to know the exact cost of an advance before requesting one, rather than an opaque fee, a company already running standard uk payroll and time and attendance systems wanting straightforward integration, an hr team comparing earned wage access providers on published unit economics rather than sales quotes. Of those, a uk employer with shift or hourly staff wanting an on-demand pay benefit at no cost to the business and an employee wanting to know the exact cost of an advance before requesting one, rather than an opaque fee are not what PayFit is typically brought in for.
What can Openwage do that PayFit cannot?
Openwage covers On-demand pay, Transparent per-transfer fee, Payroll and T&A integration, No credit impact. PayFit covers Native payroll engine, Statutory filing, Payslip generation, Time off management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Openwage: Who pays the fee?

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

PayFit: Which countries does PayFit actually calculate payroll in?

It runs its own payroll engine for the countries it sells in, currently France, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom, and it closed its German operation in 2023.

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.

PayFit: Is it native payroll or aggregation through a local partner?

Native. Country rules are written and maintained in the company own domain-specific language, so calculation and filing are PayFit responsibilities rather than a partner obligation.

Openwage: How much can an employee access?

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

PayFit: Can PayFit employ staff on my behalf?

No. It is payroll software for entities you already have. Employment in a country without your own entity needs an employer of record.

PayFit: Does it handle collective bargaining agreements?

Common French and Spanish agreements are supported, but unusual or heavily negotiated agreements can require manual handling.

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