The main difference between Venmo and Cash App is that Cash App offers fee-free money transfers while Venmo has a complicated fee structure with many variables.
Due to their positioning in the financial services market, Venmo and Cash App are often pitted against one another as rival peer-to-peer mobile payment platforms. Both have been competing for their market share in the US, and Cash App also launched UK services in 2018. In this comparison we will weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of each company, as we identify which one offers the best fees, exchange rates and transfer speeds.
Venmo and Cash App are peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfer companies which function primarily as mobile applications. Both companies were founded in the United States; Venmo in 2009 and Cash App in 2013.
Venmo launched four years before Cash App, so the company has had more time to fine-tune the functionality of their product. Venmo is the more straightforward app of the two, designed to do one thing (online payments) and do it well. Developers of the app have focused on building a socially-driven payments platform to send and receive money with peers. The company was acquired by PayPal in 2013 and has grown exponentially since then.
Cash App is a worthy competitor, however, and the app has received praise for its versatility. The mobile payments platform is available to users in the US and UK, and has been developed by financial services group Square Inc. Quirky features such as buying and selling stocks, cryptocurrency and bitcoin, and direct deposits of checks separates this app from its competitor. Cash App customers can also connect their account to Google and Apple Pay, a function currently not offered by Venmo.
In this article we will consider which app is the better option for those making money transfers.
In this section we will identify the fee structure and overall cost of using Venmo and Cash App for money transfers.
Venmo is free to set up and there are no monthly fees. Beyond these factors, the following fee structures apply:
Additional fees apply to the sale and purchase of cryptocurrencies, see here for more info
Cash App refers to themselves as a fee-free service, but other fees may still apply. Doing your research and understanding free money transfers is invaluable when managing expectations of overseas remittances. These include:
Venmo’s fee structure is more complex and therefore customers are more likely to be stung by various different fees when using this service, than they are with Cash App.
Ordinarily, we use this section to identify who performs better in terms of foreign exchange rates. However, considering both Venmo and Cash App deal primarily with domestic money transfers, this section will be relatively brief.
Venmo can only be used to send or receive US Dollars. Exchange rates are not applicable.
Cash App is now available in the UK as well as the US. To accommodate customers who may request money from friends overseas in either country, Cash App will convert payments from USD to GBP (or vice versa) based on the mid-market exchange rate at the time.
As Venmo does not facilitate international money transfers, the brand does not offer exchange rates of any kind. For this reason, Cash App has to take the win for this section, because they accommodate payment requests in both USD and GBP, using the mid-market rate to offer customers the best value for their money.
If you are an existing Venmo user and wanted to use their services to send money overseas, check out our guide to suitable Venmo Alternatives. Another useful PayPal-owned company that specialises in cross-border payments is Xoom; a platform that facilitates transfers to over 150 countries around the world.
Some money transfer companies support payments to every continent on the planet, while others are country-specific.
It is not possible to send or receive international money transfers with Venmo. The app serves as a domestic P2P digital wallet that is only available to US customers.
Both brands were originally designed to serve US-based customers only, but since Cash App extended its network to serve UK customers it now has the advantage of an additional market.
The transfer speed of an international payment can be the deciding factor for some customers who are looking to move funds from A to B quickly.
Transfers between Venmo users’ accounts are instant. Bank transfers sent or received with Venmo take 1 to 3 business days.
Much like Venmmo, transfers sent from one Cash App account to another are instant. Transfers sent or received to a bank account will take between 1 – 3 business days.
It appears that both Venmo and Cash App offer the same transfer speeds.
In this section we will look at the different ways Venmo and Cash App facilitate money transfers.
The following transfer options are available with Venmo::
The following payment options are available with Venmo:
The following transfer options are available with Cash App:
The following payment options are available with Cash App:
Although Cash App has more payment options available, Venmo has fine-tuned their transfer options making it quick and easy to send money to peers.
As both brands function solely as a money transfer app we are reviewing the feedback posted online by iOS and Android users.
At the time of writing (Aug 2021) Venmo was the #2 Finance mobile application in the App Store, with an amazing rating of 4.9 out of 5. Out of the 12.2 million reviews, the vast majority of users had awarded Venmo 5 stars, praising Venmo for its user-friendly design, convenient services and instant payments.
Over on the Google Play Store, Venmo has been given 4.3 out of 5. Although there are positive comments about how user-friendly the app is, it seems Venmo is generally less popular with Android users. Common negative feedback referencing processing issues, duplicate transactions and unreliable accessibility.
Cash App has been rated #1 by users, topping the App Store’s list of Finance applications and stealing the first place spot from Venmo. Despite this, Cash App reviews add up to 4.7 out of 5 stars, from 2 million online ratings. Feedback includes praise for quick payments, straightforward user interface and great features, but comments about poor customer service appears to be holding Cash App back from 5 star status.
Similar criticism can be found over on the Google Play Store, where Cash App has been awarded a good rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars. It seems customer support needs to be improved in order to attract more positive user feedback.
After evaluating the feedback of copious user reviews, it would appear both apps have room for improvement. Although Cash App is currently the number one Finance app on the App Store, it ranks lower on the Google Play Store and it seems both continuously see-saw for the top spot in terms of user feedback.
Here we will look at the overall user experience by examining how easy, accessible, transparent and secure both brands are.
When it comes to the safety and security of both apps, they are on par with one another in terms of protecting customers’ information, but users must still exercise basic personal security. Cash App packs more of a punch when it comes to overall accessibility, transparency and ease of use, due to its straightforward and dedicated payments platform.
Here we will run through extra features which benefit Venmo and Cash App users, looking specifically at any innovative fintech services that enhance the customer experience.
While Venmo offers a quirkier user experience, Cash App offers heightened functionality such as additional payment methods, check depositing, international payments to the US and UK, and discounts at multiple outlets around the United States.
At first look, these apps appear to be similar, the variety of payment services closely aligned. However, upon closer inspection, Venmo and Cash App approach money transfers quite differently.
While Cash App is more user friendly and accessible than high street banks, the time it takes to process a domestic transfer is about the same. Cash App’s business model focuses solely on the process of sending and receiving money, and does it well. However, for users looking for a fun, social media-style experience, Venmo would be the better choice.
Unfortunately, if you’re living outside of the US or UK, neither Cash App or Venmo services can support your remittance needs. Instead, we would recommend other money transfer companies with greater global reach, such as Wise, PaySend or WorldRemit. Use our search engine tool to browse all the available options, and have a read of our other company comparisons to learn more about each service provider.
You can learn more about both services by reading our full individual reviews of both Venmo and Cash App. Each of our company reviews provide a comprehensive overview of each service so our readers can decide which is the right choice for their international money transfer needs. The limited global coverage of both services likely means most customers will have to look for alternative money transfer services to meet their needs. Consider using top-tier service providers like WorldRemit, a company that offers worldwide money transfer services across 150+ countries.
April is a trained journalist and the Content Editor for MoneyTransfers.com. She has 10 years experience writing about a diverse range of subjects, from financial services to arts and entertainment. When she’s not writing about global remittances she can be found daydreaming about her next holiday abroad.