Cleo Review 2026: Plus at $5.99, the Advance, and the Card

Cleo is worth Plus when you qualify for a cash advance and can wait for the free transfer. As of September 24, 2026, Plus is $5.99 a month or $44.99 a year, Pro is $8.99 a month, and Builder is $14.99 a month. The cash advance charges no interest, and a same-day transfer is the only extra fee.

A paid plan buys a chat, a credit score, and a short-term advance, so it is a poor home for an emergency fund. Financeradar data: 34 of 35 high-yield savings accounts in our catalog publish an APY, and the average of those 34 is 3.54% as of September 23, 2026 (high-yield savings statistics). Twelve Builder charges come to $179.88, and a balance of $5,081.36 held a year at that average earns $179.88 before tax, if the rate does not move.

Tax on the interest means the cash still falls short of the subscription. The accounts in that average are listed in the high-yield savings guide.

Paycheck advances are ranked in best cash advance apps, and one rival is compared in Cleo versus Brigit. Households that never request an advance should start in best budgeting apps.

What Plus, Pro, and Builder actually bill

Budget the monthly price unless a yearly Plus button is on the screen you tap. The terms updated August 11, 2026 price Plus, Pro, and Builder as monthly fees only, so a yearly discount is not in the contract. The annual article, dated January 21, 2026, publishes a yearly Plus price and says Pro stays monthly.

That same article says Builder no longer has a yearly option. The Builder article, updated the week of September 24, 2026, still offers a yearly price and calls it a 25% savings. The two help pages disagree, so the amount that bills is the price on the button, not the article you opened first.

A full year on Plus is cheaper if you will keep it. Twelve monthly Plus charges are $71.88, which is $26.89 above the yearly price, so a year of the score and the advance belongs on the yearly button. One advance you will not repeat can stay monthly and then be canceled. Pro has no yearly discount in the annual article. Builder is the tier the two help articles disagree on.

The phone bundles are a mobile line from a partner, not a cheaper app plan. The August terms also list Plus with Mobile at $48.99 a month, Pro with Mobile at $53.99 a month, and Builder with Mobile at $54.99 a month, each before local taxes and fees. Those bundles add mobile service, the pricing page does not sell them, and the terms say they do not refund the fee after you subscribe, so skip them if you only wanted the advance.

Using the feature you paid for closes the refund window. The August terms give 27 days from signup for an automatic refund, paid back within four working days. Opening the card, taking a cash advance, or deleting the account without unsubscribing ends that window.

The Plus cancel article, dated July 25, 2025, says one month if you did not request an advance. The Builder cancel article, dated January 20, 2026, says 30 days, and a physical card blocks the refund. Cancel by typing "cancel" in the app, or email team@meetcleo.com, because deleting the app leaves the subscription running.

The advance is free only if you can wait

Paying for Plus is the usual path, and it is not the same thing as getting approved. The request article, dated August 10, 2026, says the usual path is Plus, Pro, or Builder, and that a person who will not subscribe can email team@meetcleo.com and still has to pass the same checks. The eligibility article, dated April 29, 2026, says the amount depends on your paycheck, spending, and budget. A low balance, a bank that does not connect, no linked account, too many cash withdrawals, or late subscription payments can block the draw, which is how someone pays for a month and still receives nothing. The terms let Cleo change amounts and rules at any time, so a figure in the table is not a promise of a dollar you can draw.

Waiting is what keeps the advance free, and speed is a fee you accept before the money moves. The terms say a standard advance generally arrives within three business days and is provided at no cost. The request article says the free option takes 3 to 4 days, and that you pick a repayment date between 3 and 14 days. Same-day delivery is an express fee from $4.49 to $14.99, based on the amount, payable when you repay, and non-refundable.

On a $20 advance, that $4.49 floor is 22.45% of the amount you receive, a large slice of the smallest Plus draw if the bill can wait. Waiting is the way to keep the advance at the zero extra cost the interest article describes.

There is no interest and no tip, and the debit still runs on the date you picked. The interest article says you never pay interest, and that the express fee is the only extra amount. The terms ban tips, call the advance non-recourse, and say Cleo may refuse the next advance while an earlier one is open and will pursue fraud. An open advance can still block the next one even though the contract describes no duty to repay.

Approval authorizes a debit that can start as early as 12:00 a.m. Eastern time on the date you chose, and Cleo says it will try not to debit you into an overdraft without promising the bank will agree. If Cleo debits earlier than the date in the app, or for more than a rescheduled repayment, and the bank charges an overdraft fee, you can ask Cleo to refund that bank fee.

What the subscription adds once the advance is settled

Plus is a score and a payoff picture, and Pro is the chat that remembers it. The Plus article, updated the week of September 24, 2026, lists a cash advance, an Equifax score with a simulator in Request, and Debt Reset in Spend. That tier fits someone who wants the score beside a possible advance and does not need the card.

The pricing page says the debt-free date uses data you provide and that results vary, so the date is not a payment Cleo sends to a creditor. The Pro article, updated the same week, adds savings goals, Save Hacks, voice chat, and conversation memory, and it does not include the card. The terms say Cleo is not giving legal, tax, or financial advice, so the chat is not a plan.

The free account shows the budget and does not promise a draw. The August terms charge nothing for budgeting, saving goals, and spending challenges, and they allow an advance by email without a subscription. The request article still calls a subscription the usual path, so a free account shows spending for someone who can skip the score, the chat, and the card. Apps that stay free are in best free budgeting apps.

The savings rate depends on which Cleo page you open

Budget the yield dated September 17, 2026, because the current pages do not match. The pricing page shows a 2.72% interest rate and a 2.75% APY, dated 4/6/2026, and says the rate is variable and that fees may reduce earnings. The Plus article, updated the week of September 24, 2026, prints 2.78% APY effective September 17, 2026. The Builder article, updated the same week, prints a 2.91% interest rate and a 2.95% APY effective that same September date, and the Pro article's feature list says an additional 2.95% APY without a date of its own. Use the yield effective September 17, 2026, and expect the pricing page to lag it.

That newer yield still trails the accounts we track, so this is the wrong home for an emergency fund. On $10,000, 2.95% APY is $295 in a year if the rate holds. The same balance at the 3.54% average above is $354, a $59 gap before tax, and the savings ranking lists the accounts in that average. Cleo is not a bank, and Thread Bank, Member FDIC, provides the savings account a Pro subscriber may open.

The card deposit does not earn that yield, so early pay is money you can spend. The cardholder agreement, last revised March 2025, pays no interest on the security deposit. A paycheck routed onto the card, including an early-pay opt-in, becomes spendable credit and does not pick up the savings APY. Transfers into or out of Cleo Savings can take up to 3 business days, weekends excluded. The higher subscription buys the card and the wider advance band, not a rate that beats the catalog average.

Builder is a secured card, and the paycheck has a schedule

The card is a WebBank product that requires Builder, and the deposit is the whole limit. The card article, dated January 21, 2026, says applicants are over 18 with a Social Security number and an address, that the subscription already covers the card, and that approval does not include a credit check. The same article says there is no interest and no fee for everyday purchases. A $1 minimum funds the security deposit, and that deposit is the credit limit, because the card is secured, so it cannot lend more than you already put in. An ATM withdrawal costs $2.50 from Cleo plus any fee the ATM operator charges, which makes cash a poor use of the card.

The cardholder agreement adds no annual fee, no late-payment fee, and no foreign-transaction fee, while a late payment is still a default and can be reported, and Visa sets the exchange rate on a foreign purchase.

Direct deposit raises the advance band, and it does not make early pay certain. The direct deposit article, dated May 29, 2026, says Thread Bank opens the account with no fee to open or maintain it, and that setup can take 1 to 2 pay cycles. Its schedule is $250 a month deposited for an advance from $50 to $200, $500 a month for $100 to $300, and $750 a month for $150 to $500. That last rung matches the pricing page's requirement for the top Builder amount, so the wider band is a paycheck you route here, not a reward for subscribing.

Early access is up to 2 days, only after the payment file arrives, and the pricing footnote says Thread Bank generally releases funds the day the file arrives, which is not guaranteed. If you take it, the article says the money goes to the card's security deposit, so the early paycheck raises the card limit rather than a savings balance.

Miss the subscription and the card closes on a timer, which can strand the paycheck. The Builder article says 90 days without a subscription payment ends the subscription and closes the card, with remaining funds sent to a linked payment method. You can apply again only if you have not hit a two-card limit, and the new card is a new tradeline, so the old card and the new one can both appear on a credit report. The agreement says Cleo may report positive history and makes no guarantee that a score will rise, and a negative report can follow a missed payment. Cancel the card and the direct-deposit account closes with it, so the employer has to be told where the paycheck should go before that happens, or the pay can bounce back.

The August terms also limit the service to US legal residents who are at least 18, say some services are unavailable in some states, and send disputes to binding arbitration with a class waiver unless you opt out under section 21.

When Monarch, Copilot, Empower, or Kubera is the actual job

These four are products we already publish, and none of them replaces a paycheck advance. Each price below was read on that company's own site on September 24, 2026. Cleo has no Financeradar product page, so the name stays on Cleo's site and the other four link to ours. Chat-style money apps as a group are in best AI personal finance apps.

Pick Monarch when the job is a shared budget, not cash before payday. Monarch's pricing page tells you to cancel the 7-day trial in settings before it bills, so the trial is a card on file. Its monthly Core toggle matches the Builder monthly price and still does not send an advance.

Copilot fits an Apple household that will pay annually and does not need Android or a score. Twelve months at $13 come to $156, which is $61 above the annual bill on Copilot's homepage, and that gap still buys no advance. The FAQ adds a one-month trial, more than 10,000 US institutions, and no credit score, and it lists iPhone, iPad, Mac, and the web, which leaves out Android and a credit score.

Empower is the free dashboard, and Kubera is the balance sheet, and neither calls your employer. Empower's tools page prices the dashboard at nothing after an email and a phone number. Kubera's homepage and Black article price the two plans and describe entity tracking, not a bill before payday. Partner logins are in Monarch versus Copilot, people who left Mint are in best Mint alternatives, and assigning cash before you spend it is the YNAB review.

How we checked

We read Cleo's pricing page, the terms updated August 11, 2026, the annual, Plus, Pro, Builder, request, eligibility, interest, direct-deposit, and card articles, the Plus and Builder cancellation articles, and the cardholder agreement last revised March 2025. We read Monarch's pricing page, Copilot's homepage and FAQ, Empower's tools page, and Kubera's homepage and Essentials-versus-Black article. The savings average is Financeradar's high-yield savings statistics as of September 23, 2026. No account was opened, no bank was linked, and no advance was requested for this article.

This is general information, not personalized financial advice. A commission on some links, if Financeradar is paid one, does not change the fit described above (how we make money).

FAQ

Is Cleo worth it in 2026?

It is worth Plus when you qualify for a cash advance and can use the free transfer, which the terms say generally arrives within three business days. Paying the monthly or yearly Plus price does not by itself make you eligible. It is a weak fit when the job is a savings rate, because the newest yield on the Builder article sits under the 3.54% average on our high-yield savings statistics as of September 23, 2026.

How much does Cleo cost?

The August 11, 2026 terms list Plus at $5.99 a month, Pro at $8.99 a month, and Builder at $14.99 a month. The January 21, 2026 annual article adds Plus at $44.99 a year, keeps Pro monthly, and says Builder no longer has a yearly plan.

The Builder article updated the week of September 24, 2026 still lists $134.99 a year. Same-day advances add an express fee from $4.49 up to the monthly Builder price, due at repayment and non-refundable. Phone bundles in the terms are $48.99, $53.99, and $54.99 a month before local taxes, and those are a partner mobile line plus the app.

Does Cleo charge interest on a cash advance?

No, the interest article says you never pay interest, and the terms ban tips. The only extra charge is the optional express fee, due at repayment and non-refundable. You choose a repayment date from 3 to 14 days. The terms call the advance non-recourse, so they describe no obligation to repay, and an unpaid advance can block the next one.

Is there a free version of Cleo?

Yes, the terms charge nothing for budgeting tools, saving goals, and spending challenges, and they allow a cash-advance request by email. You still have to qualify, and the request article calls a subscription the usual path, so the free account is a budget rather than a reliable advance. The Equifax score and Debt Reset sit on Plus, and the card requires Builder, with no permanent free card.

What APY does Cleo pay on savings?

The rate depends on which page you trust, and the three current figures do not match. The pricing page shows 2.75% APY with a 2.72% interest rate, dated 4/6/2026. The Plus article shows 2.78% APY effective September 17, 2026. The Builder article shows 2.95% APY with a 2.91% interest rate effective the same day.

All three say the rate can change, and fees may reduce earnings, so use the yield dated September 17, 2026. The card's security deposit, where an early paycheck can land, earns no interest under the March 2025 cardholder agreement. Thread Bank, Member FDIC, holds the savings account, and Cleo is not a bank.

How does Cleo compare with Monarch and Copilot?

Cleo's paid job is an eligible cash advance, a chat on Pro, and a secured card on Builder. Monarch Core is $99.99 a year or a monthly toggle, with Plus at $199.99 a year, and a 7-day trial that requires a payment method. Copilot is $95 a year or $13 a month, with a one-month trial, and its FAQ does not list Android.

Neither neighbor advances a paycheck or charges an express fee. The pair is compared in Monarch versus Copilot, and the free dashboard is Empower.

Is this Cleo review personal financial advice?

No, it is general information from Cleo, Monarch, Copilot, Empower, and Kubera pages read on September 24, 2026, plus the high-yield savings average cited above as of September 23, 2026. A bank may fail to connect, an advance can be declined after you subscribe, and tax on interest means the pretax balance that matches a year of Builder does not match it after tax.

Cite this: Financeradar, "Cleo Review 2026: Plus at $5.99, the Advance, and the Card", September 2026.