Gone are the days of layaway. The years of waiting to pay off an item before bringing it home are over. Consumers can now use various "buy now, pay later" apps to purchase their desired products for only one down payment, completing the remaining payments over time while using the product. While this concept might still feel new, it's been around for a while. Home-shopping TV channels, like QVC and HSN, have had options to pay for items over time for several years. The caveat? You could only break up your payments at those home-shopping channels.
Now, with the buy now, pay later options available across retailers, free and downloadable buy now, pay later apps make it easy to spread out your payments. Here's an initial look at seven of the best apps, all of which you can access on desktop or mobile.
- Affirm [1]
- Afterpay [2]
- Klarna [3]
- PayPal Pay in 4 [4]
- Sezzle [5]
- Shop Pay [6]
- Zip, previously Quadpay [7]
With such a variety of options, it might be hard to know which one(s) best suit your shopping habits. To help you decide on the best buy now, pay later app for you, we've detailed answers to the following common questions ahead:
- How many payments are offered using the app?
- Will signing up impact your credit score?
- Does the app charge interest?
- What's the minimum and maximum purchase needed to use the app?
- How do you sign up for an account?
- How do you shop using the app?
- What are the perks of using the app?
Best Buy Now, Pay Later Apps
Remember, all of these buy now, pay later apps are free to download and use (no membership fees required). So choose what works best for you, and have fun shopping.