Apple Pay vs Venmo: What’s The Difference, And Which One Should You Use?

Updated: August 6, 2023 by Nate Williams

If you’re reading this, you’re likely among the two billion people using mobile payment services worldwide. Apple Pay and Venmo are two popular mobile payment services with some fantastic features. Both have different capabilities and limits. So, Apple Pay vs Venmo, which is better? Let’s find out.

Apple Pay vs Venmo: Side-by-Side Comparison

	Apple Pay	Venmo
Parent company	Apple, Inc.	PayPal Holdings, Inc.
Public launch	October 20th, 2014	March 20th, 2012
Operating system	iOS, watchOS, macOS	iOS, Android
Users	48.7 million (est. 2023)	85.1 million (est. 2023)
Max. stored cards	8-16 cards	4 cards
Per transfer limit	$10,000	$5,000
Weekly transfer limit	$20,000	$19,999.99
Fees	None	None for debit card or bank account transactions; 3% for credit card transactions

Apple Pay vs Venmo: What’s the Difference?

From the chart above, it’s clear Apple Pay and Venmo have their fair share of similarities and differences—these range from supported devices to transfer limits and user fees. Let’s break down the key differences between Apple Pay vs Venmo below and see what they mean for you.

Available Devices

Starting with devices, Apple Pay is extremely limited in this department. As a matter of fact, this mobile payment service is only available on Apple devices. iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch all support Apple Pay transactions. However, Android and non-ioS devices typically don’t support Apple Pay.

Venmo offers support for both Apple and Android devices. This gives Venmo a major advantage, as it effectively means more people can use it in light of Apple’s compatibility issues.

Transfer Limits

Another difference in our Apple Pay vs Venmo guide is the transfer limit. How much can a person send and receive with either payment service? Apple Pay caps the transfer limit to $10,000 per single transaction. Venmo has a per transaction limit of $5,000. Additionally, Apple Pay caps weekly transfer limits at $20,000. You can’t send any more than that in a rolling seven-day period. Venmo’s weekly transfer limit is $19,999.99.

Costs and Fees

Apple Pay vs Venmo fees are another point of departure between the two. Apple Pay charges zero transaction fees, regardless of whether you’re sending money from your debit card, credit card, or bank account. Apple won’t tack anything onto your total. Conversely, Venmo will charge you 3% to transact with your credit card. However, all debit card or bank account payments are free.

Apple Pay used on an iPhone at a terminal. — Apple does not charge fees to use Apple Pay.
©LightField Studios/Shutterstock.com

The History of Apple Pay

Apple launched Apple Pay, its mobile payment and digital wallet service, in October 2014. The service facilitates simple, easy, and secure payments between Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch). Beyond this, Apple Pay also allows users to purchase online and in local stores without physical credit or debit cards.

Apple’s mobile payment service started in 2013. Apple rester of key experts and executives in the financial and retail sectors to head the service’s development. Before long, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and practically every major bank imaginable were on board. After an initial announcement on September 9th, Apple Pay was officially ready for launch on October 20th, 2014.

Since launching, Apple e on to become significantor player in the mobile payment service industry. Trusted by millions for its security and ease of use, Apple Pay is now accepted in nearly 80 different countries and terriworldwidee world. Plus, it’s accepted by more than two million online and in-person retailers globally. Though it is limited solely to Apple devices, it continues to grow in size and scope with each new update.

How Venmo Competes

Founded in 2009 and officially launched in 2012, Venmo can be seen as one of the earliest and most important milestones in the history of mobile payment services. Like Apple Pay, Venmo is a popular mobile payment service trusted by tens ofworldwideworld over. Friends, family, merchants, and customers alike can send and receive money wneedingeed for a physical card. It didn’t start that way, though.

In the beginning, Venmo was actually a text message-based service. Once the iPhone and subsequent web-enabled mobile phones started m, however, Venmo’s team decided to shift its focus toward an app instead. Not long after this pivot, PayPal came on board. With PayPal’s vast resourcgrewle to grow much more rapidly than ever before.

More than a decade on, Venmo stands as one of the most popular mobile payment services in the world. With its appealing social feas and its ease of uross both Android and iOS devices, Venmo facilitates billions of dollars in transactions annually. Its user base is nearly double that of Apple Pay, and for good reason: Apple Pay has its fair share of advantages, but Venmo is simply the far more accessible service.

Venmo has almost double the number of users as Apple Pay.

©rafapress/Shutterstock.com

Apple Pay vs Venmo: 5 Must-Know Facts

Apple Pay integrates Apple Cash, a feature that lets you send and receive money through iMessage.
Individuals and merchants who use Apple Pay don’t incur fees. Venmo, on the other hand, charges users and merchant transaction fees.
PayPal owns and operates Venmo, while Apple Pay is a subsidiary of Apple. This gives Venmo full access to PayPal’s massive arsenal of payment security features.
Venmo strengthened its payment security features after a wave of security breaches led to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission in 2018.Inpple, in partnership with Goldman Sachs and MastApple erCard, released the Apple Card in 2019. This credit card competes directly with the Venmo MasterCard introduced in 2018.

Apple Pay vs Venmo: Pros and Cons

Pros of Apple Pay	Cons of Apple Pay
Fast and easy mobile payment service	Accepted at a limited number of retailers
Utilizes super secure near-field technology	Useless if your phone or device dies
Payment info is kept anonymous	Losing your phone means losing your wallet too
Implemented throughout Apple’s product line	Only available via Apple products

Pros of Venmo	Cons of Venmo
No fees to send money from a debit card	No way to cancel sent payments
Adds a unique social element to mobile paying	Lots of scammers
Accepted by thousands of online retailers	Does not accept international transactions
Accessible on iOS and Android

Apple Pay vs Venmo: Which One Is Better? Which One Should You Use?

Judging by everything we’ve discussed so far, Venmo is the better payment service. There’s nothing inherently wrong with Apple Pay. It’s just that Venmo is far more versatile by comparison. If you have to choose between the two, then make it Venmo. Apple Pay caan excellengood fine way to send money between two Apple iOS users. However, Venmo is the clear choiall ce for operating systems and mobile phone manufal types.

Apple Pay vs Venmo: What’s The Difference, And Which One Should You Use? FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Is it safe to use mobile payment services?

Yes, it is generally considered safe to use mobile payment services. While there have been a fair share of security issues addressed since the popularization of Venmo and Apple Pay, both major mobile payment services have drastically increased their security measures in the past several years alone.

Can you use Apple Pay on Android?

No, you cannot use Apple Pay on any other device other than an Apple product. Apple Pay is currently supported on all newer iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watch models, but the line is drawn there. No Android, Microsoft, or other operating systems or manufacturers apart from Apple can support Apple Pay at this time.

Who has the larger transfer limits between Apple Pay vs Venmo?

Apple Pay has much larger transfer limits compared to Venmo. Apple Pay allows you to send up to $20,000 in a single week and allows for up to $10,000 per single transaction. Venmo only allows you to send up to $5,000 in a single transaction and caps the limit to $19,999.99 in a single week.

Are there fees associated with mobile payment services?

While Apple Pay does not charge any fees to use a debit, credit, or bank account info, Venmo does charge a fee for credit card transactions. This fee is 3%. However, Venmo does not charge anything to use a debit or bank account. These fees also do not account for any fees you may accrue from your financial institution of choice.

What's the difference between Apple Pay and Apple Cash?

Apple Pay is Apple’s mobile payment service. It allows users to make purchases on their iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or without a physical credit or debit card.

Apple Cash, on the other and, is a peer-to-peer payment service similar to Venmo. Its users can send and receive money through the iMessage app. Apple Cash is part of the Apple Pay ecosystem, like how Venmo is part of PayPal.