The best buy now, pay later apps of June 2026

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) loans allow consumers to make payments in small installments, usually over several weeks. Unlike credit cards, these short-term installment plans don't require great credit and usually don't charge interest.

Consumers are increasingly flocking to BNPL to finance everything from appliances to vacations. More than half of Americans (51%) have used short-term installment plans for online purchases, according to a April 2026 Gallup poll, including 10% who report relying on BNPL frequently.

With so many buy now, pay later options, which are the best? CNBC Select looked at rates, repayment options, late fees, participating merchants and more to find out. See our methodology for more info on how we made our choices.

Who's this for? Klarna has no preset credit limit for its point-of-sale loans, making it a good option if you're using BNPL for a big-ticket item.

Standout benefits: Users can make four interest-free payments every two weeks, one payment within 30 days or monthly payments for six to 24 months. Some merchants offer cash back, including Instacart, eBay, Sam's Club, Sephora, StubHub and Macy's.

Who's this for? Afterpay's minimum purchase is usually $35, making it a good choice if you're buying something small. On the other hand, the $25,000 per-loan limit is also among the most generous we've seen and is available with zero interest.

Standout benefits: Afterpay doesn't charge interest and can be used at more than 15,000 online and brick-and-mortar merchants worldwide.

Who's this for? Coming from the world's largest online payment platform, PayPal Pay in 4 is accepted everywhere PayPal is. That's millions of merchants, including household names like Apple, Target and Home Depot. It doesn't even require a separate app or browser extension, just a PayPal account.

Standout benefits: PayPal Pay in 4 doesn't charge any late fees or interest. It usually doesn't check your credit score either, using what a rep called "vast consumer data to understand an applicant's creditworthiness."

Who's this for? Affirm is accepted by more than 300,000 merchants, including Amazon, Expedia, eBay, Walmart, Target, Old Navy, lululemon, Costco, eBay Auto and Hotels.com. It also has a single-use virtual card that can be used at retailers that aren't integrated into its network.

Standout benefits: Affirm charges no fees and offers both a pay-in-four and a monthly payment plan. Affirm reports loan data to credit agencies, which can be helpful if you're trying to build your credit.

Who's this for? Zip doesn't perform any credit checks before approving customers for a loan, so it's the right option if you have a bumpy credit history.

Standout benefits: If you're one day late for payment or have a delayed paycheck, Zip may move payment due dates for free if you request more time.

Who's this for? Have a hiccup in your finances? Sezzle allows customers to reschedule one payment per purchase free of charge.

Standout benefits: The long-term financing option allows consumers to finance purchases of up to $15,000.

Traditional forms of financing, like credit cards and personal loans, appear on your credit reports and are factored into your credit score. The picture with BNPL is a little fuzzier.

FICO announced it would incorporate BNPL information in credit scores in the fall of 2025. However, some top providers said they won't send data to credit bureaus.

Affirm has been sending loan data to Experian, Equifax and TransUnion and is working with FICO to develop credit score models that include its BNPL data. But it's unclear whether banks and other lenders will use that model when assessing a customer's creditworthiness.

Though consumers are increasingly turning to BNPL loans, they're not the only option for short-term financing.

0% interest credit cards

0% APR credit cards allow you to make purchases without interest for up to 21 months and come with rewards BNPL loans don't, from cash back to points to travel insurance protections.

The Citi Simplicity® Card has 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from the date of account opening (and on balance transfers for 21 months). The variable APR is 17.49% to 28.24% after that, based on your creditworthiness. Balance transfers must be completed within four months of account opening.

Some card companies also offer BNPL-like options, such as Plan It® from American Express and Chase Pay Over Time.

Personal loans

Lenders approve small personal loans for borrowers with all credit types, with repayment terms of 12 to 60 months. That's longer than you have with BNPL providers and typically at a much lower interest rate.

BNPL is a helpful way to break larger payments into more manageable installments without high interest rates. But that same convenience can make them a risky proposition if you're not confident you can make timely payments: BNPL loans can cloud your idea of your budget, or tempt you to take out multiple short-term loans at once.

In addition, returning items bought via BNPL can be difficult, so make sure you're certain about your purchases.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every personal finance article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

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CNBC Select looked at 15 of the top buy now pay later companies to fine the best providers. We narrowed our selections by focusing on the following features:

• APR: We weighed providers more heavily that did not charge interest.
• Credit limit: We considered the minimum and maximum loan amounts available from each BNPL provider.
• Terms: Providers that had more than one term option were given more weight, including those with monthly payment terms.
• Fees: We considered whether a BNPL app charged fees for taking out a loan or for late or rescheduled payments.
• Credit checks: We only considered BNPL providers that perform soft inquiries that don't impact the applicant's credit score.
• Available merchants: We considered how many merchants a provider had in its network and if consumers could shop at merchants not partnered with the provider.

We also considered CNBC Select audience data when available, such as general demographics and engagement with our content and tools.