Tala vs. Branch vs. M-Shwari vs. Fuliza: Which Kenyan Loan App Is Actually Cheapest?

Kenya's licensed digital lenders issued 7.5 million loans worth KES 133.5 billion in a single month, February 2026 alone, and the Central Bank of Kenya now has 227 digital credit providers on its official licence list. That's an enormous amount of borrowing happening through apps that each price their loans completely differently, some as a daily percentage, some as a flat one-time fee, some as a monthly range that depends entirely on an internal credit score you can't see. Comparing them isn't as simple as reading the headline number in each app.

Here's what Tala, Branch, M-Shwari, and Fuliza actually charge, in terms you can compare directly against each other.

Why "Interest Rate" Means Something Different on Every App

The core confusion with Kenyan loan apps is that none of them price loans the same way. Tala charges daily interest of roughly 0.3% to 0.6%, plus a 20% excise duty on that interest, which compounds into an effective APR the company itself discloses as between 109.5% and 219%. Branch prices per loan rather than per day, with total interest of 17% to 35% depending on your risk profile and loan term, working out to an equivalent APR of 22% to 229%. M-Shwari charges neither a daily rate nor a range, just a flat 7.5% facility fee on whatever you borrow, repayable within 30 days, plus excise duty on that fee. And M-Pesa's Fuliza overdraft charges a daily access fee of about 1.083%, which we detailed in M-Pesa vs. Airtel Money vs. T-Kash: Which Is Actually Best in 2026, and was never really designed for 30-day borrowing in the first place.

That last point matters more than it sounds. These four products aren't actually four versions of the same thing. They're built for different situations, and pricing them as if they're interchangeable is where a lot of borrowers get caught out.

Tala: Best for First-Time Borrowers, Not Long-Term Use

Tala launched in Kenya in 2014 (originally as Mkopo Rahisi) and uses AI to analyse a borrower's phone data, M-Pesa transaction history, call logs, SMS patterns, and app usage, to generate a credit score without requiring a payslip or bank statement, the kind of alternative-data underwriting we explored in How AI Is Transforming Banking Across East Africa. Loans range from KES 1,000 up to KES 50,000, with limits growing gradually after each successful repayment. New users tend to get Tala's better starting rates, but the app offers no savings product, and its pricing structure means paying it off promptly matters more than with a flat-fee product like M-Shwari.

Branch: Cheaper Over Time, More Expensive to Start

Branch, operated through Branch Microfinance Bank, offers loans from KES 500 up to KES 1,000,000, with terms stretching from 1 to 12 weeks. Its rates start higher for new borrowers but improve meaningfully with repayment history, established users with strong track records can drop to rates that undercut Tala's floor. Branch also offers something neither Tala nor Fuliza does: a savings account paying up to 8% annual interest, plus flexible repayment scheduling that lets borrowers choose weekly or monthly payments. Late repayment carries a penalty of roughly 6% of the outstanding balance.

M-Shwari: The Cheapest of the Four, With a Catch

M-Shwari, the joint Safaricom-NCBA product launched in 2012 and accessible entirely through *234# without needing a smartphone, is consistently the least expensive option among the four on a straightforward, like-for-like basis. Its flat 7.5% facility fee works out to an annualised rate of roughly 90%, materially cheaper than Tala or Branch, though still expensive compared to a SACCO or bank loan. The catch is eligibility: M-Shwari requires at least six months of active M-Pesa history before you can borrow at all, and all loans must be repaid within a strict 30-day window, extending that window costs another 7.5% rollover fee, and missing it entirely triggers a negative CRB listing after 120 days.

Fuliza: Convenient, but Not Built for This Comparison

Fuliza isn't really a loan app in the same sense as the other three, it's an automatic overdraft that activates the moment an M-Pesa transaction would otherwise fail, covering shortfalls from KES 100 up to KES 70,000. Its 1.083% daily fee is genuinely the most expensive of the four when annualised, working out to roughly 395% APR according to Safaricom's own comparative disclosure to NCBA. But comparing Fuliza to a 30-day M-Shwari loan is comparing a same-day emergency top-up to a planned loan, they solve different problems, and Fuliza's cost only becomes punishing if a balance sits unpaid for an extended period rather than being cleared within days.

What a KES 10,000 Loan Actually Costs on Each

Rates on Tala and Branch are personalised rather than fixed, so exact figures vary by borrower, but based on each platform's own published ranges, a KES 10,000 loan repaid over 30 days works out roughly as follows: M-Shwari's flat 7.5% fee comes to about KES 750, plus excise duty. Tala's daily rate, compounded over 30 days plus its 20% excise duty, lands in the same broad range, though new borrowers may see figures closer to KES 1,500 depending on their assigned rate. Branch, at its lower end for repeat borrowers, can come in below both, but new borrowers at the top of Branch's range could pay closer to KES 3,000 or more for the same amount. Fuliza, if a KES 10,000 balance sat unpaid for the full 30 days, would rack up more than KES 3,200 in fees, making it the clear most expensive option for anything beyond a few days.

The pattern that holds across nearly every comparison: M-Shwari is the cheapest for eligible, disciplined 30-day borrowers. Fuliza is the most expensive if used for anything beyond a short-term gap. Tala and Branch sit in between, and which one wins depends heavily on whether you're a new borrower or have an established repayment history with either app.

The Regulatory Backdrop Worth Knowing

All four products now operate under real regulatory scrutiny. The Central Bank of Kenya has tightened know-your-customer requirements across licensed digital lenders in 2026, and a Draft Non-Deposit Taking Credit Providers Regulations 2025 is working its way toward finalisation, aimed at pushing unlicensed lenders out of the market entirely. Before borrowing from any app not mentioned here, checking whether it appears on CBK's official licensed digital credit providers list is a genuinely useful five-minute step, since Kenya's mobile lending boom has also attracted a steady stream of unlicensed apps charging borrowers well outside any regulatory framework.

The Honest Bottom Line

There's no single cheapest app across every situation, only a cheapest option for your specific circumstances. If you're eligible and can repay within 30 days, M-Shwari is very hard to beat on price. If you're a first-time borrower with no digital credit history, Tala's faster approval and lower entry barrier make it a reasonable starting point, with a plan to migrate to Branch's better long-term rates once you've built a repayment record. And Fuliza should be treated as exactly what it's designed for, a same-day safety net, not a 30-day loan with better branding.

Read next: M-Pesa vs. Airtel Money vs. T-Kash: Which Is Actually Best in 2026?