Sezzle Inc. SEZL and SoFi Technologies, Inc. SOFI are both trying to turn a single financial relationship into a broader digital-finance habit. Each uses technology, data, recurring engagement and cross-selling to deepen customer ties, and both are expanding beyond the products that first made them known. That common playbook is why investors often place them in the same high-growth fintech conversation.
The difference is where each company starts and how complex the growth engine has become. Sezzle remains centered on payments and short-duration consumer financing, but it is layering subscriptions, cash advances, money transfers, rewards and merchant partnerships onto that base. SoFi already operates a much wider ecosystem spanning deposits, lending, investing, payments, technology services, crypto and business banking.
Sezzle offers a more focused execution story, while SoFi offers greater scale and diversification. The key question is whether focus and faster operating momentum outweigh the benefits of SoFi’s broader financial platform.
The Case for SEZL
Sezzle’s growth engine is becoming more repeatable, not simply larger. The company is using subscriptions to turn occasional checkout users into higher-frequency customers. Active subscribers reached 854,000 in the second quarter, up 76.4% year over year, while average quarterly purchase frequency climbed to a record 7.2 times.
This engagement matters because Sezzle is widening the reasons customers return. SezzleCash gives eligible Anywhere subscribers access to short-term liquidity, while Sezzle Send extends the brand into peer-to-peer transfers. Unlike SoFi’s already broad financial app, Sezzle is adding adjacent products to a simpler core, which may make execution easier to track.
The merchant side is also improving. New enterprise wins included Poshmark, Gymshark, Debenhams, Brookshire’s and RockAuto. Management says On-Demand pricing helps it compete for merchants with tighter economics. More merchants can increase consumer utility, while more subscribers can improve the economics Sezzle brings to those merchant relationships.
Growth has not required sacrificing profitability. Second-quarter revenues rose 51.7%, while net income increased 47.7% year over year. Management also kept marketing payback below six months even after sharply increasing spending. This combination suggests Sezzle can invest aggressively when returns justify it, then moderate spending when efficiency begins to weaken.
Sezzle still faces credit, regulatory and execution risks, especially as it moves beyond checkout financing. Yet compared with SoFi, its smaller platform gives new products more room to move the needle. If subscription growth, engagement and disciplined customer acquisition remain intact, Sezzle has a credible path to compound from a much smaller base.
The Case for SOFI
SoFi’s case starts with scale and breadth. It ended the second quarter with 15.8 million members and 24.4 million products, while 51% of new products were opened by existing members. The cross-product rate supports the idea that one financial relationship can lead to several others across the same app.
The platform is also becoming more diverse. Financial Services and Technology Platform revenues together represented 46% of adjusted net revenues, and SoFi keeps adding investing, crypto, business banking and subscription features. Its August expansion into private-market funds gives members another reason to keep assets inside the ecosystem, something Sezzle cannot yet match.
SoFi’s banking structure is another advantage. Deposits reached $45.5 billion, providing relatively low-cost funding and supporting recurring net interest income. The loan platform business also lets SoFi originate for third parties, giving management flexibility between balance sheet growth and more capital-light fee revenues.
Still, the broader model brings more moving parts. Lending remains a major earnings driver, exposing SoFi to credit cycles and funding conditions. Technology Platform revenues fell 23% year over year, even as enabled accounts improved sequentially. As such, strong consolidated growth does not mean every engine is accelerating together.
Compared with Sezzle, SoFi offers greater diversification, a larger customer base and established financial infrastructure. It also has operational complexity and a larger base from which to grow. Cross-selling momentum is encouraging, but investors need evidence that newer businesses can offset variability in lending and technology services. This keeps the long-term story attractive, yet less clear-cut than Sezzle’s current trajectory.
How Do Estimates Compare for SEZL & SOFI?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Sezzle’s 2026 and 2027 sales calls for year-over-year growth of 35.30% and 24.53%, respectively. The consensus estimates for both 2026 and 2027 EPS have been revised notably upward over the past 30 days, and the figures suggest a year-over-year increase of 45.96% and 27.10%, respectively.
For Sezzle:
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SoFi’s 2026 and 2027 sales implies year-over-year growth of 35.52% and 20.16%, respectively. Over the past month, estimates for SOFI’s 2026 and 2027 EPS have been revised marginally upward. The consensus mark for 2026 and 2027 EPS suggests a year-over-year increase of 53.85% and 34.86%, respectively.
For SoFi Technologies:
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Price Performance and Valuation of SEZL & SOFI
Over the past six months, Sezzle shares have rallied 63%, while SoFi shares have just risen 2.7%. In comparison, the S&P 500 composite has advanced 11.5% in the same time frame.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
SEZL is trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings of 20.02X, which is ahead of its one-year median of 17.24X. Meanwhile, SOFI is presently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings of 25.41X, which is below its one-year median of 29.81X.
On a 12-month price-to-earnings basis, Sezzle currently has the more favorable comparison. The single multiple does not capture differences in the business mix, balance sheet structure or growth duration, but it does show investors are paying more for each dollar of SoFi’s profit.
Sezzle’s faster recent revenue growth and higher net margin make its lower multiple notable, although its smaller scale and narrower business justify some caution. SoFi’s premium can be defended by its banking platform and diversification, but the gap raises the bar for future execution.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Conclusion
Both companies have fintech growth stories, but they offer different types of exposure. SoFi brings scale, deposits, lending depth and a wide product set, yet its broader model also creates more dependencies and uneven segment trends. Sezzle is smaller and riskier, but its subscription-led engagement, expanding product set, customer-acquisition economics and faster profit growth make the current setup more compelling. The valuation comparison strengthens that view rather than creating it.
For investors choosing between the two now, Sezzle looks like the stronger name to consider for fresh capital, while SoFi looks better suited for investors already comfortable keeping their position.
While SEZL carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), SOFI has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).