TNAA vs. Aya Healthcare: Which Travel Nursing Agency Is Right for You? (2026)

TNAA and Aya Healthcare represent two distinct models in the travel nursing agency landscape. TNAA built its reputation on recruiter relationships, pay transparency, and a boutique-style experience. Aya grew into the largest travel nursing agency in the country by prioritizing job volume, technology, and speed.

Neither is objectively better. The right choice depends on what you actually need from an agency – and those priorities differ significantly depending on your experience level, specialty, target states, and how you prefer to work with a recruiter. This comparison breaks down both agencies on the factors that matter most so you can make an informed decision.

Agency Snapshot

Pay Transparency

Advantage: TNAA

TNAA’s Assignment Benefits Summary is one of the most nurse-friendly pay disclosure tools in the industry. Before you accept any assignment, TNAA provides a pre-signed breakdown showing your taxable hourly rate, non-taxable per diem amounts, estimated taxes, and projected net take-home pay. No surprises on your first paycheck.

Aya provides pay information, but it is less standardized. You can request a breakdown from your recruiter, but the format and depth vary. Some nurses report needing to ask specifically for the net pay estimate rather than receiving it proactively.

For both agencies, the core issue is the same: travel nurse pay packages are complex, and the headline weekly number is rarely what hits your bank account. Before signing with either agency, benchmark the offer independently. Our Travel Nurse Pay Package guide explains exactly what to look for, and our underpaying contract guide shows you how to spot a low offer before you sign.

Job Volume and Market Coverage

Advantage: Aya

Aya Healthcare is the largest travel nursing agency in the United States by job volume and facility network. If your priority is having the most options – by specialty, location, or contract timing – Aya wins on raw numbers. This is especially relevant for nurses targeting competitive markets or non-compact states where facility relationships matter more.

TNAA’s post-TotalMed merger footprint is meaningfully larger than it was pre-2025, now covering 2,200+ care facilities. For most common specialties in compact states, TNAA’s job inventory is competitive. But for nurses who need maximum flexibility or are working in niche specialties, Aya’s volume advantage is real.

If job volume is your primary driver, also consider using a marketplace like Vivian Health alongside either agency – it lets you see offers from multiple agencies simultaneously without committing to one. See our Vivian Health Review for how that model works.

Pay Competitiveness

Advantage: Neither consistently

Neither TNAA nor Aya is reliably the highest-paying option on any given assignment. Pay competitiveness in travel nursing is assignment-specific – it depends on the facility, the market, your specialty, and how well you negotiate. Both agencies have bill rate agreements with facilities that set a ceiling on what they can offer, and both take a margin from that bill rate.

What TNAA offers that Aya does not is a standardized guarantee that your per diems are protected on low census call-offs. Depending on the facility and how frequently call-offs occur, this can represent a material difference in actual take-home pay over a 13-week assignment – even if TNAA’s headline rate is slightly lower.

The right approach with both agencies: submit the same job to both and compare the full ABS-style breakdown side by side. Do not compare headline weekly rates without accounting for per diem structure, guaranteed pay terms, and tax implications.

Recruiter Experience

Advantage: TNAA (traditionally) – with caveats

TNAA built its reputation on recruiter relationships. The model pairs each traveler with a dedicated recruiter plus a team of specialists covering housing, compliance, and QA – so recruiter time is focused on placement and advocacy rather than administrative tasks. Historically, TNAA recruiter ratings have been among the highest in the industry on platforms like Great Recruiters.

The TotalMed merger has introduced some friction. Nurses who were TotalMed travelers transitioning to TNAA, and some long-tenured TNAA travelers, have reported feeling more like a number in the expanded organization. The expanded specialist team model that came with the merger means more contacts, which some travelers find helpful and others find impersonal.

Aya’s recruiter experience is highly variable. At Aya’s scale, recruiter quality ranges widely – some nurses have outstanding long-term recruiter relationships, others feel like they are working a self-serve platform with a recruiter attached. The Aya app and technology platform are strong, which compensates somewhat when the recruiter relationship is thinner.

For both agencies, asking for a recruiter referral from a nurse currently traveling with them is the most reliable way to find a good recruiter before committing.

Benefits

Advantage: TNAA (on specific terms)

Both agencies offer day-one health, dental, and vision insurance – a baseline expectation for competitive travel nursing agencies. The differentiators are in the details:

• 401k vesting: TNAA offers 100% immediate vesting on their 401k match. This matters for travelers who may only complete one or two contracts with an agency – you do not need to stay long enough to vest.
• Sick leave: TNAA accrues sick leave from day one of your first assignment, available to use as soon as it accumulates.
• Licensure: TNAA’s “Your Way Is Paid” program covers state licensure fees, physicals, titers, and immunizations through direct payment – not reimbursement after the fact. Aya also covers licensure costs but the process differs.
• Guaranteed pay: TNAA’s per diem protection on low census call-offs is a meaningful financial benefit that Aya does not consistently match.

Technology and App Experience

Advantage: Aya

Aya’s technology platform is one of its strongest differentiators. The Aya app provides job search, credential management, contract review, and assignment tracking in a polished, well-maintained interface. For nurses who prefer managing their travel career with minimal back-and-forth, Aya’s self-serve capabilities are genuinely useful.

TNAA’s app covers the core functions – job search, credential tracking, assignment management – and has improved since the TotalMed integration. It is functional but does not match Aya’s technology investment. TNAA’s model compensates by putting more emphasis on human support rather than self-serve tools.

New Traveler vs. Experienced Traveler

The Honest Bottom Line

If you are a newer traveler or someone who values knowing exactly what you will earn before you sign, TNAA’s Assignment Benefits Summary and guaranteed pay protection give it a meaningful edge over Aya for your first several contracts. The structured support model also reduces the learning curve of managing travel nursing logistics for the first time.

If you are an experienced traveler who knows how to read a pay package, negotiate effectively, and manage your own compliance and licensing, Aya’s job volume and technology platform make it a strong primary agency – especially if you are targeting competitive markets or need maximum flexibility in assignment options.

The most effective strategy for most experienced travelers is to work with both simultaneously. Submit the same jobs to TNAA and Aya, compare the full package breakdowns side by side, and let the numbers guide your decision on each assignment. Agency loyalty rarely pays as well as informed comparison.

For deeper dives on each agency, see our full TNAA Review and Aya Healthcare Review. For a broader agency comparison, see our Best Travel Nurse Agencies for New Travelers guide.