Microfinance is often seen as an effective tool to reach the poor, yet there is a paucity of studies on the poverty level of microfinance clients, differentiated by type of microfinance institution. This paper seeks to make a contribution in closing that knowledge gap, and focuses on Bangladesh and Peru, two of the pioneering countries in microfinance. We examine the poverty status of savers and borrowers with micro-banks, savings and credit cooperatives, and NGO-based microfinance institutions. In order to determine the poverty status of clients, the analysis is carried out for national as well as international poverty lines. Member- or NGO-based microfinance institutions are found to have a higher poverty outreach