Updated 4 August 2026
23 accounts across 14 providers. We price every tier, check every fee against the published tariff, and tell you which ones actually protect your money.
Three accounts that suit most UK businesses. Full workings and scores further down.
Pick what describes you and the ranking below filters to accounts that actually work for it.
Tap one or more. Tap again to clear.
Best overall · sole traders and small limited companies
The account most UK small businesses should open by default. No monthly fee at all, free electronic payments, Post Office cash handling and a real overdraft on application. Its accounting add-on is genuinely optional rather than a paywall around the basics.
Best free account · freelancers and one-director companies
Genuinely free, with a FreeAgent subscription included that's worth more than most rivals' entire paid tiers. The trade-offs are real: no cheques, no overdraft, no international payments, and only sole traders and small limited companies can apply.
Best app · businesses that want tooling in one place
The clearest interface in UK business banking, with Making Tax Digital software on every tier including the free one. The catch: accounting integrations and invoicing sit behind Pro at £9 a month, so compare Lite against Starling before assuming free means free.
Best high street · cash handling and lending
If you need a counter, a relationship manager or a lending conversation, this is the strongest traditional option. Twelve months free is a genuine offer — but model year two properly, because monthly fee plus per-£100 cash charges is where high-street banking gets expensive.
Best for multi-currency · no free tier
The strongest multi-currency tooling of any UK business account, and a licensed UK bank since March 2026. Two caveats: there's no free plan, and migration to the bank entity is still rolling out — check in-app which entity holds your money before assuming FSCS cover.
Best invoicing tools · but read the sort code first
Excellent invoicing and expense features on a free tier, and newer accounts are provided by ClearBank, which does carry FSCS protection. Older Tide accounts issued through PrePay Technologies are safeguarded only. Two customers can hold what looks like the same product with materially different protection.
Best tax tools · sole traders filing their own returns
The live tax estimate and receipt handling are the best in the market for a self-filing sole trader, and pay-as-you-go costs nothing to hold. But the everyday balance sits with an e-money institution and is safeguarded, not FSCS-protected — which is why it can't rank higher here.
Best for poor credit · formerly Cashplus
Accepts applicants the mainstream banks decline, and it's a licensed bank rather than an e-money firm, so your balance carries statutory protection. Fees are higher than the leaders and the tooling is thinner — treat it as a stepping stone while you build a trading history.
Try removing one — very few accounts handle cash and multi-currency and branch access. That trade-off is usually the real decision.
All figures illustrative until verified against each provider's published tariff. See how we rate.
Why we rank this way
Several popular providers are electronic money institutions, not banks. They're FCA-authorised and your money is held separately from theirs — but if the firm fails, you recover it through an administration process rather than an FSCS payout. Our rule: no account without FSCS protection on its everyday balance scores above 3.5 out of 5, however good the app is.
Statutory cover up to £120,000 per eligible depositor, per institution. Fast payout if the bank fails. Starling, Monzo, Mettle, Barclays, HSBC, NatWest, Lloyds, Santander, Co-op, Zempler, Allica.
Revolut gained its full UK banking licence in March 2026 but migration is phased. Tide's newer accounts run through ClearBank and are FSCS-eligible; legacy ones aren't. Check in-app before assuming.
Funds held in segregated accounts at partner banks. Contractual protection, no statutory guarantee, slower recovery. ANNA, Wise Business, Airwallex.
Grouped by regulatory status first, because that's the filter that should matter most. Within each group, cheapest first.
| Provider & tier | Monthly | Cash in | Transfers | Accounting | Branch | Protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licensed UK banks — FSCS protected | ||||||
| SStarling — BusinessFree tier, no feature paywall | £0 | 0.7%, min £3 | Free | Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent | ✕ | FSCS |
| SStarling — Accounting EssentialsMaking Tax Digital, bookkeeping | £0 | As above | Free | Built-in | ✕ | FSCS |
| SStarling — Accounting PlusAdds VAT recording and filing | £7 | As above | Free | Built-in | ✕ | FSCS |
| MMettle — BusinessSingle tier · NatWest Group | £0 | Post Office | Free | FreeAgent free, Xero, QuickBooks | ✕ | FSCS |
| MoMonzo — Business LiteNo accounting integrations | £0 | £1 per deposit | Free | MTD only | ✕ | FSCS |
| MoMonzo — Business ProInvoicing, tax pots, virtual cards | £9 | £1 per deposit | Free | Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, Sage | ✕ | FSCS |
| MoMonzo — Business TeamMulti-user, expense cards, approvals | £25 | £1 per deposit | Free | As Pro | ✕ | FSCS |
| NNatWest — Business CurrentFree period for new businesses | Intro free, then tariff | Per £100 | Free allowance | FreeAgent free | ✓ | FSCS |
| NNatWest — Business BankingEstablished businesses, standard tariff | Tariff | Per £100 | Allowance then per item | FreeAgent free | ✓ | FSCS |
| Barclays — Start-upUnder £400k turnover | 12 mths free, then £8.50 | ~£1.20/£100 counter | Free electronic | Most major packages | ✓ | FSCS |
| Barclays — Business £400k+Mixed and e-payments plans | 12 mths free, then £8.50 | ~£1.20/£100 counter | Free electronic | Most major packages | ✓ | FSCS |
| LLloyds — Business CurrentAlso Bank of Scotland | 12 mths free, then ~£7–10 | £0.85/£100 machine · £1.50 counter | 100 free, then 20p | Business Finance Assistant | ✓ | FSCS |
| HHSBC — KineticApp-based, sole traders and single-director companies | Intro free, then monthly | Per £100 | Free electronic | Xero, QuickBooks, Sage | ✕ | FSCS |
| HHSBC — Small Business BankingFull service with branch access | Intro free, then monthly | Per £100 | Allowance then per item | Xero, QuickBooks, Sage | ✓ | FSCS |
| CCo-operative — Business DirectplusFrequent switching offers | £0 | 1.5% | Free | Open banking providers | ✕ | FSCS |
| SaSantander — Business CurrentTiered by activity band | Tariff | Per £100 | Allowance then per item | Major packages | ✓ | FSCS |
| ZZempler — Go / Extra / ProFormerly Cashplus · accepts thin credit files | £0 to monthly | Per deposit | Per item on some tiers | Limited | ✕ | FSCS |
| AlAllica — Business RewardsEstablished SMEs · interest and cashback | £0, eligibility applies | Limited | Free | Major packages | ✕ | FSCS |
| Protection depends which entity holds your money | ||||||
| RRevolut Business — BasicBank licence March 2026 · migration phased | £10 | Not supported | Allowance then per item | Xero, QuickBooks, Sage | ✕ | Check entity |
| RRevolut Business — GrowTeam features, higher FX allowance | £30 | Not supported | Larger allowance | As Basic | ✕ | Check entity |
| RRevolut Business — Scale / EnterpriseHigh volume and multi-currency | £90 / custom | Not supported | Highest allowance | As Basic | ✕ | Check entity |
| TTide — FreeClearBank accounts FSCS-eligible; legacy ones aren't | £0 | 0.5%, min £2.50 | 5 free, then 20p | Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, FreeAgent | ✕ | Check sort code |
| TTide — Plus / Pro / CashbackLarger transfer allowances, priority support | Monthly, by tier | 0.5%, min £2.50 | Larger allowances | As Free | ✕ | Check sort code |
| E-money institutions — safeguarded, not FSCS protected | ||||||
| AANNA — Pay As You GoCard issued by an authorised e-money institution | £0 | Per deposit | 20 free, then per item | Xero, QuickBooks | ✕ | Safeguarded |
| AANNA — Business / Big BusinessHigher allowances and cashback | Monthly, by tier | Per deposit | Larger allowances | Xero, QuickBooks | ✕ | Safeguarded |
| WWise BusinessMulti-currency · one-off setup fee | £0 + one-off fee | Not supported | Per item | Xero, QuickBooks | ✕ | Safeguarded |
| AwAirwallexMulti-currency for scaling businesses | Tiered | Not supported | Allowance then per item | Xero, QuickBooks, NetSuite | ✕ | Safeguarded |
Every figure must be verified against the provider's current published tariff before publication. Where a fee shows as "tariff", the provider prices by activity band rather than a single headline rate — see the provider page.
One page per bank: all tiers, the full tariff, who actually holds your money, and who gets declined.
The matchups people actually agonise over — decided, not just described.
The most-searched comparison in UK business banking, and the one where the protection question is now genuinely live.
Read → Head-to-headTwo licensed banks, two free tiers, one important difference in what "free" actually includes.
Read → Head-to-headBoth built for sole traders, both e-money at root — but only one has a route to FSCS protection.
Read → Head-to-headThe two strongest free accounts in the market. It comes down to cash, cheques and FreeAgent.
Read → High streetSimilar tariffs, different onboarding. Where each is genuinely faster to open.
Read → CategoryThe cash threshold at which a branch account stops being the expensive option and starts being the cheap one.
Read →Half the people searching for a business account are asking the wrong question first. These are the questions underneath it.
The legal position for limited companies, the small-print position for sole traders, and the honest answer for side hustles.
Read → GuideWhere the tax crossover sits, what limited liability actually protects, and the admin you take on.
Read → GuideWhat each means in a failure, how long you wait for your money, and when the distinction stops being academic.
Read → GuideThe documents every provider asks for, and why "proof of address" means something different to a bank.
Read → GuideSIC codes, address mismatches, overseas directors — the causes that have nothing to do with your credit file.
Read → GuideWhat the Current Account Switch Service covers for businesses, what it doesn't, and the order to do things in.
Read →Every account scores out of five across six weighted criteria. The weightings are published because a ranking you can't interrogate is just an advert.
Service quality draws on the independent Ipsos survey UK banks are required by the CMA to publish, not on our impression of the app. Costs come from published tariffs, with the version date recorded on every provider page.
Some links to providers earn a commission if you open an account. Those links are marked on every page, without exception.
Commission has no bearing on the ranking, the scores or what we're willing to say about a provider. Several accounts near the top of this page pay us nothing and are linked directly.
You never pay more for using our link, and it has no effect on the provider's decision about your application.
This site publishes journalism, not regulated financial advice, and doesn't take your circumstances into account. For advice on your business, speak to an accountant or an FCA-authorised adviser.
If you run a limited company: in practice, yes. The company is a separate legal person and its money isn't yours. Running it through a personal account creates a director's loan account tangle, costs you in accountancy fees, and looks bad if HMRC ever asks questions.
If you're a sole trader: no law compels you. But nearly every personal current account's terms and conditions prohibit business use, and banks enforce it — usually with two months' notice to leave, at the worst possible moment.
Sole trader is simpler: no Companies House filings, no separate accounts, profits are just your income. The catch is unlimited personal liability for business debts.
A limited company caps that liability and often becomes more tax-efficient somewhere in the £30,000–£40,000 profit range, though the crossover shifts with every Budget. You pay for it in admin, public filings, and the fact that a business account is no longer optional.
It's an accountant's question rather than a banker's, and a good one will save you more than they charge on this decision alone.
FSCS is a statutory guarantee. If a licensed bank fails, eligible deposits are compensated up to £120,000 per eligible depositor per institution, and payouts are typically fast.
Safeguarding is what e-money institutions do instead: your money sits in segregated accounts at partner banks, separate from the firm's own funds. If the firm fails you should get it back — but through an administration process, which is slower and less certain, with no statutory guarantee behind it.
For a small float it rarely matters. For a company holding a year of corporation tax, it matters a great deal.
Rarely because of a personal credit file. Far more often: your Companies House record doesn't match what you typed in, your SIC code sits on the provider's higher-risk list, your registered address is a formation agent's mailbox that can't be verified, a director or shareholder is overseas, or your description of the business doesn't explain where the money will come from.
Almost all of that is fixable before you apply.
Yes, and for many businesses it's the sensible answer. A licensed bank for the balance you can't afford to lose, plus an e-money account for the tooling, gets you both. Just keep the tax money on the protected side.
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