Mettle and free FreeAgent

What it is

Open a Mettle account, transact at least once a month, and you get a full FreeAgent subscription at no charge. Not a trial, not a cut-down tier — the actual product, which otherwise costs meaningful money every year.

Because Mettle and FreeAgent are both NatWest Group products, the connection is native rather than a third-party Open Banking link that needs periodic re-authorising.

How it actually works

• The Mettle account is permanently free. There is no paid tier at all.
• FreeAgent is included provided you make at least one transaction a month.
• The feed is native, so it breaks and re-authorises far less than Open Banking connections do.
• FreeAgent handles Making Tax Digital properly, which matters for sole traders above the £50,000 threshold.
• Stop using Mettle and normal FreeAgent subscription fees resume.

Who it genuinely helps

• Freelancers and consultants paid by UK bank transfer who currently pay for bookkeeping software.
• Sole traders newly caught by Making Tax Digital, who need compliant software and would rather not buy it.
• Anyone whose accountant works in FreeAgent — the native feed is materially better than a third-party bridge.

Where it falls short

• No cheques. Not at any value. This alone rules Mettle out for construction, care and professional services.
• No international payments, in either direction.
• No overdraft.
• Narrow eligibility. Larger or multi-owner companies simply do not qualify.
• Shared FSCS limit with NatWest, RBS and Ulster Bank, since Mettle is a trading name of National Westminster Bank plc.

What else does this

NatWest includes free FreeAgent across its business range too — useful if you need cheques, international payments or lending that Mettle refuses.

Starling connects to FreeAgent free but does not pay for your subscription. It does offer an overdraft and cheque imaging.

Monzo includes MTD software on every tier including free, but charges £9 a month for third-party integrations.

Our verdict

The best value proposition in UK business banking, for the narrow group it fits. A free account plus a paid-tier accounting package plus 1.46% on savings, all for nothing, is not something anyone else offers.

It is also the clearest illustration of how these products are designed. Mettle can afford to give away FreeAgent because it has scoped the account to exclude everything expensive and risky — cheques, international payments, credit, complex ownership. If you fit inside that box, you get an unusually good deal. If you do not, no amount of wanting it helps.

Check the eligibility rules before you get attached to the idea. Then check whether you are ever paid by cheque, because that is where most people discover the boundary.

Read our full Mettle review →