Comparison
Free business bank accounts
"Free" covers three quite different things: permanently free, free for a while, and free until you use it. Here is which is which.
Our picks
Monzo Business
Lite costs nothing, includes Making Tax Digital software, and pays 1.30% on your balance. No integrations or overdraft at that tier.
Mettle by NatWest
Free forever with a FreeAgent subscription and 1.46% savings. There is no paid tier at all — but no cheques, international payments or overdraft either.
Starling Business
Free with nothing important behind a paywall: integrations, cheque imaging and an overdraft on application. Pays no interest.
Compared
Scores use our seven weighted criteria. Run your own numbers on the true cost calculator.
| Account | Free period | Cash in | Transfers | Savings | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MoMonzo Business | Permanent | £1 per deposit | Free | 1.30% | 4.3 |
| SStarling Business | Permanent | 0.7%, min £3 | Free | None | 4.2 |
| MMettle by NatWest | Permanent | Post Office | Free | 1.46% | 3.9 |
| TTide | Permanent | 0.5%, min £2.50 | 5 free, then 20p | 2.00% | 3.8 |
| AANNA Money | Permanent | Per deposit | 20 free, then per item | 1.00% | 3.4 |
| AlAllica Bank | Permanent, eligibility | Limited | Free | 2.83% | 4.0 |
| CCo-operative Bank | Permanent | 1.5% | Free | 1.05% (unverified) | 3.3 |
| VVirgin Money | 25 months | Per £100 | Free online | 3.55% (unverified) | 4.1 |
| Barclays Business | 12 months | ~£1.20/£100 | Free | 1.26% (unverified) | 3.6 |
Three kinds of free
Permanently free
Starling, Monzo Lite, Mettle, Tide Free, ANNA Pay As You Go, Allica and the Co-operative Bank charge no monthly account fee at all, indefinitely. This is the only category where "free" means what it sounds like.
Free for a period
Virgin Money gives 25 months, the longest on the high street. Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest and HSBC typically give 12. These are genuine offers and worth having — but the account you are choosing is the one you will hold in year three, so model that instead.
Free until you use it
This is where people get caught. Tide’s free plan gives only five free transfers a month, then charges around 20p each. ANNA gives 20. For a business making fifty payments a month, that is £108 and £72 a year respectively on an account advertised as free.
And cash charges apply on every free account. At two deposits totalling £1,200 a month, Starling’s percentage model costs about £101 a year while Monzo’s flat fee costs about £24.
Free can still cost you, through interest foregone
An account that charges nothing but pays nothing is not free if you hold a balance. Starling costs £0 in fees and pays 0% — on a £25,000 reserve that is £325 a year less than Monzo Lite and £705 less than Monzo Pro after its fee.
This is the single most-missed point in business banking comparison, and it is why our scoring nets interest off against fees rather than treating them separately.
What you give up on a free account
- Cheques. Mettle, Tide and ANNA accept none. Monzo takes them in-app to £500 and by post above; Starling images them.
- Overdrafts. Starling and Monzo both lend; Mettle, Tide and ANNA do not. Monzo is faster to arrange but considerably more expensive.
- International payments. Mettle supports none in either direction.
- Branches. None of the permanently free accounts has one.
For a UK-only service business paid by transfer, none of that matters and a free account is straightforwardly the right answer. For a cash-taking business that gets paid by cheque and needs a buffer, "free" is the wrong thing to optimise for.
Common questions
Which UK business bank accounts are completely free?
Starling, Monzo Business Lite, Mettle, Tide Free, ANNA Pay As You Go, Allica and the Co-operative Bank charge no monthly account fee indefinitely. All still charge for cash handling, and some charge per transfer above a small allowance.
Is Starling business banking really free?
There is no monthly fee and electronic payments are free with no allowance. You pay only for cash handling and international transfers. But it pays no interest on your balance, which on a large reserve is a real cost.
What is the catch with free business accounts?
Usually one of three: a transfer allowance that is quickly exceeded, a cash charging model that suits some businesses and punishes others, or no interest on your balance. None of them appear in the headline.
How long is free banking with high-street banks?
Virgin Money offers 25 months, the longest available. Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest and HSBC typically offer 12 months for new or switching businesses, after which their standard tariff applies.
Are free business accounts FSCS protected?
Most are. Starling, Monzo, Mettle, Allica, Zempler and the Co-operative Bank are licensed banks with full FSCS cover. ANNA is an e-money provider and is safeguarded rather than FSCS-protected. Tide depends on which entity holds your account.