Best business bank accounts UK: an honest comparison for October 2026

The short list

If you want the answer before the reasoning, here it is. Each pick links to the section that explains it.

• Our pick: Monzo Business. Free Lite plan, free UK transfers, no fee on card spending abroad, Tax Pots and accounting sync on paid plans. Caveats: cash costs £1 per deposit, no partnerships or LLPs, and limited company lending is unclear.
• Sole traders: Starling for a full-featured free account, with Monzo Business and Mettle close behind.
• Limited companies: Monzo Business on Pro or Team, or Starling if you need an LLP or want built-in accounting.
• Cash-heavy businesses: Santander, Barclays or Lloyds, for branch counters and deposit machines.
• Multi-currency and international: Wise Business as a second account, or Revolut Business for companies that live in foreign currency.
• Free banking: Starling, Mettle, HSBC UK or Monzo Lite, all with no monthly fee.
• High street and branches: HSBC UK, the one big bank with no monthly fee on its small business account.
• Startups: NatWest for two years of free everyday banking, or Lloyds while its current offer lasts.
• FSCS-protected app accounts: Monzo, Starling, Mettle, Tide and Countingup.

Bank or e-money: check this first

Before fees or features, check whether the account is held at a bank. Money in a UK bank account is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £120,000 per eligible depositor if the bank fails. Money in an e-money account is safeguarded instead: the provider must keep it separate from its own funds, but there is no FSCS compensation if something goes wrong with the safeguarding.

Of the 13 accounts on this page, Revolut Business, Wise Business and ANNA’s main account are e-money. Tide and Countingup are not banks themselves, but their accounts are provided by banks (ClearBank and Griffin Bank), so deposits are FSCS-protected through those banks. Mettle is a trading name of NatWest. Monzo and Starling are banks in their own right.

One detail catches out sole traders. The FSCS’s small business guidance says a sole trader’s business and personal accounts at the same bank are added together, so the limit is £120,000 in total across both. A limited company is a separate legal person and gets its own limit. Our FSCS guide for business accounts goes through the rules.

App-based accounts compared

Monzo Business against the seven app-based accounts we track, on the entry plan unless stated. Scroll sideways on a phone. “Not stated: check with provider” means the page we checked does not say, not that the answer is no.

High-street banks compared

The same rows for the five big high-street business accounts. Watch the monthly fee row: three of the five are free for 12 months only. Our full Monzo Business vs high-street banks comparison covers what they cost after the free period.

Eligibility criteria apply. The £50 is for people who have never had a Monzo account and complete the steps within 30 days.

Our pick: Monzo Business

Monzo Business wins because it combines the things most small UK businesses use every week, without a monthly fee to start: free instant UK transfers, no fee on card spending abroad, FSCS protection as a bank, Tap to Pay with no card reader, and an app that makes it easy to see where the money is. Monzo says it has over one million business customers, 1 in 6 UK businesses.

The honest caveats matter as much as the strengths, because they decide whether Monzo Business suits you at all.

On savings, be careful with the headline. Monzo’s savings page says up to 3.25% AER (variable), while its features page shows 1.30% AER (variable). Monzo does not publish a rate for each plan, so treat the higher figure as a ceiling that depends on your plan and check the rate in the app before you move money.

If you have never had a Monzo account of any kind, our referral link is worth £50 to you and £50 to us. You need to download the app, apply, add money and make a first card payment within 30 days. If you already have a Monzo personal account, you can still open Monzo Business from the app, but neither of us gets the reward.

Best for sole traders: Starling, with Monzo Business and Mettle close behind

Starling is the strongest free account for a sole trader. There is no monthly fee, UK transfers are free, it charges nothing for card spending abroad, invoicing is free in the app, and its tax tools include Spaces for tax, free MTD for Income Tax tool and Corporation Tax estimate. It is a bank in its own right. Cash at the Post Office costs Post Office, 0.7% (minimum £3), which is dearer than Monzo for small deposits.

Monzo Business is close behind and, for us, nicer to use. Lite covers the basics for free; the reason to pay for Pro is Tax Pots, invoicing and accounting sync. Sole traders also get Monzo’s free Making Tax Digital for Income Tax software and an overdraft of up to £3,000 at a representative 39.0% EAR (variable), subject to status.

Mettle, NatWest’s app account, is free and includes FreeAgent (FreeAgent included (needs one transaction a month)), which is worth real money if you would otherwise pay for bookkeeping software. Its limits: Receive only: £4 + 1.5% conversion over £10, and no overdraft. Tide has a free plan too, but UK transfers are limited (5 a month on Free, then 20p each) and card spending abroad costs 2.75% on Free; 0% on paid plans, so it suits sole traders who will upgrade. Our guide to the best accounts for sole traders goes further.

Best for limited companies: Monzo Business on Pro or Team

A limited company has needs a sole trader does not: more than one person on the account, Corporation Tax and VAT to set aside, an accountant who wants clean data, and sometimes approvals before money leaves. Monzo Business handles those on paid plans. Pro adds Tax Pots, invoicing and sync with Xero, FreeAgent, Sage and QuickBooks. Team adds expense cards, payment approvals and up to 200 payments at once from a CSV, with first 6 team members included and £5 a month per extra team member.

Starling is the main alternative and the right choice if you are an LLP, which Monzo does not accept. It is free, includes Free expense cards; Team Access for up to 5 users, and its one paid add-on is optional: Accounting Plus £7 a month until April 2027, then £14 (optional). Check Starling’s ownership rule before applying: All PSCs must be UK-resident individuals; no corporate shareholders or holding companies. For a company that trades internationally, Revolut Business is stronger on currencies, but it is e-money and has no free plan for companies (£10 (Basic)).

One caveat for companies on Monzo: lending. Monzo’s overdraft page describes a limited company overdraft of £500 to £5,000 at a representative 35.9% EAR (variable), with an annual fee and a personal guarantee, and the same page also says Monzo does not offer overdrafts to limited companies. Company loans go through iwoca. If borrowing is part of your plan, check in the app before you choose. Our guide to accounts for limited companies covers the rest.

Best for cash-heavy businesses: Santander, Barclays or Lloyds

If you take a lot of cash, the app-based accounts are rarely the cheapest place to bank it. Monzo charges £1 per deposit and caps deposits at £10,000 a month (limited companies) or £3,000 a month (sole traders), which suits a business that banks the odd envelope of cash, not a takeaway. Revolut (not accepted (no cash or cheque deposits)) and Wise (not accepted (no cash or cheques)) are out altogether.

Santander’s Business Current Account Classic includes £1,000 a month free at Santander machines, then £1.25 per £100. Barclays charges 60p per £100 at Post Office or machines; £1.20 per £100 at the counter, and Lloyds £0.85 per £100 at a deposit machine; £1.60 per £100 over the counter. Those percentages add up on large sums, but you get branch counters, deposit machines and someone to hand bags of coins to. HSBC’s current tariff is £1.50 per credit plus 1.5% of value (branch or Post Office), and it notes a change: From 14 December 2026: £1.50 credit fee dropped, branch rate 2%.

Starling sits between the two: Post Office, 0.7% (minimum £3) at the Post Office, with sole trader limits of £5,000 a day and £20,000 a year. For how Monzo’s cash deposits work in practice, see Monzo Business cash deposits.

Best for multi-currency and international: Wise Business and Revolut Business

Wise Business is the specialist. Account details in many currencies cost £0 (one-off £50 set-up fee for account details), sending money abroad costs from 0.24% conversion, varies by currency, and card spending is free in currencies you hold; conversion from 0.24% otherwise. It is e-money, it does not take cash and it does not lend, so most businesses use it as a second account alongside a UK bank.

Revolut Business suits limited companies that pay and get paid in several currencies every month. Basic costs £10 (Basic), card spending is free within £1,000 monthly fx allowance, then 0.6%, and international transfers cost £5 per international transfer on Basic. Freelancers are pointed to Revolut Pro inside the personal app instead.

Monzo Business is fine for occasional international payments, and its card has no fee abroad. Its transfer pricing changes on 1 November 2026: under £0.80 for most currencies, up to £11 in some cases, with a margin in the exchange rate (from 1 November 2026). Receiving foreign currency costs 1% conversion fee on incoming euros and other currencies, capped at £1,000. Our Monzo Business vs Revolut Business comparison works through when each makes sense.

Best free business banking: Starling, Mettle, HSBC UK or Monzo Lite

Four accounts here have no monthly fee and no catch on everyday UK payments: Starling, Mettle, the HSBC UK Small Business Banking Account and Monzo Business Lite. Each still charges for something, usually cash or foreign payments, so match the account to what you actually do.

Free plans with limits are a different thing. Tide’s free plan includes a set number of UK transfers (5 a month on Free, then 20p each). ANNA’s free plan has no monthly fee, but first £1,000 incoming a month free, then 0. Countingup charges £5 a month after a 3-month free trial. And the high-street free periods end: Barclays (£0 for 12 months, then £8.50), Lloyds (£0 for 12 months, then £10) and Santander (£9.99 (first 12 months free for start-ups and switchers)).

Best high-street bank: HSBC UK

If you want a branch, HSBC UK is the one big bank with a £0 monthly fee on its small business account. UK digital payments are free, it offers borrowing up to £100k (subject to status), and HSBC says 65% of accounts opened within 24 hours. The trade-offs are the usual high-street ones: 2.75% on card spending abroad and £17 by Business Internet Banking for an international payment.

Partnerships, which Monzo does not take, are accepted by Barclays, HSBC and Santander; Santander’s Classic account has a limit of two owners (Maximum two directors, owners or partners, all UK-resident and 18+).

Best for startups: NatWest, or Lloyds while its offer lasts

The NatWest Start-up Business Account gives businesses trading for less than a year 2 years' free everyday banking (start-ups and full switchers), with FreeAgent included while you keep the account. After two years everyday transactions are charged per item (free for 2 years, then £0.35 per automated payment).

Lloyds is offering £200 for opening online by 15 October 2026. That date is close: the deadline is in days, not weeks, and there are spending and Direct Debit conditions. Our business bank account offers page lists every current bonus and its conditions.

For speed, Monzo says most accounts open the same day, and a brand-new company can apply as soon as it is active at Companies House. If you have never had a Monzo account, the £50 referral reward applies on any plan, including Lite.

Best FSCS-protected app accounts: Monzo, Starling, Mettle, Tide and Countingup

If you want an app-first account and FSCS protection, five fit. Monzo and Starling are banks. Mettle is NatWest. Tide’s accounts are provided by ClearBank, so the limit covers everything you hold with ClearBank, and Countingup’s by Griffin Bank. Older Mettle and Countingup accounts were e-money accounts with a different provider, so if you opened one years ago, check which kind you have.

Between the five, Monzo and Starling are the most complete. See our Monzo Business vs Starling comparison for a head-to-head on fees, cash, integrations and lending.

Every account in one line

The provider’s own name for each account, what kind of account it is, and who we think it suits.

Monzo Business (bank)

Sole traders and limited companies who want an app-first, FSCS-protected account with Tax Pots and accounting sync. Our pick.

Starling Business Account (bank; Starling Bank Limited)

Limited companies and sole traders who want a full UK bank with no monthly fee and free UK transfers.

Tide Business Account (bank; Tide Platform Limited (accounts by ClearBank Ltd))

Sole traders and small companies who want a free app account with a big feature menu and are happy to upgrade for more transfers.

Revolut Business (e-money; Revolut Ltd / Revolut Bank UK Ltd)

Limited companies that pay and get paid in several currencies and want strong FX tools.

Mettle (bank; National Westminster Bank plc, trading as Mettle)

Sole traders and one-owner companies who want a free NatWest-backed account with FreeAgent thrown in.

Countingup (bank; Counting Ltd (accounts by Griffin Bank Ltd))

Sole traders who want banking and bookkeeping in one app and do not mind a small monthly fee.

ANNA Business Account (e-money; ANNA Money (e-money by PayrNet Limited))

Low-volume sole traders and companies who want a free plan and admin help, and can live without FSCS on the main balance.

Wise Business (e-money; Wise Payments Limited)

Businesses that hold, send and receive foreign currency, as a second account alongside a UK bank.

Barclays Business Account (bank; Barclays Bank UK PLC)

Businesses that want a high-street bank with branches and Post Office cash, and Sage at a discount.

HSBC UK Small Business Banking Account (bank; HSBC UK Bank plc)

Small businesses that want a free high-street account with branch and Post Office access.

Lloyds Business Account (bank; Lloyds Bank plc)

New businesses that want a big-bank account and can use the current £200 offer.

NatWest Start-up Business Account (bank; National Westminster Bank plc)

New businesses that want two years of free high-street banking plus FreeAgent.

Santander Business Current Account Classic (bank; Santander UK plc)

Small partnerships and companies with up to two owners who want branch and Post Office access.

How we compared

We read each provider’s own account pages, pricing pages and fee documents and recorded every figure with its source URL and the date we checked it (9 October 2026 for the other providers, 9 October 2026 for Monzo). Where a provider’s pages disagree with each other, we say so. Where we could only find a figure on a third-party site, it is labelled unverified. Each source is listed at the foot of this page.

We compared accounts on what a small business pays and gets in a normal month: the monthly fee and what it becomes after any free period, UK transfers, cash, card spending abroad, international payments, deposit protection, tax and accounting tools, team cards, lending and eligibility. We did not score or rate accounts, and we do not publish star ratings.

We bank with Monzo Business ourselves and earn a referral reward if you open an account through our link. That is why the methodology is written down: our editorial policy sets out which sources we accept, how we date figures and how to ask for a correction. If a figure here is out of date, email us and we will fix it.