Why the choice got harder, not easier
High street banks still exist, and they still work. NatWest, Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays all run business current accounts with branch access, cheque handling and lending arms behind them. Their entry tariffs tend to land somewhere between roughly £0 and £120 a year in account fees, depending on the package, before you count transaction charges.
The newer providers stripped that down. Starling alone reports more than 450,000 business customers on its current account, and its published comparison puts its own effective annual account fee at zero, against £102 to £120 at several high street competitors. Tide, Mettle, Monzo, Zempler and ANNA have built similar propositions around apps, instant notifications and accounting links.
So the headline price is rarely the issue. The friction sits elsewhere.
Eligibility is narrower than the marketing suggests. Mettle, for instance, works for sole traders and limited companies with a single director who controls the account. Add a second director and that door closes. If you need a limited company business bank account with shared access, you need a provider that supports multi-user permissions, and that usually means a paid tier.
Cash still costs. A trade taking notes weekly will feel the difference fast. Tide charges £1 per ATM withdrawal and 20p per transfer on its entry plan. Monzo charges £1 to pay cash in through PayPoints and Post Offices. Starling charges on cash deposits above its allowance. If cash is a big part of your week, price that in before you sign anything.
Protection varies by licence. Eligible deposits at Starling, Monzo, Tide, Mettle and the high street banks sit under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, currently up to £85,000 per eligible business. Wise and Revolut operate under different arrangements, so check how client money is held rather than assuming identical cover.
International income deserves a second look. Freelancers billing in euros or dollars often save more on the exchange rate than on the monthly fee. Starling quotes around £0.70 per €100 sent by SEPA. Wise publishes the mid-market rate with its fee shown separately. Revolut builds its pricing around multi-currency balances.
Comparing the realistic options
The figures below reflect provider pricing pages checked in late 2026. VAT may apply to business plans, and transaction charges sit on top of any monthly fee.
| Provider | Monthly fee | Entry cost band | Best suited to | Strengths | Points to watch |
|---|
| Starling Business | None | £0 monthly | Most sole traders and small limited companies | Unlimited Faster Payments, invoicing in-app, broad accounting links | Cash deposits charged above allowance |
| Tide (entry) | None | £0 monthly, 20p per transfer | Start-ups wanting invoicing plus integrations | Widest integration list among low-cost options | Transfer fees accumulate quickly |
| Tide Plus | £9.99 plus VAT | Around £120 a year | Firms making 20 or more transfers monthly | 20 transfers included, phone support, legal helpline | Break-even depends on volume |
| Mettle | None | £0 monthly | Sole traders, single-director companies | Invoicing built in, accounting software bundled | Closed to companies with multiple directors |
| Monzo Business Lite / Pro | £0 / £5 | Up to £60 a year | Mobile-first owner-operators | Instant notifications, Pots, tax set-asides on Pro | Accounting connections and tax Pots sit on Pro |
| Zempler | None | £0 monthly | Owners who want bookkeeping inside the app | Accounting and Making Tax Digital tools built in | Fewer third-party integrations |
| ANNA | From £0, pay as you go | Low monthly with per-transaction fees | Freelancers with uneven income | Expense and tax tools | Transaction charges rise with volume |
| Revolut Business | £10 Basic, £35 Grow, £125 Scale | £120 to £1,500 a year | Multi-currency, card-heavy trading | Strong FX and payment tools | Not a full UK bank; confirm how funds are protected |
| Wise Business | None | Pay per transfer | Regular overseas clients | Mid-market exchange rate, transparent pricing | No overdraft or credit facility |
| Virgin Money M Account | None | £0 monthly | Businesses handling cash and cheques | Branch access, cheque support, modest cashback | Less app-first than the challengers |
What the decision looks like in practice
Priya, a consultant in Leeds, invoiced from a personal account for her first year because a branch appointment kept slipping. When she finally applied online, the account was open in minutes. What changed her month was switching on an accounting link and a tax pot, so 30 per cent of every payment landed somewhere she could not spend by accident. Her tax bill stopped arriving as one undifferentiated balance on 31 January.
A different problem shows up in cash businesses. Monzo publishes a case from the owners of a Nottinghamshire pub and brewery who use instant payment notifications to watch takings and supplier payments as they happen. Useful, certainly. But a pub depositing notes weekly should compare deposit charges across three providers before signing, because a zero monthly fee can hide several hundred pounds a year in cash handling costs.
For a two-director design studio in Bristol, the shortlist was always going to be shorter. Multi-user access, clean transaction exports for the accountant and a lender willing to read two years of accounts matter more than the monthly fee. High street names still hold an edge on overdrafts and invoice finance, even if their apps feel dated.
Opening an online business bank account without wasting a week
- Confirm your structure first. Sole trader or limited company changes which products you can apply for at all. Incorporation details, director identity checks and your Unique Taxpayer Reference need to be to hand.
- List the money movements, not the features. Count monthly transfers, cash deposits, overseas invoices and cheques, then check what each provider charges for those specific actions.
- Read the tariff, not the landing page. "No monthly fee" tells you nothing about 20p transfers, £1 cash deposits or 3 per cent on non-sterling spending.
- Apply to two providers in parallel. Approval is not guaranteed, and a backup application costs ten minutes.
- Switch properly if you are moving. The Current Account Switch Service moves standing orders and Direct Debits and closes the old account within seven working days. Keep the old account open an extra month as a buffer for late payments.
- Set up the dull things on day one: two-factor authentication, a separate card for subscriptions, and an export routine your accountant can work with.
- Diary a review at six months. Once Making Tax Digital quarterly updates and your real transaction pattern are visible, the plan that fit in month one may not fit in month seven.
Where to put your attention next
Cheapest is not the same as least expensive. A £0 account with 20p transfers and £1 cash deposits can cost more across a year than a £9.99 plan with an allowance, especially for a retailer or a trade taking payment on site. Work out your own numbers before the comparison tables decide for you.
Keep two questions in front of you. Which provider supports the way money actually arrives, whether that is cards, transfers, cash or euros? And who will still be useful when you need an overdraft, a mortgage reference or a lender's letter?
Answer those and the shortlist drops to two or three names. Apply this week, while your last set of accounts is fresh and your paperwork already sits in one folder. The account is a tool, not a milestone, and the wrong one costs far more in friction than the right one costs in fees.
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