The market is crowded, and that changes the decision
Twenty years ago a business account meant a branch appointment, a paper form and a week of waiting for a sort code. Today a sole trader in Sheffield can be card-ready before the kettle boils. Challenger providers now sit alongside the high street names, and each one is optimised for a different kind of business.
That breadth is useful, but it also means the comparison tables rarely tell the whole story. A cafe taking £400 in cash on a Saturday has very different needs from a consultant invoicing three overseas clients a month. Treat any "best buy" list as a starting point rather than an answer.
Start with how money actually arrives
Before you look at pricing tiers, map your cash flow for a typical month. Three questions do most of the work.
Are you a sole trader or a limited company? Most app-based providers serve both, but the eligibility checks differ. Directors usually need to be registered at Companies House, and some providers restrict certain sectors, so read the excluded industries list before you get attached to a particular app.
How much physical cash and paper cheques come through the door? Trades, market stalls, takeaways and anything with a till will feel this daily. App-only banks handle cash through Post Office counters or PayPoint arrangements, and those routes carry a fee. If you bank £2,000 in notes each week, a percentage-based deposit charge quietly becomes a real cost line in your accounts.
Who else needs access? A two-director studio needs separate logins and card controls, not a shared password. Check how many users each plan allows before you assume it is included.
International work deserves its own line in the budget. A multi-currency business account in the UK can look no-monthly-fee on the surface and still cost you on the conversion spread. Ask what the markup is on a euro or dollar payment, not just whether the account exists.
Comparing the main options
The figures below come from providers' published pricing. Terms change, so confirm on the provider's own page before applying.
| Provider | Monthly cost | Good fit for | Watch-outs |
|---|
| Starling Bank | £0 for the GBP account; euro account £2/month | Sole traders and limited companies wanting built-in accounting and Post Office cash deposits | Cash deposits charged at 0.7%, minimum £3; no branch network |
| Tide | £0, £12.49, £27.49 or £69.99 depending on plan | New businesses wanting fast onboarding and invoicing tools | Only a handful of transfers included on lower plans, then per-transfer charges; FX fee on the entry tier |
| Monzo Business | Lite £0, Pro £5 | Simple bookkeeping with tax pots and clear spending categories | £1 charge to pay in cash at PayPoint or Post Office |
| ANNA Money | Pay as you go £0; Business £14.90 plus VAT; Big Business £49.90 plus VAT | Owners who want invoicing and tax reminders in the same app as the account | E-money account structure, so deposit protection works differently from a bank account |
| Revolut Business | Basic £10, Grow £35 (or £360 yearly), Scale £125 | Businesses paying suppliers and clients across several currencies | Transfer allowances and FX limits vary by plan and billing term |
| High street banks | Monthly fees often apply after an introductory period | Cash-heavy businesses that value a branch and a lending relationship | Applications can be slower; check what the fee becomes in year two |
One point that catches people out: not every account is a bank account in the legal sense. Some are e-money accounts, which are safeguarded but not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in the same way. Where a provider is a UK bank and your deposits qualify, protection currently runs to £85,000. That distinction matters more as your balance grows, so ask directly which entity holds your money.
Where the cheap plans quietly cost more
The entry tiers are genuinely usable, but they are priced around a particular customer: card payments in, bank transfers out, modest volume. Step outside that shape and the add-ons stack up.
Cash is the usual culprit. Tide's entry plan charges for Post Office deposits after a small allowance, and Starling applies a percentage with a minimum fee. A retail business handling a few thousand pounds in notes monthly should model that number before signing up.
Transfers are the second. Several plans include a set number of free UK payments each month, after which each one carries a charge. Payroll runs, supplier batches and standing orders add up quickly.
Foreign exchange is the third. A 2.75% fee on card spending abroad sounds abstract until you are paying a European supplier every month. Moving up a tier removes the fee, but only if the volume justifies the subscription.
Then there is borrowing. Overdrafts and loans are not part of the standard offer at most app-based providers, and eligibility rules are tighter than they were. If you need a buffer in year one, a relationship with a high street lender may still be the practical answer.
Picture a two-person design studio in Bristol billing clients in euros and pounds. A no-monthly-fee account covers the basics, but the FX markup on a few thousand euros a month can exceed the cost of a paid plan that removes it. That is the sort of calculation worth doing on paper rather than in your head.
A sequence that saves time
- List your payment types — card, transfer, cash, cheque, international — and roughly how many of each per month.
- Confirm eligibility for your business structure and sector before you download anything.
- Check the protection position and which entity holds your deposits.
- Test the admin side. If you are VAT registered or using Making Tax Digital, look at how the account connects to accounting software and whether records export cleanly.
- Use the Current Account Switch Service once you have picked. It moves Direct Debits, standing orders and incoming payments over seven working days, and most UK business current accounts with turnover under £6.5 million and fewer than 50 staff qualify.
- Keep the old account open for a month if you can, so a missed payment does not become a late-payment flag on your credit file.
Practical local detail is easy to overlook. Post Office counters are the main cash route for app-only banks, so check the opening hours of the branch nearest to your premises. Companies House filing dates and HMRC payment deadlines do not move, and an account that surfaces those dates in-app saves a monthly scramble.
Resources worth bookmarking include the Current Account Switch Service site for the full list of participating banks, the provider's own pricing page rather than a comparison article, and your accountant, who will usually tell you which integrations they prefer to work with.
What to do next
Pick two providers rather than five, apply to both if your paperwork is in order, and give yourself a week to compare the real experience: how quickly support answers, how clear the transaction feed is, how easily you can find last quarter's export. The account that fits is the one that matches your cash flow and stays out of your way at month end. Start by writing down your monthly payment mix, then open the pricing page of the provider that seems closest and check the three fee lines that apply to you: cash, transfers and foreign exchange.
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