No longer do you have to choose a high street bank for a business bank account. Recent years have introduced many new online business banking solutions aimed at younger, tech-savvy people – but really, anyone with a phone or laptop can apply for an online business account in minutes.

Limited companies and other business entities in the UK can choose between full-fledged bank accounts and e-money accounts, managed online and/or through a mobile app. E-money accounts tend to have more limitations and a prepaid card instead of a regular debit card.

Common to business accounts online are the fast sign-up, ease of use, smart budgeting tools and (usually) no contract term. Your choice of company account will depend on other things which we shall see below.

Best online business account comparison:

Account Cost Best for Link
Starling Bank
Bank account
£0-£7/mo Widest range of banking features, good support
Revolut
E-money account
£0-£100/mo Multi-currency accounts, business tools like payroll
Monzo Business
Bank account
£0-£5/mo Budgeting tools, convenient for Monzo users
Cashplus Bank
Bank account
£69/yr No credit check required, business credit options
Tide
Bank account
£0-£49.99*/mo Open up to 5 accounts, legal helpline
Monese
E-money account
£9.95*/mo Multilingual support

*Excluding VAT.

Account Best for Site
Starling Bank
bank account

£0-£7/mo
Widest range of banking features, good support
Revolut
e-money account

£0-£100/mo
Multi-currency accounts, business tools like payroll
Monzo Business
bank account

£0-£5/mo
Budgeting tools, convenient for Monzo users
Cashplus Bank
bank account

£69/yr
No credit check required, business credit options
Tide
bank account

£0-£49.99*/mo
Open up to 5 accounts, legal helpline
Monese
e-money account

£9.95*/mo
Multilingual support

*Excluding VAT.

Not a registered company? See our comparison of sole trader accounts.

Starling Bank – with the broadest banking services

Starling Bank
Our rating
  • Bank account through app and web

  • With IBAN, Debit Mastercard and 24/7 support

  • EUR and USD accounts available

  • Business overdraft and loans available

Starling Bank is a full-fledged bank with the most ‘complete’ offering on this list, making it the best online business bank account. It offers business loans, overdraft options, a full Business Debit Mastercard and an excellent app for money management.

The business account is free, with options to add on a Business Toolkit module (£7/month) with browser-based features like payment scheduling and connecting to HMRC to submit your VAT return via Making Tax Digital.

Starling Business account can be managed through an app or on your laptop.

To qualify, you need to live in the UK and have a limited company or partnership registered at Companies House. Only the business owner and Persons of Significant Control can access the Starling account, so it wouldn’t be suitable for other employees to manage your banking.

You can add a USD (£5/month) and Euro (£2/month) business account to avoid exchange fees when transacting on those currencies. Otherwise, the GBP business account with IBAN is still ideal for international payments. You can send money to 38 countries and 20 currencies, and receive cross-border transactions in the currency of your Starling account.

Retailers can rest assured it’s possible to deposit large amounts of money (up to £20k in one go) and cheques into the account. The Starling app has extensive card controls, “spaces” where you can save money for goals, and responsive 24/customer support through the app, email or by telephone.

Choose Starling Bank if: You want access to bank loans, an overdraft, a high quality app and great service.

Learn more in our Starling bank account review for companies

Revolut Business – internationally-minded, great for teams

  • E-money account via app and web

  • With IBAN, SWIFT and Prepaid Mastercard

  • Accounts in GBP & EUR, can add 28 more currencies

  • 24/7 support on paid plans

Although Revolut isn’t a bank, the platform provides e-money accounts with an extensive range of business tools for limited companies, partnerships and unlimited companies.

Revolut’s biggest draw is perhaps its ability to send and receive 28 different currencies from sub-accounts that can be added for free to the main account. This way, you can avoid foreign exchange rates if you normally have a lot of cross-border payments. The main GBP business account comes with an IBAN and SWIFT code.

Secondly, there’s no limit to how many plastic Prepaid Mastercards (not Debit Mastercard) you can request for staff members. This allows the business owner to monitor expenses, track usage and control cards remotely where needed.

Image: Revolut

Revolut Business has the most multi-currency accounts and account access for teams.

Companies can choose one of the following monthly subscriptions that can be cancelled any time.

Free: 5 free local payments/month. £3 per international payment. 2 free team members with account access.

Grow: 1 free metal Mastercard included. 100 free local payments/month. 10 free international payments/month. No markup on FX rate for up to £10k transactions. 10 free team members with account access.

Scale: 2 free metal Mastercards included. 1000 free local payments/month. 50 free international payments/month. No markup on FX rate for up to £50k transactions. 30 free team members with account access.

The Grow and Scale subscriptions also include subscription and expense management, a payroll system, 24/7 priority support, team member permissions, bulk payments and customisable payment workflows. All accounts allow you to set up payment links and an online gateway for ecommerce, if needed.

There are no credit, overdraft or loan options with Revolut yet, which is probably why there’s an option to link your high street bank account to the Revolut account so both can be accessed in the same (Revolut) app.

Choose Revolut Business if: You have a lot of foreign clients and need to manage staff expenses and payroll.

Learn more in our Revolut Business account review

Monzo Business – basic bank account, good for budgeting

  • Bank account through mobile app

  • Debit Mastercard included

  • No IBAN

  • 24/7 customer support

Monzo is a big online bank in the UK, but its banking features aren’t as comprehensive for businesses as they are for personal accounts. That being said, banks that have business accounts with no fees per month, easy sign-up and a Debit Mastercard are worth including when compared with expensive alternatives.

The only type of business that Monzo accepts is limited companies (and sole traders if you’re not a registered company) – no partnerships, unlimited companies etc. are approved.

Image: Monzo

Monzo Pro’s automated Tax Pots are useful for VAT saving.

There are two tiers of Monzo Business:

Lite: Free bank account managed in the Monzo app or web browser. Save money into ‘pots’ to separate it from main account balance. Digital receipts. Add spending limits for different categories. Free UK payments and cash withdrawals.

Pro: For £5 monthly, you can add two more users with their own Monzo debit card, send invoices, integrate accounting (Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, or export transactions) and automatically set aside a percentage in a Tax Pot.

In other words, the Pro plan is better for companies as it lets you connect with professional accounting software, manage VAT and tax deductions and let colleagues access the bank account.

Basic business banking features like cash deposits (deposit limit is low: max. £1,000 over six months), bank transfers, Direct Debits and standing orders can be managed in Monzo accounts, but there is no IBAN for receiving and sending cross-border transactions. Consequently, Monzo Business isn’t a great choice for companies with clients outside the UK.

Monzo does not offer business loans, overdrafts or credit cards for businesses, but 24/7 customer support is available to all users.

Choose Monzo Business if: You have a personal Monzo account and want to stick with the same bank for your business.

Learn more in our Monzo Business review

Cashplus Bank – no credit check, with annual fee

Cashplus Bank
Our rating
  • Bank account via app and web

  • Includes Prepaid Mastercard

  • GBP, USD and EUR accounts

  • Credit card and overdraft available

If you’re looking for business accounts for bad credit, Cashplus would rank highly because they don’t do any credit checks at sign-up. This means you’re almost guaranteed to be accepted as long as your business is a UK-registered limited company, partnership or public sector organisation.

Cashplus Business is a bank account managed through a mobile app or web portal. Every user gets a Prepaid Mastercard. Usually, you can apply for a Cashplus Business Credit Card, but applications for that are currently on hold. There is, however, an overdraft of up to £2,000 if needed.

Image: Cashplus

Cashplus was the first UK non-bank to offer current accounts.

Cashplus normally charges an annual fee of £69 upfront for the business account, but the first year is currently free. There is no lock-in or monthly fee, but charges for certain things do apply, such as 2.99% for payments in foreign currencies (GBP payments are free) and £2 per UK cash withdrawal.

The business account is in GBP currency, but free Euro and USD accounts can be added. You can receive international payments in your GBP account via a central, shared Cashplus account, but you can’t send money abroad.

The Cashplus app has some handy features like Direct Debit reminders before money is taken from your account, spending analytics, transactions categories and attaching pictures of expense receipts to transactions. You can order up to 20 extra prepaid business cards for staff members.

Customer support is only available on weekdays and Saturdays during the day. The service has received quite a few complaints about account issues and the app that’s been mired in technical issues. The Cashplus app and website does feel a bit ‘old school’ compared to newer challenger banks, but the overdraft and credit options are still a draw for many.

Choose Cashplus if: You’re looking to improve your company’s bad credit history through a new business account.

Learn more in our Cashplus review

Tide – premium service on the paid plan

Tide
Our rating
  • Bank account via app and web

  • Includes Prepaid Mastercard

  • Money management features

  • 24/7 dedicated support on paid plan

Tide is another UK-based business account that has – until recently – only provided e-money accounts. However, new sign-ups now get an FSCS-protected business bank account provided by ClearBank. To be eligible, you have to be a UK-registered limited company. Partnerships, charities and other entities are not accepted.

All Tide accounts come with a Prepaid Business Mastercard, read access for your team and accountant, option to add up to five business accounts for your company (to distinguish between e.g. marketing budget, taxes), and sub-accounts to ring-fence money for e.g. wages, accounting integration and scheduled payments.

Tide has some useful account features, but paid plans aren’t cheap.

The main differences between the three Tide subscriptions are:

Free (£0/month): UK payments 20p each. 24/7 messaging support.

Plus (£9.99 + VAT/month): 20 free UK payments a month. Priority in-app support, phone support and 24/7 legal helpline.

Cashback (£49.99 + VAT/month): 150 free UK payments a month. Priority in-app support, phone support and 24/7 legal helpline. Dedicated account manager. 0.5% cashback on eligible Tide card transactions.

The Tide app has a slightly above-average range of features like invoicing and receipt uploads, but there’s no IBAN for receiving international payments, nor can you store other currencies than GBP.

You can order up to 35 expense cards for team members and integrate accounting software even on the Free plan, but the biggest distinguisher is perhaps the legal and tax support helpline on paid plans. This is for any business queries typically reserved for expensive solicitors or accountants, but for a monthly fee, Tide has you covered on that.

Choose Tide if: You want a dedicated account manager and ongoing tax/legal support.

Learn more in our Tide Business review

Monese – great for UK companies with connections in EEA

Monese
Our rating
  • E-money account managed in app

  • Includes Prepaid Mastercard

  • GBP-only business account

  • Multilingual customer support

Monese Business is an e-money account for companies based in the UK and registered with Companies House. It used to be the case that EEA residents could open an account, but this is no longer possible.

Although customer support is only available during daytime hours on weekdays, you can message or speak with staff in any of 14 different languages, whereas other business accounts only offer English-speaking support.

Image: Monese

The Monese account is managed primarily in the app.

The Monese Business account is not free – you have to pay £9.95 monthly for a subscription (there are no tiered plans with more features).

This includes a Business Prepaid Mastercard, unlimited free UK payments, six free cash withdrawals per month, 0.5% fee on outgoing international transfers, and a 0.5% fee on card transactions in another currency. Cash deposits cost £1 in a Post Office or 2.5% at a PayPoint.

You can send and receive international payments from the Monese app, where you’ll find an IBAN or SWIFT code.

It is possible to receive pounds and euros into your GBP-only Monese account (euros will be converted into GBP). You can also send international payments to 30+ countries around the world in different currencies.

The online business account is managed through the app, which lets you send invoices, create automated savings pots, set card controls and colour-code transactions according to categories. Monese does not offer business loans or overdrafts to businesses.

Choose Monese if: Your business is UK-registered but you need the flexibility to send money internationally.

Learn more in our Monese Business review

Looking for spend accounts? See our review of Soldo expense cards

Summary

Account Pros Cons
Starling Bank

  • Free business bank account
  • Debit Mastercard
  • International payments
  • EUR & USD accounts
  • Overdraft & loans available
  • Polished app & bookkeeping tools
  • High cash deposit limits
  • Highly rated 24/7 support
  • No team access
  • Can’t send money to all countries
  • Cash deposits only at Post Office
Revolut

  • Hold 28+ currencies
  • GBP & EUR accounts included
  • Multi-user access
  • Payroll & bookkeeping tools
  • Cheap international transfers
  • Automated payment flows
  • Metal Mastercard on paid plans
  • Prepaid card an issue for some
  • No cash deposits
  • No loans, credit or overdrafts
Monzo

  • Cheap business bank account
  • Includes Debit Mastercard
  • 24/7 support
  • Automated Tax Pots
  • Budgeting tools
  • Limited features
  • No international money transfers
  • Low cash deposit limit
  • No overdraft, credit or loans
Cashplus Bank

  • Accepts users with bad credit
  • Accepts many business types
  • GBP, USD & EUR accounts
  • Up to £2k overdraft available
  • Order up to 20 cards for staff
  • Direct Debit reminders
  • Annual fee
  • ATM fee always applies
  • Credit card currently unavailable
  • Problems with app
  • No customer support on Sundays or evenings
Tide

  • Bank account
  • Create 5 accounts
  • Legal helpline on paid plan
  • Account manager on high plan
  • Multi-user access
  • Order up to 35 cards for staff
  • Paid subscriptions not cheap
  • Prepaid card an issue for some
  • No international payments
  • Poor customer support
Monese

  • Multilingual customer service
  • International transfers
  • Cash deposits
  • Automated saving pots
  • No free plan
  • Weekday-only customer support
  • No standing orders
  • No loans, overdraft or credit
  • Prepaid card a problem for some
Starling Bank

  • Free business bank account
  • Debit Mastercard
  • International payments
  • EUR & USD accounts
  • Overdraft & loans available
  • Polished app & bookkeeping tools
  • High cash deposit limits
  • Highly rated 24/7 support
  • No team access
  • Can’t send money to all countries
  • Cash deposits only at Post Office
Revolut

  • Hold 28+ currencies
  • GBP & EUR accounts included
  • Multi-user access
  • Payroll & bookkeeping tools
  • Cheap international transfers
  • Automated payment flows
  • Metal Mastercard on paid plans
  • Prepaid card an issue for some
  • No cash deposits
  • No loans, credit or overdrafts
Monzo

  • Cheap business bank account
  • Debit Mastercard
  • 24/7 support
  • Automated Tax Pots
  • Budgeting tools
  • Limited features
  • No international money transfers
  • Low cash deposit limit
  • No overdraft, credit or loans
Cashplus Bank

  • Accepts users with bad credit
  • Accepts many business types
  • GBP, USD & EUR accounts
  • Up to £2k overdraft available
  • Order up to 20 cards for staff
  • Direct Debit reminders
  • Annual fee
  • ATM fee always applies
  • Credit card currently unavailable
  • Problems with app
  • No customer support on Sundays or evenings
Tide

  • Bank account
  • Create 5 accounts with sub-accounts
  • Legal helpline on paid plan
  • Account manager on high plan
  • Multi-user access
  • Order up to 35 cards for staff
  • Paid subscriptions not cheap
  • Prepaid card an issue for some
  • No international payments
  • Poor customer support
Monese

  • Multilingual customer service
  • International transfers
  • Cash deposits
  • Automated saving posts
  • No free plan
  • Weekday-only customer support
  • No standing orders
  • No loans, overdraft or credit
  • Prepaid card a problem for some