What to check before you compare anything
Most UK owners start with the monthly fee and stop there. The monthly fee is rarely the expensive part.
Eligibility comes first. A sole trader can usually apply with a National Insurance number and proof of trading address, while a limited company needs its Companies House registration to be active and a few days old before some providers will look at it. If two directors need separate cards and separate logins, check that the account supports multi-user access without an extra charge, because not every app-only provider does.
Then look at how money arrives. Card takings, bank transfers, cheques and cash all cost something different to process, and the differences show up months later in your bookkeeping rather than on the pricing page.
The last thing to check is whether the account talks to your accounting software. Making Tax Digital filings and quarterly updates are much easier when transactions flow into Xero, QuickBooks or FreeAgent without a spreadsheet in between.
The main options, side by side
| Provider | Monthly cost | Cash deposits | Standout strength | Watch out for |
|---|
| Starling Bank | No monthly fee for business accounts | Post Office deposits at 0.7%, minimum £3 | Free cheque imaging under £1,000, free access for multiple directors, in-app invoicing | Cash handling is charged per deposit, so a busy shop pays more |
| Tide | No monthly fee on the entry tier; paid tiers from £9.99 plus VAT up to £59.99 plus VAT | £1 per deposit at the Post Office, 3% at PayPoint | Tiered plans with transfers included, expense cards and accounting add-ons | The entry tier charges around 20p per transfer, which adds up for active users |
| Monzo Business | No monthly fee on the entry tier; paid tier adds invoicing and tax tools | Limited cash deposit options | Simple app, easy pot-style tax saving, good for solo operators | Fewer built-in bookkeeping features than specialist rivals |
| ANNA Money | No monthly fee on pay-as-you-go; paid tiers from £14.90 | Charged per deposit | Bookkeeping, VAT and company tax filing inside one app | Best value for micro-businesses, less suited to complex multi-currency work |
| Lloyds Bank | No fee for the first 12 months on a first business account, then £10 a month | Branch and Post Office options | Access to lending, charge cards and relationship support | Application and setup are slower than app-only rivals |
Prices move, and add-ons change. Confirm the current schedule on each provider's own fee page before you apply.
The fees that don't appear in the headline
Look at transfers first. A no-monthly-fee account that charges 20p for every outgoing payment can cost a contractor sending thirty payments a month around £6 — more than a paid tier that includes unlimited transfers. Tide's own pricing makes this point clearly: a sole trader making 100 transfers a month on the entry tier pays £20 in charges, which is more than the Plus subscription.
Cash is the second hidden cost. A market trader in Birmingham banking £4,000 a week in notes pays £28 a week at the 0.7% Post Office rate, or roughly £120 a month. That is real money, and it changes which account makes sense. Tide's £1 flat deposit fee suits low volumes; percentage-based pricing suits nobody who handles a lot of notes.
Foreign payments are the third. If you invoice clients in euros or buy stock from overseas suppliers, the exchange rate margin usually costs more than the visible transfer fee. Ask for the total cost of a £5,000 international payment before you commit.
<##> Matching the account to how your business actually runs
A freelancer with three regular clients and no cash income needs very little. Starling, Monzo or ANNA at the entry level will cover invoicing, tax saving and a debit card without a monthly charge. Sarah, a graphic designer in Bristol, moved from a high street account charging £7 a month and used the saved fees to cover her accounting software subscription instead.
A limited company with two directors and a PAYE payroll needs multi-user access and clean export to an accountant. Starling's free additional director access and Xero integration usually win here, and the switch takes less admin than most directors expect.
A cash-heavy business — a café in Belfast, a barber in Leicester — should run the numbers on deposits before anything else. A £1 flat fee beats a percentage once weekly takings pass a few hundred pounds.
A company turning over enough to be VAT registered should weigh bookkeeping cost as heavily as banking cost. ANNA bundles VAT returns into the app, and Tide sells accounting as a £13.99 to £19.99 add-on depending on structure. Paying one provider £30 a month for banking plus bookkeeping often beats paying £0 for banking and £25 for separate software, especially when you value the time saved on reconciliation.
Moving over without missing a direct debit
- List every direct debit, standing order and regular incoming payment, including payroll and HMRC.
- Apply for the new account and wait for the sort code and account number before touching anything else.
- Move incoming payments first — customers, retainer clients, marketplace payouts — so the new account has funds.
- Ask your new provider about the Current Account Switch Service if you are moving from a high street bank; it covers missed payments during the transfer.
- Run both accounts in parallel for two full payment cycles. Two months is dull, and it is also the reason people avoid six weeks of apologetic emails.
- Close the old account only after the final direct debit has cleared and your accountant has the statements they need.
Keep PDF statements of the closing months. Sixteen months later, a lender or an accountant will ask for them and the old login will be gone.
One last practical point on switching: business bank account providers vary in how they handle a change of details with HMRC. Update your VAT and PAYE details in the same week you move, rather than waiting for a refund to go astray.
If you are still deciding, pick two providers and open both. There is no rule against holding more than one business account, and running them side by side for a month tells you more about cash deposit costs, app speed and support response than any comparison table can.
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