- No cash, few payments: five accounts cost £0 a year (Starling, Monzo Business Lite, Mettle, Virgin Money M Account, HSBC Small Business Banking).
- £1,500 of cash a month: Monzo Lite £36 a year, Mettle £111, Starling £126; high-street banks £162 to £586 once free periods end.
- £6,000 of cash a month: Monzo £72, Mettle £198, Starling £504, HSBC £1,080. NatWest and Metro are free for 24 and 31 months after a full switch, then about £1,000 a year.
- £4,000 a month to EU suppliers: Monzo £120 (estimate), Wise £186, Starling £192; most banks over £1,000, nearly all exchange margin.
- Barclays, Lloyds and Santander are £0 in year one, then £102 to £120 a year. Welcome bonuses do not change this ranking.
This page is for sole traders, small limited companies and online sellers who want to know what a business bank account will actually cost them. We took the published tariffs of 17 UK business accounts. We then priced each one for six types of business, month by month for three years, and every assumption is shown.
By the end you will know which account is cheapest for a business like yours. You will also know what that account gives up, and how much the free introductory period is really worth. Credit products (overdrafts, loans, credit cards) are out of scope: we are not authorised to compare them.
What does a business bank account cost per year?
Less than most people expect, if the account fits how your business works. Costs come from three places: a monthly fee once a free period ends, per-item charges (20p to 35p per payment at some accounts), and cash and currency. A shop paying in £6,000 of notes a month can pay anything from £72 to over £1,000 a year for the same deposits.
Each table below shows the year-one cost (intro offers applied), the ongoing cost after all free periods, and a score out of 10. Estimates include a fee the provider does not publish clearly; the caveats say which.
Which business bank account is cheapest for a sole trader?
It depends mostly on whether you handle cash and how many payments you receive. If you are still choosing a structure, our sole trader vs limited company guide runs the tax side. Our sole trader account guide goes deeper on the accounts themselves.
New sole trader, no cash
Our profile: 8 payments in (£2,500), 10 transfers or direct debits out and 20 card purchases a month. No cash and no foreign spending.
| # | Account | Year 1 | Each year after | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Starling Bank Starling Business Account | £0 | £0 | 9.8 |
| 2 | Monzo Monzo Business Lite | £0 | £0 | 9.8 |
| 3 | Mettle (NatWest) Mettle business account | £0 | £0 | 9.2 |
| 4 | Virgin Money (part of Nationwide) M Account for Business | £0 | £0 | 8.9 |
| 5 | HSBC UK Small Business Banking Account (replaces Kinetic for new customers) | £0 | £0 | 8.8 |
Starling and Monzo Business Lite both cost £0 here, and Starling comes first on features. It has invoicing, feeds to Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent, and a free Making Tax Digital tool for sole traders, which matters once your income passes the MTD threshold (see our MTD for Income Tax guide). Mettle (by NatWest) is also free and includes FreeAgent, but it publishes no fee for card spending abroad. The Virgin Money M Account and HSBC Small Business Banking are free too, and both give you access to a branch.
What the cheapest give up: Starling, Monzo and Mettle are app-only. Barclays, Lloyds and Santander cost £0 in year one, then £102, £120 and £119.88 a year; Metro’s 30p per item makes it £232.80 after its free year.
Established tradesperson who takes some cash
Our profile: 15 payments in, 30 out, 40 card purchases, one £200 cash withdrawal, and £1,500 of cash paid in as three £500 deposits a month. The business is established, so we assume it moves its main account with the full Current Account Switch Service (CASS), which unlocks switcher offers.
| # | Account | Year 1 | Each year after | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monzo Monzo Business Lite Cash limits: '£1 per deposit to pay in cash at any PayPoint or Post Office' (fee information v1.16). Per-deposit limits: PayPoint max £300; Post Office sole trader £3,000, Ltd £4,000. | £36 | £36 | 9.5 |
| 2 | Starling Bank Starling Business Account Cash limits: Post Office only. Sole trader annual limit shown as £20k on one page and £100k on another. | £126 | £126 | 8.7 |
| 3 | Mettle (NatWest) Mettle business account | £111 | £111 | 8.2 |
| 4 | Virgin Money (part of Nationwide) M Account for Business | £162 | £162 | 7.5 |
| 5 | NatWest Business Current Account (Standard Charges) Unverified whether the 35p automated-item charge applies to card purchases; we priced it at 35p, worth £168 a year once free banking ends. | £0* | £566* | 7.1 |
* Estimate: at least one fee is not published in the provider's tariff, so we priced it from the assumption shown in the methodology.
Monzo Business Lite wins on cost because it charges a flat £1 per deposit at the Post Office or PayPoint, whatever the amount: £36 a year. Mettle charges £2.75 a deposit (£111 a year with the cash withdrawals). Starling charges 0.7% with a £3 minimum, so £126. The Virgin Money M Account is the cheapest bank with branches, at £162.
A full switch to Metro in store gives 31 months of free banking, including up to £10,000 of cash a month; NatWest gives switchers 24 months. Both cost £0 in year one, then £586 and £566 a year, because every payment is then charged.
Starling’s own pages give two different annual cash limits for sole traders: £20,000 and £100,000. This profile pays in £18,000 a year, just under the lower figure. If you pay in more, confirm the limit before you switch.
Online seller
Our profile: 60 payments in (£6,000), 20 out, 30 card purchases, and £300 a month of card spending in dollars on ads and apps.
| # | Account | Year 1 | Each year after | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Starling Bank Starling Business Account | £0 | £0 | 9.8 |
| 2 | Monzo Monzo Business Lite | £0 | £0 | 9.8 |
| 3 | Wise Wise Business account | £62 | £12 | 8.5 |
| 4 | Mettle (NatWest) Mettle business account Foreign card spend fee not stated; priced at 3.0%, the highest card fee in our data. | £108* | £108* | 8.5 |
| 5 | Virgin Money (part of Nationwide) M Account for Business | £108 | £108 | 8.2 |
* Estimate: at least one fee is not published in the provider's tariff, so we priced it from the assumption shown in the methodology.
Starling and Monzo cost £0 because neither charges for payments received or for card spending in a foreign currency. Wise costs £11.88 a year in conversion fees (0.33% to 0.36%), plus a one-off £50 set-up fee in year one. However, Wise is e-money, not a bank. Many small payments in make per-item tariffs expensive. Tide Free costs £279 a year: it includes 5 transfers a month and then charges 20p each, and adds a 2.75% fee on card spending abroad. More on that in our Tide review. ANNA’s Free plan costs £642, because it takes 0.95% of everything received above £1,000 a month.
If your money arrives as a few marketplace payouts rather than 60 payments, per-item accounts get much cheaper. Count the credits on your last statement.
Which account suits a limited company, a cash business or an importer?
Small limited company
Our profile: one or two directors, 15 payments in (£12,000), 25 out, 25 card purchases, a balance that never falls below £15,000, and a feed to accounting software.
| # | Account | Year 1 | Each year after | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Starling Bank Starling Business Account | £0 | £0 | 9.8 |
| 2 | Mettle (NatWest) Mettle business account Limited companies: Max 2 PSCs; no LLP/PLC. | £0 | £0 | 9.2 |
| 3 | Virgin Money (part of Nationwide) M Account for Business | £0 | £0 | 8.9 |
| 4 | HSBC UK Small Business Banking Account (replaces Kinetic for new customers) | £0 | £0 | 8.8 |
| 5 | Wise Wise Business account | £50 | £0 | 8.5 |
Starling, Mettle, the Virgin Money M Account and HSBC all cost £0. Mettle includes FreeAgent (with at least one transaction a month) but takes at most two people with significant control and cannot pay abroad. Monzo Lite has no accounting integration, so we priced Pro at £9 a month: £108 a year. Santander Classic takes at most two directors. A £6,000 balance removes Metro’s £8 fee and gives 30 free items, but this company makes 65, so Metro costs £126 a year.
Cash-heavy shop or market stall
Our profile: £6,000 of cash a month paid in as six £1,000 deposits, 22 card-reader settlements in, 20 payments out and 20 card purchases. Wise and Revolut have no way to pay in cash, and ANNA and new Countingup accounts do not accept cash deposits either. These four are listed last as unsuitable.
| # | Account | Year 1 | Each year after | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monzo Monzo Business Lite Cash limits: '£1 per deposit to pay in cash at any PayPoint or Post Office' (fee information v1.16). Per-deposit limits: PayPoint max £300; Post Office sole trader £3,000, Ltd £4,000. | £72 | £72 | 9.5 |
| 2 | Mettle (NatWest) Mettle business account Limited companies: Max 2 PSCs; no LLP/PLC. | £198 | £198 | 8.5 |
| 3 | Starling Bank Starling Business Account Cash limits: Post Office only. Sole trader annual limit shown as £20k on one page and £100k on another. | £504 | £504 | 8.0 |
| 4 | NatWest Business Current Account (Standard Charges) Unverified whether the 35p automated-item charge applies to card purchases; we priced it at 35p, worth £84 a year once free banking ends. | £0* | £1,013* | 7.6 |
| 5 | Zempler Bank (formerly Cashplus) Zempler Business Go UK card purchase fee not stated; assumed free, as at every provider whose tariff states it (except per-item tariffs). · Cash limits: £6,000/day limit. | £467* | £467* | 7.3 |
* Estimate: at least one fee is not published in the provider's tariff, so we priced it from the assumption shown in the methodology.
£6,000 of cash a month: ongoing cost per year
After all free periods, six £1,000 deposits a month, cheapest channel in each tariff
Monzo’s flat £1 a deposit beats every percentage tariff at this volume, with Mettle’s £2.75 next. The catch: both are app-only, so all cash goes over a Post Office counter within per-deposit limits (Monzo: £3,000 for a sole trader, £4,000 for a company). If you need a branch or coin handling, Barclays is the cheapest big bank at 60p per £100 (£534 a year with its fee). NatWest and Metro are hard to beat while their 24- and 31-month free periods last.
Limited company paying EU suppliers
Our profile: four euro payments a month to EU suppliers (£4,000 in total), £200 of card spending in the EU, and 15 payments in and 15 out in sterling.
| # | Account | Year 1 | Each year after | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monzo Monzo Business Lite Euro payment fee partly unverified: £0 per payment; 0.25% conversion (GBP to EUR, fees from 7 Sep 2026; fixed fees change 1 Nov 2026, unverified). · Euro payments: our source does not say explicitly that this plan can send money abroad. | £120* | £120* | 9.5 |
| 2 | Starling Bank Starling Business Account | £192 | £192 | 9.3 |
| 3 | Wise Wise Business account | £236 | £186 | 8.1 |
| 4 | Revolut Revolut Business – Basic plan | £372 | £372 | 7.3 |
| 5 | Tide Tide Business Account – Free plan Only 5 free transfers a month (in or out) on this plan; a paid plan with a bigger allowance may cost less at this volume. No plan fee. Paid plans: Smart £12.49, Pro £27.49, Max £69.99 per month. | £894 | £894 | 6.2 |
* Estimate: at least one fee is not published in the provider's tariff, so we priced it from the assumption shown in the methodology.
Exchange margin is almost the whole cost here. Starling charges 0.4% (£192 a year). Wise charges 0.33% plus 41p a payment (£186, plus £50 in year one). Monzo’s fee document gives 0.25% (£120), but its fixed fees change on 1 November 2026, so that row is an estimate. Revolut Basic costs £372: £120 for the plan, plus 0.6% on whatever you exchange above £1,000 a month.
Barclays charges 35p per SEPA payment and a conversion charge of up to 2%, which comes to £1,043 in year one. Santander publishes a 3% mark-up on amounts up to £10,000. NatWest, Lloyds, HSBC, Metro and Virgin Money do not publish their margin on payments. For those, we used their card fee for foreign spending (2.75% to 2.99%) as a stand-in. Mettle and Countingup cannot send payments abroad at all.
What does the cheapest account give up?
The cost winners are mostly app-only banks. Check that suits how you work.
- Businesses paid by transfer or card, with little or no cash
- Owners who are happy to sort everything out in an app or by chat
- Anyone spending or paying in other currencies (Starling and Monzo charge nothing on card spending abroad)
- Sole traders who need software for Making Tax Digital without paying for it
- Businesses that need a branch, a night safe or coin handling
- Companies with a director who lives outside the UK (Starling, Monzo and Mettle all require UK residence)
- Companies with more than two people with significant control (Mettle)
- Anyone who needs credit from their bank (out of scope here)
Protection differs too. Every account here is FSCS-covered up to £120,000 except Wise and ANNA, which are safeguarded e-money. Tide (ClearBank) and Countingup (Griffin) are now FSCS-covered, though older accounts on sort code 23-69-72 are still e-money.
New business account offers, fee changes and deadlines, in one short email.
Can non-UK-resident directors open a UK business bank account?
Only with a few providers. This is what each provider’s own eligibility pages say:
| Rule | Providers |
|---|---|
| Directors may live abroad | Tide (company directors may have an overseas home address; sole traders need a UK address; everyone needs a UK mobile number). Revolut (home address in the UK, Switzerland, the EEA, the US, Australia, Singapore or India). Wise (no UK-residency rule stated). |
| At least one UK resident | Barclays, NatWest, Zempler (people with significant control abroad face extra checks), Metro (at least half, although its FAQ says all) |
| All UK resident or UK tax resident | Starling, Mettle, Countingup, ANNA, Santander, Lloyds (the applicant), HSBC (UK tax residence), TSB, Monzo (the business must be UK-based and tax resident only in the UK) |
| Not stated | Virgin Money M Account (the business must operate and be based in the UK) |
For a company run from abroad, the realistic choice is Tide, Revolut or Wise (e-money). With one UK-resident director, Barclays and NatWest open up too.
Do welcome bonuses change the ranking?
No. A £200 bonus is paid once, with conditions and a deadline; fees continue for as long as you keep the account. The score uses the fee tables only. The live offers below, checked against each provider’s terms, are a separate list; the full one is in our business bank account offers tracker.
Xero free for 6 months, plus a £200 Amazon gift card after the first paid Xero month (month 7). Provided by Xero.
- Open a qualifying Lloyds Business Account: a new customer (including switchers), or an existing customer opening an account for a new business.
- Buy your first Xero subscription as a new Xero customer through the link Lloyds emails you, by 23:59 on 31 March 2027. The 6 free months cover Simple, Ignite, Grow, Comprehensive and Ultimate.
- Connect the Lloyds account to Xero within 7 months of subscribing.
- For the £200 Amazon gift card, pay the first monthly Xero fee (month 7) on a plan other than Simple, then redeem within 30 days of Xero's email.
Remind me before it ends
Xero free for 6 months, plus a £200 gift card (choice of 10 retailers, such as Amazon or John Lewis) after the first paid Xero month (month 7). Provided by Xero.
- Activate the offer in Santander Online/Mobile Banking under 'Beyond Banking offers' > 'Accounting with Xero', using the account's registered business email.
- Be a new Xero customer and remain one for 7 consecutive months.
- Connect the Santander business bank feed within 7 months.
- Be on a paid Ignite, Grow, Comprehensive or Ultimate plan in month 7. Simple is excluded.
£200 cash 'boost' for new Lloyds business customers who apply online by 30 November 2026, spend £100 on the Visa debit card and set up 2 direct debits by 15 February 2027. Full CASS switchers also qualify.
- Submit an online application for a new Lloyds Business Account between 16 October and 30 November 2026. Saved or incomplete applications don't count.
- By 15 February 2027, spend at least £100 on eligible purchases with the Visa debit card. Cash, transfers, gambling, financial services, crypto and refunds are excluded.
- By 15 February 2027, set up two direct debits from the new account. Direct debits moved by a CASS switch count.
- Lloyds pays £200 into the Business Account by the end of March 2027, and the account must still be open.
Remind me before it ends
£200 welcome bonus for new UK Revolut Business customers who sign up via a partner promo landing page and add at least £0.01 by 31 December 2026.
- Open the Revolut Business account via the promotion landing page or partner link. Normal in-app sign-up does not qualify.
- Pass KYC/KYB checks and be onboarded.
- Top up the account with at least £0.01 by 31 December 2026.
- The cashback is credited within five business days after the end of the Promotion Period (per the influencer promotion terms).
Remind me before it ends
£200 reward for new Tide members who use code TIS200 and hold at least £10,000 in the Tide Instant Saver for 30 consecutive days.
- Sign up for a Tide Business Current Account with promo code TIS200. The code can also be applied in the app within 1 week of opening.
- Complete KYC and open the account between 1 May 2025 and 19 December 2026.
- Fund the Tide Instant Saver with at least £10,000 (one or more payments) within 30 days of account opening.
- Keep a balance of £10,000 or more for at least 30 consecutive days.
Remind me before it ends
£100 reward when you register a new limited company through Zempler, open Business Go and load £100 within 30 days. This effectively refunds the £100 Companies House fee.
- Register the new company on Companies House through Zempler's company formation service and pay the £100 incorporation fee.
- Apply for a Business Go account through formations.zemplerbank.com and have it approved and opened.
- Credit the account with at least £100 within 30 days of opening.
- Keep the account active until the reward is paid, which can take up to 30 days.
A bonus can still decide a tie. If two accounts cost you the same, take the one that pays you to join, but only if you can meet its conditions before the deadline.
How did we calculate the yearly cost and the score?
We price every fee line month by month for 36 months, using the activity below. Year one includes every intro offer the profile qualifies for; the ongoing cost is a full year after all of them end. Established businesses are assumed to switch with CASS. Cash goes in through the cheapest channel each tariff lists.
| Profile | Payments in | Payments out | Card buys | Cash in | Foreign spend | Lowest balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New sole trader | 8 (£2,500) | 10 | 20 | £0 | £0 | £1,500 |
| Tradesperson with cash | 15 (£3,500) | 30 | 40 | £1,500 (3 deposits) | £0 | £3,000 |
| Online seller | 60 (£6,000) | 20 | 30 | £0 | £300 card (USD) | £4,000 |
| Small Ltd (needs accounting feed) | 15 (£12,000) | 25 | 25 | £0 | £0 | £15,000 |
| Cash-heavy shop | 22 (£5,000) | 20 | 20 | £6,000 (6 deposits) | £0 | £5,000 |
| Ltd paying EU suppliers | 15 (£15,000) | 15 + 4 in euros (£4,000) | 20 | £0 | £200 card (EU) | £20,000 |
One row worked through: NatWest for the cash-heavy shop after 24 months of free banking. Whether its 35p item charge covers card purchases is unverified; we priced it in, so the row is an estimate.
- 22 payments in × 35p
- £7.70
- 20 payments out × 35p
- £7.00
- 20 card purchases × 35p (unverified)
- £7.00
- £6,000 cash × 95p per £100
- £57.00
- 6 deposits × 95p manual item
- £5.70
- Per month
- £84.40
Ongoing, per year£1,012.80
The score out of 10 is a weighted sum. Cost carries the most weight:
| Criterion | Weight | How points are given |
|---|---|---|
| Cost in this profile | 55% | Average yearly cost over years one to three: £0 = 10 points, falling in a straight line to 0 points at the profile’s cap (£300 new sole trader, £600 tradesperson, £800 online seller, £500 small Ltd, £1,500 shop, £2,000 EU payer) |
| Price without conditions | 10% | Monthly fee after intro periods, ignoring balance waivers: £0 = 10 points, £15 or more = 0 |
| Protection | 10% | FSCS-covered bank = 10 points, e-money = 4 |
| Accounting tools | 10% | Feed to Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent or Sage (5), free accounting or MTD software (3), invoicing (2) |
| Foreign card fee | 10% | 0% = 10, up to 1% = 8, up to 2% = 5, up to 2.8% = 3, higher or not stated = 2 |
| Cash | 5% | Cost of paying in £1,000 at once: up to £5 = 10, up to £10 = 7, up to £20 = 4, more = 2, no cash = 0 |
Unstated fees are priced cautiously and flagged as estimates: an unknown foreign card fee at the highest in our data (3%), an unpublished exchange margin at the account’s card fee for foreign spending, an unknown UK card-purchase fee at £0. Accounts a profile cannot use go last (no cash deposits, wrong legal form, closed to new customers, such as TSB Business Plus). HSBC Kinetic is left out: it is closed to new applications.
Overdrafts, loans and business credit cards are not part of this comparison. TillRadar is not authorised by the FCA to compare credit. If you need borrowing, speak to your bank or a regulated adviser.
How do you switch without losing a free-banking offer?
- Count your real numbers From your last three statements, count payments in, payments out, cash deposits and foreign spending each month.
- Check eligibility first Legal form, director residency, turnover limit, and whether the account takes cash at all.
- Use a full CASS switch if the offer needs it The NatWest, Metro and Santander switcher periods only apply to a full switch through the Current Account Switch Service, and Metro’s 31-month switcher offer must be done in a store. A full switch closes your old account and redirects its payments for you.
- Diary the end of the free period The free first years at Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest and Metro turn into £102 to £1,039 a year in our profiles. Set a reminder a month before the free period ends.
- Re-check once a year Tariffs change, and so does your business. We update this page whenever a tariff in our dataset changes.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a UK business bank account with no fees at all?
For everyday banking with no cash, yes. Starling, Monzo Business Lite, Mettle, the Virgin Money M Account and HSBC Small Business Banking charge no monthly fee and nothing for UK payments or card purchases. Fees come back with cash deposits and foreign currency.
Do I need a separate business bank account as a sole trader?
The law does not require one for a sole trader, but a separate account makes your bookkeeping and Making Tax Digital records much simpler. A limited company is a separate legal person, so its money belongs in an account in the company’s name.
Is my money protected in an e-money account like Wise or ANNA?
E-money providers must safeguard your money, keeping it separate from their own funds, but it is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Bank accounts are covered up to £120,000 per eligible depositor per banking licence.
Why is an account with a £200 bonus ranked below a free account?
The score uses only the fee tables. A bonus is paid once, with conditions; fees continue every month. Between two equally priced accounts, a bonus is a fair tie-breaker.
What happens when a free banking period ends?
The standard tariff starts, usually after at least 60 days’ notice. In our profiles that means £102 to £120 a year at Barclays, Lloyds and Santander, and over £1,000 a year at NatWest and Metro for a busy cash business.
How often is this ranking updated?
Whenever a tariff in our dataset changes, and at least monthly. The date at the top shows the last check.
Sources
- Barclays: business account charges (03/24, linked as current)
- NatWest: Business Current Account charges (20 April 2026)
- Lloyds Bank: account charges and processing times (07/26)
- HSBC UK: Small Business Banking Account and Business Price List
- Santander UK: Business Current Account – Classic and international payments
- Virgin Money: M Account for Business tariff guide (04/26)
- Metro Bank: Business Bank Account Important Information Summary (July 2026)
- TSB: Business Banking Charges Guide
- Tide: pricing and EUR payment fees
- Starling Bank: business account rates, fees and charges (April 2026)
- Monzo: business account fee information v1.16 and international fees
- Mettle: international payments and fees
- ANNA Money: pricing
- Countingup: account limits (new accounts)
- Revolut Business: fees, all plans
- Wise Business: pricing
- Zempler Bank: Business Go
Checked on 20 October 2026 against the providers’ published terms. Offers and fees change; the provider’s own documents always prevail.