10 Best Business Bank Accounts for Startups
Read our essential guide to the best business bank accounts for startups in the UK, comparing all of the most popular providers
Looking for a new business account? You might want to consider a digital solution.
App-first banking has rapidly increased in popularity over the last few years, with around 12.6 million British people using a digital-only bank account. This number is expected to surge to 22.6 million by 2028.¹
There are a growing number of digital banks out there, many offering dedicated solutions for businesses as well as personal customers.
Two of the most popular options for SMEs are Wise Business and Revolut, but how do they compare? To help you choose the right solution for your business, we’ll run through everything you need to know here in this guide. This includes fees, features and more.
To make it easier to compare Wise Business and Revolut Business at a glance, we’ve put together a table covering all the important stuff. This includes things like fees, currencies and key account features, so you can see how the two providers stack up side-by-side.
Service | Wise Business | Revolut Business² |
---|---|---|
Account opening fee | £60 | None |
Monthly subscription fee | None | - £0 to £100 a month for companies (varies by plan) £0 to £25 a month for freelancers |
Currency account details (how many currencies?) | 8+ (GBP, EUR, USD, CAD, RON and more) | 3 (GBP, EUR, USD) |
Hold money (how many currencies?) | 40+ | 25+ |
International payments | ✅ | ✅ |
Business card | ✅ | ✅ |
Expenses cards | ✅ | ✅ |
Overdraft | ❌ | ❌ |
Interest product | Variable on GBP, EUR and USD balances | ❌ |
Multi-user access | Yes | Yes |
Accounting integrations (which providers?) | Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, FreshBooks + Oracle NetSuite | Xero, QuickBooks, FreshBooks, ZohoBooks, FreeAgent + Sage |
API | Yes | Yes |
Bulk payments | Yes | Only paid plans |
Revolut offers a considerable number of features and services designed for business needs, although it depends what plan you’re on.
Revolut Business plans include:²
The free plan gives you access to basic features, including, multi-currency accounts, Revolut Business cards, IBANs for global transfers, accounting app integration, payroll management and the option to create invoices. You can also use Revolut to accept payments online.
But it also comes with lots of limits, such as just 5 fee-free local payments and no fee-free business international payments a month. To exceed this limit, there are fees involved - we’ll look at these next.
If you upgrade to a paid plan, you can unlock features such as:
Revolut Business account reviews from existing customers are pretty good. The company gets a 4.3 rating on TrustPilot from over 137,000 reviews (includes reviews from personal account customers).³
Read more: Tide vs Revolut Business: comparison for the UK |
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Alongside the monthly fee for paid plans, Revolut also has fees for many of its other services. Depending which plan you’re on, you’ll get a monthly fee-free allowance for things like international payments and currency exchange. But above this, fees will apply.
Let’s take a look at the other charges you need to know about as part of Revolut Business pricing (based on the Free plan):⁴
Service | Fee (once fee-free monthly allowance exceeded) |
---|---|
Send local payments | £0.20 per payment Free to Revolut accounts |
Send international payments | £3 per payment |
Receive international payments | Free for payments in GBP, EUR, USD and CHF £3 per payment otherwise |
ATM withdrawals | 2% |
Currency exchange | 0.4% mark-up on mid-market exchange rate |
Revolut business card | £4.99 delivery fee for plastic cards |
Pros ✅ | Cons ❌ |
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Read more: Revolut vs Starling Business Account: comparison for the UK |
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The Wise Business account is ideal for companies that trade internationally, or who buy goods or employ people from other countries.
There’s just one powerful account, with no monthly subscription fees. Features include:
With Wise Business you can even earn a return on the money you hold in multiple currencies. With Wise Interest, you can get a 4.82% variable rate on your GBP balance held in your Wise Business multi-currency account.
Capital at risk. Current rates do not guarantee future growth.
Variable rate is based on 7 day performance as of 10 Aug 2023. This fund has returned an 0.93% annual average over the last 5 years, excluding Wise and fund manager fees. See full 5 year past performance of funds
Wise is UK regulated, and uses sophisticated security measures to keep your business details and finances safe.
Over on TrustPilot, Wise Business account reviews are positive - giving Wise a score of 4.3 based on over 190,000 reviews.⁵
Get started with
Wise Business 🚀
Here are the fees and charges you need to know about for the Wise Business multi-currency account:
Service | Fees |
---|---|
Open Business account | £60 one time fee |
Receive payments | - Free in 8+ major currencies - $4.14 for receiving USD wire payments |
Send payments | From 0.43% |
ATM withdrawals | - Free up to £200 a month (max. 2 withdrawals - 1.75% + £0.50 above that |
Currency exchange | Mid-market exchange rate, with no mark-ups |
Pros ✅ | Cons ❌ |
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It’s pretty simple to open a Wise business account online. You’ll just need some details, documents and a few minutes of your time.
Just follow these steps:
And that’s it. Once your account is opened, you’ll be able to start making use of its features and tools right away. This includes ordering Wise Business cards, making transfers and sending invoices to your global clients and customers.
Get started with
Wise Business 🚀
And that’s it - our rundown of Wise Business vs. Revolut Business. We’ve compared the two providers on all the things that matter, including pricing and fees, features and services, and the pros and cons of both companies.
You should now have all the info you need to choose the right solution for your business.
Whichever one you go for, one thing’s for sure - the future of business banking is digital.
Sources used:
Sources last checked on date: 24-Jul-2023
*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.
We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.
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