TL;DR — which one should you actually pick?
- Sole trader, want it free and simple: Mettle — free, NatWest-backed, includes FreeAgent at no extra cost.
- Sole trader, want the best app: Starling Business — full UK banking licence, FSCS-protected, free for sole traders, best-in-class iOS/Android experience.
- Limited company: Starling Business (£7/month) or Tide Pro (£9.99/month). Both UK-built; Starling for cleaner UX, Tide for tighter accounting integration.
- Already a Monzo personal customer: Monzo Business — full UK banking licence, familiar UX, free Lite tier or £9/month Pro.
- Want banking + bookkeeping in one app: Anna Money — paid tiers add automated categorisation and tax-pot features.
Full comparison table
| Feature | Tide | Starling | Mettle | Monzo | Anna |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sole trader monthly cost (basic) | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free (PAYG) |
| Ltd monthly cost (basic) | Free | £7/mo | — | Free | From £14.90/mo |
| Higher tier (Pro/Plus) | £9.99–£49.99/mo | — | — | £9/mo Pro | £24.90/mo Plus |
| UK banking licence (FSCS) | EMI only | ✓ Full | ✓ Full (NatWest) | ✓ Full | EMI only |
| Bundled accounting software | FreeAgent (paid tier) | — | FreeAgent (free) | — | Built-in |
| Invoice creation in-app | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ (via FreeAgent) | ✓ Pro tier | ✓ Strong |
| Pots/spaces for VAT/tax | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ Automated |
| Xero / QuickBooks integration | ✓ Higher tier | ✓ | ✓ via FreeAgent | ✓ | ✓ |
| iOS + Android apps | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mobile cheque deposit | — | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Card payments accepted in-app | ✓ Tide Reader | — | — | — | ✓ Anna Pay |
| Joint / multi-user access | Higher tier | — | — | Pro tier | Plus tier |
Pricing accurate at time of review (May 2026). Always check live provider sites for current tiers; challenger pricing changes regularly.
Decision tree
If you're choosing between these for the first time, work through these questions in order:
- Are you a sole trader or a limited company? Sole traders have far more free options. Limited companies are legally required to have a separate business account and most banks charge them a monthly fee.
- Do you need full FSCS protection? Tide and Anna are e-money institutions, not banks — your money is safeguarded but not FSCS-protected up to £85,000. Starling, Mettle and Monzo all have full UK banking licences. For balances under ~£10k it rarely matters; above that, the licensed banks are safer.
- Will you need accounting software anyway? FreeAgent is normally £19/month. If you bank with Mettle, NatWest, RBS or Ulster, you get FreeAgent included free — instantly worth £228/year. This alone makes Mettle the strongest free option for sole traders who'd otherwise pay for FreeAgent.
- Do you take card payments in person? Tide and Anna both have integrated card readers / payment links. Starling, Mettle and Monzo don't (you'd add Square or SumUp separately).
- Do you need multi-user access? Most freelancers don't, but if you have a co-founder or bookkeeper who needs access, the paid tiers of Tide, Monzo and Anna include it.
The five in detail
Tide
The most-installed business banking app in the UK by a wide margin. Tide built its product around the freelancer/microbusiness case and it shows — invoicing, expense tagging, integrations with FreeAgent (on paid tier) and Xero, all in-app. Free tier covers most sole traders comfortably; paid tiers (£9.99/£18.99/£49.99) add transaction allowances, bookkeeping features and team access.
Pros
- Free tier genuinely useable for low-volume sole traders
- Fastest in-app account opening (often same-day)
- Strong VAT, tax-pot and integration features
- In-app card reader (Tide Reader) if you take in-person payments
Cons
- EMI, not a fully licensed bank (no FSCS protection)
- Pricing tiers can be confusing
- FreeAgent only on higher tiers
- Cash deposit fees apply at Post Office
Starling Business
Consistently rated the best UK banking app, full stop. Starling is a real bank (UK banking licence, FSCS-protected up to £85,000) which matters when you're holding significant balances. Free for sole traders; limited companies pay £7/month. The Toolkit (£7/month add-on, free for some) bundles invoicing, expense tagging and bookkeeping export.
Pros
- Full UK banking licence + FSCS
- Award-winning iOS/Android app
- Free Euro account add-on
- Excellent Current Account Switch Service experience
Cons
- £7/month for limited companies
- No integrated card reader
- No bundled accounting software
- Toolkit add-on costs extra (£7/mo)
Mettle (by NatWest)
The most underrated option on this list. Mettle is free, backed by NatWest (so full UK banking licence and FSCS protection), and crucially includes FreeAgent at no extra cost — which would normally be £19/month. That single bundling makes Mettle effectively the cheapest "free" account by £228/year for any sole trader who'd otherwise use FreeAgent.
Pros
- Truly free (no monthly cost)
- FreeAgent included — saves £228/year
- UK banking licence (via NatWest)
- Mobile cheque deposit
Cons
- Less established than Tide / Starling
- Fewer integrations beyond FreeAgent
- App is good but not best-in-class
- Ltd support is more limited than sole trader
Full review: Mettle Review — Free Business Banking + FreeAgent.
Monzo Business
Monzo's business product matured significantly over 2023–24 and is now a credible Starling alternative. Free Lite tier for sole traders; £9/month Pro tier adds multi-user access, integrations and tax pots. Particularly strong if you're already a Monzo personal banking customer — same UX, same app.
Pros
- Full UK banking licence + FSCS
- Excellent app, familiar to Monzo personal users
- Free tier covers low-volume sole traders
- Strong tax pot / integration features on Pro
Cons
- Free tier transaction limits are tighter than Tide's
- Pro tier (£9/mo) is needed for serious features
- Less mature than Starling on business-specific tooling
- No bundled accounting software
Anna Money
Anna's pitch is "one app, banking + bookkeeping" — the in-app categorisation is genuinely automated, with VAT tracking, automated invoicing and tax-pot features that would otherwise require separate accounting software. Free Pay-As-You-Go tier costs only on transactions; paid Business (£14.90/mo) and Plus (£24.90/mo) tiers add Self Assessment filing and other automation.
Pros
- Banking + bookkeeping in one app — fewer subscriptions
- Self Assessment filing on Plus tier
- Strong invoice automation
- Anna Pay for card payments built in
Cons
- EMI, not a fully licensed bank
- Paid tiers needed for the best features
- Less integration depth than dedicated accounting software
- Smaller customer base than Tide / Starling
Features worth digging into
VAT pots and tax pots
Every provider on this list now offers some form of "pot" or "space" — a sub-account you can move money into and out of without it leaving the bank. The practical use: automatically ringfence 20% of every invoice for VAT and 25–30% for income tax, so you can't accidentally spend it. Run your VAT scheme and tax bill through the calculators to size the pots.
Accounting integrations
If you're already on FreeAgent, Xero or QuickBooks, check the integration depth before switching banks. Starling and Tide both push transactions automatically to all three; Mettle's tightest integration is FreeAgent (because they bundle it); Anna's accounting is built-in but doesn't seamlessly export to external software.
International payments
None of these are great for international transfers — high-street challenger banks tend to use the EUR/USD interbank rate plus a percentage markup. If you regularly invoice overseas, pair the business account with a Wise Business multi-currency account. Full guidance: International payments for UK freelancers, Wise vs Instarem head-to-head, and best way to get paid by overseas clients.
Sole traders don't legally have to — you can run everything through a personal account. But practically you should: it makes bookkeeping enormously easier, separates your personal cash flow from the business, and most banks' T&Cs prohibit using personal accounts for business. Limited companies must have a separate business account by law (the company is a separate legal entity).
An Electronic Money Institution (EMI) like Tide or Anna holds your money in segregated client accounts at a partner bank, regulated by the FCA. Full UK banks like Starling, Mettle (NatWest) and Monzo have a UK banking licence and FSCS protection up to £85,000 per institution. For most freelancers with normal balances it rarely matters; for higher balances or risk-averse users, the licensed banks are the safer choice.
Yes — many freelancers do. A common setup: Mettle for free banking + FreeAgent + day-to-day operations, plus Wise Business for foreign currency invoicing. Some run a "main" account at one provider and a "tax savings" account at another for stricter separation.
Business banking applications usually trigger only a soft search initially. A hard check happens if you apply for overdraft or credit facilities, but a basic current account application shouldn't ding your credit score materially.
Wise Business isn't strictly a UK business bank account — it's a multi-currency e-money account with UK, EUR, USD details. Excellent for international invoicing, weak as a primary UK account (no debit cards in some configurations, no overdraft, no Bacs Direct Debit collection). Best used alongside one of the accounts on this list, not as a replacement. See our international payments section.
For sole traders the practical move is: open the new business account first (no need to close the personal one), update your invoice template with the new bank details, and start collecting all business payments to the new account. Existing direct debits and standing orders can move over via the Current Account Switch Service if you're switching one business account for another — see our switching guide.
All offer business accounts, typically with introductory free periods of 12-24 months then £5-15/month fees. They're slower to open, the apps are less polished, but they have proper branch access if you need it. For most app-first freelancers, the challenger banks on this list are simply better products. If you specifically need branch access (cash-heavy business, complex needs), a high-street account makes sense.
Wise Business is on the recommended list for international, not as a primary UK business bank — it lacks too many features (overdraft, Bacs, etc.) to be a sole UK account. Revolut Business has had reliability and customer-service complaints that make us cautious recommending it for primary business banking, though it's improved over 2024–25. Both are credible secondary accounts.
Editorial comparison of UK business banking providers as at May 2026. Pricing and feature lists change — always check the live provider sites before opening an account. Not financial advice. FreelanceToolkit UK has partner relationships with some providers listed; this is disclosed on every page and never changes our editorial picks.