Six serious UK business accounts charge no monthly fee in 2026: Starling, Mettle, Monzo Lite, Tide's free plan, Zempler Business Go and ANNA Pay As You Go. Free is real in every case, but it is not identical. The difference is in what gets metered once you are inside: invoices, transfers, integrations and above all cash. This page ranks the six by how free they stay once you actually use them.
At a glance · figures checked 4 July 2026
Account
Monthly fee
Best for
Cash deposits
Where it meters
Starling Bank
Free
Fewest strings attached
Post Office, 0.7% (min £3)
No usage limits
Mettle
Free
Free accounting software
Not supported
No usage limits
Monzo Business
Lite free
Simple banking, upgrade later
PayPoint or Post Office, £1 per deposit
Invoicing & Pots need £9 Pro
Tide
Free plan
Perks and formation deals
Post Office (min £2.50) or PayPoint (3%)
5 transfers, 3 invoices/mo
Zempler Bank
Business Go free
No credit check needed
Post Office, 0.55% (min £4)
3 payments/mo, then 35p
ANNA Money
Pay As You Go free
Pay only when you transact
PayPoint or Post Office, from 0.95%
Per-transaction fees
The six free accounts, ranked
01
Starling Bank
Free
The free account with the fewest meters
Limits
No usage limits
Invoicing
Free invoicing tools built in
Cash
Post Office, 0.7% (min £3)
Starling charges no monthly fee and then declines to nickel-and-dime you: unlimited free UK transfers, free invoicing, free accounting connections, FSCS protection. The only recurring cost most businesses ever see is 0.7% on cash deposits. Limited companies and LLPs use the business account; sole traders get a dedicated free account of their own.
Licensed UK bank. Eligible deposits protected up to £120,000 by the FSCS. Deposit cash at any Post Office for 0.7% of the amount, minimum £3. Sole trader accounts are capped at £5,000 per day and £20,000 per calendar year, so heavy cash businesses will hit the ceiling.
Basic invoicing free; quotes via Mettle+ at £4/month
Cash
Not supported
Mettle matches Starling on price, no monthly fee at a NatWest-backed bank, then adds free FreeAgent accounting on top. If you would otherwise pay for bookkeeping software, Mettle is the only account on this page with a negative effective cost. It takes no cash deposits, which is the trade.
Provided by National Westminster Bank plc trading as Mettle. Eligible deposits protected up to £120,000 by the FSCS. Mettle does not take cash deposits. If you handle cash at all, pick Starling, Tide or Zempler instead.
Monzo Lite is a clean free bank account: FSCS-protected, £1 flat-fee cash deposits, excellent app. The catch is that Monzo's signature features, Tax Pots and invoicing, live on the £9 Pro plan. As a free account it is solid; as a free version of the Monzo everyone talks about, it is a demo.
Licensed UK bank. Eligible deposits protected up to £120,000 by the FSCS. £1 flat fee per deposit at PayPoint or the Post Office. Monthly deposit limits: £3,000 for sole traders, £10,000 for limited companies.
Tide's free plan gives you 5 free transfers and 3 invoices a month, workable for a quiet account, and the £14.99 company formation deal (Companies House £100 fee included) is the best signup perk in the market. Cross the usage limits and Tide expects you on a paid plan; that is the model.
E-money institution, not a bank. Accounts powered by ClearBank carry FSCS protection up to £120,000; accounts powered by PPS are safeguarded instead. Tide confirms which applies when you open the account. Post Office deposits cost £2.50 up to £500, then a percentage of the excess (0.99% on the free plan, 0.5% on paid plans). PayPoint costs 3% of the deposit, £10 minimum, £500 daily maximum.
Zempler Business Go has no monthly fee, opens with no credit check, and sits inside a licensed bank with FSCS cover. Mind the meter: 3 free outbound transactions a month, then 35p each. For a low-volume account, or a business that other banks keep declining, it is quietly excellent.
Licensed UK bank (formerly Cashplus). Eligible deposits protected up to £120,000 by the FSCS. Deposit cash at the Post Office for 0.55% of the amount, minimum £4. ATM withdrawals cost £2.
ANNA Pay As You Go inverts the model: no monthly fee, small per-transaction charges instead, with invoicing and automatic payment chasing included. For a side project with a few transactions a month it can cost pennies. For a busy account the pennies add up; do the arithmetic against a £9 plan first.
E-money account. Funds are safeguarded under the Electronic Money Regulations, not FSCS-protected. ANNA's separate savings pots are provided by Griffin Bank with FSCS cover. Deposit via PayPoint or Post Office. On Pay As You Go it costs 0.95% of the amount; paid plans include some free deposits. Limits: £1,000 a day, £10,000 a month.
Every free account charges for cash deposits, so a cash business should choose on this line alone. Zempler is cheapest at 0.55% (minimum £4), Starling charges 0.7% (minimum £3), Monzo a flat £1 per deposit but capped at £3,000 a month for sole traders, Tide £2.50 up to £500 at the Post Office and a punchy 3% at PayPoint. ANNA takes 0.95% on its free plan. Mettle refuses cash entirely. If you bank more than about £1,000 in notes a week, run the percentages before the features.
Free plan or cheap plan?
A £9 to £13 plan beats a free one once the meters bite. The crossover points are easy to spot: Tide free stops making sense beyond 5 transfers a month if you value the Xero connector; Zempler Go costs more than Monzo Pro once you pass roughly 30 paid transactions; Monzo Lite loses to Pro the day forgotten tax money costs you more than £108 a year. Free accounts are the right default, but they are a default, not a religion.
Questions people actually ask
Which UK business accounts are genuinely free?
Starling, Mettle, Monzo Lite, Tide's free plan, Zempler Business Go and ANNA Pay As You Go all charge no monthly fee. What separates them is what gets metered afterwards: transactions, invoices, integrations and cash deposits.
What is the catch with free business accounts?
Cash deposits always cost something (from 0.55% at Zempler to 3% at a PayPoint with Tide), and some free tiers meter usage: Tide charges beyond 5 transfers a month, Zempler beyond 3 transactions. Starling and Mettle have the fewest meters.
Are free business accounts safe?
The free accounts from Starling, Mettle, Monzo and Zempler are full UK banks with FSCS protection up to £120,000. Tide and ANNA are e-money institutions; Tide's ClearBank-powered accounts carry FSCS cover, ANNA safeguards funds instead.
Do free accounts include invoicing?
Starling includes invoicing free. Tide gives you 3 invoices a month free, ANNA includes invoicing with automatic chasing, Zempler includes invoice creation. Monzo holds invoicing back for its £9 Pro plan and Mettle's quoting sits in a £4 add-on.
Why did Revolut disappear from free account lists?
Revolut Business has no free UK plan. Its cheapest plan is £10 a month and the Grow tier rose to £35 in February 2026, so it now competes with paid plans rather than the free accounts on this page.