Best free business bank accounts in the UK (2024)

There are enough costs that come with running a business, so if you’d rather your bank account didn’t add to that list, we get it!

Thankfully, there are plenty of free business bank accounts available that will save you further expense.

We’ve brought together nine of the best available today, from well-known high-street names to newer challenger banks. We aimed to provide a real diversity of options, to give you the best understanding of what’s out there.

You might be surprised by just how good some of these accounts are.

 

What is a free business bank account? 

A free business bank account comes with no monthly fee or account charge. You might have to pay for some features, but the cost of opening and maintaining the account is £0.

It’s a similar situation to your personal current account: you can get free (no monthly charge) accounts, or you can choose a current account with a monthly fee that comes with some extra benefits. They’re sometimes called packaged or premium accounts.

 

The top nine free business bank accounts 

Not every bank offers business current accounts, let alone free ones. There are plenty of options on the market, though, and we’ve brought together a selection from both traditional banks and digital banks.

We’ve written a short description of each bank and their unique features, as well as a table explaining their business banking essentials. You should review each bank’s terms and conditions, as well as their eligibility criteria, before choosing to open an account. 

1) Allica Bank Business Rewards Account

We make no apologies for starting with our own free business current account as we’re very proud of our Business Rewards Account.

Built for Britain’s established SMEs, we’re trying to make business banking feel how it used to – just better. Business banking used to put relationships first, with humans on the end of the phone with real knowledge of your business. That’s why this account comes with a relationship manager.

Free period	Currently open-ended
Transaction fees	None, except for outgoing CHAPS (£20)
Relationship manager	Yes, for every customer
Cashback	1% on eligible card spending up to £10,000, 1.5% over £10,000
Connected instant access savings	Savings Pot – 4.08% AER* (variable)
Business credit availability	Loans only

 

2) Tide business current account

Tide’s current account is actually provided by ClearBank, but is packaged up in Tide’s branding. While Tide itself doesn’t have a banking licence, ClearBank does.

That means your money is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to £85,000 and that your account meets all the same security and quality standards as other banks.

Free period	Currently open-ended, with paid accounts available
Transaction fees	20p per transfer in and out
Relationship manager	No
Cashback	No
Connected instant access savings	Instant access savings account - 3.55% AER (variable) base, with a promotion running until 31 March 2025 boosting it to 4.33%* * Only applicable for deposits up to £75,000
Business credit availability	Loans only

 

3) Revolut Business Basic

Having secured its UK banking licence in July 2024, Revolut is likely to become a more popular option for SMEs in the coming years. It’s currently in ‘mobilisation’ – standard procedure for newly licenced banks to get the necessary infrastructure built to operate fully as a bank.

Once it’s out of mobilisation, customer deposits will be protected by FSCS. Until then, they will be held in safeguarding accounts with other banks. This is what they’ve been doing until now, so nothing materially is changing for their new or existing customers.

Free period	Currently open-ended, with paid accounts available
Transaction fees	Five free per month, 20p per transfer after that
Relationship manager	No
Cashback	No
Connected instant access savings	Grow account - 2.25% AER (variable)  Scale account - 2.75% AER (variable)  Enterprise account - 3.51% AER (variable)
Business credit availability	None

 

4) Starling Bank business current account

Starling Bank is fast-growing and increasingly established in the UK, being one of the first digital banks to be founded here.

Starling has functionalities for digital cheque deposits, business saving spaces from which direct debits can be paid and a marketplace of software integrations to choose from.

Free period	Currently open-ended
Transaction fees	Free
Relationship manager	No
Cashback	No
Connected instant access savings	No
Business credit availability	Overdraft and loans

 

5) Monzo Business Lite

Monzo is another trailblazer in the challenger bank space, founded in 2015.

One of the most popular features Monzo offers is pots. These work similarly to Starling Bank’s savings spaces – separating the funds in your current account into different ringfenced sections. You can also generate payment links and accept contactless payments using your phone, making it easier to get paid.

Free period	Currently open-ended
Transaction fees	Five free per month, 20p per transfer after that
Relationship manager	No
Cashback	No
Connected instant access savings	Instant Access Savings Pot – 1.60% AER (variable)
Business credit availability	Overdraft and loans

 

6) Co-operative Bank Directplus business account

Co-operative Bank prides itself on its ethics and delivering social good, through both its corporate structure and community activities.

And, unlike the digital banks in this list, you can find their branches on the high streets of many UK towns and cities. If in-person banking is important to you and your business, it’s worth accounting for this.

Free period	Free for 30 months, £7 per month: if your balance drops below £1,000, or after 30 months
Transaction fees	Free
Relationship manager	No
Cashback	No
Connected instant access savings	None, but separate savings accounts are available
Business credit availability	Overdraft and loans

 

7) Virgin Money M Account for Business

One of the few banks on this list to offer cashback on debit card spend, the Virgin Money name has an expiry date attached. After its shareholders approved a takeover by Nationwide Building Society, the Virgin Money brand will be phased out and replaced by Nationwide branding by the end of 2024.

Its products should remain – at least for the time being – but it’s worth doing further research to ask about their longevity and the plans Nationwide has.

Free period	Currently open-ended
Transaction fees	Free
Relationship manager	No
Cashback	0.25%
Connected instant access savings	None, but separate savings accounts are available
Business credit availability	Overdraft and loans

 

8) RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank Start-Up business accounts

NatWest Group operates three banks in different nations within the UK, each offering the same products.

Businesses aren’t tied to applying to their respective nation’s NatWest Group bank, but you might prefer to choose the bank with the most and nearest branches relative to you.

Free period	Currently open-ended
Transaction fees	Free for two years, 35p per transaction after
Relationship manager	No
Cashback	No
Connected instant access savings	None, but separate savings accounts are available
Business credit availability	Overdraft and loans

 

9) Barclays established business account

Barclays has two distinct accounts on offer: their startup account and established business account. The latter offers a scaled up level of support and access to a team of business managers, along with a few other added features.

To be eligible for this account and its free period, you must be a new Barclays customer.

Free period	12 months, £8.50 after
Transaction fees	Free
Relationship manager	Yes
Cashback	No
Connected instant access savings	None, but separate savings accounts are available
Business credit availability	Overdraft and loans

 

What is the difference between free and paid for business accounts?

The real point of difference with free and paid bank accounts is the features you have access to. Paid accounts tend to offer some extra elements that add a bit of value to your experience — saving time, earning a better rate of return or unlocking a useful feature.

Taking one of the banks we listed above as an example, Starling's free account has optional paid features. Their Business Toolkit add-on costs £7 per month and unlocks accounting, bookkeeping and invoicing tools.

It’s important that we point out what they have in common, too. A free business account is just as safe, regulated and trustworthy as a paid one. Every current account offered by every licensed bank meets the same minimum standards of security and legitimacy.

 

Do free business bank accounts have any fees?

Your free business bank account probably isn’t 100% free. You’ve not been tricked, it’s just the nature of banking fees.

Free bank accounts are defined by the absence of a regular account fee, but there are still costs involved in the wider banking process.

The specifics vary from bank to bank, but you might expect to pay fees for things like:

• Cash withdrawals 

• International transactions 

• Depositing cheques and cash 

• Ordering new debit or credit cards, or more than one card 

• Making payments – some banks offer a certain number of free payments per month, with charges only starting if you go over that limit

You should check a bank’s fees and charges tariff before opening an account with them. This document can usually be found on the current account page of their website. If you can’t find it, contact them to request it.

 

Will my bank account stay free?

Some business bank accounts are permanently free to open and use, while others are only free for a set period of time.

Allica Bank’s Business Rewards Account is free – full-time, full stop – but not all banks use this approach.

Take Barclays, for example: their free account offer lasts for 12 months, before switching to a £8.50 monthly fee. Others will only charge you a fee if your balance drops below a certain limit.

Of course, nobody can predict the future and there may come a time when a bank with a free-forever account has to withdraw that product. If that ever happens, you should get plenty of notice – it wouldn’t happen overnight.

 

How to choose the best free business bank account for your needs

A recruitment company and a kitchen fitting company are going to need pretty different things from their bank accounts. What’s best for one SME is useless to another, so you need to look at your business and ask: what do we need from our bank?

If you can, arrange some time with your accountant and/or finance team to talk through your business’ financial needs. Come up with a priority list of features, then go shopping for the best business bank account on the market.

Think about what your requirements are for:

• Monthly cost 

• Limits and fees for cash and cheque deposits 

• Limits and fees for transfers in and out 

• Cashback on spending 

• Interest paid on savings 

• Integrations with accounting software 

• Online and mobile banking

 

Are there any specific eligibility criteria for free business accounts?

Some banks will set eligibility criteria specifically for their free products, others will have general criteria for all of their current accounts. 

To explain with a couple of examples: 

Virgin Money offers three business current accounts, one of which is free: 

• For its free M Account, your turnover must be below £1 million

• For its Business Current Account, turnover must be under £6.5 million

• For its Business Choice Account, your turnover needs to be above £6.5 million

Revolut offers free and paid accounts, but the criteria are the same for all: 

• Your company must be fully incorporated and active and registered in an eligible country 

• Not a charity, public sector, cooperative, or sole trader 

• Not operating in Revolut’s unsupported industries 

• Your current legal home address should be in UK, Switzerland or EEA

Ultimately, eligibility varies from bank to bank. You’ll need to check the criteria for any accounts you’re interested in to make sure you can open them. If it’s not clear or you’re unsure, contact the bank directly for help.

 

Why use Allica for your business banking?

Before we wrap this article up, we want to put the spotlight back on Allica. We’d never claim that we’re right for every SME in the UK, but we know that our Business Rewards Account is a great option for a lot of them.

Banking with Allica gets you:

• Zero account fees

• No-fee transfers in and out

• A local relationship manager

• 1% cashback up to £10,000 and 1.5% above that

• An instant access Savings Pot, offering a 4.08% AER* (variable) interest rate

• Business banking how it used to be, just better

While some banks take weeks or months to reply, we pride ourselves on quick responses and easy processes.

Open an Allica Bank business account

Review the account terms and conditions, as well as our eligibility criteria.

 

There are worse things than being spoilt for choice

If you’re searching for a free business bank account, you’ve got a lot of options. It’s a good problem to have, as it means you can be selective and really prioritise an account that gives you the features you want and need.

For some businesses, that’s in-person banking and a local branch. For others, it’s about a lightning-fast app and instant access savings.

The real thing to focus on is knowing what you want before you make any commitments. Taking the time to review what you need from a bank account will make the decision a lot easier.

And remember, if Allica Bank stood out to you in this article, you can apply for an account right now. It only takes a few minutes.

Links were live and information was correct at the time of publishing.

* 'AER' stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and illustrates what the interest rate would be if interest was paid and compounded once each year. Businesses keeping less than £50,000 in the account may earn a reduced rate of interest and may incur fees.