What are the best alternatives to Starling Bank for business?

Why consider alternatives to Starling Bank?

Start with what you already have, because it is more than most of the alternatives offer. Starling Bank holds a full UK banking licence, so eligible business deposits are protected up to £120,000 by the FSCS. The standard account has no monthly fee, opens the same day in most cases, and needs no credit check or minimum turnover. It carries invoicing, expense categorisation, receipt capture and integrations with Xero, FreeAgent and QuickBooks, and it charges nothing on foreign currency transactions. More than 500,000 businesses use it.

So the reason to leave is almost never “the account is bad”. It is one of five specific frictions. Cash deposits mean a trip to the Post Office and a fee. CHAPS needs the Business Pro plan at £7 a month. There is no telephone banking and no branch network. The Trustpilot score of 4.0 from 10,200 reviews is the lowest of the account providers in this comparison, with account freezes and fraud handling the common complaint. And the fifth is the one that brings most people to a comparison site: Starling does not publish an overdraft rate range at all. The rate is set individually and shown in the app and the overdraft agreement, which means there is nothing to compare until you have applied.

That splits the alternatives into two groups. Four are accounts you might move to. Three are lenders you might add without moving your banking at all. Read the second group first if borrowing, rather than banking, is what sent you looking.

Accounts you could switch to

1. Mettle, Best for keeping FSCS protection at no cost

Mettle is a trading name of National Westminster Bank Plc, so deposits are FSCS protected up to £120,000, exactly matching Starling. The account is free, opens within minutes, needs no credit check and has no minimum turnover, and it comes with integrated accounting software. It holds a Trustpilot score of 4.4 from 2,100 reviews and serves more than 80,000 businesses.

What it costs: Free account. No lending product.

Eligibility: No trading history required; no minimum turnover; identity verification only.

Pros: Same FSCS cover as Starling from a NatWest Group entity; account open in minutes; higher Trustpilot score than Starling; integrated professional accounting software.

Cons: No lending, no overdraft, so it cannot replace Starling’s borrowing side at all; no large cash deposit facility; limited multi user team banking.

Best for: Sole traders and small limited companies that want deposit protection and free banking and will borrow from a specialist lender separately.

2. Tide, Best for banking and borrowing in one app

Tide is the largest of these providers by customer count, with more than 600,000 businesses and a Trustpilot score of 4.3 from 20,500 reviews. Unlike Starling it publishes its lending: business loans of £1,000 to £500,000 at 7.9% to 49.9% per annum with a 24.9% representative APR, plus a revolving credit facility and a Start Up Loan at a fixed annual rate. The trade off is the licence.

What it costs: Account available from day one. Business loans 7.9% to 49.9% per annum, 24.9% APR representative, £1,000 to £500,000.

Eligibility: No credit check and no minimum turnover for the account; 12 months or more of trading and demonstrated revenue for credit products; a clean or near clean credit profile for loans.

Pros: Published loan rates, which Starling does not offer; loan and credit line decisions typically within 24 to 48 hours; invoicing and expense tools; account opens the same day.

Cons: Tide is an e-money institution, and its own record states it is not ideal for businesses requiring FSCS protected deposits; the 49.9% top of the loan band is expensive; not suited to complex needs such as foreign exchange, trade finance or large CHAPS payments.

Best for: Small businesses that want the account and the borrowing in one place and keep only a working float on deposit.

3. Revolut Business, Best for international trade

Revolut Business is built around cross border payments: multi-currency accounts, expense management and team card controls in one platform, with more than 500,000 business accounts globally and a Trustpilot score of 4.3 from 155,000 reviews. Where Starling gives fee free foreign currency transactions inside a UK account, Revolut is designed for businesses whose default currency is not always sterling.

What it costs: Account opens same day. Credit products decided typically within 48 hours; Revolut does not publish rates for UK business credit products.

Eligibility: No credit check and no minimum turnover for the account; typically 6 months or more of Revolut Business account activity for credit products, which are assessed largely on your Revolut payment data.

Pros: Strongest multi-currency and international payment set here; single platform for payments, expenses and team cards; existing account activity works in your favour on credit applications.

Cons: No published rates for credit products, so it has the same comparison problem as Starling’s overdraft; its own record flags it as not ideal for businesses requiring FSCS protected deposits or reliable support on complex issues; two legal entities, so confirm which holds your balance.

Best for: Importers, exporters, ecommerce sellers and agencies with overseas clients who need several currencies in one place.

4. ANNA Money, Best for tax and admin automation

ANNA Money is not a bank and does not pretend to be one. It is an admin tool with an account attached: smart invoicing, automated tax saving and expense handling for sole traders and micro businesses. It opens in minutes with no credit check, holds a Trustpilot score of 4.6 from 3,200 reviews, the highest in this comparison, and serves more than 100,000 businesses.

What it costs: Account opens within minutes. No lending product.

Eligibility: No trading history required; no minimum turnover; identity verification only.

Pros: Best rated provider here at 4.6; automated tax saving removes a real job from a sole trader’s week; smart invoicing built in.

Cons: Not a bank, so no FSCS deposit protection; no lending, overdraft or credit facility; limited for large cash deposits or multi user teams.

Best for: Sole traders and micro businesses whose main pain is bookkeeping and tax set aside, not borrowing.

5. Allica Bank, Best for a bank account from a bank that lends

Allica is the only provider here that offers a business bank account, unsecured business loans and commercial mortgages, all from a PRA and FCA authorised bank, and publishes a rate band for the unsecured lending. If you liked Starling being a real bank but wanted it to lend properly, this is the closest match.

What it costs: Unsecured business loans of £25,001 to £150,000 at 9.90% to 13.75% per annum with a 3% arrangement fee; commercial mortgages individually quoted with a 1.5% arrangement fee owner occupied or 2.0% investment.

Eligibility: Three or more years of filed accounts for unsecured business loans; two or more years for commercial mortgages; at least 150% debt service cover; limited companies and LLPs registered in England, Scotland or Wales.

Pros: PRA and FCA authorised bank; published unsecured rate band; business loan decisions typically no later than the next working day; lends up to £15 million on commercial mortgages.

Cons: Three years of filed accounts excludes younger businesses entirely; nothing available below £25,001; the 3% arrangement fee is real money on a £150,000 loan; commercial mortgage rates are not published.

Best for: Established limited companies with three years of accounts that want banking and borrowing from the same regulated bank.

Lenders you could add without switching accounts

6. iwoca, Best for borrowing early in a business’s life

iwoca lends £1,000 to £500,000 at 2% to 6% per month on the outstanding balance, with a 49.9% representative APR, and decides within 24 hours, often within hours, using Open Banking data. It requires only 3 months of trading and £25,000 of turnover, the lowest threshold of any lender in this comparison, and has funded more than 150,000 businesses with a Trustpilot score of 4.5 from 5,800 reviews.

Rates and amounts: 2% to 6% per month on the outstanding balance; 49.9% APR representative; £1,000 to £500,000.

Eligibility: 3 months or more trading; £25,000 minimum turnover; soft credit check first, full check on approval; declines businesses with active CCJs above £250, insolvency proceedings, or more than 3 months of arrears.

Pros: Lowest trading requirement here; decisions within 24 hours; Open Banking assessment means limited credit history is not automatically fatal; sits alongside any bank account.

Cons: Priced per month, so it becomes expensive over terms longer than 12 months; not for businesses seeking large long term borrowing at a low fixed rate.

Best for: Businesses under a year old that Starling’s overdraft assessment would not reach, needing working capital quickly.

7. Capital on Tap, Best for a credit line decided in minutes

Capital on Tap, the trading name of New Wave Capital Limited, provides a business credit card and revolving credit line of £500 to £250,000 at 1.25% to 3% per month on the outstanding balance, with a 49.8% representative APR. Decisions typically arrive within minutes, and it has served more than 200,000 businesses with a Trustpilot score of 4.7 from 8,200 reviews, the highest of any lender here.

Rates and amounts: 1.25% to 3% per month on the outstanding balance; 49.8% APR representative; £500 to £250,000.

Eligibility: 12 months or more trading; £24,000 minimum turnover; personal credit check on the director, with an Experian score of around 550 generally required though not a hard cutoff.

Pros: Decisions in minutes; revolving rather than a lump sum, so it works like the overdraft you were trying to price; card spending and credit in one product; lowest turnover requirement of the credit products here at £24,000.

Cons: 12 months trading required; nothing above £250,000; adverse credit or CCJs may be declined; a fixed rate term loan is cheaper for a planned one off purchase.

Best for: Businesses a year into trading that want a revolving buffer with a published price instead of an unpublished overdraft rate.

Comparison table

Monthly rates and annual rates in this table are not interchangeable, and a monthly rate is not an APR.

How to choose the right alternative

Choose Mettle if the only thing you want to change is the provider, and keeping £120,000 of FSCS cover on a free account matters more than any feature.

Choose Tide if you want the account and a published loan rate in one app and you keep only a working float on deposit.

Choose Revolut Business if you invoice or pay in more than one currency often enough that it shapes your week.

Choose ANNA Money if you are a sole trader and the real problem is invoicing and setting tax aside, not borrowing.

Choose Allica Bank if you have three years of filed accounts and want a bank that will actually lend you £25,001 to £150,000 at a published rate.

Choose iwoca if you have been trading 3 months or more and need working capital faster than any account overdraft assessment will move.

Choose Capital on Tap if you have a year of trading and want a revolving line priced up front rather than an overdraft rate you only see after applying.

One more option is to change nothing. Keeping the Starling account for its licence and free banking while borrowing from a specialist is a common and sensible setup, and it means an account issue and a credit decision never become the same conversation. Lendus is an introducer, not a lender, a bank or a credit broker. Every figure above comes from the provider’s own record on this site, and you should confirm current terms and check each firm on the FCA Register at register.fca.org.uk before moving money or signing an agreement.