Starling was founded in 2014, while Revolut arrived on the scene a year later. The 2 providers offer both personal and business accounts, with Revolut becoming known for its international money transfer services and Starling standing out for its low fees and easy account management.
This guide compares Starling’s free business account with Revolut’s Basic business account. Revolut offers 3 other business plans, but these charge higher monthly fees.
You won’t have branch access with either the Starling or the Revolut Business account and neither account pays interest on account balances. However, both accounts come with a Mastercard debit card and fee-free spending overseas.
Although Revolut was granted authorisation to become a bank in 2024, it isn’t operating as one yet. As such, money held in your Revolut Business bank account won’t be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Starling, on the other hand, is a fully regulated bank and your funds will be covered up to £120,000 under the FSCS.
Although these are both digital providers, Starling business customers can pay in cash at Post Office branches, as well as scan and pay in cheques via the app or send them in by post.
Revolut Business customers are not able to do this. However, Revolut offers additional cards for company employees – something you won’t be able to apply for with Starling. We have a separate guide on this if this is important for your business.
Both providers allow you to freeze and unfreeze your debit card within their respective apps, and they also offer accountancy software integrations and international payments.
Winner: It’s a tie here as it depends what you need from your account. If your business regularly needs to deposit cash or cheques, Starling is better. But if you want to hand out cards to your employees, Revolut wins.
Starling’s account is free, while Revolut charges a monthly fee for all its business bank accounts.
Starling charges 0.7% (or £3 minimum) for cash deposits, while cheque deposits are free. Revolut, as we’ve mentioned, doesn’t permit cash or cheque deposits.
Should you need to send money abroad, you’ll pay a local network fee plus 0.4% with Starling, meaning the fee will vary, while Revolut charges a fixed £5 per transfer. To secure free international transfers, you’ll need to upgrade your Revolut account.
Winner: Starling. No monthly fee is a big selling point.
There are no fees for spending on either the Revolut or Starling Mastercard in the UK and you can use contactless payments. The contactless limit for both is the UK standard of £100.
However, while Starling also offers fee-free cash withdrawals in the UK, Revolut charges a 2% fee.
Winner: Starling wins due to its fee-free cash withdrawals.
It’s much the same story for spending overseas. Both the Revolut and Starling accounts offer fee-free card transactions overseas, but while Starling lets you withdraw cash at an ATM for free, Revolut charges 2% per withdrawal.
Winner: Starling wins again thanks to its fee-free cash withdrawals.
The sign-up process for Starling and Revolut is similarly quick and easy through the app. Neither account requires a credit check.
Both accounts come with free cards, but you may need to pay a delivery fee with Revolut (the amount will be shown in the app when you order your card). Your Starling card should arrive within 5–7 working days, while your Revolut card can take up to 10 days to be delivered.
Starling also offers 1 free replacement card before it charges a £5 fee. Revolut charges £4.99 with no free replacement.
Winner: Starling, simply because there’s no delivery fee and you’ll receive 1 free card replacement. Delivery is slightly quicker too.
If you’re looking to switch your business account, only Starling is signed up to the Current Account Switch Service. You’ll need to transfer your account manually with Revolut.
However, both accounts offer 24/7 in-app customer support and can be contacted via email.
Winner: Starling wins here as you can switch via the Current Account Switch Service.
Round 7: Customer reviews
We couldn’t find a dedicated page for business reviews for Starling, but overall, it scored 4.2 out of 5 on Trustpilot, from almost 43,000 reviews (February 2025). Customers praised the low fees and the excellent customer service, although some found it difficult to open an account.
Revolut’s overall score was 4.3 out of 5 from almost 181,000 reviews (February 2025). Customers commented on the app’s ease of use and the convenience of spending abroad. However, a few said the customer service was poor.
Winner: Revolut has a higher score (just) from a larger number of reviews.
Overall winner: Is Starling better than Revolut?
There are a lot of similarities between these 2 business accounts, particularly when it comes to how the accounts are managed, international transfers and fee-free spending abroad.
However, overall, Starling takes the top spot thanks to its FSCS protection, being part of the Current Account Switch Service, no monthly fee and permitting fee-free cash withdrawals both in the UK and abroad. It’s also better suited to businesses who need to pay cash or cheques into their account.
That said, Revolut still has plenty to offer businesses, particularly if you need employee cards or you send large amounts of cash overseas.
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Rachel Wait is a freelance journalist and has been writing about personal finance for more than a decade, covering everything from insurance to mortgages. She has written for a range of personal finance websites and national newspapers, including The Observer, The Mail on Sunday, The Sun and the Evening Standard. Rachel is a keen baker in her spare time.
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By switching your business bank account, you may be able to reduce your monthly fees or take advantage of different features like smart bookkeeping tools.
In this guide, you’ll learn the key differences between the Tide and Starling business bank accounts and which one is most likely to suit you.
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