The main alternatives to Monzo are Starling and Revolut. N26 was a big player here but has recently closed down in the UK. Zempler and Monese are a bit smaller, but should fill that gap in the market.
Starling: A digital banking app with savings goals, marketplace and accessible via app and desktop.
Revolut: A digital banking app with many features including fee-free spending abroad and rounding up spare change.
Chase: An app-based bank account that’s good for earning cashback and no overseas fees.
Zempler: A bank account that is great for improving your credit score.
Monese: A digital banking app that lets you open an account really easily.
Curve: A banking app that helps you connect all your cards together under one card.
Main alternatives to Monzo
The 2 main rivals to Monzo are considered to be Starling and Revolut. These 3 banking brands all launched within a few years of one another in the UK, they all operate digital-only accounts, and their free accounts all have similar features.
In our comparison below, we’ve also looked at Chase and Monese.
Starling
Like Monzo, Starling’s personal current account is free, and you can open and manage it through a mobile app. You’ll get notifications when payments leave or enter your account, and can analyse your spending to assist with budgeting. You can also set “goals” to help you put money aside to save up for specific things, plus there is an overdraft facility available, if you qualify.
You’ll also get a physical card to make purchases in-store or online, and to withdraw money from ATMs. One of the big plus-points with Starling is that it’s completely fee-free to use your card in the UK and abroad, for both spending and cash withdrawals.
Although there are no Starling bank branches, you can deposit cash into your Starling account at a Post Office. You can also deposit cheques through your app via cheque imaging (although cheques worth more than £1,000 will need to be sent to Starling through the post, for free).
Finder score
9.6Excellent
9.8Excellent
Interest when you're in credit
0%
0%
Free spending abroad
FSCS protected
Have salary paid in
Separate savings accounts
Cheque scanning
Free ATM withdrawals
Limited to 6 withdrawals per day, with a daily limit of £300
Up to £400 per month
Free foreign transactions
Unlimited
Unlimited
Free foreign ATM withdrawals
Unlimited
Up to £400 in EEA and £200 elsewhere every 30 days
Similar to Monzo and Starling, with the free Revolut Standard account you conduct all your day-to-day banking in an app, which you can also use to analyse your spending and create savings pots called “pockets”. However, there is not currently an option to deposit cash or cheques.
The card use limits with Revolut are not quite as generous as Starling. Making purchases in the UK is free, but you can only spend up to £1,000 a month abroad (weekdays only) before a 0.5% fee kicks in. You will also be charged to use an ATM if you withdraw more than £200 in a month, in either the UK or overseas.
Revolut does have some other attractive international options though – you can hold a balance in more than 30 currencies, and you get the interbank exchange rate when making money transfers abroad.
Revolut also operates several paid-for current accounts, which come with extra features and perks, in exchange for a monthly or annual fee. The 4 plans available are called Plus, Premium, Metal and Ultra. Revolut also offers a number of invitational promo codes including one where new customers can receive a sign-up bonus of £20.
Finder score
9.1Excellent
9.8Excellent
Interest when you're in credit
0%
0%
Free spending abroad
FSCS protected
Have salary paid in
Separate savings accounts
Cheque scanning
Free ATM withdrawals
Limited to £200 per month or 5 withdrawals
Up to £400 per month
Free foreign transactions
Limited to £1,000 per month
Unlimited
Free foreign ATM withdrawals
Limited to £200 per month
Up to £400 in EEA and £200 elsewhere every 30 days
Both the Monzo and Chase accounts allow you to set up direct debits, receive your salary and make transfers. Both accounts also offer round ups, enabling you to round up your card transactions and put money into a savings pot. Chase pays interest on this balance, while Monzo doesn’t, but Monzo also offers separate savings accounts that pay interest.
Chase and Monzo both have a UK banking licence and offer FSCS protection. They also offer fee-free spending abroad, although Monzo limits the amount of fee-free ATM cash withdrawals each month. Unlike Monzo, Chase customers can earn cashback as they spend for the first year. On the other hand, Monzo offers a more established app, with budgeting tools and spending categories. It also allows international payments, while Chase doesn’t.
Finder score
8.2Great
9.8Excellent
Interest when you're in credit
0%
0%
Free spending abroad
FSCS protected
Have salary paid in
Separate savings accounts
Cheque scanning
Free ATM withdrawals
Up to £500 per day
Up to £400 per month
Free foreign transactions
Unlimited
Unlimited
Free foreign ATM withdrawals
Up to £1,500 per month
Up to £400 in EEA and £200 elsewhere every 30 days
A more comprehensive comparison can be made by reading our Monzo vs Chase guide.
Monese
While Monzo offers 4 plan types, Monese offers 3. In both cases, one plan is free, while the others charge a monthly fee. Monese lets customers have both UK and European accounts and international transfers can be carried out for a fee. Customers can also receive international payments. You can send and receive international payments with Monzo too.
If you’re looking to spend abroad, you can do so fee-free with Monzo, but ATM withdrawals are only free up to a monthly limit. Depending on the plan you choose, Monese might also limit the number of fee-free transactions you can make overseas each month.
Monzo is a UK bank and therefore offers FSCS protection. It also offers an overdraft. Monese does not offer an overdraft or FSCS protection.
Finder score
6Standard
9.8Excellent
Interest when you're in credit
0%
0%
Free spending abroad
FSCS protected
Have salary paid in
Separate savings accounts
Cheque scanning
Free ATM withdrawals
2% per withdrawal
Up to £400 per month
Free foreign transactions
2% fee
Unlimited
Free foreign ATM withdrawals
£1.50 fee
Up to £400 in EEA and £200 elsewhere every 30 days
Monzo operates a full UK bank account, so deposits of up to £120,000 are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), as is standard for licensed UK banks.
Chase, Revolut and Starling also both have a UK banking licence, and therefore offer the same deposit protection as Monzo.
Monese is registered with the FCA as an electronic money institution and must safeguard customer money in a separate account at a licensed UK bank, which means these funds are ring-fenced should Monese go bankrupt.
So the short answer is yes – main challengers are all safely regulated and if anything were to happen to them your money is as protected as it can be.
Bottom line
Monzo was the original poster child for digital banking in the UK and its current accounts have many useful features, particularly when it comes to analysing your spending, setting budgets and putting money aside into a savings pot. But if you’ve decided that Monzo is not the right banking provider for you, then our guide and comparison table will help point you in the direction of several great alternatives out there in the UK market.
Matthew Boyle, Finder’s banking publisher, says: “Digital challenger banks have become really popular in the UK over the last couple of years. Their apps tend to have more developed features that those of the traditional banks – although you can still bank online and on your mobile with all the big high street banks. For a full list of UK banks, take a look at our A-Z guide.”
We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables is provided by Defaqto. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
Michelle Stevens is a deputy editor at Finder, specialising in banking, credit, loans and mortgages. She has a journalism degree from the University of Sheffield and has been a journalist for 15 years, writing on topics including fintech, payment systems and retail. In her spare time, Michelle likes to travel, explore new foodie experiences and attempt to improve her own culinary skills.
See full bio
Michelle's expertise
Michelle
has written
81
Finder guides across topics including:
There are a number of cards and banking apps similar to Revolut that you can use in the UK, so we’ve put together a list and compared their features for you.
Mobile banking apps are often difficult to tell apart. We take a closer look at two of this new crop of “digital challengers”.
Advertiser disclosure
Finder.com is an independent comparison platform and information service that aims to provide you with the tools you need to make better decisions. While we are independent, the offers that appear on this site are from companies from which Finder receives compensation. We may receive compensation from our partners for placement of their products or services. We may also receive compensation if you click on certain links posted on our site. While compensation arrangements may affect the order, position or placement of product information, it doesn't influence our assessment of those products. Please don't interpret the order in which products appear on our Site as any endorsement or recommendation from us. Finder compares a wide range of products, providers and services but we don't provide information on all available products, providers or services. Please appreciate that there may be other options available to you than the products, providers or services covered by our service.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
How likely would you be to recommend Finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
