The main alternatives to Starling are Monzo and Revolut. Zempler and Monese are a bit smaller, but should fill that gap in the market.
Starling is a challenger bank offering digital-only current accounts (and a bunch of related services) to its 4.2 million UK customers. If you’ve checked it out but for some reason were unimpressed, fear not, there are other digital banking brands for you to consider.
While you can also read Finder’s individual reviews of Atom Bank, Monese, Monzo, Chase and Revolut, this article looks at them all together, to help you figure out which is best for what.
Starling and Monzo offer very similar bank accounts. For a start, you’ll be able to send international payments, spend fee-free overseas and benefit from a round-up savings feature with both accounts. Both apps also offer budgeting tools and spending categories and both accounts are FSCS protected. You can also apply for an overdraft with the 2 banks.
However, there are also some notable differences: Starling has no limit to the number of ATM withdrawals you can make per month. Monzo, on the other hand, limits ATM withdrawals to a set amount each month in both the UK and abroad and also charges for cash deposits, while Starling doesn’t.
 |  | |
| Finder score | 9.8Excellent | 9.6Excellent |
| 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 £400 per month | Limited to 6 withdrawals per day, with a daily limit of £300 |
| Free foreign transactions | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Free foreign ATM withdrawals | Up to £400 in EEA and £200 elsewhere every 30 days | Unlimited |
| Credit check | ||
| Find out more |
If you’re looking for an account that offers fee-free spending abroad, you’ll find it with both Starling and Revolut. However, while Starling offers unlimited fee-free foreign transactions, Revolut limits this to a monthly allowance. Both also offer international money transfers.
Starling and Revolut are both UK licenced banks, so you’ll benefit from FSCS protection, but at the time of writing Revolut doesn’t offer an overdraft, while Starling does.
On the other hand, both accounts offer round-up savings features and the apps offer budgeting tools and spending categories to help you keep track of your spending. Revolut also offers the opportunity to trade shares, while Starling doesn’t.
 | | |
| Finder score | 9.1Excellent | 9.6Excellent |
| 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 | Limited to 6 withdrawals per day, with a daily limit of £300 |
| Free foreign transactions | Limited to £1,000 per month | Unlimited |
| Free foreign ATM withdrawals | Limited to £200 per month | Unlimited |
| Credit check | ||
| Find out more |
Both Starling and Chase have a round-ups feature, where your transactions are rounded up and the difference is transferred to a savings pot.
With both accounts, you’ll be able to spend on your debit card abroad for free and you’ll benefit from FSCS protection. The difference is that Starling’s app is a little more advanced and lets you categorise your spending. You can also pay cash in at Post Office branches with Starling, apply for an overdraft and make international payments. Chase doesn’t offer any of these options, but you can earn 1% cashback on your spending for the first year.
 | | |
| Finder score | 8.2Great | 9.6Excellent |
| 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 | Limited to 6 withdrawals per day, with a daily limit of £300 |
| Free foreign transactions | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Free foreign ATM withdrawals | Up to £1,500 per month | Unlimited |
| Credit check | ||
| Find out more |
Both Monese and Starling include the option to carry out international transfers. However, while Starling customers can also spend fee-free abroad, Monese’s free plan charges 2% for each transaction. It also charges 2% for cash withdrawals – you’ll need to upgrade to a paid-for plan to get a monthly limit of free cash withdrawals with Monese. One thing in Monese’s favour though is that it has an account in euros as well as pounds sterling.
Starling also offers an overdraft on the account, while Monese doesn’t. Money held in a Starling account is FSCS protected, but Monese doesn’t have a UK banking licence so doesn’t offer FSCS protection. Both apps offer budgeting tools and spending categories.
 | | |
| Finder score | 6Standard | 9.6Excellent |
| 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 | Limited to 6 withdrawals per day, with a daily limit of £300 |
| Free foreign transactions | 2% fee | Unlimited |
| Free foreign ATM withdrawals | £1.50 fee | Unlimited |
| Credit check | ||
| Find out more |
Challenger banks differ in the broad range of services they offer customers, but they all provide fee-free digital-only current accounts that can be opened in a few minutes, and that can easily function as main current accounts as long as you have fairly essential banking needs. With all of them you can expect a free current account, card and app, and free bank transfers and card payments within the UK.
If you rule Starling out, your main options are:
As we said, Monzo is the most similar to Starling and the one with the broadest range of features for day-to-day banking. However, you could also give Revolut a shot. Revolut has a tonne of features and is constantly adding more. In recent years it has opened up a trading option to buy and sell shares. It could also be a good shout if you’re interested in a premium option with more benefits (see our review of Revolut Premium).
Cards like Starling for travelling
Generally speaking, challengers will treat you better than traditional banks when it comes to overseas spending, deposits and transfers. Depending on whether you’re a serial traveller, only have the occasional trip or mostly stay in the UK but need to send money to someone who doesn’t, some will be more suitable than others:
If you’re looking for a card that will give you great freedom abroad without charging any fees, Chase is well worth a look. It offers fee-free spending abroad plus fee-free ATM withdrawals with a daily limit of £500 – that’s higher than Starling’s £300 daily limit.
However, Monzo and Revolut make for good alternatives too, and if you also need money transfers, Revolut definitely stands above the competition.
Challengers are a mixed picture when it comes to savings accounts, so if putting money aside and earning interest on it is your main goal, you may also want to have a look at what traditional banks have to offer.
Starling now offers an easy access account (Easy Saver) as well as a 1-Year Fixed Saver account. Atom also offers dedicated savings accounts, with a good range of fixed-term options that pay decent rates, as well as Instant Savers accounts.
Monzo offers a range of easy-access and fixed-term account options, including a cash ISA. The rates aren’t half bad either. You can also open a savings account with Revolut.
Finally, Monzo and Revolut all categorise your spending in the app and allow you to put money aside in separate sub-accounts (respectively known as Pots and Pockets) to save towards a goal. Monzo, Monese, Chase and Revolut also all have a feature that automatically rounds up and saves your spare change, functioning as a digital piggybank.
If you’re only looking at how much money your savings can earn you, Atom is competitive for fixed-term accounts, while the others still have quite a long way to go.
On the other hand, if you find organising your budget and saving money challenging, both Revolut and Monzo have slick apps with loads of useful features that can help you organise your money and save.
The short answer is yes – all the challengers we’ve mentioned are registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and fully authorised to do what they do. However, there is a slight difference when it comes to how your money is protected:
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