Revolut and Starling have transformed the way we bank, with real-time account information, fee-free spending abroad and detailed insights into your spending. They provide cheap (or free) easy mobile banking and a great alternative to the traditional banks. If you’re undecided about which account to open, we take an in-depth look at both Revolut and Starling to help you decide between the two.
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| Finder score | 4.2 ★★★★★ | 4.7 ★★★★★ |
| Customer satisfaction survey | 4.6 ★★★★★ | 4.9 ★★★★★ |
| Free spending abroad | ||
| Overdraft rate | No overdrafts | 15%, 25% or 35% EAR |
| Interest when you're in credit | 0% | 3.25% |
| Branch access | ||
| FSCS protected | ||
| Sign-up bonus | ||
| Amount | £20 | N/A |
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With the free Revolut account (called Revolut “Standard”) you receive a blue and pink two-tone card, while Starling’s free (and only) current account comes with a teal-coloured vertical card.
Neither apps have branches, but you can withdraw or deposit money into your Starling account at Post Office counters. Unlike Revolut, Starling also pays interest on current account balances (3.24% AER interest on balances up to £5,000). You can also apply for an overdraft with Starling, a facility that Revolut doesn’t offer.
Starling has a UK banking licence, which means individual customer funds up to the value of £85,000 are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if the bank goes bust. Revolut doesn’t have a UK banking licence, so doesn’t come with FSCS protection. But as a FCA-registered electronic money institution, it does keep its customers’ funds in a separate account at a licensed UK bank, which means the money is ring-fenced should Revolut cease operating.
In Finder’s 2024 Banking Customer Satisfaction Awards, Starling scored 4.9 out of 5 stars in our customer survey, with 100% of its customers saying they would recommend the current account. Meanwhile, Revolut scored 4.6 out of 5 stars, with 95% of its customers saying they would recommend one of its e-money accounts.
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| Visual breakdown of spending | ||
| Spending categories | Customisable | 53 |
| Set spending budgets | ||
| Set up direct debits in the app | ||
| Top up via bank transfer | ||
| Have salary paid in | ||
| Separate savings accounts | ||
| Round-ups | ||
| Customer service via the app | ||
| Customer service via a telephone line | ||
| Cheque scanning | ||
| Freeze/unfreeze card in app | ||
| Send money abroad | ||
| Fee for sending money abroad | Free in SEPA region, between 30p and £5 to send elsewhere | Local network fee + 0.4% Starling fee |
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Revolut and Starling both have a comprehensive range of features available in their mobile banking apps. Both have spending categories, where your transactions are automatically placed into an appropriate category, such as utility bills or eating out. Although with Revolut you can create and customise your categories, whereas with Starling they are pre-set.
You can also analyse your daily, weekly or monthly spending insights in both apps, which helps you set budgets, as well as receive alerts you when payments go in and out of your account.
Revolut’s “Vaults” and Starling’s “Goals” let you put money aside for specific treats or targets, like a holiday or a savings goal. Plus both offer “round-ups”, where spare change from your transactions can be “rounded up” and put into your savings bucket.
You can pay your salary into either your Revolut or Starling account, manage direct debits and make international payments. You can freeze or unfreeze your card in the apps, as well as contact both customer service teams through the in-app chats. With Starling you can also speak to customer service agent over the phone, but that’s not possible with Revolut.
You can also use Starling’s cheque scanning tool to pay cheques into your account should you need to, whereas Revolut doesn’t accept cheque deposits at all – or cash deposits, for that matter.
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| Free card transactions in the UK | ||
| Contactless card limit | £100 | £100 |
| Apple Pay | ||
| Google Pay | ||
| Samsung Pay | ||
| Free ATM withdrawals | Limited to £200 per month or 5 withdrawals | Unlimited |
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Spending on your Revolut or Starling card is free in the UK, and both cards currently have the standard contactless limit of £100.
You can also add your Revolut card or Starling card to Apply Pay and Google Pay, but only Starling supports Samsung Pay.
Starling offers unlimited free ATM withdrawals in the UK. With Revolut you can make up to 5 ATM withdrawals or take out £200 for free every month – whichever of those limits you hit first will trigger the subsequent charge of 2% on each following withdrawal (with a minimum fee of £1).
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| Free foreign transactions | Limited to £1,000 per month | Unlimited |
| Free foreign ATM withdrawals | Limited to £200 per month | Unlimited |
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With Starling there is no charge for using its card to make a purchase abroad, or for using the card to take money out of a foreign ATM.
With Revolut, it’s a bit more complicated. You can use your card to make purchases abroad for free on weekdays, up to a monthly limit of £1,000. You can use your card to withdraw money abroad for free on weekdays, up to a monthly limit of £200. But on the weekends, a mark-up of 0.5% applies to both card spending and cash withdrawals overseas (Revolut says this is because the international money markets close over the weekend). That 0.5% mark-up relates to all the major currencies, but for some minor currencies it rises to 2%.
Please note: You should always refer to quotes you receive from transfer services themselves directly for exact amounts as they may vary from our estimates.
Starling and Revolut both offer impressive free online current accounts, with a range of features, but you’ll need to look at the fine print to decide your best option. This includes thinking about setting up the account. For example, Starling is a member of the Current Account Switching Service, which makes current account switching automatic within 7 days. Revolut isn’t signed up so you’ll have to move any regular payments over manually.”
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| Free account | ||
| Premium account | ||
| Joint account | ||
| Teen account (for 16- and 17-year olds) | ||
| Kids' account or card | ||
| Business account | ||
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Revolut and Starling both offer free e-money and current accounts. For Starling, it’s the only personal current account it operates, but Revolut has expanded its e-money account range with four paid-for tiers – Plus, Premium, Metal and Ultra.
Starling offers joint accounts and business accounts, which Revolut doesn’t. Starling also operates a kids’ card called Starling Kite, while Revolut has a kids’ account called Revolut <18 (both of which are managed through the parent’s account).
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| Apply through the app | ||
| Quick application | ||
| Credit check | ||
| Card delivery fee | £4.99 | Free |
| Card delivery timescale | Up to 9 working days | 3-5 working days |
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You can apply for either a Revolut or a Starling account through their respective mobile apps in a matter of minutes. There are no credit checks, although a photo of your ID and a selfie is required. The accounts are then usually opened on the same day and both the cards are sent through the post. Starling does this for free, while Revolut charges £4.99 for card delivery.
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| Free euro account | ||
| Marketplace | ||
| Trade shares | ||
| Buy gold and silver | ||
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With Revolut, you can open a free euro account alongside your main account. Meanwhile, Starling offers access to a “marketplace” where you sign up to financial products from its selected partners, who deal in things like insurance or pensions.
But the other extra features available with a Revolut account is probably where it comes into its own. You have the option to trade shares or buy gold and silver through your Revolut account. Fees per trade do apply for Revolut “Standard” account holders, but the ability to do this through an e-money account remains pretty unique.
Starling. The free accounts from Revolut and Starling are very similar. Both are managed via an app, both have spending analysis and budgeting features, and both accounts can be used to make international transfers.
This makes it hard to choose one above the other, but if we had to pick just one to open, it would probably be Starling. It’s a completely rounded current account, with the ability to deposit cash and cheques (which you can’t do with Revolut), plus it’s unbeatable when it comes to spending and withdrawing money overseas (whereas Revolut imposes limits on it’s free allowances for this). Starling’s UK banking licence means that its customers’ deposits are protected by the FSCS, and it doesn’t charge you for delivering your card.
That’s not to say that Revolut doesn’t have some distinct advantages of its own. It’s currently free to transfer money to any account in the SEPA (Single European Payments Area) region, plus if you’re interested in trading then you can do it directly from your Revolut app.
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