Wise and Starling offer a different range of features because they’re both different financial products, but we’re comparing how they are for travel and spending abroad.
Wise is a fintech company with a primary focus on money transfers and international finance. Wise Payments Limited is an authorised e-money institution regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Starling is a bank, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). Deposits up to £85,000 are protected by the FSCS.
Wise vs Starling: Vital statistics
Both of these accounts come with colourful cards, so they’ll stand out in your wallet when you go to use them abroad. Wise offers a bright green card and Starling has a teal, vertical card.
If you’re after branch access then you’re out of luck with both of these options. Wise is strictly digital only, so doesn’t allow any cash deposits at all and you need to top up your card via bank transfer or another payment method. With Starling you can deposit at the Post Office.
Wise isn’t a bank account so you can’t apply for overdrafts, while you can with Starling – the interest rate you’re offered will depend on your personal circumstances and credit score, although Starling’s overdraft interest rate scale starts at 15% EAR.
There’s no interest paid on balances in the Wise account, while Starling pays 3.25%.
Starling was also a winner in Finder’s 2024 Banking Customer Satisfaction Awards, coming joint first in our customer satisfaction survey, where it scored 4.9 out of 5 stars. 100% of its current account customers said they would recommend the brand to a friend.
Round 1: App features
You’ll be able to organise your spending easily with a range of features that include visual breakdowns of spending and budgeting. Wise has 15 different spending categories while Starling has a whopping 53, so you can get into the gritty details of every last penny or cent spent abroad.
You can also contact customer service in each app and there’s phone support available, too. If you misplace your card you can freeze your account, then when the panic is over and you find it again you can unfreeze it yourself.
There are slightly different fee structures to send and spend money abroad, with Wise using the mid-market rate and Starling using Mastercard’s real exchange rate. Wise charges £0.59 plus 0.33% of what’s converted and Starling charges a local network fee and 0.40%.
- Tie: While Starling has more features and depth to those features, Wise is generally slightly better value when it comes to sending money abroad.
Round 2: Spending in the UK
Wise and Starling both have Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, £100 contactless limit and free card transactions in the UK. The only difference in this section comes down to cash withdrawals, with Starling superior there. Wise lets you withdraw £200 each month for free in up to 2 withdrawals. Anything over that will incur a 1.75% charge and a 50p charge per withdrawal. Starling has no monthly limit, but it does have a daily limit of £300, up to a maximum of 6 transactions each day.
- Winner: Starling. It’s hard to beat free unlimited monthly withdrawals.
Round 3: Using the card abroad
Free foreign transactions | Yes if hold that currency on the card yet small conversion fee if not | Unlimited |
---|---|---|
Free foreign ATM withdrawals | Limited to £200 per month | Unlimited |
Find out more |
Wise lets you hold multiple currencies on its card, which can be a blessing and a curse. Say you have euros and spend euros, there is no cost. But if you have another currency on there, say pounds, then spend in euros, you’ll get charged a small currency conversion fee.
Starling is much simpler. There’s no charge for overseas spending and it has unlimited monthly cash withdrawals as well, with the same daily limit of £300 and 6 transactions.
- Winner: Starling, for its higher monthly withdrawal and unlimited spending limits.
Round 4: Account types
Free account | ||
---|---|---|
Premium account | ||
Joint account | ||
Teen account (for 16- and 17-year olds) | ||
Kids' account or card | ||
Business account | ||
Find out more |
Both accounts are free and neither has a paid premium option. They both have business account options as well.
Where Starling excels in this category is in its joint accounts, teen accounts and debit cards for kids. Wise only offers its account to those over 18 and has no joint accounts.
- Winner: Starling, because of its wider range of account options.
Round 5: Signing up
Apply through the app | ||
---|---|---|
Quick application | ||
Credit check | ||
Card delivery fee | £7 | Free |
Card delivery timescale | 2-6 working days (UK), varies for different countries | 3-5 working days |
Find out more |
When you think of fintech you think of speed, precision and simplicity. Both of these accounts offer that with their signing-up process. It’s all done through their respective apps and then physical cards are sent in the post. Wise says cards will arrive in 2–6 days, while Starling says 3–5 working days.
The big difference here is the cost of the card. Wise charges £7 for a card and Starling’s card is free.
- Winner: Starling, because the card is free.
Overall winner: Starling
Wise and Starling offer similar experiences and what you’d expect from fintech companies. With quick application processes and slick apps, simplicity and functionality are front of mind to make everything easy for customers. In that sense, they’re both worthy challengers.
But Starling pulls clear because it doesn’t charge extra for a lot of the things that Wise does. And knowing everything is unlimited or included in the account means you don’t have to worry about extra expenses while travelling or spending abroad.
Wise does compete well in terms of money transfers and if you want to have multiple currencies in the same account interface. But it isn’t a bank and the limitations because of that make Starling a better option overall.
More guides on Finder
-
Monzo promo, discount and referral codes for October 2024
New to Monzo? See if you can keep some more money in your pocket with our promo codes and special offers.
-
Chip promo, discount and referral codes for October 2024
New to Chip? See if you can keep some more money in your pocket with our promo codes and special offers.
-
Wise promo, discount and referral codes for October 2024
New to Wise? See if you can keep some more money in your pocket with our promo codes and special offers.
-
Starling promo, discount and referral codes for October 2024
New to Starling? See if you can keep some more money in your pocket with our promo codes and special offers.
-
HSBC business promo, discount and referral codes for October 2024
New to HSBC business banking? See if you can keep some more money in your pocket with our promo codes and special offers.
-
Chase vs Kroo: Which is the best?
We take a closer look at two of the digital banking brands leading the way in the UK. Compare Chase and Kroo in our side by side guide.
-
Barclays Blue Rewards: What’s it all about?
Learn more about the pros and cons of Barclays Blue Rewards.
-
Monzo bank account and card review: 4.6/5
Is Monzo’s app-only current account the right option for you? Read our review to get the low-down on all of the features of the account, its card and the app.
-
Compare joint bank accounts for 3, 4 and more people
You can open a joint bank account with 3 or more people. Learn how it works, how to sign up and what risks to be aware of.
-
Revolut review: The digital banking app popular with travellers
Is Revolut’s app-only account the solution for you? Our review of this challenger banking brand explores the features and fees of its free Standard plan, and outlines the other Revolut accounts available.