These are three of the major names in “challenger banking”, offering a range of similar services. Which is the best for you?
Within a few years “challenger banks” like Revolut, Monzo and Starling have made huge waves in the digital banking world. Millions of customers carry their cards and use their accounts daily.
Here we take a detailed look at what these three rivals do best, across three rounds: travel, saving, and general use as a day to day account.
Round 1: Travelling
Round 2: Saving
Round 3: As a current account
Revolut card: Free delivery worth £5
Enjoy fee-free foreign spending, fee-free international money transfers, send instant payments, purchase cryptocurrency and more!
Starling Bank: 100% mobile banking
No branches, no fees, no paperwork. Get a smarter kind of bank account with the Best British Bank 2018 – all in under 3 minutes!
Revolut vs Monzo vs Starling: the verdict
Similar apps
There’s not much to separate the apps on offer from these three competitors.
Using smart technology they break your transactions down by category or by shop. These are then fed back to you in weekly or monthly insights, showing you where your spending most.
You have total control of your card through their apps, so if you lose your card you can temporarily freeze it or cancel it through your phone.
It’s super quick and easy to pay friends with any of these banking apps, too.
Budget better with spending insights
Here you see how Monzo and Revolut break your spending down by category and shop. Starling do this too.
Freeze your Monzo card if it gets lost
Starling and Revolut also give you total control over your card from the app. So there's no need to worry if you temporarily lose it.
Set spending targets
With Starling or Monzo, order your budgets by category. If you're blowing all your money on coffee, it'll show you.
Instant payment notifications
Starling and Revolut give real-time info and payment alerts. Monzo offer this too.
Split the difference: their different fees
In terms of sending money abroad, Revolut is probably the cheapest option. It offers the interbank rate, while Starling and Monzo offer the MasterCard rate. Moreover, Starling charges a SWIFT fee of about £5.
For those looking to earn a few pennies then Starling and Monzo both offer interest with their current accounts. Starling will give you 0.5% on any amount up to £2,000. Meanwhile Monzo offers 1%. However, you do have to have a least £1,000 in one of its easy access “pots”.
In truth, you can get better rates from traditional banks, but these rates are still better than the 0% offered by Revolut.
App integration
Here, Monzo and Starling seem to be ahead of the game. Although Revolut business account users can integrate with apps too.
Starling’s marketplace offers all the benefits of open banking. Align third party apps such as flux with your account so you get itemised receipts from certain stores.
Monzo and Starling have both paired up with Yolt, so you can see all your accounts in one place. For those looking to get a handle on various accounts, this could be hugely useful.
Digital banking deals
Revolut
Free card worth £5 from Revolut
Ends
Click the button and enter your number to receive a free Revolut card.
Starling
Starling voted best British bank & current account
No branches, no fees, no paperwork. Get a smarter kind of bank account with the Best British Bank 2018 – all in under 3 minutes!
N26
Get N26 the new bank you'll love to use
Manage everything directly in the N26 app. Set payment limits, change your PIN number and lock and unlock your card. All in real-time.
Can I convert GBP to euros and US dollars with a Starling card and hold multiple currencies at the same time?
Hi Michael,
Thanks for getting in touch! The Starling bank only holds GBP, but as it says on our page, Charges for spending abroad or withdrawing cash at an ATM aren’t an issue since using your Starling Bank card overseas doesn’t incur extra fees. You will be charged the Mastercard exchange rate for purchases. Hope this helps!
Best,
Nikki
Can I set up direct debits in France from a UK Stalting or Monzo account? I want to replace my Credit Agricole account. Thanks.
Hi Andy,
Thanks for reaching out to finder.
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to setup SEPA direct debits with UK Starling and Monzo accounts. Hopefully, these digital banks will look into the possibilities of adding these features in the future.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Charisse