Last Updated on October 30, 2026
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“Free business banking” means three different things in the UK: no monthly fee for good, no monthly fee for a while, or no monthly fee with a charge on every payment.
We read the fee pages of 18 UK business account providers on 1 October 2026 and costed a standard year for a one-person online business receiving £4,000 a month in 8 payments. ANNA’s free plan cost our online sole trader £342 a year; Tide’s free plan cost the same business £31.20. Six other accounts cost it nothing at all.
In short
Free with no per-payment charges
Starling and Monzo Business Lite charge nothing for UK payments in or out, and Mettle’s fee page lists no charge for them. All three offer bank accounts with FSCS cover. The Virgin Money M Account and the Co-operative Bank Business Bank Account also charge nothing for electronic payments, and add branch access.
Free with a catch
Tide Free (20p per transfer after five a month), ANNA Free (0.95% on money received above £1,000 a month), Zempler Business Go (35p per payment out after three) and NatWest’s Standard Tariff (35p on almost everything).
Free for a while
The big banks’ introductory offers. Fine if you plan to move, costly if you forget.
No monthly fee, and what that cost our online sole trader
| Account | Monthly fee | Charge per payment | Standard year, online sole trader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starling | £0 | None on UK payments in or out | £0 |
| Monzo Business Lite | £0 | None on UK transfers, Direct Debits or card payments | £0 |
| Mettle (NatWest) | £0 | None listed for UK payments | £0 |
| Virgin Money M Account | £0 | None on automated payments (turnover under £1m) | £0 |
| Co-operative Bank Business Bank Account | £0 | None on automated payments | £0 |
| HSBC UK Small Business Banking | £0 | None on standard digital payments | £0 |
| Tide Free | £0 | 20p per transfer in or out after 5 a month | £31.20 |
| NatWest Standard Tariff | £0 | 35p per electronic item and card payment | £180.60 |
| ANNA Free | £0 | Payments out free; 0.95% of money in above £1,000 a month | £342 |
Free for a while: the introductory offers
| Account | Offer | Who qualifies | Then |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barclays Business Current Account | 12 months with no monthly fee | Businesses without an existing Barclays business current account | £8.50 a month |
| Lloyds Business Account | 12 months with no account fee | Businesses new to Lloyds, turnover £3m or less | £10 a month |
| Santander Business Current Account Classic | 12 months with no fee | Start-ups opening their first Santander business account, and switchers | £9.99 a month |
| NatWest Start-up account | 2 years free banking | Trading under a year, turnover under £1m | Standard Tariff: 35p per item |
| Virgin Money Business Current Account | 25 months free day-to-day banking | New businesses and businesses new to Virgin Money, including switchers | £6.50 a month plus 30p per electronic item |
| Co-operative Bank Business Directplus | 30 months | New-to-bank customers | £7 a month plus per-item charges |
| Metro Bank Business Bank Account | 12 months (31 months for full switchers) | New to Metro; switchers via the Current Account Switch Service | £8 a month unless £6,000 is held all month |
Two details hide in that table. Metro’s 12-month new-customer offer does not cover cash, and HSBC stopped its free banking period on the Small Business Banking Account from 1 July 2025 (the account has no monthly fee anyway).
What to watch: the month after
The bank pays for an introductory offer out of your second year with it. For our van trade, Barclays’ standard year came to £188.40, Lloyds’ £350.40 and NatWest’s £564.60. Monzo Business Lite cost the same business £48 from day one.
Put the end date of any offer in your diary the day you open the account, and price the standard tariff then. Our best business bank accounts UK page has the full table for all three model businesses.
Free accounts and your bookkeeping
A free account that will not connect to your accounting software costs you in hours. NatWest says FreeAgent is free while you keep a NatWest business account, and Mettle includes it if you make at least one transaction a month. See our FreeAgent review and best accounting software.
A free account is only free at your activity level. Count a month of payments in and out before you choose.
Questions
Which UK business bank accounts have no monthly fee?
On 1 October 2026 Starling, Monzo Business Lite, Mettle, Tide Free, the Virgin Money M Account, the Co-operative Bank Business Bank Account, the HSBC UK Small Business Banking Account, NatWest’s Standard Tariff, ANNA Free and Zempler Business Go all had no monthly fee. Some of them charge per transaction instead.
Which business bank accounts are free for the first year?
Barclays, Lloyds and Santander were free for 12 months for eligible new customers, then £8.50, £10 and £9.99 a month. NatWest offered two years free to start-ups trading under a year with turnover under £1m. Virgin Money’s Business Current Account offered 25 months and the Co-operative Bank’s Business Directplus 30 months for new-to-bank customers.
Is ANNA’s free plan really free?
It has no monthly fee and no charge for payments out, but it takes 0.95% of money received above £1,000 a month. For our online sole trader receiving £4,000 a month that came to £342 a year.
What happens when a free banking period ends?
You move onto the standard tariff automatically. Read it before you open the account: at NatWest that means 35p per electronic item and card payment, and at Barclays, Lloyds and Santander a monthly fee of £8.50 to £10.
Method, limits and legal position
This page is general information for UK businesses. It is not financial, insurance or legal advice, and it does not take account of your circumstances. Fees, rates, terms and eligibility change, so check the provider’s own current terms, and take regulated advice where you need it, before you act.
One NatWest assumption: NatWest’s business charges page says debit cards cost “0.35p” each time they are used, while its own fee table lists automated items at £0.35. We priced NatWest card use at 35p a time. If NatWest charges less for card use, its yearly figures on this page would be lower.
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