Top business bank accounts compared

About Top business bank accounts compared

Business bank accounts here are compared on what a company actually pays: the monthly fee, the exchange rate fee, transfer charges, what protects the balance and how the account is licensed. This ranking covers 557 brands, chosen from a wider comparison of 557 accounts. Monthly cost is rarely the decider. The median monthly fee in this category is €0, so most accounts are free to keep open, and Vivid Plus is the exception with €6.90 on its listed plans. The real spread sits in currency. Exchange rate fees across the category run 0% to 6%, with a median of 1%; the cheapest listed here is Vivid Plus at 0.25% and the dearest is PayPal Colombia at 3% to 4%. Another trade-off runs alongside: breadth against depth. Accounts holding many currencies often reach support by chat and a help centre only, while accounts with a phone line and a local IBAN tend to sit at a higher exchange rate fee. Deposit protection anchors trust, and it splits the field between EU deposit guarantee cover and US cover.

How we picked

Every account in this ranking is scored on three parts, weighted as cost 35%, offer 25% and trust 40%. Cost covers the monthly fee, the exchange rate fee and the transfer charge, because those are the recurring sums a company actually pays. Offer covers how many currencies are held, which local account details are issued, which practical features are listed and how many support channels are open. Trust covers deposit protection, the licensing status and the legal entity standing behind the account. Figures come from each provider's own pricing pages, fee schedules, support articles, help centre entries, legal notices and store listings, plus official payment services registers where a licence is listed. Where a provider publishes a free-text fee schedule, that wording is summarised rather than extended. Every number on this page is drawn from those sources or from our own compiled ranges, and nothing is estimated. Partners are listed first, in the order set out above, and the remaining accounts follow in score order, so a placement reflects the weighting rather than the order of the page.

Our top picks

1. 3. bunq

   bunq earns a place in this ranking by pairing a monthly fee of €0 with practical business features: joint accounts and a digital-only service, both listed under joint account and digital only, plus a European IBAN through iban and EU DGS up to EUR 100,000 protection. Support runs on email, chat and help centre, with no phone line listed. Conversion is the cost to watch at 3%, above the 1% median for this category. VaultLeap, next in this ranking, converts far more cheaply at 0.5% and adds US ACH to its iban and us ach, on a US entity rather than a European one.

   • Headline rate: 3.01%
   • Rate type: Variable
   • Deposit protection: EU DGS up to EUR 100,000

   Pros

   • The monthly fee is €0 and the pricing model is no monthly fee, so keeping the account open costs nothing each month.
   • Interest is paid weekly and the rate type is variable, so money keeps earning between withdrawals without a term to serve out.
   • Balances are covered by EU DGS up to EUR 100,000, so there is a payout route if the provider fails.
   • Features list joint account and digital only, so a joint account and a digital only setup are both available.
   • The currency conversion fee is 3% on the free plan, below the 7% top of the range across the site.

   Cons

   • The rate type is variable, so the return follows the base rate and the account ranks 240 of 473 brands on the headline rate.
   • Support runs on email, chat and help centre only, which leaves phone callers with a narrower route in.
   • Features list joint account and digital only, so the service is digital only and there is no branch counter.
   • On the headline rate, 21.59% at axi-card and 24.19% at plazo both sit far above the 3.01% paid here.

2. 4. bunq Spain Bank Account

   The bunq Spain Bank Account is in this ranking for a free account with a European footing: the monthly fee is €0, a local IBAN is issued under iban, and balances sit under EU DGS up to EUR 100,000. Joint accounts and a digital-only service are listed under joint account and digital only, and support runs on chat and help centre without a phone line. Conversion is the main cost at 3%, above the 1% median for this category, so a business paying suppliers in other currencies should weigh that against the free monthly fee. Finteres, last in this ranking, is also free monthly but built only for freelancers.

   • Monthly fee: €0
   • Deposit protection: EU DGS up to EUR 100,000
   • Currency conversion fee: 3%

   Pros

   • A monthly fee of €0 a month, so there is no standing charge for keeping the account open.
   • Deposit protection is EU DGS up to EUR 100,000, and De Nederlandsche Bank supervises the firm in the Netherlands.
   • The easy access account pays a variable rate of 3.01%, with interest credited weekly.
   • Transfers are Instant and the account carries a local iban, so salary, rent and supplier payments are quick to set up.
   • The account is aimed at expats, travelers and business, which covers expats, travelers, business customers and students in Spain.

   Cons

   • Currency conversion is the cost to watch: 3% to convert plus a 3% exchange rate markup, so spending abroad adds up.
   • Support runs on chat and help centre only, so a blocked payment or a disputed transfer waits on a chat reply rather than a phone call.
   • The rate is variable, so a reader planning around a known return for a fixed period has to accept the number can move.
   • The service is joint account and digital only by design, so anyone hoping to sort something out in person has no branch to visit.

3. 7. Skrill

   Skrill is in this ranking for breadth of currency. It holds 47 currencies against a median of 4 for this category, keeps a monthly fee of €0, names its status as e money and protects balances under EU DGS up to EUR 100,000. Support runs on help centre, email and phone. The cost of that reach is conversion and transfers: the exchange rate fee is 3.99%, sending to another Skrill balance takes a percentage with a floor, and international transfers cost up to a percentage that includes an exchange mark-up. Paysera, next in this ranking, does fewer currencies but pairs a local IBAN with a monthly allowance of free SEPA transfers for private clients.

   • Monthly fee: €0
   • Licence type: E money
   • Deposit protection: EU DGS up to EUR 100,000

   Pros

   • The monthly fee is €0, the same as Starling Personal Account Debit Card at £0, so the wallet costs nothing to keep open.
   • The stated audience covers expats, travelers and business, so expats, travellers and businesses are the groups the service is built around.
   • 47 currencies sit in one wallet, well above the site median of 5.
   • Payouts go to bank, card and wallet, so money can land in a bank account, on a card or in another wallet.
   • Support runs through help centre, email and phone, which includes phone help for transfers that stall.

   Cons

   • Currency conversion costs 3.99%, against 0% at AXI Card Tarjeta y Credito and 0.5% at XTB.
   • An exchange rate mark-up of 4.99% can be added to international transfers on top of the fee.
   • The currency conversion fee ranking puts it at 297 out of 312, so exchange is the weak spot.
   • Balances sit under an e-money licence (e money) rather than a bank licence, and international delivery runs 24 - 72 hours.

4. 9. Finom DE: best for Finom DE

   German site of Finom, a business account and payments solution for freelancers and small businesses.

   • Monthly fee: €0
   • Currencies: 17
   • Local account details: IBAN

   Pros

   • German IBANs for freelancers, small businesses and companies still in formation
   • Physical and virtual debit cards for owners and team members
   • Built in bookkeeping with receipt scanning, categorisation and tax filing support
   • Over 50 accounting integrations with document storage and synchronisation

   Cons

   • Online management only through desktop or mobile app access
   • Range focuses on freelancers and small firms rather than large corporations

What to look for

What the account costs each month

The median monthly fee in this category is €0, and the same figure sits at €0 and €0, so a monthly charge is the exception rather than the rule. Vivid Plus is the outlier with €6.90 on its listed plans, while the rest charge nothing to keep an account open.

What conversion costs

The median exchange rate fee here is 1%, the upper quartile is 2.2% and the ceiling is 6%. At the cheap end Vivid Plus charges 0.25% and VaultLeap 0.5%, against 3% to 4% at PayPal Colombia and 3.99% at Skrill.

How many currencies you can hold

The median account in this ranking holds 4 currencies and the top of the range reaches 200. Payoneer rails leads with 70, then Skrill on 47 and Paysera on 30, while smaller accounts sit at 3 and 4.

What protects the balance

Most members carry EU deposit guarantee cover of EU DGS up to EUR 100,000, and PayPal Colombia shows FDIC up to USD 250,000 instead. The scheme ceiling matters, since balances above it sit outside the cover, so a firm running a large float should read the figure rather than assume it.

Who stands behind the account

Licensing splits the category: 48.4% of these accounts sit under e-money authorisation, against 35.5% for payment institutions and 16.1% for banks. Skrill, Paysera and Payoneer rails name their own status directly through e money.

What support you can reach

A help centre appears on 80.4% of accounts in this ranking and a phone line on 80.8%. bunq and Plazo ES between them cover chat, email, phone and a help centre, while VaultLeap offers email and help centre and Payoneer rails chat and help centre.

Frequently asked questions

Top business bank accounts compared by country

• Australia
• Brazil
• Canada
• China
• France
• Germany
• India
• Ireland
• Italy
• Japan
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV