NatWest launched Mettle in 2018. It’s a standalone business banking app that stands out for its lack of monthly fees and accountancy software integrations.
Monzo, on the other hand, was founded in 2015. The challenger bank offers a free Lite business account, as well as 2 paid-for plans that offer additional features.
This guide compares the free business accounts side by side.
Both the Mettle and Monzo accounts are digital only, so you won’t have branch access. Both also come with a Mastercard debit card and fee-free spending abroad. A further benefit is that you’ll have access to linked savings pots that pay a small amount of interest (Monzo’s rate is slightly higher than Mettle’s).
Monzo has its own banking licence while Mettle uses NatWest’s banking licence. As a result, your cash will be protected up to £85,000 per person under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), whichever account you choose. Just remember that if you hold any money in a NatWest account, as well as a Mettle account, this counts towards your £85,000.
There are several important differences when it comes to the features available with Monzo and Mettle.
Although both allow you to pay in cash through Post Office branches or at any UK PayPoint, only Monzo lets you cash in cheques through the app or by post. Monzo also offers international transfers through its partnership with Wise, although as of 17 February 2025, you will no longer need a Wise account to make transfers in Euros, US Dollars, Indian Rupees, Australian Dollars and Romanian Leu, as you can do this directly through Monzo. Mettle doesn’t permit any international transfers.
Neither account offers additional cards for employees, though you can access this feature with Monzo if you upgrade your account (for a monthly fee). You will also need to upgrade to the Monzo Pro account if you want to integrate your account with accounting software as this isn’t available with Monzo Lite.
By comparison, Mettle customers can easily sync their free account with FreeAgent, QuickBooks and Xero. You can also choose to pay £4 a month for Mettle+ which gives you access to invoicing tools.
Winner: Monzo. It’s close, but Monzo takes the win simply for offering a greater range of account features. However, if accountancy software integration is more important to your business than international transfers, Mettle will be the better account.
Round 2: Account costs
Monthly account charge
Free
Free
Fee for cash deposits
Free (at Post Offices or PayPoints)
£1 per deposit to pay in cash at any PayPoint or Post Office branch
There’s no monthly account fee with Monzo or Mettle, but while Mettle won’t charge you for cash deposits, you’ll pay £1 per deposit with Monzo. You can deposit £5 to £300 in one go with Monzo, and a maximum of £1,000 every 6 months. Mettle lets you pay in up to £500 a time. Monzo lets you deposit cheques, but Mettle doesn’t.
There are no fees for payments in or out of either account, or for direct debits.
Note that a variable fee applies if you send money abroad with Monzo/Wise. If you’re only using Monzo to send one of the currencies mentioned above, you’ll pay both a fixed and a variable fee. Mettle doesn’t permit international transfers.
Winner: Monzo. While Mettle is the cheaper account, with no fees for cash deposits and deposit limits are also higher, Monzo lets you deposit cheques and offers international transfers, so it just shades this category.
It won’t cost you anything to spend on your Monzo or Mettle card in the UK and you can use contactless payments too. The contactless limit for both is £100.
Cash withdrawals are also fee-free with both cards.
Winner: Tie. Both cards offer fee-free spending and cash withdrawals in the UK.
Round 4: Using the card abroad
Free foreign transactions
Unlimited
Unlimited
Free foreign ATM withdrawals
Unlimited
Unlimited within EEA. £200 in any rolling 30-day period outside EEA. 3% fee after.
If you’re heading abroad on business, you won’t pay any foreign transaction fees when you spend on your Monzo or Mettle card.
Mettle also won’t charge you for ATM withdrawals overseas, while Monzo offers free cash withdrawals inside the EEA. Outside the EEA, you can only withdraw £200 every 30 days, otherwise you’ll pay a 3% fee.
Winner: Mettle as it doesn’t limit fee-free ATM withdrawals abroad.
Round 5: Signing up
Apply through the app
Quick application
Credit check
Card delivery fee
Free
Free
Card delivery timescale
3-5 working days
2-5 working days
Replacement card fee
Free
2 free replacement Monzo cards per account per year for any reason then charged £5
It’s similarly quick and easy to sign up for a Mettle or Monzo account through their respective apps and no credit check is required. You’ll also receive your card for free within 5 working days. However, while Mettle always offers free replacement cards, Monzo restricts this to 2 free cards per account per year, and then charges £5.
Winner: Mettle (just), as it doesn’t place a limit on replacement cards.
If you want to switch your business bank account, only Monzo is signed up to the Current Account Switch Service. If you switch your account to Mettle, you’ll need to do this manually.
Both providers offer customer support through the in-app chat, by email and over the phone. However, while Monzo has 24/7 customer support, you can only contact Mettle Monday to Friday between 8am and 8pm and Saturday and Sunday between 9am and 5pm.
Winner: Monzo. As well as offering the Current Account Switch Service, you can contact someone at the bank 24/7.
Round 7: Customer reviews
On review site Trustpilot, Mettle scored 4.6 out of 5 from more than 4,500 reviews (February 2025). Customers said the app was easy to use and loved the savings pots and accountancy tools. However, a few commented on the poor customer service.
Monzo doesn’t have a dedicated page for business reviews, but overall, it scored 4.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot from more than 44,000 reviews (February 2025). Customers praised the intuitive app, although some also mentioned poor customer support.
Winner: Tie. Mettle has a slightly higher rating, but Monzo has almost 10 times as many reviews, so its rating is from a larger sample.
Overall winner: Is Mettle better than Monzo?
These 2 accounts are very evenly matched, but Monzo just slides into top position, winning 3 of the above categories compared to Mettle’s 2.
Overall, Mettle is the cheaper account and while Monzo offers a broader range of account features, including international payments, Mettle’s accountancy software integration could be a big win for many businesses who don’t want to pay a monthly fee for their account.
On the other hand, if international transfers are more important to your business, or you think you might want to later upgrade to a more comprehensive account, Monzo’s business account is well worth exploring. Plus you can switch through the Current Account Switch Service.
We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
Rachel Wait is a freelance journalist and has been writing about personal finance for more than a decade, covering everything from insurance to mortgages. She has written for a range of personal finance websites and national newspapers, including The Observer, The Mail on Sunday, The Sun and the Evening Standard. Rachel is a keen baker in her spare time. See full bio
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