Monzo offers its millions of customers a current account and a debit card to use worldwide. But, as is the case with most things in life, nothing is perfect.
If Monzo isn’t the best fit for you, I’ve gathered together some Monzo alternatives that you may prefer, depending on your needs.
Keep reading for a thorough breakdown of Monzo bank alternatives that you can sign up for immediately.
1. Starling
| What’s similar to Monzo | What’s different from Monzo |
|---|---|
| Easy sign-up through the app | 3% fee for ATM withdraws of £250+/m |
| Business accounts available | Three current accounts to Starling’s one |
| Overdraft protection | Paid premium accounts |
| Customer funds protected up to £85,000 | No kids account |
| No physical branches available | No euro account |
| Joint account | Euro accounts available |
| Teen accounts |
Starling is one of the most popular digital banks in the UK with 3 million customers, trailing only behind Monzo (6 million), Revolut (5 million), and staying ahead of Monese (2 million).
Starling Bank’s main difference from Monzo is that it offers personal and business accounts for free. Meaning no monthly maintenance fee.
On the other hand, Monzo also offers a basic personal account for free, while others with more features are paid. This main distinction will be enough for plenty of people to choose Starling because of this simple account structure.
Like Monzo and other digital banks, Starling doesn’t have any physical branches. This, however, won’t keep you from making cash deposits because you can make them at any nearby Post Office.
Similarly, you can deposit your cheques using the cheque imaging system on the app. If your cheque is over £500, you will have to send it to Starling through the postal system without charge.
2. Revolut
| What’s similar to Monzo | What’s different from Monzo |
|---|---|
| Easy sign-up through the app | 5 free ATM withdrawals or £200 per rolling month (2% fee afterwards) |
| Business accounts available | Four current accounts to Monzos three |
| Metal card for top account | No overdrafts |
| No physical branches available | Kids accounts |
| Teen accounts | Investing platform |
| Joint accounts | No FSCS protection |
| No loans |
What can we say about Revolut that hasn’t been said a million times. It’s still one of the most popular challenger banks in the UK and worldwide. The company amassed a whopping 25 million customers around the world.
The Revolut free account fulfils any standard banking needs, and you can perform your day-to-day account tasks via the app.
With Revolut, you might also try their paid banking accounts for customers that offer perks and extra features. You can access these services for a yearly or monthly fee and choose between the Plus, the Premium, or the Metal paid current accounts.
You can also use the app to view a spending analysis and create saving pots, referred to as vaults. Revolut does not yet have an option for depositing cheques or cash.
Unlike Monzo, Revolut has a few fees associated with card use. While making purchases overseas or in the United Kingdom is free, using an ATM to withdraw over £200 per month, you’ll be charged a fee whether you’re home or abroad.
Revolut has some international features which make it very attractive to potential customers. For example, you can have a balance in 30 different currencies, and when you’re transferring money overseas, you get the exchange rate from the interbank.
Interestingly enough, Revolut gives you the opportunity to access a buying platform for cryptocurrencies.
3. Monese
| What’s similar to Monzo | What’s different from Monzo |
|---|---|
| Easy sign-up through the app | Credit builder program |
| One free and two paid accounts | Euro and RON accounts available |
| Business accounts | Open account without proof of address |
| Joint accounts | No overdrafts |
| Saving pots | Available outside UK |
| No physical banking branches | |
| Deposit protection (FSCS) |
Monese has been around since 2015 when it launched its mobile money accounts in the UK. It offers a unique chance to open a UK bank account without proof of address, with no credit checks, and no extra documents.
All you need to open the account is a photo ID and a selfie. Plus, you can join Monese if you live in any of the 30 countries in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom.
Through Monese, you can open three different types of online bank accounts. You can get a free account or choose between two paid premium accounts with higher limits in the free ATM withdrawals and purchases made abroad.
Their limits and fees are similar to that of Monzo. One shortcoming is that Monese doesn’t offer nearly as many perks and extra features as Monzo.
Nonetheless, you can meet your banking needs by setting up direct payments, tracking your purchase history, using your Mastercard anywhere in the world, and paying and receiving money from other users of the Monese app.
You’ll also still have plenty of features at your disposal that helps you to manage your money better, all while enjoying low account, currency exchange, and ATM withdrawal fees.
You may change your plan whenever you like directly from the app. Overall, Monese is an excellent alternative to Monzo.
4. Pockit
| What’s similar to Monzo | What’s different from Monzo |
|---|---|
| Easy sign-up through the app | Open account without proof of address |
| Two paid accounts | No business accounts |
| Joint accounts | No savings account or pots |
| No physical banking branches | No overdrafts |
| Cashback rewards | |
| No deposit protection (FSCS) |
Pockit is a prepaid card that you can easily top-up at physical locations or via bank transfers and debit cards. It obviously won’t replace your main bank account, but it has some benefits, such as cashback rewards and up to 3 additional contactless Mastercards.
There’s no free account as with Monese. The Standard account costs £1.99 per month, and the Extra account is £5.99.
There aren’t really any major differences between the two. With the Extra account, you get one free UK money transfer per month, two free direct debits, and an additional 1% cashback.
Speaking of, you can earn unlimited cashback by paying with the Pockit debit card at select partners. These include Apple (2%), Sainsbury’s (3%), Argos (4%), Primark (5%), Nike (6%), Foot Locker (7%), Clarks (7%), Pizza Express (8%), and NordVPN (59%).
5. Suits Me
| What’s similar to Monzo | What’s different from Monzo |
|---|---|
| Easy sign-up through the app | Open account without proof of address |
| One free and two paid accounts | No joint accounts |
| Business accounts | No savings account or pots |
| No physical banking branches | No overdrafts |
| No deposit protection (FSCS) | |
| No international payments into or out of account | |
| Cashback rewards |
If you’re looking for a relatively simple digital bank account that’s very easy to open as it doesn’t require proof of address, Suits Me might be a good choice.
The Suits Me card was launched in 2015, and the latest reports say it surpassed 100,000 customers in 2021. That’s a far cry from the millions of customers other banks on our list have.
The fintech company (Suits Me isn’t a bank) offers three accounts – one that’s free and two that are paid (£4.97 or £9.97 per month).
They all come with cashback rewards and a free debit card. When it comes to differences between the three accounts, ATM withdrawals are free with the Premium Plus account (£9.97/m) and cost £1.25 with Premium (£4.97/m). The free account will charge you £1.50 for every UK ATM withdrawal.
Additionally, cash top-ups are also cheaper with paid accounts. All in all, not many perks, are there?
The main draw of the Suits Me account is that it’s easy to open as there’s no proof of address needed.
The Bottom Line
Monzo is one of the leaders of UK digital banking, and its current banking accounts have an overload of useful features, benefits, and perks.
However, if you don’t like it for some reason, hopefully, one of the alternatives I’ve proposed in this guide will suit your specific needs.
