Monzo and Starling both offer a personal current account with no monthly fee and state that eligible deposits are protected by the FSCS up to £120,000 per person. The decision is more likely to turn on your cash-withdrawal habits, whether you want Monzo’s paid extras, and which app and support features suit you. In the latest independent service-quality survey located, Monzo scored slightly higher than Starling, but that result is customer recommendation evidence—not a guarantee of service.
At a glance
| Comparison | Monzo | Starling |
|---|---|---|
| Standard personal account monthly fee | Free tier available; paid plans are also offered. | No monthly fee for the personal account, according to Starling. |
| Cash withdrawals | Allowance depends on whether Monzo is your main bank, your plan and where you withdraw. | The located personal-account schedule says no Starling fee for UK withdrawals or foreign-currency withdrawals abroad; ATM operators may charge. Schedule dated February 2025. |
| Optional paid plans | Extra is listed at £3 per month and Perks at £9 per month on Monzo’s current account overview; check the live page for current prices and inclusions. | No comparable paid personal-account plan is established by the cited account overview. |
| Eligible deposit protection | Up to £120,000 per person under the FSCS, subject to eligibility and aggregation. | Up to £120,000 per person under the FSCS, subject to eligibility and aggregation. |
| 2026 service-quality recommendation score | 79%. | 76%. |
The service-quality figures are for personal current accounts in Great Britain, published in August 2026. Ipsos fieldwork ran from July 2025 to June 2026; the published results say approximately 1,000 customers per provider were surveyed across the 17 largest providers. The score is the share saying they were “extremely likely” or “very likely” to recommend the service, not an objective rating of every feature or a forecast of your experience. Monzo’s survey-results page explains the measure.
How the fees compare
Monthly account and plan costs
Starling says its personal account has no monthly fee and includes free Faster Payments, Direct Debits and Standing Orders. Monzo also has a free tier, alongside optional paid plans: its account overview lists Extra at £3 per month and Perks at £9 per month. These plan prices and benefits can change, so check Monzo’s current account page before choosing a plan. Starling’s no-fee account does not establish that every optional service is free; check its current terms for any service you plan to use.
Compare a paid plan only against benefits you would genuinely use. A feature’s presence is not a saving if you would not otherwise pay for it, and the monthly charge recurs for as long as you keep the plan.
#1 Best Overall
Cash withdrawals: check the location and your Monzo status
Monzo’s allowance depends on whether you use it as your main bank and on your plan. Monzo says main-bank customers and customers on specified paid plans can make unlimited fee-free withdrawals in the UK and EEA. If Monzo is not your main account, the stated UK/EEA allowance is £400 per rolling 30 days; withdrawals above it are charged at 3%. Outside the UK and EEA, the published allowance also depends on account status, and the stated excess fee is 3%. Review Monzo’s fee and allowance terms for the status and location that apply to you.
Starling’s located personal-account schedule says it charges no fee for UK cash withdrawals and no Starling fee for foreign-currency withdrawals abroad. It also warns that the ATM operator may charge a fee. For foreign-currency withdrawals, Mastercard exchange rates apply; if you choose to have the ATM convert the amount into sterling, the ATM operator may set the exchange rate instead. The schedule is dated February 2025, so check Starling’s published schedule and confirm the current terms before relying on these details.
Rank #2
- Ideal for Gifting
- Ideal for a bookworm
- Compact for travelling
“Fee-free abroad” does not necessarily mean a withdrawal or purchase has no cost: an ATM operator or merchant may impose a fee or offer its own currency conversion. Where possible, compare the ATM’s conversion offer with paying or withdrawing in the local currency.
Replacement cards
Monzo says it replaces cards free when they are stolen, expired or affected by fraud. Its main-bank customers receive two free replacements per year, after which a £5 charge applies. Starling’s February 2025 schedule lists £5 for a replacement card sent to a UK address and £10 if a card is lost or stolen abroad. Because that Starling schedule is dated, confirm its current replacement-card charges before making a decision.
Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchPC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Rank #3
App features and customer support
Both banks list app-based tools and support options, but provider feature descriptions do not demonstrate that one service performs better in practice. Monzo lists instant spending notifications, card freezing, biometric login, daily payment limits and additional checks for large payments. It also advertises 24/7 in-app help. Its free account page includes budgeting and saving features; paid-plan benefits are separate and should be checked against the current plan terms. See Monzo’s payments and security features.
Starling describes 24/7 support from human agents in the UK, biometric security and a Scam Intelligence feature that assesses uploaded screenshots. Those are useful points to weigh if you value a particular support channel or tool, but the cited material does not establish which bank’s controls are more effective against fraud in real-world use. Starling’s account overview describes its account and support offering.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the FSCS protection means
Both providers state that eligible deposits are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to £120,000 per person. Protection is subject to eligibility and aggregation; it is not a separate £120,000 allowance for every account you hold with the same bank. Starling’s 2026 FSCS information sheet says eligible current- and savings-account balances with the same bank count toward the limit. For a joint account, each holder has an individual limit. Qualifying temporary high balances may receive additional protection for a limited period.
FSCS deposit protection applies if a bank fails. It is different from safeguards, reimbursement rules or dispute rights for fraud and unauthorised transactions. Do not treat the deposit-protection limit as a promise that every balance or financial product is covered.
Best Value
Which should you choose?
Choose based on how you use cash
Estimate how often you withdraw cash and where—UK, EEA or elsewhere. For Monzo, check whether you qualify for its main-bank or plan terms and whether your likely withdrawals would exceed the applicable allowance. For Starling, take account of the dated fee schedule, possible ATM-operator charges and currency-conversion choices, then confirm the current schedule.
Compare paid extras with your actual needs
If you want a no-monthly-fee personal account, both providers offer one. Monzo’s paid plans may suit you if you would use their current benefits enough to justify the recurring charge; do not compare a paid Monzo plan with Starling’s free account as though they were identical packages.
Prioritise the app and support tools you value
Consider whether you care most about Monzo’s spending alerts, budgeting features, card controls and in-app help, or Starling’s stated UK human support and screenshot-assessment tool. These are listed features, not evidence of a guaranteed outcome or a head-to-head security advantage.
Keep the survey score in perspective
The 2026 survey gives Monzo a higher recommendation score than Starling, but the difference is a snapshot of surveyed customers’ reported likelihood to recommend. It applies to Great Britain, and should not be generalized to Northern Ireland or treated as a prediction of an individual customer’s experience.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
