Banking · September 20, 2026
Best business bank accounts for LLCs (2026)
Open a business account before you mix client money with rent. These five options cover the LLC that wants $0 monthly fees — and the owner who still wants a branch.
By Gregory GreensteinUpdated September 20, 2026Affiliate disclosure
An LLC that invoices from a personal checking account is doing bookkeeping on hard mode. The first banking job is separation: a business-named account, cards for vendors, and a place payroll can debit. The second job is fees — monthly maintenance, wires, ACH, and the overdraft surprise.
Several products below are fintech apps that partner with banks. They are not themselves the FDIC. Deposit insurance, when it exists, is through partner banks and sweep programs under those banks’ terms. We are not a bank, and this is not a deposit advertisement. Read the partner-bank disclosures on each site.
We ranked for US LLCs and small teams under 50, not for venture-scale treasury. Public fee pages as of September 20, 2026: Mercury and several competitors advertise $0 monthly checking. Chase Business Complete Checking is the traditional branch option and uses activity-based fee waivers — confirm the current waiver math on chase.com.
The short list
Public list prices as of September 20, 2026. Promos change. Confirm on the vendor page before you buy.
| # | Product | Best for | Public starting price | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercury | LLCs and startups that want $0 monthly checking, free USD wires, and a modern admin | Business checking and savings: no required monthly fee on the standard offering. Paid software plans start at $35/month for advanced workflows (invoicing extras, NetSuite automations, broader reimbursements). | 8.4 |
| 2 | Relay | Owners who envelope-budget with many checking accounts and debit cards | Starter $0/month with a published cap on checking accounts and cards. Grow and Scale are paid tiers (publicly listed around $30 and $120/month; Scale is sometimes discounted on annual billing). Confirm relayfi.com. | 8.2 |
| 3 | Novo | Simple no-monthly-fee checking for a straightforward LLC | Novo advertises no monthly fees on business checking. Some extras (expedited ACH, integrations) can carry fees. Confirm novo.co. | 7.6 |
| 4 | Bluevine | LLCs that want checking plus a published APY if they meet activity rules | Standard checking $0/month with activity-based APY on published terms. Plus and Premier list monthly fees (around $30 and $95) that Bluevine describes as waivable with balances/spend. Confirm bluevine.com. | 7.5 |
| 5 | Chase Business Complete Checking | Owners who want a branch, cash deposits, and a bank their vendors already know | Chase publishes a monthly service fee on Business Complete Checking with waiver conditions (balances, payment activity, or other account relationships). Confirm the live fee schedule on chase.com — we will not quote a waiver number that changes by market. | 7.4 |
01
Mercury
LLCs and startups that want $0 monthly checking, free USD wires, and a modern admin
Public pricing: Business checking and savings: no required monthly fee on the standard offering. Paid software plans start at $35/month for advanced workflows (invoicing extras, NetSuite automations, broader reimbursements).
Mercury pricing and banking pages (mercury.com/pricing, mercury.com/business-banking), reviewed September 20, 2026. Mercury is a financial technology company; banking services are provided by partner banks.
Skip if
You need cash deposits at a neighborhood branch, or you want APY on operating cash as the main reason to bank. Look at Bluevine or a high-yield option, and keep a traditional bank if you deposit cash.
Why it ranks
- No monthly maintenance fee on core checking is the LLC default many founders actually want.
- Free ACH and free domestic / USD international wires on the published banking page — that is real money if you pay contractors.
- Multiple accounts and a clean admin for a two-founder LLC.
- Optional paid plan exists when invoicing and ERP workflows become the job; you are not forced into it to hold deposits.
Watch-outs
- Not a branch bank. Cash is not the product.
- Eligibility and industry restrictions apply. Read them before you apply.
- Treasury / APY is a different product than operating checking.
- As of 2026 Mercury has discussed a path toward a bank charter. That does not change your need to read today’s partner-bank disclosures.
02
Relay
Owners who envelope-budget with many checking accounts and debit cards
Public pricing: Starter $0/month with a published cap on checking accounts and cards. Grow and Scale are paid tiers (publicly listed around $30 and $120/month; Scale is sometimes discounted on annual billing). Confirm relayfi.com.
Relay public site and plan descriptions, reviewed September 20, 2026. Relay partners with a bank for deposits.
Skip if
You want one checking account and a branch. Relay is for operators who will actually use sub-accounts.
Why it ranks
- Up to 20 checking accounts on Starter is the feature: taxes, payroll, VAT-like buckets, owner pay.
- Debit cards per account make “who spent that” a shorter argument.
- ACH and a bookkeeping-friendly admin for a 5–25 person shop.
- Free starter tier is enough until you need approvals and more accounts.
Watch-outs
- If you will not open the extra accounts, you bought a philosophy, not a benefit.
- Paid tiers exist for a reason. Do not assume Starter includes every automation.
- Same fintech-plus-partner-bank model as the rest of this list.
- Cash deposits and local branch service are not why Relay exists.
03
Novo
Simple no-monthly-fee checking for a straightforward LLC
Public pricing: Novo advertises no monthly fees on business checking. Some extras (expedited ACH, integrations) can carry fees. Confirm novo.co.
Novo public banking pages, reviewed September 20, 2026. Deposits held at partner banks.
Skip if
You need lots of sub-accounts, international wires as a weekly habit, or a human at a branch.
Why it ranks
- Low-drama checking for a freelancer LLC that just needs a home for Stripe and client ACH.
- Integrations with the usual invoice and accounting tools.
- No monthly fee is the point.
- Onboarding is usually faster than a traditional bank appointment.
Watch-outs
- Less “treasury and 15 entities” than Mercury, less envelope structure than Relay.
- FDIC coverage follows the partner bank’s structure — read the current disclosure.
- Not the cash-deposit bank.
- If you outgrow simple checking, migrating is a weekend of vendor updates (payroll, Stripe, IRS).
04
Bluevine
LLCs that want checking plus a published APY if they meet activity rules
Public pricing: Standard checking $0/month with activity-based APY on published terms. Plus and Premier list monthly fees (around $30 and $95) that Bluevine describes as waivable with balances/spend. Confirm bluevine.com.
Bluevine public plan descriptions, reviewed September 20, 2026. APY is variable and conditioned. Not a rate guarantee.
Skip if
APY is not your decision driver and you already like Mercury or Relay’s workflow. Do not chase yield with money you need for payroll this Friday.
Why it ranks
- One of the few small-business checking products that leads with yield instead of only software.
- Standard plan can be $0 if you meet the stated activity.
- Useful as an operating account when cash sits for a quarter.
- Xero promos have appeared on Bluevine’s own comparison pages — treat those as vendor marketing.
Watch-outs
- APY rules, caps, and “waivable” fees are the whole contract. Read them.
- Yield is not a substitute for an operating buffer at a bank you can actually use.
- Partner-bank / fintech structure applies.
- Do not move tax withholdings into a yield product you do not understand.
05
Chase Business Complete Checking
Owners who want a branch, cash deposits, and a bank their vendors already know
Public pricing: Chase publishes a monthly service fee on Business Complete Checking with waiver conditions (balances, payment activity, or other account relationships). Confirm the live fee schedule on chase.com — we will not quote a waiver number that changes by market.
chase.com business checking pages, reviewed September 20, 2026. Traditional bank; FDIC-insured as a bank, subject to standard FDIC rules.
Skip if
You will never walk into a branch and you refuse monthly fees. The fintech $0 accounts above are built for you.
Why it ranks
- Cash, checks, and a human. That is still a real LLC job for retail and field businesses.
- Vendor and payroll counterparties recognize the routing number.
- Credit, merchant services, and a broader bank relationship if you later want them.
- Not a fintech wrapper. Some owners sleep better.
Watch-outs
- Monthly fees unless you hit the waiver. Read this quarter’s schedule.
- Wires and extra services are rarely free in the Mercury sense.
- Onboarding can mean a branch appointment and more documents.
- Software admin (sub-accounts, virtual cards) is weaker than Relay.
How we picked
The job is a business-named place to hold operating cash for an LLC or small team: monthly fees, ACH/wires, sub-accounts, and whether you can deposit cash. We scored public fee honesty and the operational admin, not teaser APYs. We included one traditional bank so this list is not only fintech. We are not ranking business credit cards as a substitute for checking.
Open the account, update Stripe, payroll, and the IRS/state where required, and stop mixing personal spend. That sequence matters more than which logo you pick among the $0-fee options.