6 Best Free Business Checking Accounts of February 2024

Two important things to consider when opening a business checking account are monthly maintenance fees and minimum deposit requirements. Many banks charge a monthly maintenance, or service, fee just for having an account. Meanwhile, some banks require an initial deposit in the thousands to open an account. Not all banks have these requirements, however.

Some banks don’t charge any monthly fees, or waive them if you meet certain requirements. There are also many accounts with low or no minimum deposits. These bank accounts can be especially valuable for new business owners who want to keep costs low.

If you’re looking to avoid fees, CNBC Select rounded up the best free business checking accounts available. We considered a range of factors like fees, business support, payment flexibility and more. (Read more about our methodology below.)

The Bluevine Business Checking account doesn’t place any limits on the number of transactions you can make and charges no monthly, minimum daily balances, non-sufficient fund fees, ACH transfer fees or overdraft fees. It stands out for offering a competitive interest rate for a checking account, as well as up to $3 million in FDIC insurance, well above the standard $250,000 coverage.

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The Novo Business Checking account offers a few special discounts that can help business owners run operations a bit more smoothly. It doesn’t charge monthly maintenance fees and doesn’t require a minimum initial deposit to open the account.

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The Found business checking account is designed for the self-employed, freelancers and independent contractors. It has no mandatory monthly fees or minimum opening deposit and offers useful built-in tax, invoicing and bookkeeping tools. While it allows for cash and check deposits, which isn’t always available with online banks, the limits for these types of deposits are relatively low.

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Mercury is a free banking platform that allows account holders to send free domestic and international USD wire transfers. Although checkbooks aren’t available, customers can send paper checks free of charge. There’s no minimum opening deposit requirement and accounts are FDIC-insured up to $5 million.

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Lili Basic Business Checking is a no-fee checking account that stands out for charging no foreign transaction fees. Account holders can also deposit cash at over 90,000 retail locations (up to $4.95 service fee per deposit), withdraw cash from over 38,000 fee-free ATMs and receive unlimited domestic wire transfers for no fee.

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Bluevine is a fintech company with banking services provided by Coastal Community Bank. The Bluevine Business Checking account lets account holders earn a 2.00% APY on balances up to $250,000 after meeting certain monthly activity goals, like spending $500 per month on your Bluevine Business Debit Mastercard® or receiving $2,500 per month in customer payments to your Bluevine checking account, while Bluevine Premier customers can earn as much as 4.25% on balances up to $3 million.

For those who do business globally, the Bluevine account lets you send payments internationally to 32 countries and in 15 different currencies for a $25 flat fee per international payment, plus a 1.5% surcharge when sending money in foreign currencies.

Bluevine also provides integrations that can help business owners manage operations more efficiently. For instance, account holders can deposit checks from their phones, sync their account with QuickBooks and create dedicated logins for employees to share access across their team.

Minimum deposit to open

$0

Minimum balance

$0

APY

2.0% APY to 4.25%, depending on your account tier

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Grasshopper is an online bank geared toward small businesses, startups and venture capital and private equity firms.

Its business checking account has a relatively small $100 minimum deposit requirement to open the account. The account offers 1.51% APY on balances up to $25,000 and on balances greater than $250,000. Balances of $25,000 to $250,000 earn 2.25% APY. Account holders earn unlimited 1% cash back on online and signature-based debit card purchases if they maintain an average monthly balance of $10,000 or more in their account.

Minimum deposit to open

$100

Minimum balance

$0

APY

1.51% to 2.25% APY, depending on your balance

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Novo is a digital fintech company that partners with Middlesex Federal Savings to offer banking services.

The Novo Business Checking account offers unlimited fee-free transactions with no overdraft fee. The account allows for easy integration with business tools like Stripe, Shopify, QuickBooks and Zero. Account holders can also use the mobile app to deposit money orders and checks.

Other perks include special discounts for services that can help you manage your business, including up to $3,000 in Google Cloud credits, $150 toward Google Ads, 40% off the first six months of QuickBooks Online and up to $20,000 in fee-free credit card transactions when you open your account and link it with Stripe.

Minimum deposit to open

$0

Minimum balance

$0

APY

None

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Found is a fintech company with banking services provided by Piermont Bank.

It offers a fee-free banking experience with no mandatory monthly maintenance fee, overdraft fees or minimum balance requirements. Notable perks include free built-in bookkeeping, invoicing and tax-planning tools, the ability to categorize your cash into different buckets and the option to connect popular business apps like Stripe and Quickbooks. For more advanced business tools, account holders can upgrade to a Found Plus account for $19.99 per month or $149.99 per year.

Although Found promotes unlimited transactions and free ACH transfers, there are limits on certain types of transactions, which might restrict businesses with larger cash flows. For instance, there is a $550 daily limit for ATM withdrawals, a $3,000 weekly limit for check deposits and a $2,000 weekly limit for cash deposits, with cash deposits capped at $4,000 every 30 days.

Minimum deposit to open

$0

Minimum balance

$0

APY

None

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Mercury offers a robust suite of financial products, with banking services provided in partnership with Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust. By spreading deposits across multiple banks, Mercury customers benefit from up to $5 million in FDIC insurance.

Its business checking account has no account minimums, overdraft fees, monthly fees or account opening fees. While there are no fees to send or receive domestic wires or USD international wires, one drawback may be that customers don’t have access to a fee-free ATM network. Mercury also doesn’t offer cash deposits.

Like many other business banking accounts, Mercury allows users to sync their accounts with various accounting and bookkeeping tools. Mercury also allows admins to add multiple users to their accounts and set controls, limits and permissions.

Minimum deposit to open

$0

Minimum balance

$0

APY

None; up to 5.46% APY for users of Mercury Treasury, the investment advising arm of Mercury

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Lili is a business banking platform that offers banking services through Choice Financial Group.

Its basic business checking account has no monthly maintenance fee, no minimum balance or deposit requirement, no foreign transaction fees and no fees at MoneyPass ATMs. All customers have access to basic features like a debit card and joint account access, but you’ll need to upgrade to a Lili Pro, Lili Smart or Lili Premium plan to unlock more advanced features, like fee-free overdraft protection up to $200 and access to expense management tools and reports.

While Lili doesn’t support outgoing wire transfers, one unique feature is the ability to link the accounts of up to four businesses to a single login. This makes it easier for entrepreneurs to keep track of multiple business bank accounts at once.

Minimum deposit to open

$0

Minimum balance

$0

APY

None; 4.15% APY for savings account balances

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Some business bank accounts can have hefty initial deposit requirements or monthly maintenance fees that may not be ideal for start-ups or businesses with limited cash flow. It can be advantageous to opt for a business bank account that has a $0 initial deposit requirement and low or no minimum balance to maintain. Monthly service fees can add up quickly and negate any benefits an account may offer.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every small business checking account review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of small business products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best free business checking accounts.

To determine which free business checking accounts offer the most convenience, CNBC Select analyzed dozens of U.S. business checking accounts offered nationwide by online banks as well as those with physical branches. We narrowed down our rankings by considering no-fee checking accounts or accounts with easy ways to waive the monthly maintenance fees.

We compared each checking account on a range of features, including:

• Fees
• Minimum balance requirement
• Mobile banking ease
• Small business tools and support
• Large ATM network
• Account accessibility
• Customer reviews, when available

All of the accounts included on this list are either members of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or FDIC-insured through partner institutions. This insurance protects and reimburses you up to your balance and the legal limit in the event your bank or credit union fails.

The rates and fee structures for checking accounts are subject to change without notice and often fluctuate according to the prime rate.

Your earnings depend on any associated fees and the balance you have in your checking account. To open an account, some banks and institutions may require a deposit of new money, meaning you can’t transfer money you already had in an account at that bank.

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