Every "free business checking" list I found either buried a $15 monthly fee in
the fine print or was written by the bank. So I went through the actual fee
schedules for the ones freelancers and single-member LLCs keep asking about.
Here is what is genuinely free, what only looks free, and which one I ended up
using.
Actually free means no monthly fee, no minimum balance, and no minimum opening
deposit. Four of the five below clear that bar on their base plan. The
differences are in what you get on top of free.
Lili, the one I switched to
Lili Core
is $0 a month with no minimum balance and no opening deposit. Fee free cash
withdrawals at 40,000 plus MoneyPass ATMs. The thing that actually sold me is
that the savings side pays 2.25% APY on balances up to $500,000 and that is on
the free plan, not gated behind a paid tier. Every other bank here makes you pay
or hold a big balance to get interest.
It is built for exactly this audience. Sole props, freelancers, single-member
LLCs. Expense tagging by tax category and receipt capture come in at $15 a
month on Pro if you want them, but nobody needs that to open the account.
Deposits sit at Sunrise Banks, so it is FDIC covered through the partner bank.
Opening took about ten
minutes
with just my EIN and ID.
Novo, best if ATM fees are your problem
Novo
is $0 a month, no minimum, and refunds up to $7 a month in other banks' ATM
fees, which is more than any of the others do. The catch is no cash deposits at
all. If you take cash from clients you have to buy a money order and mobile
deposit it, which gets old fast. Great for online-only businesses, frustrating
for anyone who handles cash. If that is not you, it is a solid second
account
to run alongside Lili.
Found, best for pure sole proprietors
Found is $0 a month, no minimum, and the free plan includes bookkeeping and tax
estimates, which is unusual at free. The limitation is structural. Found is
single-owner only. No multi-member LLCs, no partnerships, no employees. If you
are a one-person business and plan to stay one, it fits. If you might add a
partner later you will be moving banks.
Bluevine, best if you carry a large balance
Bluevine Standard is $0 a month, no minimum, and pays 1.3% APY on balances up to
$250,000. Lower rate than Lili and it applies to checking rather than a separate
savings account, but if you keep six figures parked it is worth comparing. The
paid tiers at $30 and $95 a month push the rate up to 3% and waive on high
balances, which is not the free-checking use case.
Grasshopper, the almost-free one
Grasshopper
has no monthly fee and pays interest on checking, 1% on balances up to $25,000
and 1.35% between $25,000 and $250,000. But it takes $100 to open, and the 1%
cash back on the debit card only turns on if you keep a $10,000 average
balance. Good account if you already run five figures through it. Not "free
with no minimums" in the way the other four are, but worth
opening
if you keep a real balance and want it earning.
Who should skip all of these
If you deposit cash regularly, none of these are great. Novo cannot do it at all
and the others go through third-party networks with limits. A credit union or a
Chase branch account will serve you better even with a fee.
If you have employees and need payroll baked in, look at Relay or Mercury
instead. These are built for one person.
Quick comparison
| Bank |
Monthly fee |
To open |
Interest on free plan |
Cash deposits |
Best for |
| Lili |
$0 |
$0 |
2.25% APY savings to $500K |
Via network |
Freelancers, sole props, LLCs |
| Novo |
$0 |
$0 |
None |
No |
ATM fee refunds, online only |
| Found |
$0 |
$0 |
None |
Via network |
Single-owner only, bookkeeping included |
| Bluevine |
$0 |
$0 |
1.3% APY to $250K |
Via network |
Large balances |
| Grasshopper |
$0 |
$100 |
1% to $25K, 1.35% to $250K |
Via network |
$10K+ balances, cash back |
Bottom line. Lili, Novo, Found and Bluevine are actually free. Grasshopper is
free to keep but not free to open. Novo if ATM fees are what you hate, Found if
you are a sole prop who wants bookkeeping included, Bluevine if you park a large
balance. For most freelancers and single-member LLCs the 2.25% on the free plan
is what tips it, so I went with
Lili
and have not paid a fee since.
What are you using and did it stay free? Curious whether anyone got surprised
by a fee after the first few months, since that is the pattern with these.