Free accounts · Updated November 14, 2026

Free business bank accounts for an LLC, and what they still charge

Six accounts we checked charge an LLC no monthly fee: U.S. Bank Business Essentials, Bluevine, Relay, Novo, Found and Mercury.^{1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11} "Free" covers the monthly fee only: cash deposits, outgoing wires, paper checks and some ATMs can still cost money.

Checked twice on each provider's own fee pages

$0Monthly fee at all six accounts we list here^{2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11}

$4.95Most a Green Dot store charges per cash deposit for Bluevine or Relay customers^{4, 6}

$45Most Novo charges for an outgoing domestic wire⁸

1.3%APY on Bluevine's free plan, up to $250,000, in months with enough activity³

In short

U.S. Bank Business Essentials comes with branches in more than 25 states and needs $25 to open.²
Relay adds no fee of its own for cash at Allpoint+ ATMs, up to $1,000 per deposit.⁶
Found charges $2 per cash deposit and $15 per outgoing wire on its free plan.¹⁰
Mercury sends domestic wires and ACH transfers for free.¹¹
Novo pays back up to $7 a month of other banks' ATM fees, but pays no interest.^{7, 8}

The six accounts at a glance

Account	Cash deposits	Outgoing domestic wire	Other fees to know	Interest
U.S. Bank Business Essentials	25 units per cycle free (a unit is $100), then $0.35 per $100²	$30 online, $40 at a branch²	25 teller or paper-check transactions per cycle, then $0.50 each²	Not shown
Bluevine Standard	$4.95 at Green Dot stores; $1 plus 0.5% at Allpoint+ ATMs⁴	Up to $15³	$1.50 per check sent; $2.50 at ATMs outside the MoneyPass network³	1.3% APY up to $250,000 with monthly activity³
Relay Starter	No Relay fee at Allpoint+ ATMs; Green Dot stores charge up to $4.95⁶	Not listed on the pricing page	Not listed on the pricing page	1.19% APY on savings, as of September 17, 2026⁵
Novo	Not shown	Up to $45⁸	Express ACH 1.5% (from $0.50 to $20); no Novo ATM fee^{8, 7}	0% APY⁸
Found	$2 per deposit¹⁰	$15¹⁰	$1 per check sent; $10 after 12 months without activity¹⁰	Only on paid plans: 1.50% APY up to $20,000 on Plus, $35 a month⁹
Mercury	Not shown	Free¹¹	1% conversion fee on wires sent abroad in other currencies¹¹	Not shown

Read on November 14, 2026, then checked a second time. "Not shown" means the provider's pages we read do not publish it.

What "free" leaves out

Cash

U.S. Bank counts cash in units of $100 and includes 25 units per statement cycle, then charges $0.35 per $100; a deposit under $150 counts as one unit.² Bluevine charges $4.95 per deposit at Green Dot stores, or $1 plus 0.5% at Allpoint+ ATMs, and caps cash at $7,500 per 30 days.⁴ Relay adds no fee at Allpoint+ ATMs, where each deposit can be up to $1,000.⁶ At Green Dot stores, Relay customers pay the store's fee of up to $4.95.⁶ Found charges $2 per cash deposit.¹⁰ We found no cash deposit option on the Novo and Mercury pages we read.

Wires

Mercury sends domestic wires for free.¹¹ Bluevine charges up to $15 per outgoing wire and Found $15.^{3, 10} U.S. Bank charges $30 for a wire sent online and $40 at a branch, and Novo up to $45.^{2, 8} Relay's pricing page does not list a per-wire fee.

Checks, ATMs and quiet months

Bluevine charges $1.50 for each check it mails for you and $2.50 at ATMs outside the MoneyPass network.³ Found charges $1 per check and nothing of its own for debit card ATM withdrawals.¹⁰ Novo charges no ATM fee and pays back up to $7 a month of other operators' fees.⁷ Found also charges $10 if the account sits unused for 12 months.¹⁰ U.S. Bank closes a Business Essentials account after four months with a zero balance and no deposits or withdrawals.²

Free at a big bank: the balance route

Chase Business Complete Banking and Wells Fargo Initiate Business Checking both charge $15 a month, and both waive it if you keep a $2,000 minimum daily balance.^{12, 13} Wells Fargo also waives it with a $5,000 average combined business deposit balance.¹³ Each includes $5,000 of cash deposits per statement period without a cash fee, at a Chase branch or at Wells Fargo.^{12, 13} If your LLC can keep that balance, these accounts cost nothing a month and bring branch cash deposits.

Interest on a free account

Bluevine's free Standard plan pays 1.3% APY on up to $250,000 in months when you spend $500 with its debit card or receive $2,500 in customer payments.³ Relay's free Starter plan paid 1.19% APY on savings as of September 17, 2026, and the rate is variable.⁵ Novo's fee schedule shows a 0% APY.⁸ Found pays interest only on paid plans: 1.50% APY on balances up to $20,000 with Plus, which costs $35 a month.⁹

Which free account fits which LLC

You deposit cash often. Compare U.S. Bank's 25 free cash units per cycle with Relay's fee-free Allpoint+ deposits.^{2, 6}
You pay suppliers by wire. Mercury's domestic wires are free; at the other five, check the wire fee first.¹¹
You keep a cash cushion. Bluevine pays interest on checking if you meet its monthly activity rule.³
You want a branch. U.S. Bank Business Essentials has no monthly fee; Chase and Wells Fargo cost nothing a month only if you keep $2,000 in the account.^{2, 12, 13}

Before you open any of them, check what the bank will ask your LLC for. Our guide to opening a business bank account for an LLC lists the documents and the steps.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a truly free business bank account for an LLC?

Six accounts we checked have no monthly fee, and five of them, all except U.S. Bank, also state that there is no minimum balance.^{2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 11} Each one still charges for some services, such as wires, cash deposits or checks, so the cheapest one depends on how your LLC uses the account.

Can I deposit cash into a free online business account?

At Bluevine, Relay and Found, yes, through stores, partner ATMs or for a set fee.^{4, 6, 10} We found no cash deposit option on the Novo and Mercury pages we read.

Do I need money to open a free account?

U.S. Bank Business Essentials needs $25 to open.² Novo recommends an initial deposit of $1,000, but its minimum balance is $0.⁸

Is money in a free fintech account FDIC insured?

Only through the partner banks. The FDIC says "nonbank companies themselves are never FDIC-insured," so the cover applies if a partner bank fails, not if the app's company does.¹⁴ Bluevine and Relay state cover of up to $3 million, Novo up to $5 million and Found up to $250,000.^{3, 5, 7, 9}

How we compared

On November 14, 2026 we read each provider's account page, pricing page and fee schedule, and checked every figure a second time. We included the accounts with no monthly fee from the eight providers in our LLC bank account comparison. We have not opened accounts with these providers, and we do not rate customer service.

We use AI tools to help research and draft our pages.

This page is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Business Bank Account for LLC is not a bank and is not affiliated with the companies listed.