Revolut vs Monzo – which is best?

Digital banks don't have branches, can be set up via an app and allow you to manage your money on the go. There are a host of digital banks on the market, which we compare in our article, 'The best app-only bank in the UK' and in this article, we compare two of the leading digital banks Revolut and Monzo. To see how Revolut compares to Starling Bank, read our Revolut vs Starling comparison.

If you want to jump to key sections of this Monzo vs Revolut comparison, you can do so using the following links:

• Accounts
• Fees
• Spending abroad
• FSCS protection
• Customer Reviews
• Summary

Revolut vs Monzo - Which is best?

	Revolut	Monzo
UK registered bank account	No^	Yes
FSCS protection	No	Yes
Personal Account	Yes	Yes
Business Account	Yes	Yes
Direct debit/Standing order	Yes	Yes
Overdraft	No	Yes
Personal loan	No	Yes
Money management features	Yes	Yes
Round-up spending	Yes	Yes
Fee-free spending abroad	Free up to £1,000/month	FREE
Fee-free cash withdrawals abroad and in the UK	Free up to £200/month	Free up to £200/month outside EEA Free up to £400/month in UK/EEA
Cash/cheque deposits	No	Yes
Access to an interest-earning savings account	Yes	Yes
Connect other bank accounts to the app	Yes	Monzo Extra/Perks/Max feature
Apple Pay/Google Pay	Yes	Yes
Insurance policies	Yes	Monzo Max feature
Invest in digital currencies	Yes	No

^Revolut received its UK banking license in July 2024, but until it completes a mobilisation stage, it will hold its customers' money within e-money accounts where funds will be safeguarded rather than FSCS-protected. 

Revolut and Monzo are very similar in their setup and design and both offer a host of money management and budgeting features so you can get the most out of your money each month. Round-ups allow you to save as you spend and easily save for goals in pots that are separate from your main account balance.

You can also earn interest on your savings with both Revolut and Monzo. With Revolut you can do this via a savings vault, and depending on the Revolut plan, you can earn up to 4.75% interest. With Monzo you can open a savings account with one of its partner banks and earn up to 4.80% interest depending on the account you open. Monzo has a choice between easy access and fixed-rate accounts and the longer you choose to put your money away, the higher the interest rate you can achieve.

If you want to deposit cash or cheques into your account, Monzo would be a better option as Revolut does not accept cash or cheque deposits.

Monzo charges £1 for each cash deposit into a PayPoint and you can deposit a maximum of £300 at any one time with a cash deposit limit of £1,000 every 180 rolling days. If you want to deposit a cheque into your Monzo account you can only do this via post. At present you have the option to invest in stocks or cryptocurrencies with Revolut and Monzo has recently announced it is launching Monzo Investments where existing Monzo customers can invest from £1 a month. Read our Revolut review and Monzo review for a more detailed insight.

Revolut vs Monzo - Accounts

	Revolut	Monzo
Personal account	Yes	Yes
Joint account	No	Yes
Business account	Yes	Yes
Teen Account	No	Yes (16 & 17 year-olds)
Kids Account	Yes (6 - 17 year olds)	No
Multi-currency Account	Yes	No

Both Revolut and Monzo have a number of different accounts to choose from but Revolut does not currently offer a joint account, so if this is something that you are interested in, Monzo would be the better choice. If you have a Revolut standard plan you can get access to a free Revolut <18 account which allows your child to manage their pocket money via the Revolut <18 app. If you have more than one child, you can get access to more accounts with the Revolut premium subscriptions. Monzo does not offer an account for children, but it does have a Teen account which is the same as a Monzo current account but with age-restricted spending and no access to an overdraft.

Both Revolut and Monzo have monthly subscription plans that unlock additional benefits. With Revolut you can choose to upgrade to a Revolut Plus (£3.99 per month), Premium (£7.99 per month), Metal account (£14.99 per month) or Ultra account (£45 a month) and Monzo has Monzo Extra (£3 per month),  Monzo Perks (£7 per month) and Monzo Max (£17 per month) account. More information on the subscription plans can be found in our Revolut and Monzo reviews.

Revolut vs Monzo - Fees

	Revolut	Monzo
Monthly account fee	£0	£0
Subscription accounts	£3.99/£7.99/£14.99/£45 per month	£3/£7/£17 per month
Fee-free spending abroad	Free up to £1,000/month then up to 1% fee	No charge
ATM withdrawals abroad	2% fee (min £1) over 5 withdrawals or £200/month whichever comes first	Free up to £200/month outside EEA (3% thereafter) Free up to £400/month inside EEA (3% thereafter)
ATM withdrawals in the UK	2% fee (min £1) over 5 withdrawals or £200/month whichever comes first	Free up to £400/month (3% thereafter)
International Transfers	Varies depending on the currency. You can calculate the exact fee here	Send an international money transfer via Wise*, fee information can be found here
Overdraft interest rate	No overdraft facility	19%, 29% or 39% AER
Depositing cash	First £100 is free, then a 1.5% fee applies	£1 per deposit (limited free cash deposits for Monzo Perks and Max users)
Replacement debit cards	£5 plus delivery fee	2 free replacements then £5 thereafter in the UK £30 fee if lost abroad

When it comes to spending abroad, Monzo works out cheaper than Revolut as there are no restrictions on its fee-free spending abroad. Monzo also offer competitive international transfers through its partnership with Wise*; you can read our independent Wise review here. However, if you want to withdraw lots of cash abroad, Revolut can work out cheaper as it charges a 2% once you've exhausted its £200 per month fee-free limit compared to Monzo's 3%. Monzo allows you to spend up to £400 fee-free in a European Economic Area (EEA). Some of the allowances and fees do, however vary depending on the account or plan you have with Monzo or Revolut.

Revolut vs Monzo - Spending abroad

	Revolut	Monzo
Fee-free spending abroad	Free up to £1,000/month	No charge
ATM withdrawals abroad	2% fee (min £1) over 5 withdrawals or £200/month whichever comes first	Free up to £200/month outside EEA (3% thereafter) Free up to £400/month inside EEA (3% thereafter)
Exchange rate	Revolut exchange rate	Mastercard

Revolut and Monzo are very similar when it comes to spending abroad. If you don't need to withdraw cash, Monzo is cheaper than Revolut as it has no restrictions on transactions when abroad. When it comes to cash withdrawals Monzo and Revolut are like for like when spending within the fee-free limit. If you exceed this, Revolut comes in cheaper with a 2% fee compared to 3% with Monzo. Up until 31st December 2024 you can sign up to a Revolut Premium 3 month trial* and get an exclusive personalised premium card (T&Cs apply).

Revolut uses its own 'real-time' exchange rate when exchanging money abroad compared to the Mastercard rate that Monzo uses. The rates are very similar and can vary. If you want to compare rates you can do so here:

• Revolut exchange rate
• Mastercard exchange rate

Revolut vs Monzo - FSCS protection

	Revolut	Monzo
UK registered bank account	No	Yes
FSCS protection	No	Yes

Monzo is a UK-registered bank account which means that deposits up to £85,000 are protected by the FSCS. While Revolut now has a banking licence, its customers' money will be held in an e-money account until it completes the mobilisation state. This means that your money won't be protected by the FSCS for the time being, but your deposits will be safeguarded instead.

Revolut vs Monzo - Rewards

	Revolut	Monzo
Cashback	Opportunity to earn up to 10% cashback on accommodation with Revolut Stays	Earn between 2% to 10% cashback with selected retailers when you active offers via the app
Rewards	Benefit from cashback and rewards when you shop with certain retailers using your Revolut card	Access to rewards with a Monzo Perks or Monzo Max account
Insurance	Access to insurance benefits with Premium plans	Access to insurance benefits with Monzo Max accounts

When it comes to cashback and rewards Revolut has a greater range of offers on the Revolut app that are available to all plan holders, including those on the free Standard plan. Monzo recently introduced cashback offers at selected retailers which can be activated via the app. Monzo users can also access rewards if they are signed up to a Monzo Perks or Monzo Max account which comes with an additional monthly subscription fee.

Both Revolut and Monzo offer insurance products to subscription customers, excluding Revolut pet insurance which is available for anyone who has a Revolut account. Monzo Max gives customers access to worldwide travel insurance, phone insurance, and breakdown cover while Revolut Premium, Metal and Ultra customers can access worldwide medical insurance as well as lost, damaged or delayed luggage insurance. Revolut Metal and Ultra plan holders can also benefit from car hire excess insurance and personal liability insurance while Ultra plan holders can get Trip and event cancellation insurance.

Revolut vs Monzo - Savings

	Revolut	Monzo
Savings pots	Yes	Yes
Round up spending	Yes	Yes
Saving account	Yes	Yes
Interest rate	Between 2.12% - 4.75% depending on the Revolut plan	Between 3.70 - 4.80% with savings providers partnered with Monzo

You can save into pockets and pots with Revolut and Monzo which are separate spaces within your main Revolut or Monzo account. These spaces mean you can save towards goals made easier with help from round-up spending which saves your spare change on all transactions in your account. If you wish to earn interest on your savings you can open a Savings Vault with Revolut or a separate saving account within the Monzo app.

Revolut vs Monzo - Lending

	Revolut	Monzo
Overdraft	No	Yes
Personal loans	No	Yes
Business loans	No	No
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL)	No	Yes

Revolut does not currently offer loans to users in the UK which means that opening a Revolut account does not affect your credit score. If you are a Monzo account holder you can apply for an overdraft or personal loan. Monzo's overdraft allows you to borrow up to £2,000 with a variable interest rate of 19%, 29% or 39% EAR, depending on your credit score.

If you want to apply for a personal loan you may be able to borrow up to £25,000. You can see how much you are able to borrow by applying via the Monzo app. Applying for credit with Monzo is likely to affect your credit score and Monzo reports to all three credit reference agencies, meaning Monzo is likely to show up on your credit report. Exactly what is reported can be found here.

Monzo also introduced Monzo Flex which is Monzo's take on Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL). With Monzo Flex you can spread the cost of any payment over a period of 3, 6 or 12 months. For more information on Monzo Flex and how it works read our 'Monzo Flex review'.

Revolut vs Monzo - Investing

	Revolut	Monzo
Stocks and Shares ISA	No	Yes
General Investment Account (GIA)	Yes	Yes
Individual stocks	Yes	No
Cryptocurrencies	Yes	No

Both Revolut and Monzo offer their customers the opportunity to invest via the app.

Monzo recently introduced its investments feature where users can select from three funds based on the level of risk they're comfortable with. The three funds include:

• The 'Careful' fund - 80% of funds are allocated to bonds and 20% are invested in shares.
• The 'Balanced' fund - 34% of funds are allocated to bonds and 66% end up in shares.
• The 'Adventurous' fund - 100% of funds are allocated to shares.

Investors pay 0.59% in fees, comprising a 0.14% fund fee and 0.45% platform fee. Monzo Perks and Max members pay a lower platform fee of 0.35%.

Revolut's investing options are better suited to investors who want to buy individual stocks or invest in alternative assets such as crypto. Unlike Monzo, Revolut doesn't offer managed funds. It doesn't support ISAs or SIPPs either. Instead, app users can choose from more than 2,000 stocks in companies like Apple and Tesla.

Fees vary depending on your plan. Users on the free plan get one commission-free trade per month, while those on paid plans get up to 10 commission-free trades per month. Outside of those allowances, there is a 0.25% fee based on the order amount. There is also a 0.12% annual custody fee charged by the third-party broker.

Revolut also offers free investing courses and quizzes to help would-be investors gain knowledge.

Revolut vs Monzo - Customer reviews

	Revolut	Monzo
Trustpilot rating	4.1/5	4.1/5

Revolut has a Trustpilot rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars from over 150,000 reviews. Monzo has a rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars from over 35,000 reviews.

74% of the 150,000 users have rated Revolut as 'Excellent' with customers commenting on good customer service and a good exchange rate. 11% of customers have rated it as 'Bad' and some customers have complained of issues with their accounts being restricted due to regulatory checks.

77% of customers that have reviewed Monzo rate it as 'Excellent' and many say that it is easy to keep track of your money, has great banking features and very easy to use when spending abroad. 14% of reviewers have rated it as 'Bad' with some commenting on the additional charges for depositing cash and the limits on withdrawing money.

Revolut vs Monzo - Summary

Revolut and Monzo are very similar in the features that they offer to customers. The biggest drawback with Revolut is until it undergoes the mobilisation stage of the bank licensing process, the money is held in an e-money account and does not benefit from FSCS protection. But given that now Revolut has its banking license, this drawback should be rectified soon.

If you want to use Revolut and Monzo abroad, there is little difference between the two. However, Monzo doesn't enforce fee-free limits when spending abroad whereas Revolut charges a fee of 1% or 0.5% for Standard or Plus users once you exceed the £1,000 or £3,000 fee-free limit.

If you want to withdraw cash abroad, both Revolut and Monzo have restrictions on fee-free cash withdrawals but Revolut is cheaper if you exceed the limit, only charging 2% per transaction compared to Monzo's 3%. This limit is increased if you sign up for a paid plan with Revolut or Monzo.

The other difference between the two is the exchange rate that they use when spending abroad. Revolut uses its own real-time exchange rate while Monzo uses the Mastercard rate. More information on spending abroad with both cards can be found above in the 'Revolut vs Monzo - spending abroad' section.

Ultimately, Monzo is likely to be the better option if you want a UK current account with protection via the FSCS. Revolut is an excellent alternative, however, particularly useful if you are heading abroad.

 

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