The 6 best free business checking accounts of July 2026

When opening a business checking account, it's important to consider monthly maintenance fees and minimum deposit and balance requirements.

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

Who's this for? The Bluevine Business Checking account 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.

Standout benefits: This 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.

Who's this for? The Novo Business Checking account offers a few special discounts to help you run operations a bit more smoothly. The account allows for easy integration with business tools like Stripe, Shopify, QuickBooks® and Zero.

Standout benefits: The Novo Business Checking account doesn't charge monthly maintenance fees and doesn't require a minimum initial deposit to open the account. You can also use the mobile app to deposit money orders and checks.

Who's this for? The Found business checking account is designed for the self-employed, freelancers and independent contractors. It charges no mandatory monthly fees* and doesn't require a minimum opening deposit. Found also offers useful built-in tax, invoicing and bookkeeping tools. While it allows for in-person cash and check deposits, which isn't always available with online banks, the limits for these types of deposits are relatively low.

Standout benefits: Found offers a base version with a ton of functionality. The base version has no mandatory monthly maintenance fee, overdraft fees or minimum balance requirements.

Who's this for? The Grasshopper Business Checking account is an interest-bearing checking account with no monthly fees, balance minimums or overdraft fees. It incentivizes debit card use by offering 1% cash back on qualifying purchases.

Standout benefits: The 1% cash back on qualifying purchases with your debit card is a nice perk (what business doesn't need extra money?). But to participate in the cash-back program you have to maintain an average monthly balance of at least $10,000 in the account. For some businesses that won't be an issue, but if your business is more of a freelance gig, that could be a serious impediment.

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

Standout benefits: Mercury allows account admins to add multiple users to their accounts while also setting controls, limits and permissions around spending.

Who's this for? Lili Basic Business Checking is a no-fee checking account that stands out for charging no foreign transaction fees. You 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.

Standout benefits: Users can link up to four business accounts to a single login.

You can open a business checking account online or in-person if your bank, credit union or provider offers in-person branches. You'll need to fill out a form and provide information like your legal name, your contact information and address, business's name and EIN or Social Security Number. You may also ask need to provide formation documentation.

If you're opening an account with a required deposit minimum, you may have to move funds into the account upon opening so pay attention to terms like these and be prepared to fund your account.

When comparing business checking accounts, consider the following factors:

• Required minimum balances: Some accounts require a minimum deposit to open and a minimum daily balance to maintain. If you drop below that minimum, you may have to pay a fee. Some of the best accounts don't have a required minimum so you can actually use more of your hard-earned money.
• Debit card and ATM access: Some accounts offer virtual debit cards in place of physical ones. Some offer both. Be sure to figure out if you can withdraw cash from ATMs with low or no fees or if you can get the fees reimbursed.
• Rewards: Accounts may offer small perks like interest payments or sign-up bonuses but it isn't super common. It's a nice perk for signing up but isn't always the most important thing when choosing an account. You may also be able to access perks in the form of business software discounts or credits to use toward online services for your business.
• Fees: Be aware of any fees you may have to pay to maintain and use the account.
• Tools and integrations: It's helpful to have an account that syncs to payment platforms and accounting tools so your transactions can be tracked automatically — this makes it easier for you to stay organized come tax time and it reduces the likelihood for error. Built-in invoicing is also a helpful tool so you can create and send professional looking invoices to clients and customers.

Opening a business bank account may seem like yet another task on the laundry list of to-dos when launching a business, but it can provide a huge advantage in several ways.

• It keeps your business finances separate from your personal ones. Having a separate account for business transactions allows you to track and manage all your income and expenses in one place, which is very important come tax time. This way, you don't have to comb through thousands of transactions in your personal account just to identify the ones linked to your business.
• You can take advantage of perks relevant to your business. Many business banking products give you offers for related products whether it may be a discount on a payroll service or credits for business management tools.
• It may be a requirement when applying for business credit cards or loans. Some loan lenders and credit card issuers may require you to submit business banking information when you apply for a loan or credit card for your business. The business bank account lets you meet that requirement and further legitimizes your business, even if it's not a hard and fast requirement.

Opening a business bank account won't affect your credit score. A bank account isn't a form of credit, so there's no need for issuers to run a hard inquiry into your credit history to qualify you for a bank account.

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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Found is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by Lead Bank, Member FDIC. The funds in your account are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor for each account ownership category. FDIC insurance only covers the failure of an FDIC-insured depository institution. The Found Mastercard Business debit card is issued by Lead Bank pursuant to a license from Mastercard Inc. and may be used everywhere Mastercard debit cards are accepted. *Optional subscriptions to Found Plus for $35/month or $315/year or Found Pro for $80/month or $720/year. Discount rates may apply. There are no monthly account maintenance fees, but other fees such as transactional fees for wires, instant transfers, and ATM apply. Read Found Fee Schedule **Direct deposit funds may be available for up to two days before the scheduled payment date. Early availability is not guaranteed. ***Found Plus subscribers (for $35/month or $315/year) earn 1.50% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) on balances up to $20K. Found Pro subscribers (for $80/month or $720/year) earn 2.50% APY on all balances, with no cap.