Business Account Comparison
Big-5 and fintech business accounts priced on your usage, transactions, e-Transfers and balance, with sole-prop and corporation views. Built for the freelancers using the rate and HST tools.
Your monthly cost by account, and what makes it up
Base fee (after any balance waiver) plus per-item overages, minus interest earned on your balance: the total is the net monthly cost each account is ranked on, never referral commissions.
The accounts, cheapest first for you
Advertiser disclosure: some links on this page may earn this site a referral commission, at no cost to you. Rankings and math never depend on commissions, see how this site makes money.
Tap any account for its full fee breakdown on your usage, deposit protection and how to open it. The two figures on each card are your all-in monthly cost and the plan's base fee. Accounts that can't send the Interac e-Transfers you entered are listed last, greyed out and left out of the ranking.
How this is calculated
Your monthly cost = base fee (0 if your balance meets the waiver) + max(0, transactions − included) × per-item fee + max(0, e-Transfers − included) × per-e-Transfer fee + one-time setup fee ÷ 12 − balance × interest rate ÷ 12. Accounts with unlimited electronic transactions never accrue overages. A negative cost means the account pays you more interest than it charges, shown as "earns" on the card.
One-time setup fees (for example Wise's) are spread across the first 12 months so the per-month figure is comparable; after year one that cost is gone.
e-Transfer honesty: some accounts (Wise) can't send Interac e-Transfers, only EFT and wires. When you enter any e-Transfers per month, those accounts are pulled out of the ranking and verdict and listed last, greyed out, with the reason, ranking them on a feature you'd use but they don't have would mislead. Set e-Transfers to 0 to compare them.
The cost chart splits each ranked account's monthly cost into the same parts as the formula above: base fee, setup fee ÷ 12, transaction overage and e-Transfer overage to the right of zero, and interest earned to the left of it, as a credit. The parts add up to the net cost the ranking uses, so an account that pays you more in interest than it charges plots below zero rather than at $0. Accounts left out of the ranking are left out of the chart too.
Deposit protection: each card shows whether the provider is a direct CDIC member or a fintech whose funds are safeguarded at a partner institution (a different protection model). If your balance is above CDIC's $100,000 coverage limit at a non-CDIC provider, the card carries a warning badge. Even at a CDIC member bank, coverage is $100,000 per depositor at each institution, and a sole proprietorship is not a separate depositor: CDIC adds its deposits to the owner's personal deposits in their own name at the same bank, under that one limit. A corporation is a separate depositor.
Interest marked ~ is a variable or promotional rate that can change or be capped. The tool applies the advertised rate to your whole average balance; where a provider pays it only up to a balance cap, your real interest is lower. Turn on Exclude interest for a conservative ranking on fees alone.
What this doesn't model: paper/branch transaction fees, cash deposit fees, wire and FX costs (big for Wise/Loop users, that's their whole value), monthly plan tiers above the entry plan, and welcome offers.
Business banking FAQ
Does a sole prop need a business account?
Legally you can use a personal account under your own name, but separate banking makes CRA bookkeeping, GST/HST tracking and audit defence far cleaner, and it's effectively required once you register a trade name. Corporations must keep it separate.
Are fintech business accounts safe?
They aren't banks: funds are safeguarded at regulated partner institutions, a different model than direct CDIC membership. Check each provider's safeguarding page, especially above $100,000.
What do transactions cost at a big bank?
Pay-per-item plans run ~$1.25/transaction and ~$1.50/e-Transfer. At 30 + 15 a month that's $50+/mo, why flat electronic-unlimited plans usually win for digital businesses.
Which accounts work without incorporation?
Every account here is open to sole proprietors and corporations, including the fintechs Wise, Float, Loop and Venn (formerly Vault). In Quebec, Loop doesn't take sole props and Venn isn't available at all.