9 Best Bank Accounts for Self-employed Professionals in 2023

The best bank accounts for self-employed professionals and freelancers should offer free or low-cost business checking. This account should have limited fees, easy access through phone and web-based applications, and great software integrations to help small business owners send and receive payments through popular payment applications.

Banks that provide these accounts should have products and services to help small businesses with limited employees grow and compete against larger businesses. Many of these top providers also allow cash deposits and withdrawals for businesses dealing with cash payments regularly.

Here are the nine best bank accounts for self-employed professionals, with links directly to the provider websites:

• Bluevine*: Best overall for self-employed with a high-interest yield checking and international payments
• Lili*: Best for new freelancers needing digital tax preparation assistance
• Novo*: Best digital-only bank for rapid access to funds and faster payments
• Bank of America: Best for self-employed individuals seeking a traditional bank
• Found*: Best for freelancers looking for detailed expense tracking
• Grasshopper: Best digital-only bank for high-yield checking and integrated free payment software
• Chase: Best for small business banking tools and premium checking
• Oxygen*: Best digital-only provider for cash back on debit card purchases
• First Internet Bank: Best for freelancers wanting a full-service digital-only bank

*Providers are financial technology (fintech) platforms backed by and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)-insured through a supporting bank partnership (Coastal Community Bank for Bluevine, Choice Financial Group, Inc. for Lili, Middlesex Federal Savings for Novo, Piermont Bank for Found, and The Bancorp Bank for Oxygen).

Best Bank Accounts for Self-employed Professionals at a Glance

Bluevine: Overall Best for Self-employed With High-interest Yield Checking & International Payments

When To Use Bluevine

For freelancers and self-employed business owners looking to earn interest from a business checking account, Bluevine is an excellent choice. You can earn 2.0% APY on balances of $250,000 or less if you spend $500 a month on Bluevine’s debit card or receive $2,500 in customer payments in a month.

In addition, Bluevine now allows you to send international payments for your business. You can send payments to 32 countries in 14 currencies directly from your Bluevine dashboard. Payments are sent out between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET and can be received in as fast as 24 hours.

Payments sent in United States dollars (USD) cost $25 per payment, whereas payments sent in other currencies cost $25 plus 1.5% of the payment amount. See Bluevine’s list of countries available for international payments.

Bluevine is a digital-only bank with no monthly fees, minimum balance requirements, or monthly transaction limits. In addition, it has the best business line of credit on the market. When your business grows to the point where you might need a line of credit, it can provide that, which is why it’s one of the leading banks for small business loans.

If you need to write checks, it offers a great perk—two free checkbook orders annually. It also has great software integrations with accounting and payment software. Moreover, wire transfers are relatively inexpensive, with outgoing wires costing $15.

Bluevine also offers up to five subaccounts. This allows freelancers to separate their finances, including potential tax reserves, into a reserve account. Funds held across all accounts are eligible to earn interest if criteria are met.

One of the few drawbacks to Bluevine is the cost of cash deposits. You must make cash deposits at Green Dot retail locations, which cost $4.95 per transaction. Bluevine also charges $2.50 for out-of-network ATM withdrawals in addition to third-party fees.

If you are a freelance business that deposits cash regularly, you may want to consider a bank with a physical location, such as Bank of America.

Lili: Best for New Freelancers That Need Digital Tax Preparation Assistance

When To Use Lili

Lili works well for new freelancers because it offers an outstanding business checking product along with a robust tax optimizer inside the app.

If you upgrade from Lili Basic, the free checking product, to Lili Pro, you gain access to the tax optimizer to track potential write-offs. You will also get a tax bucket to set aside funds, scan receipts, complete your Schedule C within the app, and produce quarterly and annual expense reports.

Lili Pro costs $9 a month. It includes 1% cash back rewards, fee-free overdrafts up to $200, a savings account with 4.15% APY on balances of $100,000 or less, and the ability to create and send unlimited invoices. Both Basic and Pro accounts provide you with a debit card, the option to get paid faster with direct deposit two days early, built-in expense tracking, and no hidden fees.

You can now access your Lili account via browser login in addition to the Lili app. Lili also now allows multimember limited liability companies (LLCs), S corporations (S-corps), general partnerships, and limited liability partnerships to sign up for an account. This is in addition to sole proprietors―with or without a doing-business-as (DBA)―and single-member LLCs, which were already eligible for an account.

Unfortunately, the provider doesn’t allow you to send or receive wire transfers, and you cannot order checks or send them from the app. Similar to Bluevine, you can deposit cash, but it must be done through Green Dot retail locations for $4.95 a transaction.

What gives Lili a slight edge over competitor Found is the ability to deposit cash and a little more robust tax preparation integration.

Novo: Best Digital-only Bank for Rapid Access to Funds & Faster Payments

When To Use Novo

For self-employed individuals who accept payments through Stripe or send and receive ACH payments regularly, Novo is an excellent choice.

If you accept payments from Stripe, Novo Boost lets you receive payments sent from your Stripe account faster than other providers. Meanwhile, Novo’s Express ACH enables you to accept or send same-day ACH payments. The combination of Novo Boost and Express ACH gives you access to your money faster than other digital-only providers.

To further expedite the payment process, users can now connect Stripe, Square, or PayPal and get paid via card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, or Venmo.

Novo is also a great choice for freelancers who frequently withdraw money from ATMs for their business or need to make cash deposits. It refunds all ATM fees at the end of each month, and the cost of cash deposits is generally lower than Bluevine and Lili.

It also has a business checking option with no monthly fees, minimum balance requirements, and transaction limits. It even offers excellent integrations with accounting and business payment software and allows for free unlimited invoicing through the app.

If you’re looking for a digital-only bank, Novo may be the best account for freelancers who regularly handle cash as part of their business as cash deposits are possible—and Novo doesn’t charge for them. However, to make a cash deposit, you must purchase a money order and deposit it through the app. Many locations sell money orders, including US Postal Service (USPS) locations, for up to $2.40 for money orders of up to $1,000.

You cannot purchase checks, but you can send checks directly from the app for free. Novo doesn’t have lending products, and you cannot send wires—but you can send domestic ACH transfers for free.

Bank of America: Best for Self-employed Individuals Seeking a Traditional Bank

When To Use Bank of America

Some freelancers and self-employed business owners would prefer a bank with a physical location, especially those who deal with cash regularly. For those business owners, Bank of America is a great option, as it tops our list of the best small business checking accounts.

It offers two different business checking accounts with waivable monthly fees and great ongoing rewards: Business Advantage Fundamentals^TM and Business Advantage Relationship Banking.

Business Advantage Fundamentals is one of the best low-tier business checking accounts on the market, with waivable fees and plenty of free transactions. Its $16 monthly fee can be waived in one of three ways:

1. Maintain a $5,000 combined average monthly balance.
2. Spend at least $250 in new net purchases on a business debit card.
3. Become a member of Preferred Rewards for Business.

With the company’s preferred rewards for business, you can earn 25% to 75% bonus rewards on credit cards and get a 5% to 20% higher interest rate on business advantage savings accounts.

Bank of America is also known for its outstanding customer service and online experience. In Keynova Group’s 2022 Small Business Banker Scorecard report, Bank of America ranked first for digital customer experience capabilities catered to small businesses.

As your freelance business grows, it can scale its services along with your business needs. Those offerings include merchant services, lending products, investments, and other small business resources.

With more than 4,000 branch locations in 37 states and over 17,000 ATM locations, Bank of America can cater to most self-employed professionals wanting physical access to the bank. And for those who only need online access, accounts are available nationwide.

Found: Best for Freelancers Looking for Detailed Expense Tracking

When To Use Found

Found is very similar to another digital-only banking option on this list, Lili, and they’re likely competing for the same freelance customers. The one area where Found seems to have a slight advantage over Lili is in more detailed expense tracking as part of its integrated bookkeeping. If that is important to your freelance business, Found is the better option.

Its other slight edge is out-of-network ATM withdrawals. It doesn’t charge for any ATM withdrawals, while Lili charges $2.50 for out-of-network withdrawals. You can make cash deposits at more than 79,000 retail locations and eligible customers can deposit checks directly through the app.

As part of its integrated bookkeeping, you can also categorize expenses, capture receipts, and set custom rules with its app. Found also provides unlimited free invoicing, and it can customize those invoices with your company’s logo and colors. You can even accept payment for those invoices through payment apps.

Not only does Found help you with short-term budgeting, but it can also help you prepare business taxes. It has robust tax tracking and preparation software, which allows you to complete and send your schedule C directly from the app, and lets you pay your tax bill directly.

Found is a good option for a self-employed bank account. If detailed expense tracking and out-of-network ATM withdrawals are essential, Found is probably the right choice.

Found is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by Piermont Bank, Member FDIC.

Grasshopper: Best Digital-only Bank for High-yield Checking & Integrated Free Payment Software

When To Use Grasshopper

Grasshopper is a good choice for freelancers, thanks to its inclusion of invoice and payment software Autobooks with each business checking account. Grasshopper’s online-only business checking offers excellent cashback rewards (debit card earns 1% cash back on all online and in-store purchases) and great APY (up to 2.25% uncapped).

Grasshopper has tiered interest earnings on its business checking, with accounts earning as much as 2.25% APY. Here is the tier structure for interest earnings:

• Balances up to $24,999.99: 1.51% APY
• $25,000 to $249,999.99: 2.25% APY
• $250,000 or greater: 1.51% APY

While there is no minimum or cap on balances that earn APY, customers must maintain a minimum average balance of $10,000 with no nonsufficient funds (NSF) items during the preceding 12 calendar months.

For self-employed business owners making many debit card purchases, Grasshopper’s cashback can help you earn money on everyday purchases. With no cap on interest earnings, you will continue to earn passive income as your account balance grows. Grasshopper’s account is fee-free with no minimum balance requirements, though you must deposit $100 to open the account.

One drawback is that cash deposits are not permitted. In addition, its free ATM network is a little smaller than some of its competitors, with no ATM fee reimbursement out-of-network.

Chase: Best for Small Business Banking Tools & Premium Checking

When To Use Chase

For freelancers wanting another option for a full-service traditional bank or needing a scalable checking account, Chase is a great option. It has three excellent business checking products—Business Complete Banking, Performance Business Checking, and Platinum Business Checking—all with a waivable monthly fee if specific criteria are met. You can read our comparison of Chase’s business checking accounts to see which best fits the needs of your freelance business.

The basic checking product, Business Complete Banking, allows for 20 free transactions and $5,000 in free cash deposits monthly. The highest-tier account, Platinum Business Checking, is the best premium business checking account on the market, and it comes with a waivable $95 monthly fee.

For self-employed workers who might want a retirement plan, Chase offers access to 401(k) services through J.P. Morgan. If your small business has employees, J.P. Morgan offers information about regulations in parts of the US requiring businesses to enroll employees in a state-run individual retirement account (IRA) and how Chase can help your business comply with those laws. You may visit Chase’s 401(k) solutions page to learn more.

For freelancers needing merchant services, Chase provides those as well. You can even sign up for collection services, ACH payment services, and online account access through Chase’s access and security manager. Chase has all the services you need as your freelance business grows.

Oxygen: Best Digital-only Provider for Cash Back on Debit Card Purchases

When To Use Oxygen

If you make frequent debit card purchases with your freelance business, Oxygen is an outstanding choice. It provides 5% cash back rewards on all debit card purchases.

It is a digital-only bank geared toward freelancers and creatives among other small businesses. It is one of the few fintechs that provides personal and business banking options. This is great for self-employed business owners wanting to keep their business and personal finances in the same bank.

If your business grows and you decide to shift to an LLC, Oxygen can help with the transition. It provides nationwide LLC creation in the Oxygen app powered by CorpNet, Inc. There are fees involved, which is one of the few services with a fee.

The excellent banking products combined with outstanding technology integrated in the app helped Oxygen win the 2021 Best Overall FinTech Mobile App by the FinTech Breakthrough Awards, rising above all other financial technology providers in our guide.

Oxygen’s business bank account has no monthly fees, minimum balance requirements, or transaction limits. Deposits can be made through Green Dot locations for $4.95 per transaction and by in-app mobile check capture, via ACH or Plaid, from an outside account.

You can also open a business savings account, which earns 1% APY on balances up to $20,000. However, it lacks outgoing and international wire transfers, and you cannot set up multiple users in the app. It is only open to a single sign-on per account, which might not be as big a deal for a freelancer as it would be for a larger corporation.

First Internet Bank: Best for Freelancers Who Want a Full-service Digital-only Bank

When To Use First Internet Bank

For freelancers looking for a digital-only bank that provides the same services as a traditional, brick-and-mortar bank, First Internet Bank is an excellent choice. Not only does it have an interest-bearing business checking account, but it also provides savings and CD accounts that earn interest. If your business grows, it has commercial checking, treasury management, and merchant services.

You can earn 0.50% APY with an average daily balance of at least $10,000 in your business checking account. Savings and CD rates are even higher.

What sets First Internet Bank aside from other digital-only banks is its offering of lending products. It has SBA lending, commercial real estate loans, commercial lending, and public finance loans. SBA microloans are one of the top forms of startup financing, which can help your freelance business grow.

First Internet Bank has software integrations with QuickBooks, shared account access, and no-fee bill payment.

Its drawbacks include more limited software integrations than the fintech options on this list. Also, cash deposits are not accepted. So freelance businesses needing to deposit cash but still wanting a digital-only bank should consider Bluevine or Lili instead.

How We Evaluated the Best Self-employed Bank Accounts

We evaluated over 95 banks when compiling this buyer’s guide. When we evaluated the best bank accounts for self-employed professionals, we considered:

• Whether accounts were available to sole proprietors, self-employed individuals, or freelancers
• Monthly fees, if any, and how easily they are waived
• Required opening deposit and balance minimums
• Transaction limits before fees
• ACH and wire transfer fees
• ATM fees and availability
• Cash deposit fees and availability
• Interest yield, if applicable
• Other checking account perks
• Software integrations
• Other business services provided
• Lending products provided
• Customer service and customer reviews

What To Consider When Choosing a Self-employed Bank Account

While we used our own criteria to select the best self-employed bank accounts for this list, here are some things you should review before making a selection:

1. Determine Eligibility for an Account With a Particular Bank

While the providers on this list all permit self-employed business owners to open a bank account, this isn’t true with every bank. Some banks specialize in accounts for corporations. Before choosing a bank, make sure you are eligible to open an account.

2. Understand the Fee Structure and How It Will Apply to Your Business

Most online-only banks offer business bank accounts with very few fees. Traditional banks like Bank of America and Chase typically have waivable monthly fees if criteria are met. In addition to monthly fees, banks can charge for wire transfers, excess transactions and, sometimes, cash deposits.

You should consider three factors before signing up for an account with waivable fees or limited free transactions:

1. Can you meet the criteria to get the monthly fee waived?
2. Does the account offer enough free cash deposits or transactions to meet your business needs?
3. If you know you will end up paying certain monthly fees, is it worth it because of other features the bank provides that competitors do not? If that bank offers features that fee-free accounts don’t, it might be worth a small monthly fee.

Generally, freelancers should be wary of banks that have any of the following features:

• Cash deposit fees
• Inability or difficulty in depositing cash
• Low amount of free transactions
• Monthly fees that are expensive or hard to waive
• Minimum balance requirements

While the banks in our guide include some of these items, you may decide that you’re willing to accept some of these because of other features the bank offers. Just be aware of these and their potential costs before choosing a bank.

3. Consider the Need for a Bank With Physical Locations

Most of the banks on this list are online-only banks. This is ideal for many freelancers looking for an account with limited fees and may be willing to sacrifice the ability to visit a physical location for less expensive banking.

However, if your business handles cash regularly, or if you want the ability to visit a branch bank regularly, you may want to consider a bank like Bank of America or Chase, which have branches. Be sure to choose the provider with branches near your business.

4. Read Customer Reviews

If you look at the individual reviews linked in each section above, we include a customer review section for each provider. This can allow you to see each provider’s benefits and drawbacks before opening an account. Remember that customer reviews often include both business and personal accounts, so some might not apply to your potential business account.

For more information, see our guide on how to choose a bank for your small business.

What You Need To Open a Business Bank Account

Each provider on this list may require different documents. Generally, you will need:

• Employer identification number (EIN) or Social Security number if you’re a sole proprietor
• Fictitious business name certificate or DBA certificate
• Business formation documents
• Organization documents, including your ownership agreements
• Business licenses
• Government-issued photo ID, such as a passport or driver’s license

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do I need a business bank account if I’m self-employed?

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How many bank accounts can you have at once?

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Can freelancers open a business bank account?

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Bottom Line

All of these providers can help freelancers or self-employed business owners manage their business finances while providing resources to help them grow—but each has a slightly different business focus. You should consider what you need your business bank account to do for your company and choose the provider that best meets those needs.