Both Relay and Lili offer affordable digital-only business checking platforms that provide access to useful banking and bookkeeping tools. However, these providers target different types of users.
Relay is better at accommodating large teams. Designed to facilitate collaboration, the platform lets you create multiple accounts and debit cards for your team. Meanwhile, Lili is better at helping small teams do more work in less time. It offers a number of features that can help streamline typical business paperwork, including expense categorization tools, tax preparation assistance, and invoicing. However, most of these features are limited to paid plans.
Here is a summary of what Relay vs Lili business checking is best for:
- RelayRelay is a financial technology (fintech) company, not a bank. It provides deposit services and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance through a supporting bank partnership with Thread Bank. is best for businesses that need multiple accounts and debit cards
- LiliLili is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Sunrise Banks N.A., Member FDIC. is best for businesses that need digital tax preparation assistance
Relay vs Lili Business Checking Quick Comparison
 Relay Business Checking |  Lili Core | |
|---|---|---|
| Required Opening Deposit | $0 | $0 |
| Required Balance Minimum | $0 | $0 |
| Transaction Limit Before Fees | No limit | No limit |
| Monthly Fee | $0 | $0 |
| Automated Clearing House (ACH) Fees | $0 | $0 |
| Domestic Wire Transfer Fees | $0 for incoming $5 for outgoing | $0 for incoming $15 for outgoing |
| International Wire Transfer Fees | $0 for incoming $10 for outgoing | N/A |
| ATM Fees | None at Allpoint and Allpoint+ ATMs | Free at MoneyPass locations; $2.50 for nonnetwork useThird-party operator fees may apply. |
| Cash Deposit Fee | None at Allpoint+ ATMs and $4.95 per deposit via Green Dot retail locations | $4.95 per transaction via Green Dot retail locations |
| Savings Account Annual Percentage Yield (APY) | 1.0% to 3.0% APY rates are as follows: • Balances of $1 to $49,999.99: 1.0% • Balances of $50,000 to $249,999.99: 1.5% • Balances of $250,000 to $999,999.99: 2.0% • Balances of $1,000,000 and higher: 3.0% | Lili Pro, Lili Smart, and Lili Premium offer savings accounts with 2.50% APY on balances between $0.01 to $500,000 and 4.00% APY on balances over $500,000.Savings accounts are only available for Lili Pro ($9 per month), Lili Smart ($20 per month), and Lili Premium ($30 per month) |
| For More Information | Read our Relay Business Checking review | Read our Lili Business Checking review |
When To Use
- You work in teams of two or more: In our list of the best small business checking accounts, we named Relay the best provider for businesses that need multiple checking accounts. Relay lets you give team members access to your account. It also lets you issue up to 50 virtual and physical debit cards with customizable spending rules and limits. Lili does not offer collaboration tools.
- You send and receive wire transfers regularly: Lili does not support wire transfers. Under Relay, incoming wire transfers are free, while outgoing domestic wire transfers cost $5 and outgoing international wire transfers cost $10.
- You need access to multiple reserve accounts: Through Relay, you can create up to 20 checking accounts (10 for sole proprietors) that you can earmark for specific purposes, such as tax, payroll, and utilities. With Lili, you only get a main account and dedicated buckets for tax and emergencies.
Once you’ve selected a provider, refer to our guide on how to open a business bank account for tips on preparing your application.
Relay vs Lili Business Checking Comparison of Features
| Relay | Lili | |
|---|---|---|
| OVERALL RATINGThis score is reflective of the features of the platform and not the overall quality of the financial provider. A feature not offered by a provider earns a 0-star score, which is averaged into the overall rating. | 2.9 out of 5★ | 2.8 out of 5★ |
| Premium Versions | ★★★★ | ★★★★ |
| Check Deposits | ★★★★ | ★★★ |
| Cash Deposits | ★★★★ | ★★ |
| Collaboration Tools | ★★★★★ | 0 |
| Reserve Accounts | ★★★★★ | ★★★ |
| Cashback Promos | 0 | ★★★ |
| Bookkeeping Tools | ★★★★ | ★★★ |
| Tax Preparation | 0 | ★★★★ |
| Overdraft Protection | ★ | ★★★ |
| Invoicing | 0 | ★★★ |
| Savings Accounts | ★★★★★ | ★★★ |
| Rating Explanation:★★★★★ 5: This feature enhances your banking experience at little to no cost.★★★★ 4: This feature has a few minor drawbacks/limits or comes at a slight cost.★★★ 3: This feature has a few drawbacks/limits or comes at a slightly high cost.★★ 2: This feature has a few major drawbacks/limits or comes at a high cost.★ 1: This feature has major drawbacks/limits.0: This feature is unavailable. | ||
When we compared Relay vs Lili business checking features, our findings showed that Lili had a slight disadvantage over Relay because it locked some of its most useful features behind paid subscriptions. Relay, on the other hand, has many free features. It offers numerous collaboration tools that make work easier for large teams.
Relay: 4 out of 5
Both Relay and Lili offer premium subscription services with additional useful features. Relay’s premium service is called Relay Pro and costs $30 per month. It offers the following features:
- Fee-free outgoing wires
- Same-day ACH
- Automatic bill imports from QuickBooks and Xero
- One-click reconciliation for paid bills in QuickBooks and Xero
- Automated, multistep bill approval rules
- Consolidated payments to a vendor into one transaction
- Singular dashboard for reviewing, paying, and approving bills
Upgrading to Relay Pro would be a good choice if you send wire transfers frequently or need robust accounting integrations.
Lili: 4 out of 5
Lili offers three premium plans: Lili Pro, Lili Smart, and Lili Premium. These are best for businesses wanting more streamlined bookkeeping and tax preparation tools. They are also a good fit for businesses looking to earn APY on checking deposits.
Below is a table comparing what each plan offers:
| Lili Core | Lili Pro | Lili Smart | Lili Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Fee | $0 | $15 | $35 | $55 |
| Visa Business Debit Card | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fee-free ATM Withdrawals at MoneyPass Networks | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Get Paid Two Days Early | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cashback Rewards for Debit Card Purchases | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Automatic Tax Savings | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fee-free Overdraft Up to $200 | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Savings Account Up to 4.00% APY | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Expense Management Tools | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Smart Bookkeeping | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Financial Reports | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Prefilled Business Tax Forms | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Priority Customer Support | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
Relay: 4 out of 5
You can deposit checks using the Relay app’s mobile check deposit feature.
Lili: 3 out of 5
The Lili app also offers mobile check deposit, which is immediately available to all single-member limited liability companies (LLCs), multimember LLCs, general partnerships, limited liability partnerships (LLPs), and S Corporation (S-corp) accounts.
Sole proprietors need to meet the following requirements to become eligible for mobile check deposits:
- Be open for at least 30 days.
- Receive at least $200 in ACH direct deposits from a nongovernmental source each calendar month.
Relay: 4 out of 5
Although Relay does not have any brick-and-mortar locations, it lets you deposit cash for free at cash-deposit enabled Allpoint ATMs. You can also deposit at Green Dot retail locations but a fee of $4.95 applies per transaction.
Lili: 2 out of 5
With Lili, your only option is to deposit cash through Green Dot retail locations. There is a fee of $4.95 per deposit.
Relay: 5 out of 5
Relay lets you issue up to 50 virtual and physical debit cards. You can customize spending rules and limits per card to ensure responsible use. Additionally, you can invite team members to your account and set access levels per additional user.
Lili: 0 out of 5
Lili does not offer collaboration tools.
Relay: 5 out of 5
Through Relay, you can create up to 20 checking accounts under a single account ID. However, sole proprietors can only create up to 10.
Lili: 3 out of 5
Meanwhile, Lili offers a main account, one subaccount for taxes, and another sub-account for emergencies.
Relay: 0 out of 5
Relay does not offer cash back promos.
Lili: 3 out of 5
All three of Lili’s paid subscription plans provide cash back-earning debit cards.
Relay: 4 out of 5
Relay provides automatic categorization and detailed transaction data for every card purchase. It also can sync your banking data with QuickBooks Online and Xero.
Lili: 3 out of 5
Lili Smart and Lili Premium also provide automatic expense categorization for card purchases. Meanwhile, although Lili Pro does not offer automatic expense categorization, it allows you to manually categorize each transaction. All Lili plans, including Lili Basic, integrate with QuickBooks, FreshBooks, Wave, and Xero.
Relay: 0 out of 5
Relay does not offer tax preparation assistance tools.
Lili: 4 out of 5
Upgrading to any one of Lili’s paid subscription plans gives you access to the Tax Optimizer feature, which lets you set a percentage of your income to automatically set aside into a dedicated tax bucket. If you are subscribed to Lili Smart or Lili Premium, the Tax Optimizer will also use your banking data to auto-fill your Schedule C forms.
Relay: 1 out of 5
Relay does not charge overdraft fees or nonsufficient funds fees. However, if you make a transaction against an insufficient balance, Relay will cancel that transaction.
Lili: 3 out of 5
If you are subscribed to Lili’s paid plans, you receive fee-free overdraft protection for overdrafts worth $200 or less.
Relay: 0 out of 5
Relay does not offer invoicing tools.
Lili: 3 out of 5
The Lili Smart and Lili Premium plans offer unlimited free invoicing. With this feature, you can instantly accept customer payments via debit or credit card, check, ACH, Venmo, and Cash App. Additionally, you can track invoices and send automatic payment reminders to clients. Relay does not offer invoicing tools.
Relay: 5 out of 5
Relay can provide up to two APY-earning business savings accounts. These accounts provide Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) insurance of up to $2,500,000 by spreading your deposits across multiple partner banks in Thread Bank’s sweep network.
APY rates are as follows:
- $1 to $49,999.99: 1.0%
- $50,000 to $249,999.99: 1.5%
- $250,000 to $999,999.99: 2.0%
- $1,000,000 and higher: 3.0%
Lili: 3 out of 5
Lili Pro, Lili Smart, and Lili Premium offer savings accounts with 2.50% APY on balances between $0.01 to $500,000 and 4.00% APY on balances over $500,000.
Once you’ve selected an account, refer to our guide on how to open a business bank account for tips on preparing for your application.
Relay vs Lili User Reviews
| Relay | Lili | |
|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot Rating | 4.6 (based on 1,200-plus reviews) | 4.7 (based on 2,600-plus reviews) |
| Users Like |
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| Users Dislike |
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When we compared Relay vs Lili business checking reviews on user review platforms, we found that Lili had a higher overall rating and more reviewers. However, both received praise for providing helpful and responsive customer service and were criticized for having long hold times for check deposits.
Many Relay reviewers, particularly unsuccessful applicants, said that they dislike the thoroughness of Relay’s application process. Rejected applicants complained that Relay asked for too much sensitive information and claimed that they did not trust Relay with their data.
Meanwhile, Lili users complained that the daily cash deposit limit was too low. Businesses that work with large volumes of cash said that they found it inconvenient to make deposits in small increments. However, the provider received a lot of praise for having a well-designed user interface.
Bottom Line
The choice between Relay vs Lili business checking depends on your team size. Relay is particularly good for business owners who work in teams of two or more, as the platform offers a number of useful collaboration tools. Lili is better for businesses needing access to invoicing and tax preparation. However, note that most of these features are exclusive to Lili’s premium plans.
User review references:
1Trustpilot | Relay
2Trustpilot | Lili
