Last Updated: July 1, 2026
Monzo is a fully-regulated UK bank offering personal accounts, joint accounts, teen accounts, and business banking. It is strongest for everyday spending visibility, app-based budgeting, no foreign transaction fees, and instant-access savings Pots with competitive rates. Monzo has FSCS protection up to £85,000 and paid plans (Plus £5/month, Premium £15/month) that add travel insurance, phone cover, and higher interest on savings.
Quick take: Monzo is one of the best app-first current accounts in the UK. It is less suited if you want branch access or a dedicated savings marketplace.
Monzo is a fully regulated UK bank with FSCS protection, no foreign transaction fees on card spending abroad, and one of the best app-based budgeting experiences available. This Monzo review covers the personal, joint, and teen accounts, the Plus and Premium paid plans, and how Monzo compares to Starling and Revolut for everyday banking.
Quick Verdict
Monzo is worth it if you want a strong app-first current account with smart budgeting, clear spending visibility, no foreign transaction fees, and useful savings features built in. It is less compelling if you want branch banking, prefer desktop over mobile, or need a dedicated savings marketplace rather than a current account with savings attached.
The app has grown well beyond the early coral-card days. Personal accounts, joint accounts, teen accounts for 16 to 17-year-olds, under-16s products, and business banking all sit under the same brand. The product stack is broad enough that a modern Monzo review needs to cover more ground than just budgeting tools.
What Monzo Does Best
Spending visibility. Monzo categorises every transaction automatically and shows you exactly where your money goes. You see spending broken down by category, merchant, and time period. If you have ever looked at a bank statement and wondered where half your monthly pay went, Monzo answers that question without you having to build a spreadsheet.
No foreign transaction fees. Monzo passes through the Mastercard exchange rate with no added fee on card spending abroad. There are some limits on the free tier for ATM withdrawals overseas, but for card purchases in foreign currencies, you get the same rate whether you are buying a coffee in Paris or a train ticket in Tokyo.
Savings Pots and cash ISAs. Monzo lets you create Pots, separate sub-accounts within your main account, for different savings goals. You can round up spare change into a Pot, set up regular transfers, or lock a Pot away with a fixed end date. Monzo also offers instant-access savings Pots with competitive rates and cash ISA access, making it useful as a savings hub as well as a spending account.
Joint accounts. Monzo's joint account is one of the simplest to set up. Both partners see shared spending, manage bills from a shared Pot, and get the same transaction categorisation as the personal account. For couples who want to manage household finances without opening a separate bank account elsewhere, it works well.
FSCS protection. Unlike some fintech alternatives, Monzo is a fully authorised UK bank. Your deposits are protected up to £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Your salary, your savings, and your direct debits all sit inside a regulated bank.
Monzo Plans at a Glance
| Plan | Monthly Cost | Key Extras |
|---|---|---|
| Monzo (Free) | £0 | Spending categorisation, Pots, no FX fees on card spend, FSCS protection |
| Plus | £5 | Advanced round-ups, virtual cards, interest on balance, credit insights |
| Premium | £15 | Worldwide travel insurance, phone insurance, 4.10% AER on savings, virtual cards, higher ATM limits abroad |
The free plan covers everything most people need. Plus adds convenience features. Premium earns its keep if you would pay separately for travel and phone insurance and want the higher savings rate.
How Monzo Compares
Monzo's clearest competitors are Starling and Revolut. Starling offers a similar regulated-bank experience with no foreign fees and a slightly cleaner app, though fewer budgeting features. Revolut offers more feature breadth including stocks, crypto, and a wider plan range, but without FSCS protection during its mobilisation period.
Monzo wins on the everyday banking experience: the spending categories, the Pots system, the bill tracking, and the general polish of the app make it feel like a current account designed for mobile from the ground up. Starling feels slightly more like a traditional bank that happens to have a good app. Revolut feels like a money platform that does a bit of everything.
Common Questions
Is Monzo a proper bank?
Yes. Monzo is a fully authorised UK bank regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. Your deposits are protected by the FSCS up to £85,000 per person. Monzo is not an e-money institution. It is a bank with a full UK banking licence, the same regulatory category as Barclays, Lloyds, and NatWest.
Does Monzo charge foreign transaction fees?
No. Monzo uses the Mastercard exchange rate on card spending abroad with no added fee. ATM withdrawals overseas are free up to certain limits on the free plan (currently £200 per month in the European Economic Area, with a 3% fee above that). Premium plan users get higher ATM limits. Using Monzo abroad is significantly cheaper than using a typical high street debit card that charges 2.75% per transaction.
Which Monzo plan is worth paying for?
The free plan works for most people. Plus at £5/month is worth it if you want virtual cards for online subscriptions and advanced round-ups for automated saving. Premium at £15/month is worth it if you travel regularly and would buy travel insurance anyway, need phone insurance, and want the higher savings interest rate. Do the maths on the insurance before upgrading: if you already have travel and phone cover elsewhere, Premium's main selling point disappears.
Can I use Monzo as my main bank account?
Yes. Monzo supports salary payments, direct debits, standing orders, and the Current Account Switch Service for moving from another bank. Many people use Monzo as their primary current account. The app handles everything a traditional current account does, plus the budgeting and Pots features that most traditional banks still do not offer in a comparable form.
Does Monzo offer savings accounts?
Yes. Monzo offers instant-access savings Pots with competitive rates and cash ISA access. The savings are held with Monzo or partner banks, with FSCS protection applying. The rates are not always the absolute highest on the market (Raisin or Moneybox may offer more on fixed terms), but the convenience of having savings in the same app as your current account is a genuine advantage for everyday saving.
Can I get a Monzo account for my child?
Yes. Monzo offers accounts for 16 to 17-year-olds with spending controls and no overdraft. There is also a Monzo under-16s product that lets parents manage pocket money and spending. These are not as feature-rich as dedicated kids' apps like GoHenry, but they work well as a first bank account within a family that already uses Monzo.
I have used Monzo alongside other banking apps for years. The spending visibility is the feature I appreciate most. The automatic categorisation and monthly summaries tell me where my money went without me having to track anything manually. When I want a clear picture of my day-to-day spending, Monzo is the app I open.
I use Monzo alongside other accounts rather than as my only bank. My salary goes into a different account, and I keep savings across a few platforms including Raisin. Monzo is my spending and budgeting hub. For that specific job, it is the best app I have used.
The free plan covers everything I need. I have tried Premium and the travel insurance is decent, but I would only pay for it if I were travelling frequently enough to justify the monthly cost. Most people should start with the free account and upgrade only if they use the paid features enough to cover the fee.
I’m Steven, founder of MoneyAppReviews. I test money apps, referral programs, and EV tools in real life before I write about them. I drive a 2021 Tesla Model 3 Long Range, use Octopus Intelligent Go for home charging, and regularly track costs, savings, and app performance over time. I focus on practical, evidence-based reviews that help people decide what is actually worth using, not just what pays the highest commission.