Novo vs Bluevine on Fees (2026)

Both Novo and Bluevine have a $0 monthly tier, so neither charges a monthly fee for basic business checking as of 2026-10-06. Novo has a single no-fee offering, while Bluevine has three tiers (Standard $0, Plus $30, Premier $95 per month) and ties its best interest rates to the paid plans. Novo suits a business that wants one flat, fee-free answer, and Bluevine suits one that expects to hold balances and may want to move up a tier.

Which banks have no monthly fees for small business checking?

Several providers do. Novo and Bluevine are the pair compared here, and the other options on this site's list, Axos Bank, Found, Lili, Mercury and Relay, each have a $0 starting tier too, as of 2026-10-06. A $0 tier means no monthly fee on that tier, which is not the same as no cost anywhere in the product, so the details below matter.

The practical difference between the two is structure. Novo presents one account with no monthly fee. Bluevine presents a ladder, where the free rung works for basic needs and the upper rungs add interest and features at a monthly price.

How do the fees compare side by side?

The table lists the two providers alphabetically. That is not a ranking, and the order carries no preference. All figures were checked on each provider's own pricing page on 2026-10-06 and can change.

Where the table points to a provider's own site, that site is the place to confirm the figure.

What does Novo charge?

Novo lists $0 per month, with no monthly fee, as of 2026-10-06. There are no tiers to choose between on the page checked, which makes the fee picture the simplest of the two.

That simplicity is the main argument for it. A new business that wants predictable costs and does not need to climb a plan ladder has fewer decisions to make. The cost of that simplicity is that Novo's published pricing lists no upgrade path for a business that outgrows the base account.

Anyone considering Novo should read its own pages for fees that are not monthly, such as charges tied to specific transactions.

What does Bluevine charge?

Bluevine has three tiers as of 2026-10-06. Standard is $0 per month, Plus is $30 per month and Premier is $95 per month, and the Plus and Premier fees are waivable.

Interest is where the tiers separate. The APY is 1.3% on Standard, subject to a monthly activity goal, 1.75% on Plus and 3.0% on Premier. So the free tier does earn interest, but only if the activity goal is met, and the highest rate belongs to the most expensive plan.

This is the one place where Bluevine is the stronger choice on the numbers. A business that holds meaningful balances may find the interest worth more than the fee on a paid tier. A business that holds little may never recover the cost, and the waiver conditions for the paid tiers should be read before assuming a fee will not apply.

Is the money insured at either provider?

The answer depends on how each provider holds funds, and that is a separate question from the monthly fee. The FDIC states that the deposit accounts of a corporation, partnership, or unincorporated association are insured for up to $250,000. All accounts held by the same entity at one insured bank are combined, so separate accounts for different divisions or purposes do not get separate coverage.

The FDIC also says that nonbank companies are never themselves FDIC-insured. Funds sent to a nonbank are not eligible for FDIC insurance until the company deposits them in an FDIC-insured bank and other conditions are met. Deposit insurance does not protect against the insolvency or bankruptcy of a nonbank company, and recovery then runs through an insolvency or bankruptcy proceeding that may take some time.

Each provider publishes its own disclosures about where funds are held, and those disclosures should be read before money is moved. Fees are only half of the comparison, and where the money sits is the other half.

What about the other no-fee options?

Five other providers are on this site's list. They are shown alphabetically, which is not a ranking, with prices as of 2026-10-06.

• Axos Bank: Basic Business Checking is $0 per month with no minimum balance and no maintenance fee. Business Interest Checking is $10 per month, waived with a $5,000 minimum average daily balance, and it takes a $100 opening deposit.
• Found: Free is $0, Plus is $35 per month or $315 per year, and Pro is $80 per month or $720 per year.
• Lili: Core is $0, Pro is $15 per month, Smart is $35 per month and Premium is $55 per month. Lili also runs a promotional rate of roughly 40% off for three months on the paid tiers, which is introductory pricing and not the ongoing cost.
• Mercury: The base tier is $0 per month, Plus is $29.90 per month and Pro is $299 per month.
• Relay: Starter is $0 per month, Grow is $30 per month and Scale is $90 per month.

Every one of these has a $0 entry point, so the monthly fee alone rarely separates them. What separates them is the tier a business would actually need and the conditions attached to it.

Which is the better fit?

Novo fits a business that wants one account, no monthly fee and no plan to manage. The single-offering structure means the fee on day one is the fee later, unless the provider changes its pricing.

Bluevine fits a business that expects to hold balances, wants interest and is willing to meet an activity goal on the free tier or pay for a higher one. The key is to price the tier actually needed, not the headline $0.

Neither is automatically safer or cheaper in every case. A small business with low balances may get nothing extra from Bluevine's paid tiers, and a larger-balance business may find Novo's simplicity leaves interest on the table, though Novo's own site is the place to check what it pays.

Why does a separate business account matter at all?

The SBA says that keeping personal and business funds completely separate requires two different bank accounts. It frames the separation as a liability question, not just a tidiness one: failing to separate risks forfeiting the legal protections that entity structures offer, and separation is pivotal for protecting your own assets and credit.

The IRS makes the same point from the recordkeeping side. In Publication 583 it says one of the first things to do when starting a business is open a business checking account, and to keep it separate from the personal one. That holds whichever of the two providers above, or any other, ends up holding the account.

What should be checked before applying?

Four checks cover most of it. Confirm where the provider holds deposits and read its disclosures. Confirm the tier that fits the business and its monthly cost, not only the $0 starting point. Check any activity goal or balance condition attached to interest or fee waivers. And confirm which documents the provider will ask for, since requirements vary by institution.

Bank of America, for example, asks for the business name and address, state of formation, an EIN or SSN, and the date established. It also asks for personal details, including SSN and date of birth, for everyone on the application, including those with at least 25% or more ownership. It may request the Articles of Organization or an equivalent, and it does not list an operating agreement as required. Other providers set their own lists, so the specific provider's requirements are the ones that count.

Sources

• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, "Deposit Insurance for Corporation, Partnership and Unincorporated Association Accounts"
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, "Banking with Third-Party Apps"
• U.S. Small Business Administration, "5 Ways to Separate Your Personal and Business Finances"
• Internal Revenue Service, "Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records"

This is general information, not legal, tax or accounting advice, and requirements vary and change.