Novo lists $0 per month with no monthly fee for its business checking, as of 2026-10-06, so it answers the question of which banks have no monthly fees for small business checking. It is not the only one: Axos Bank, Bluevine, Found, Lili, Mercury and Relay each have a $0 starting tier too. Novo suits a business that wants one account with no fee ladder, and Bluevine or Relay suit one that wants paid tiers to grow into.

Which banks have no monthly fees for small business checking?

Several providers do. On published pricing, Axos Bank, Bluevine, Found, Lili, Mercury, Novo and Relay all have a $0 monthly tier, as of 2026-10-06. A $0 tier means no monthly fee on that tier. It does not mean the product is free of every charge, and it does not mean the features a business needs are included.

Novo is the simplest of the group on this one measure. It lists a single $0 per month offering with no monthly fee, and no tier ladder appears on its pricing page. The others have tiers, and some attach conditions to their paid plans or to interest.

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, so there is no upgrade price to budget for and no balance condition to meet in order to avoid a fee.

That is the strongest argument for it. A new business with modest balances and predictable needs has few decisions to make and one number to track. The weakness is the flip side: with no tiers listed, this page cannot describe an upgrade path for a business whose needs grow.

What does this page not know about Novo?

Quite a lot, and it is better to say so. Novo's interest rate, its opening deposit, its transaction or other non-monthly charges, its feature list and its integrations are all things to read on Novo's own site before applying.

A reader considering Novo should read its own pages for those items before applying. Fees that are not monthly are the most useful thing to look for, since "no monthly fee" and "no fees" are different claims.

Is the money insured at Novo?

Where the money sits matters as much as the 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.

Novo's own disclosures say how it holds funds, and they should be read before money is moved.

How does Novo compare with the other no-fee options?

The list below is alphabetical. It is not a ranking, and the order carries no preference. Prices were checked on each provider's own pricing page on 2026-10-06 and can change.

  • 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.
  • Bluevine: Standard is $0 per month, Plus is $30 per month and Premier is $95 per month, and the Plus and Premier fees are waivable. The APY is 1.3% on Standard, subject to a monthly activity goal, 1.75% on Plus and 3.0% on Premier.
  • 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.

On interest, Bluevine is the stronger answer, since it is the one provider here that publishes APYs by tier. Its highest rate sits on its most expensive tier, and its base rate depends on meeting a monthly activity goal.

Who is Novo a good fit for?

Novo fits a business that wants a zero monthly fee, no plan to manage and no balance condition. It is a sensible starting point for a new business whose needs are basic and whose balances are small.

It fits less well a business that wants a published interest rate to compare, a defined tier ladder, or a detailed feature list on its pricing page. For those readers, Bluevine, Axos Bank or Relay give more to work with in their published pricing. Neither Novo nor any other provider here is automatically better, and the deciding factor is which free tier includes what the business actually needs.

Why does a separate business account come first?

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. For someone who has not yet formed the business, the entity, the EIN and the formation documents come before the account. ZenBusiness covers that earlier stage, including formation, the EIN and a registered agent, along with a free accounting consultation for customers who form with it. It does not offer business banking, so it sits before the choice of account rather than within it.

What should be checked before applying?

Four checks cover most of it. Confirm that the account has no fees beyond the monthly one that matter to the business. Confirm what the account includes and whether the work needs more. Read where the provider holds deposits. 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

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