Chase vs Monzo: Cashback, Savings and Everyday Banking Compared
Chase pays 2% cashback and 4.5% AER for a year; Monzo is free with Pots and 2.75% to 3.50% savings. Rates and plan prices checked October 2026.
Chase vs Monzo is a genuinely close call, because the two accounts are trying to win you over in completely different ways. Chase, backed by J.P. Morgan, leads with cashback and a headline savings boost for new customers. Monzo, the app bank that started the whole category, leads with budgeting tools, Pots and a free account that does almost everything without asking for a penny. Neither is objectively better. The right pick depends on whether you want your card to earn money back or want your app to help you control where the money goes. Plenty of people, as it happens, end up keeping both.
The quick answer
Open Chase if you spend a fair amount on everyday cards and want cashback plus a strong first-year savings rate. Open Monzo if you want the best free budgeting experience, Pots for organising money, and fee-free spending abroad without juggling conditions. Running both is a common and sensible setup: Chase for cashback and short-term savings, Monzo as the everyday account that keeps your budget honest.
Chase vs Monzo at a glance
Figures read from chase.co.uk and monzo.com on 13 October 2026. Savings rates are variable unless marked fixed, so check the app before you move money.
| Chase | Monzo | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | None | Free plan; Extra £3, Perks £9, Max from £19 a month |
| Cashback | 2% on everyday categories, up to £20 a month, with conditions | Offer-based: pick brand offers in the app, typically 2% to 10% at those brands |
| Easy-access savings | 2.25% AER variable; 4.5% AER with the 12-month boost for new customers | Instant Access 2.75% AER (free) to 3.50% AER (Max) |
| Regular saver | 6.5% AER fixed for 12 months, up to £300 a month | No regular saver |
| Round-ups | Round-up account pays 5% AER variable | Round-ups into a Pot; “advanced roundups” on paid plans |
| Spending abroad | No Chase fees on card spending | No Monzo fees on card spending; fee-free cash withdrawals abroad up to £200 (free, Extra) or £600 (Perks, Max) |
| Deposit protection | FSCS, £120,000 | FSCS, £120,000 |
Cashback
This is Chase’s headline feature, and the two banks now do it very differently.
Chase pays 2% cashback, capped at £20 a month, on debit and credit card spending in its everyday categories: groceries, restaurants, cafes, takeaways, everyday transport, fuel and public EV charging points. It is not automatic. To qualify in a given month you need to make at least 15 payments by debit card, credit card or Direct Debit (standing orders, refunds and bank transfers do not count) and keep a combined balance of £1,000 or more across your Chase saver accounts all month, not counting round-up accounts. Cashback is only earned on the eligible card purchases themselves, not on the Direct Debits that help you reach 15. Hit both conditions and the cashback lands in your rewards balance the following month. Miss them and you earn nothing.
Monzo’s version is offer-based. You pick from brand offers in the app (Monzo names retailers such as Asda, Boots, H&M and eBay), then spend with your Monzo card, and Monzo says most offers sit around 2% to 10% at that brand. There are no payment-count or balance conditions, but you only earn where an offer is running. So the split is simple: Chase pays on the boring weekly spend if you meet its rules; Monzo pays more per pound but only at selected brands. If cashback is your priority and you already put a weekly shop and fuel on a card, Chase wins this round.
Savings rates
Rates move constantly at both banks, so always check the live figure in-app before you act. Here is where they stand as a snapshot.
Chase runs a standard Saver at 2.25% AER (2.23% gross) variable, calculated daily and paid monthly. New customers can open a Saver with a boosted rate of 4.5% AER (4.41% gross), which is a 2.25% boost fixed for 12 months on top of the standard rate; Chase says it is available in your first 31 days as a customer, one per person. After that year the boost falls away and you drop back to the standard variable rate, so it is worth a diary note to review it. Chase’s round-up account pays 5% AER variable on spare change saved from purchases, and its Regular Saver pays 6.5% AER fixed for 12 months on up to £300 a month.
Monzo splits savings into Pots. Its Instant Access Savings Pot pays 2.75% AER (variable) on the free plan, 3.00% on Extra, 3.25% on Perks and 3.50% on Max. Select Access pays 3.15% AER (variable) on the free and Extra plans and 3.65% on Perks and Max. Monzo also offers fixed-rate savings and Cash ISAs in-app.
On a straight free-account basis the two are close, but Chase’s first-year boost is the more generous headline number. The catch is that it is a first-year offer, so the sensible move is to use it while it lasts and reassess before the twelve months are up.
Monthly plans and fees
Monzo’s free current account is genuinely complete: a card, instant spending notifications, Pots, budgeting tools, Direct Debits, standing orders and fee-free card spending abroad, all for nothing. Monzo then offers three paid plans. Extra costs £3 a month, Perks costs £9 a month, and Max costs from £19 a month (with a three-month minimum, for ages 18 to 69, and £4 a month more to add family). The paid tiers add higher savings rates, virtual cards, advanced round-ups and partner perks such as an annual Railcard, a weekly Greggs treat and a monthly Vue cinema ticket on Perks and Max, plus worldwide travel and phone insurance and UK and Europe breakdown cover on Max.
Chase has no monthly account fee. Its model is different: rather than sell you a plan, it ties its best rewards (cashback and the boosted saver) to how you use the account and how much you keep in savings. You pay nothing to hold it, but you only unlock the perks by meeting the activity and balance conditions.
Everyday banking and budgeting
Monzo is still the strongest app in the category for managing money day to day. Pots let you ringfence cash for bills, holidays or an emergency fund; you can automate transfers, round up spending into savings, set category budgets and get a live view of what is left to spend. For anyone who has struggled to keep a budget, this is the reason to pick Monzo.
Chase covers the essentials well: instant notifications, a clean app, round-ups and easy access to its savers. It is a tidy, reliable everyday account, but it is not trying to be a budgeting coach in the way Monzo is. If detailed money management matters to you, Monzo has the edge.
Spending abroad
Both are strong for travel. Monzo charges no foreign transaction fee on card payments and passes through the Mastercard exchange rate with no markup, and fee-free cash withdrawals abroad run up to £200 on the free and Extra plans and up to £600 on Perks and Max. Chase also charges no fees of its own on spending abroad, which is one reason it became popular with travellers. For most trips either card will serve you well, so this is unlikely to be the deciding factor on its own.
Safety
Both are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, so eligible deposits are protected up to £120,000 per person, per banking licence (the limit rose from £85,000 on 1 December 2025). Monzo holds its own UK banking licence. Chase is a trading name of J.P. Morgan Europe Limited, authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority, so Chase deposits are also FSCS protected. You can read more on the FSCS website. Both are fully regulated UK banks, so the choice comes down to features and rewards, not safety.
Which should you choose?
Choose Chase if your weekly spend on groceries, fuel and eating out goes on a card, you can meet the 15-payment and £1,000-balance conditions to earn cashback, and you want the first-year savings boost or the 6.5% Regular Saver. Choose Monzo if you want the best free budgeting tools, Pots to organise your money, and a complete everyday account with no strings attached.
The smartest option for many people is not to choose at all: keep Monzo as the main account that runs your budget, and use Chase alongside it for cashback and a competitive savings rate in year one. For more on the wider field, see our guides to the best digital banks and banking apps in the UK and Monzo vs Starling.
Frequently asked questions
Is Chase or Monzo better as a main bank account? Monzo tends to work better as a main account because of its budgeting tools, Pots and complete free feature set. Chase works best as a second account for cashback and a boosted savings rate, though many people happily run both side by side.
Does Monzo offer cashback like Chase? Not in the same way. Monzo’s cashback is offer-based: you pick brand offers in the app and earn, usually 2% to 10%, only when you spend at those brands. Chase pays a flat 2% on everyday categories such as groceries, fuel and eating out, up to £20 a month, if you make 15 payments a month and keep £1,000 in its savers.
How do I qualify for Chase cashback? In a given month you need to make at least 15 payments by debit card, credit card or Direct Debit and hold a combined balance of £1,000 or more across your Chase saver accounts all month (round-up accounts do not count). Meet both and 2% cashback on eligible card purchases, capped at £20, is paid the following month.
Are Chase and Monzo both safe? Yes. Both are regulated UK banks covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, protecting eligible deposits up to £120,000 per person, per banking licence. Monzo holds its own licence and Chase UK operates under J.P. Morgan.
Can I have both a Chase and a Monzo account? Yes, and it is a popular setup. There is no cost to holding either account, so you can use Monzo for everyday budgeting and Chase for cashback and short-term savings, moving money between them as needed.
Which pays more interest, Chase or Monzo? For a new customer, Chase: 4.5% AER for the first 12 months on the boosted Saver and 6.5% AER fixed on up to £300 a month in the Regular Saver. After the boost ends Chase’s standard Saver is 2.25% AER, below Monzo’s free-plan Instant Access Pot at 2.75% AER. Rates as published on 13 October 2026.
How much are Monzo’s paid plans? Extra is £3 a month, Perks £9 a month and Max from £19 a month, with a three-month minimum on Max. The free plan costs nothing.
Does Chase have a monthly fee? No. Chase has no monthly account fee. Instead of charging for a plan, it links its cashback and boosted saver rewards to how actively you use the account and how much you keep in its savers.
