Novo vs Bluevine (2026): Free Business Checking Compared

Pick Bluevine if your business keeps more than a few thousand dollars in checking or sends wires; pick Novo if you want a plain no-fee account and a 2% cash back credit card. Both charge no monthly fee on their base account. Bluevine Standard pays 1.3% APY when you meet a monthly activity goal and charges $15 per outgoing domestic wire. Novo pays 0% and charges up to $45.

That split decides most cases. Novo is a simple account for freelancers and small shops that get paid by ACH or card processors and rarely move money fast. Bluevine is built to earn on the balance, with Plus and Premier plans that raise the rate and discount payment fees once a business holds enough cash to waive their monthly charges.

Toolradar data: in Toolradar's directory as of October 2026, Novo is listed as an alternative to 10 other tools against a category median of 3, and Bluevine to 4, so buyers cross-shop Novo more often by name. Fees and rates below were read on 19 October 2026 on Novo's fee schedule (last revised 26 February 2026), Novo's free checking page and Bluevine's plans and pricing page.

At a glance

	Novo	Bluevine Standard
Monthly fee	$0, no paid tiers	$0; Plus $30/mo and Premier $95/mo, both waivable
Interest on checking	0% APY	1.3% APY up to $250K with an activity goal
Outgoing domestic wire	Up to $45	$15 ($12 Plus, $7.50 Premier)
Same-day or express ACH	1.5%, minimum $0.50, maximum $20	$10 ($8 Plus, $5 Premier)
Standard ACH	Free	Free
Incoming international wire	Free	$15
FDIC coverage	Up to $250,000 through Middlesex Federal Savings	Up to $3 million through Coastal Community Bank and program banks
Card rewards	Credit card: 2% with a $5,000+ balance, else 1%	Debit card: 4% cash back through Mastercard Easy Savings
ATM fees	No Novo fee; up to $7 a month in third-party fees refunded	Free at MoneyPass ATMs
Sole proprietors	Yes, US citizens only	Yes, with an EIN or SSN

Business checking is the account a company uses to collect revenue and pay bills apart from the owner's personal money. Novo and Bluevine are both fintech companies, not banks: Novo's accounts are held at Middlesex Federal Savings, and Bluevine's at Coastal Community Bank.

Interest: the gap Novo cannot close

Bluevine pays on checking and Novo does not, which makes balance size the first question. Novo's fee schedule lists a 0% annual percentage yield and no savings product beside it. Bluevine Standard pays 1.3% APY on balances up to $250,000 in any month you spend $500 on its debit card or receive $2,500 in customer payments into the account.

That condition is easy for an active business and a trap for a dormant one. A consultant who invoices clients through the account clears the $2,500 threshold without trying; a side business that sits idle for a month earns nothing that month.

The upgraded plans change the math once balances grow. Plus pays 1.75% on the same capped balance for $30 a month, waived when the average daily balance is at least $20,000 and debit card spend reaches $2,000. Premier pays 3.0% on all balances for $95 a month, waived at a $100,000 average balance plus $5,000 of debit spend. A business that meets the waiver gets the higher rate for free, which no Novo customer can match at any balance.

Fees: where Novo gets expensive

Novo's fee schedule is short, and most lines read $0. Incoming and outgoing standard ACH, incoming domestic and foreign wires, stop payments, insufficient funds, mailed bill-pay checks and paper statements cost nothing. Three services carry a charge.

An outgoing domestic wire costs up to three times Bluevine's Standard price. Express ACH costs 1.5% of the payment with a $0.50 floor and a $20 ceiling, so any express payment above about $1,333 pays the full cap. Express check deposit costs up to 2% of the check, with a $0.50 minimum.

Bluevine charges flat fees that shrink on paid plans. Same-day ACH is $10 on Standard, $8 on Plus and $5 on Premier. USD international wires are $25, $20 and $12.50, and FX wires add 1.5%, 1.25% or 1.0% on top. Bluevine also charges where Novo does not: a fee to receive an international wire, $4.95 per cash deposit through Green Dot and $1 plus 0.5% at AllPoint ATMs.

The pattern is clear: Bluevine is cheaper for anyone who sends money fast, Novo for anyone who receives money from abroad. A business paid by overseas clients by wire should weigh that incoming fee against the interest it would earn.

Three businesses, three monthly bills

We priced three monthly patterns against both published fee schedules. These are our calculations, not quotes, and interest figures are rounded yearly estimates on an average balance.

A freelance copywriter, a sole proprietor holding about $20,000 and getting paid by ACH, sends no wires. Both accounts cost $0 in fees. Bluevine Standard earns about $260 a year if monthly client payments clear $2,500, and Novo earns nothing, so Bluevine wins unless the owner wants Novo's 2% credit card.

A construction subcontractor LLC sends 3 domestic wires and 5 same-day ACH payments of $1,000 a month. On Novo that is up to $135 for wires plus $75 in express ACH fees, up to $210 a month. On Bluevine Standard the same wires and payments come to $95. Plus cuts the fees to $76, and with its waiver met the plan itself costs nothing. Over a year the gap between Novo and Bluevine Standard reaches about $1,380 at Novo's top wire price.

An e-commerce brand holding $150,000 in operating cash cares about yield and insurance more than fees. Novo earns $0, and its single-bank insurance covers this balance with little room for growth. Bluevine Standard would earn about $1,950 a year, Plus about $2,625, and Premier about $4,500 if the brand also meets the Premier fee waiver. Bluevine's $3 million coverage also leaves room to grow.

Cards and cash back

Novo's edge is its credit card. The Novo Business Credit Card, issued by Continental Bank, pays 2% cash back on eligible purchases while the checking balance is $5,000 or more, and 1% below that. On $3,000 of monthly card spend, the higher tier returns $60 a month, or $720 a year, which offsets a lot of missing interest for a business with a small balance.

Bluevine's debit card earns 4% cash back on business purchases through the Mastercard Easy Savings program, which applies at participating merchants rather than on every purchase. Plan to use the card at those merchants before counting on that rate. Team members can get physical and virtual debit cards with daily and monthly limits, up to 50 cards on every plan.

For a credit line beyond either account, our corporate card roundup compares limits and controls.

Eligibility and paperwork

Both accept sole proprietors, but on different terms. Novo's account requirements page says a sole proprietorship account requires a US citizen, while owners of LLCs, partnerships and corporations must live in the US; non-citizens prove residence with a W8.

Bluevine's application guide lets a sole proprietor apply with an EIN or a personal SSN, and asks corporations, LLCs and LLPs for an EIN. Bluevine also opens accounts for US-registered businesses owned by people in a list of supported countries, with some features limited for international customers. A founder abroad with a US LLC has a route at Bluevine and generally not at Novo; our non-resident account guide covers the options.

Tools and organization

Both build in invoicing; Bluevine adds payables workflows. Novo includes invoicing, bookkeeping tools and reserve accounts at no charge, and its free checking page lists these optional services as free. That bundle suits an owner who manages money alone and wants tax and payroll money kept in separate reserves.

Bluevine includes unlimited invoices and payment links, Tap to Pay, estimates and recurring invoices with autopay on every plan. Its accounts payable tools capture bills by upload or email, add approval workflows and bulk payments, and sync with QuickBooks Online, Xero, Wave and FreshBooks. Sub-accounts run from 5 on Standard to 50 on Premier. Card and online payments through Stripe cost 2.9% plus $0.60, and Tap to Pay costs 2.7% plus $0.30.

That makes Bluevine the better fit once a bookkeeper or a second person approves payments. Novo stays simpler, which is a feature for a one-person business.

Deposit insurance

Bluevine's insurance ceiling is twelve times Novo's. Bluevine spreads deposits across Coastal Community Bank and its program banks for up to $3 million per depositor. Novo lists coverage up to $250,000 at Middlesex Federal Savings. Both are pass-through FDIC insurance, which protects against the failure of the partner bank, not of the fintech, and only if the bank's records are correct.

For a freelancer with $15,000 in checking the difference does not matter. For a company holding a payroll reserve or proceeds from a sale, it can decide the account.

Which account should you open?

Open Novo if you are a US-citizen sole proprietor or a small service business that gets paid by ACH, Stripe or Square, rarely wires money, receives international wires, and would use a 2% credit card while keeping the balance above its threshold. Our Novo review covers the account in depth.

Open Bluevine if you keep a meaningful balance in checking, pay vendors by wire or same-day ACH, need more insurance than Novo's single-bank limit, or run payables with a bookkeeper. Consider Plus once you hold $20,000 and spend $2,000 a month on its card. The Bluevine review explains each plan.

If interest is the priority, compare Bluevine vs Mercury; if Novo appeals but you need free wires, read Mercury vs Novo. The 2026 business banking fees breakdown, the best business bank accounts and the free business checking accounts lists cover the rest of the field.

How we compared

We read Novo's fee schedule, free checking page and account requirements page, and Bluevine's business checking page, plans and pricing page and application guide, on 19 October 2026. Cost examples multiply the published fees by the stated volumes; Novo lists its domestic wire as "up to" a maximum, so our Novo wire totals are the ceiling. Interest estimates apply the published APY to a constant balance. We did not open either account.

Finpresso data: Beehiiv's export for this newsletter, refreshed October 25, 2026, counts 30,000+ active subscribers, with an average open rate of 33%.

FAQ

Is Novo or Bluevine better in 2026?

Bluevine is better for businesses that hold cash in checking or send money fast: Standard pays 1.3% APY with an activity goal, and its Standard domestic wire costs a third of Novo's maximum. Novo is better for sole proprietors who rarely wire money, receive international wires, and want a credit card that pays 2% cash back above a balance threshold.

Does Bluevine charge a monthly fee?

Not on Standard. Plus costs $30 a month and Premier $95, and both fees are waived when you meet the plan's average balance and debit card spend: $20,000 and $2,000 for Plus, $100,000 and $5,000 for Premier. Bluevine offers a one-month free trial of either upgraded plan.

Does Novo pay interest on checking?

No. Novo's fee schedule lists a 0% annual percentage yield, and Novo publishes no savings or yield product. Bluevine pays 1.3% APY on Standard, 1.75% on Plus and 3.0% on Premier, as read on its pricing page on 19 October 2026.

How much does a wire cost at Novo and Bluevine?

Novo charges up to $45 to send a domestic wire and nothing to receive domestic or foreign wires. Bluevine charges $15 per outgoing domestic wire on Standard, $12 on Plus and $7.50 on Premier, nothing for incoming domestic wires, and a fee on Standard to receive an international wire.

Which has better FDIC insurance?

Bluevine, at up to $3 million per depositor through Coastal Community Bank and its program banks, against $250,000 at Middlesex Federal Savings for Novo. Both are pass-through coverage that applies if the partner bank fails.

Can a sole proprietor open Novo or Bluevine?

Yes, both. Novo requires a sole proprietor to be a US citizen. Bluevine lets a sole proprietor apply with an EIN or a personal SSN, and also serves US-registered businesses owned by people in a list of supported countries.

This page is general information, not personalized financial advice. Confirm current fees, rates, eligibility and terms with Novo and Bluevine before you open an account.

Cite this: Finpresso, "Novo vs Bluevine (2026): Free Business Checking Compared", October 2026.

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