The short version
Revolut is bigger, cheaper on FX and better resourced; Monese has historically been easier to open without a UK credit history. Neither is a financial planning tool in any meaningful sense.
Why people compare them
Both are multi-currency accounts aimed at people who moved to the UK or move money across borders.
Price and fit, side by side
| Feature | Revolut | Monese |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest paid plan | RevolutFree tier, then £3.99 per month | MoneseFree tier, then £2.95 per month |
| Free tier | RevolutYes | MoneseYes |
| Billed in pounds | RevolutYes | MoneseYes |
| Best for | RevolutPeople who spend or move money across currencies and travel often | MonesePeople who need a UK account without a UK credit history or proof of address |
Where Revolut wins
- Best in class currency exchange and multi-currency accounts
- Very high App Store rating from over a million UK ratings, an unusually large sample
- The free Standard plan covers everyday spending without any fee
Where Monese wins
- Opens accounts for people mainstream UK banks decline, which is a genuine social good and the reason it exists
- A real £0 plan, so you can hold an account without a monthly fee
- Multi-currency handling and free transfers between Monese accounts regardless of country
Where both fall short
- Neither models UK pensions or answers the retirement question directly.
- Neither handles ISA allowances or the tax wrapper decisions around them.
- Neither applies UK tax rules to what it shows you.
- Both are built US-first, so UK users pay in dollars and work around US assumptions.
If neither is quite right
If what you actually want is the retirement answer rather than a better dashboard, that is the gap Delphina was built for: UK pensions, ISAs and tax, projected to the age you want to stop. It does not do the job Revolut does for people who spend or move money across currencies and travel often, so if that is the real problem, Revolut is still the better buy. Free plan is £0, no card.
Revolut vs Monese: common questions
Revolut is £3.99 per month and Monese is £2.95 per month. Compare the billing period before the number: an annual price and a monthly price are not the same thing.
You can, and some people do, because they solve different halves of the problem. It does mean paying for both, so add the two annual figures together before deciding.
Judge it on billing currency, Open Banking coverage and whether ISAs and pensions are handled. Check each one against those three points, because a tool that scores well elsewhere can still be a poor fit in the UK.
Revolut suits people who spend or move money across currencies and travel often. Monese suits people who need a uk account without a uk credit history or proof of address. The one that matches how you already think about money will take less setting up.
Revolut scores 4.9/5 on Apple App Store (GB) from 1,046,930 ratings. Monese scores 4.7/5 on Apple App Store (UK) from 78,181 ratings. Weigh the volume as well as the score.
Delphina covers the gap both leave, which is UK pensions, ISAs and tax projected forward to retirement. The trade-off is that it does not do the job Revolut does for people who spend or move money across currencies and travel often, so if that is the real need, pick one of these two.