❦ Review · Last updated May 15, 2026
M
Mercury
The default for early-stage US startups. Free, fast, integrates with everything. The Treasury product (for $250k+ idle) is genuinely good.
BankingStartupEditor's Pick
❦ Score breakdown
9.6 / 10
Account in 11 minutes if you have incorporation docs ready.
9.4 / 10
Dashboard is the cleanest in business banking.
9.5 / 10
Free tier is genuinely free; paid tiers add control, not access.
9.0 / 10
QuickBooks, Stripe, Brex, Ramp, Xero — covered.
9.2 / 10
Free, no minimums, no personal guarantee. Made for this.
Strengths and tradeoffs
Strengths
- ●Free with no minimum balance or monthly fees
- ●Account approval in under a day for standard C-corps
- ●Treasury yields (4–5%) on idle cash without separate brokerage
- ●Issue virtual cards per project or per teammate
Tradeoffs
- ●US entities only — no international account opening
- ●Customer support is good but not 24/7 phone
- ●Wires take longer than incumbents (1–2 business days vs same-day)
What it does
- ●No monthly fees, no minimum balance, no in-person branch nonsense
- ●Native integrations with QuickBooks, Stripe, Brex, Ramp
- ●Mercury Raise gives early founders investor intros — actually useful
Features at a glance
| Feature | Mercury |
|---|---|
| Checking account | ● Included |
| Savings account | ● Included |
| Treasury (yield) | ● Included |
| Virtual cards | ● Included |
| Physical cards | ● Included |
| API access | ● Included |
| ACH transfers | ● Included |
| International wires | ● Included |
| Sub-accounts | ● Included |
| QuickBooks sync | ● Included |
| Bill pay | ● Included |
| Mobile app | ● Included |
Pricing
| Tier | Price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Checking, savings, debit cards, ACH + wires |
| Mercury Plus | $35/mo | Advanced controls, accounting integrations |
| Mercury Pro | $350/mo | Higher limits, dedicated support |
Who it's for
| Founder type | Verdict | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Solo Founder | Strong fit | Free banking that scales with you. No-brainer for US C-corps. |
| Small Team | Strong fit | Mercury Plus ($35/mo) covers team controls cleanly. |
| Agency | Workable | Works fine; some agencies prefer richer expense controls (Brex). |
Known limitations
- — US-incorporated entities only (Delaware C-corp, LLC)
- — No cash deposits; ACH/wires only
What founders say
“Opened the account in 11 minutes. Faster than my personal bank.”
“Mercury Raise actually got us 3 warm intros. That's $35k of value, free.”
“API + cards + sub-accounts. Replaces Brex for me at our stage.”