Monzo vs Starling Bank: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Monzo reported ~$2.2B of revenue in FY2026 and ~$115.2M of net income. Starling Bank reported ~$1.2B of revenue in FY2026 and — of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Monzo
- Latest revenue
- ~$2.2B (FY2026)
- Net income
- ~$115.2M
- Net margin
- 5.1%
- Revenue growth
- +68.5% a year, FY2023–FY2026
Starling Bank
- Latest revenue
- ~$1.2B (FY2026)
- Net income
- —
- Net margin
- 0.0%
- Revenue growth
- +25.1% a year, FY2023–FY2026
Financial summary
Monzo
Monzo spent its first years losing money while it grew a free account base. After a 2020 down-round, it added paid subscriptions, lending and business plans, and higher interest rates in 2022 and 2023 lifted income on its deposit base. It posted its first annual profit in FY2024 (~$20.3 million (£15.4 million) pre-tax on ~$1.16 billion (£880 million) revenue), then ~$79.9 million (£60.5 million) on about $1.58 billion (£1.2 billion) in FY2025. In FY2026 revenue rose 39% to ~$2.24 billion (£1.7 billion), gross profit passed ~$1.32 billion (£1 billion) for the first time, statutory pre-tax profit reached ~$115 million (£87.3 million) and adjusted pre-tax profit ~$228 million (£172.6 million). Operating expenses grew more than a third to ~$1.22 billion (£925.5 million) as it invested in staff and expansion.
Starling Bank
Starling's profits come mainly from net interest income: it funds mortgages and SME loans with low-cost deposits. That made it a big winner from higher UK interest rates, with pre-tax profit peaking at ~$397M (£301.1M) in FY24. As rates eased, profit settled at ~$295M (£223.4M) in FY25 and ~$287M (£217.1M) in FY26, and reported revenue slipped from ~$1.24B (£940.0M) to ~$1.17B (£887.4M). Deposits still grew to ~$16.8B (£12.7B), and Engine by Starling's revenue rose 25% in FY26, adding a fee-based line that depends less on interest rates.
Revenue and profit by year
Monzo
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | ~$2.2B | ~$115.2M | 5.1% | +41.7% | Source |
| FY2025 | ~$1.6B | ~$79.9M | 5.0% | +36.4% | Source |
| FY2024 | ~$1.2B | ~$20.3M | 1.8% | +147.5% | Source |
| FY2023 | ~$469.4M | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
Starling Bank
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | ~$1.2B | — | 0.0% | +24.3% | Source |
| FY2025 | ~$942.5M | — | 0.0% | +4.7% | Source |
| FY2024 | ~$900.5M | — | 0.0% | +50.7% | Source |
| FY2023 | ~$597.7M | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Monzo
- Net interest income
Not disclosed
Interest on deposits held with the Bank of England and on personal loans, overdrafts and Monzo Flex balances.
- Subscriptions
Not disclosed
Monthly fees for Monzo Extra, Perks and Max and paid Monzo Business plans.
- Interchange and other fees
Not disclosed
Card interchange, partner commissions and investment and pension platform fees.
Starling Bank
No segment breakdown is published.
Business model and strategy
Monzo
How it makes money
Monzo makes money in four main ways. First, net interest income: it earns interest on customer deposits placed with the Bank of England and on its loan book of personal loans, overdrafts and Monzo Flex credit. Second, subscriptions: customers pay monthly for Monzo Extra, Perks and Max plans, which bundle perks such as insurance and higher savings rates.
Growth strategy
Monzo's growth strategy has three parts: get more UK customers to make Monzo their main account, sell them more products (loans, Flex, savings, investments, pensions and paid plans), and expand into Europe using its EU banking licence, starting with Ireland. In April 2026 it chose to exit the US, saying it would focus on its home market and Europe; about 50 roles were affected.
Competitive advantage
Monzo's edge is a combination of brand, scale and low-cost growth. It reports that 79% of new customers arrive by word of mouth, it holds a full UK banking licence that lets it fund lending with cheap deposits, and it runs on its own cloud-based core banking system rather than legacy mainframes, which lets it ship features quickly.
Starling Bank
How it makes money
Starling operates a highly optimized B2C and B2B Digital Banking model. 1. Retail Banking (The acquisition engine): Offering free, highly intuitive personal checking accounts. 2. Business Banking (The large profit engine): This is Starling's absolute key move. They aggressively targeted British small businesses (SMEs) who were completely ignored and overcharged by legacy banks. 3.
Growth strategy
Having dominated the UK SME banking market, Starling's large growth strategy is a highly aggressive pivot to 'Global Software Sales' (Engine by Starling) and dominating 'High-Margin Lending'. They realize expanding a consumer bank into Europe is highly expensive and highly regulated. Instead, their absolute mandate is selling their 'Engine' software to existing banks in Asia and the Middle East.
Competitive advantage
Starling's absolute competitive advantage is its large, impenetrable moat of 'Proprietary Core Banking Software' and its alarming 'Founder DNA'. Legacy banks operate on 40-year-old, terrifyingly fragile mainframe code (like COBOL). Starling built its entire banking infrastructure from scratch in the cloud.
Questions about Monzo vs Starling Bank
Which company has higher revenue — Monzo Bank Limited or Starling Bank?
Monzo Bank Limited reported ~$2.2B (FY2026), while Starling Bank reported ~$1.2B (FY2026). By last reported revenue, Monzo Bank Limited is the larger business, with Starling Bank reporting a smaller revenue base.
Which is more financially efficient — Monzo Bank Limited or Starling Bank?
Monzo Bank Limited generates $425k / employee in revenue per employee, while Starling Bank generates $335k / employee. Monzo Bank Limited shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Monzo Bank Limited and Starling Bank make money?
Monzo Bank Limited and Starling Bank generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Monzo Bank Limited: Monzo makes money in four main ways. Starling Bank: Starling operates a highly optimized B2C and B2B Digital Banking model.
Is Monzo Bank Limited bigger than Starling Bank?
By last reported revenue, Monzo Bank Limited (~$2.2B (FY2026)) is the larger company compared to Starling Bank (~$1.2B (FY2026)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Monzo vs Starling Bank overview