Starling Bank vs Toast: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Starling Bank had ~$1.2B of annual revenue in FY2026. Toast had $6.2B of annual revenue in FY2025 and $342M of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Starling Bank
- Latest annual revenue
- ~$1.2B (FY2026)
- Net income
- Unavailable here
- Net margin
- —
- Revenue growth
- +25.1% a year, FY2023–FY2026
Toast
- Latest annual revenue
- $6.2B (FY2025)
- Net income
- $342M
- Net margin
- 5.6%
- Revenue growth
- +44.9% a year, FY2019–FY2025
Financial summary
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. Starling Bank is a highly disruptive, digital-only challenger bank in the UK, maintaining a massive private market valuation estimated over $3 billion.
Toast
Toast's revenue rose from $665 million in 2019 to $1.71 billion in 2021, the year of its NYSE IPO, $3.87 billion in 2023, $4.96 billion in 2024 and $6.15 billion in 2025. It reported its first full year of GAAP net income in 2024 ($19 million) and earned $342 million in 2025, with adjusted EBITDA of $633 million. In Q2 2026, revenue grew 23% to $1.91 billion, net income was $154 million, GAAP operating margin reached 26% and the company raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance. Market capitalization was roughly $16-18 billion in September 2026, with shares down about 20% over the prior year.
Revenue and profit by year
Starling Bank
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | ~$1.2B | — | — | +24.3% | Source |
| FY2025 | ~$942.5M | — | — | +4.7% | Source |
| FY2024 | ~$900.5M | — | — | +50.7% | Source |
| FY2023 | ~$597.7M | — | — | — | Source |
Toast
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $6.2B | $342M | 5.6% | +24.1% | Source |
| FY2024 | $5B | $19M | 0.4% | +28.3% | Source |
| FY2023 | $3.9B | -$246M | -6.4% | +41.5% | Source |
| FY2022 | $2.7B | -$275M | -10.1% | +60.2% | Source |
| FY2021 | $1.7B | -$487M | -28.6% | +107.2% | Source |
| FY2020 | $823M | -$248M | -30.1% | +23.8% | Source |
| FY2019 | $665M | -$209M | -31.4% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Starling Bank
- Business banking
Not formally reported
Accounts and lending for British small and medium-sized businesses. This is the main source of profit.
- Retail banking
Not formally reported
Free personal current accounts, which bring in customers and low-cost deposits that fund mortgages and SME loans.
- Engine by Starling
About $92.4 million committed ARR
Starling's cloud banking software licensed to other banks. GBP 70 million.
Toast
- Financial Technology Solutions~80%
Card processing fees on restaurant payment volume (about $195 billion of GPV in 2025), plus Toast Capital lending fees.
- Subscription Services~15%
Recurring fees for POS software, kitchen display, online ordering, payroll, scheduling, inventory and marketing modules.
- Hardware and Professional Services~5%
Terminals, Toast Go handhelds and installation, usually priced to win accounts rather than for profit.
Business model and strategy
Starling Bank
How it makes money
Starling earns money in three ways. Retail banking offers free personal current accounts, which bring in customers and deposits. Business banking serves British small and medium-sized businesses and is its main source of profit.
Growth strategy
Starling is growing through software sales and lending rather than by opening consumer banks in new countries, which is expensive and heavily regulated. It sells its Engine platform to existing banks, including in Asia and the Middle East, and it is expanding mortgage and commercial lending in the UK, funded by its deposit base of about $16.8 billion (GBP 12.7 billion).
Competitive advantage
Starling's advantage is its own core banking software. It built its banking infrastructure in the cloud from the start, while older banks run on decades-old mainframe systems that cost far more to maintain. That keeps Starling's cost per account low. Its founder, Anne Boden, came from traditional banking, which helped the company work through UK banking regulation and obtain a full licence.
Toast
How it makes money
Toast sells restaurants a bundled platform and monetizes it in three ways. Financial technology solutions, mainly card processing on the gross payment volume that runs through Toast terminals and online ordering, make up the large majority of revenue (roughly four-fifths in recent filings), though payments carry thinner margins than software.
Growth strategy
Toast's growth strategy has four parts: keep adding small and mid-sized US restaurants through local field sales; win enterprise chains; expand into adjacent food and beverage verticals and international markets (Canada, the UK and Ireland); and raise revenue per location by attaching more software modules, including AI-driven marketing and analytics under the Toast IQ brand.
Competitive advantage
Toast's advantages are its restaurant-only focus, a single platform that ties POS, kitchen display, online ordering, payroll and payments to one data set, field sales density in major US metro areas, and switching costs once staff, menus, kitchens and payroll run on Toast. Its offline mode lets terminals keep taking orders during internet outages.
Questions about Starling Bank vs Toast
Which company has higher revenue — Starling Bank or Toast, Inc.?
Starling Bank had ~$1.2B (FY2026), while Toast, Inc. had $6.2B (FY2025). By latest annual revenue, Toast, Inc. is the larger business, with Starling Bank showing a smaller revenue base. Note: these are from different fiscal years and are not a direct like-for-like comparison.
What is the market cap of Starling Bank vs Toast, Inc.?
Toast, Inc. has a market capitalisation of $17.0B. A public market cap figure for Starling Bank was not available (it may be privately held).
How does revenue per employee compare for Starling Bank and Toast, Inc.?
Starling Bank has $335k / employee in revenue per employee, while Toast, Inc. has $947k / employee. Headcounts may use different dates, so the ratio alone does not establish which business operates more efficiently.
How do Starling Bank and Toast, Inc. make money?
Starling Bank and Toast, Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Starling Bank: Starling earns money in three ways. Toast, Inc.: Toast sells restaurants a bundled platform and monetizes it in three ways.
Is Starling Bank bigger than Toast, Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Toast, Inc. ($6.2B (FY2025)) 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 Starling Bank vs Toast overview