Chase vs. Capital One Business Checking: Which Is Right for Your Business?

Choosing a business bank account might seem like just another item on a list of tasks you need to complete when you’re starting or growing your business—but the decision is actually much more important.

After all, you’ll use your bank account to store your business capital, pay your employees, and manage your day-to-day finances. Therefore, you’ll want to ensure that you’re choosing the right business bank account—and you might start with two of the most popular banks for small businesses, Chase and Capital One.

In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know to compare Chase vs. Capital One business checking—and determine which (if any) of the accounts from these banks can meet your business’s needs.

Before you compare the details of Chase vs. Capital One business checking—or any business checking accounts from that matter—it’s helpful to determine exactly what you’re looking for in a business bank account.

As you might imagine, the features included in different business bank accounts accommodate different types of companies. For example, some accounts are better-suited for businesses that handle a lot of cash, whereas others are better suited for those that send a lot of wires.

Plus, certain features (e.g. cash deposits, transactions, wire transfers) can accrue fees if you exceed the monthly allowance that is included for free with a particular account.

With all of this in mind, therefore, you’ll want to know the following about your business:

• Do you make a lot of transactions each month, or are you mostly looking for a place to house your funds until you need them?
• Do you handle a lot of physical cash, or are you more frequently getting paid by checks or direct deposit?
• Do you use wire transfers? Are they incoming or outgoing, domestic or international?
• Are you comfortable with paying a monthly fee or would you prefer a free business checking account? Do you have other active accounts—or plan to open them—to help you waive the fee with combined balances?
• Are you able to keep a minimum balance in your bank account, or are your cash margins pretty thin?
• Are there additional tools that you’re looking for—such as mobile banking, ACH transfers, employee debit cards, etc.?

Of course, you can ask yourself an endless number of questions, but starting with these will provide a strong basis for you to evaluate the Chase vs. Capital One business checking account options (as well as any others) and determine which might be best for you.

Once you have a better sense of what you’re looking for in your business checking account, you’ll be ready to start comparing the Capital One vs. Chase business accounts.

First and foremost, you’ll want to think about what “tier” of business checking account you’re looking for.

With business bank accounts from traditional brick-and-mortar banks, you’ll typically see checking accounts in a tiered format—in other words, there are entry-level accounts that offer certain features, and as you increase your “account level,” you’ll receive additional features (like an increased number of free transactions, or free cash deposits, for instance). Of course, the higher the tier of the account, the more expensive the annual fees are likely to be.

When comparing Chase vs. Capital One business checking, however, this point is particularly important—as Chase offers three tiers of accounts, whereas Capital One offers two.

With this in mind, let’s start by looking at the basic account levels for both Chase and Capital One. These accounts are both excellent entry-level options for new business owners.

Chase’s entry-level account is the Chase Business Complete Banking account. Features of this account include:

• Unlimited electronic deposits and deposited items—including ACH and ATM transactions, Chase QuickDeposit, debit card purchases, and internal transfers
• 20 free transactions per month (deposits and withdrawals made with a teller and paper checks written on the account), $0.40 per transaction thereafter
• $5,000 in free cash deposits each month (standard cash deposit fees apply after)
• A low monthly fee that can be waived multiple ways—including by maintaining the minimum daily balance
• Online and mobile banking including bill pay and mobile deposits
• 24/7 customer service

Capital One’s first business bank account option is the Spark Business Basic Checking account. Part of the Spark suite of business products—which includes Spark business credit cards—these accounts are designed to be digitally-focused and easy to use.

With the Spark Business Basic Checking account, features include:^[1]

• $250 minimum first deposit
• Unlimited transactions each month
• $5,000 in free cash deposits and a nominal fee ($1 per every $1,000) after that
• $15 monthly fee, which can be waived with a $2,000 minimum 30- or 90- day average balance
• Free business debit cards
• Online and mobile banking
• Mobile deposits
• Online bill pay

So, what stands out for each of these accounts?

For Chase, you’ll see a slightly lower monthly fee with online statements, plus—no minimum opening deposit. In this way, compared to Capital One, Chase makes it easier for you to get started with this business checking account.

With Capital One, on the other hand, you get unlimited transactions each month—which is not a common feature of basic business checking accounts, especially those from larger, more traditional business banks. This being said, however, Capital One does have a slightly higher monthly fee.

Although the two accounts have the same minimum threshold to have the monthly fee waived, Capital One gives you 30 or 90 days to maintain that balance, whereas Chase requires that you maintain it daily.

Overall, though, comparing Capital One vs. Chase business accounts at this level, the options are very similar. Along these lines, it’s also worth mentioning that although both of these accounts allow you to send and receive wires, they also both charge standard wiring fees to do so.

If you’re looking for more than the Chase Complete and Capital One Spark Basic business checking accounts can offer, you might consider the next tier level for both of these banks.

These accounts are a good fit for business owners who are dealing with quite a bit more cash than others, and who likely already have a solid foundation of recurring revenue. You certainly can use these options as starter accounts, however, you’ll want to be sure that you can meet the qualifications to waive the monthly fee if you don’t want to pay it.

The Chase Performance Business Checking account is a nice step up from the Chase Complete account, especially if you perform wire transfers since those fees can quickly add up. This being said, however, you’ll need to meet a much larger minimum balance to waive the monthly fee—$35,000 from $2,000—so that’s something to keep in mind.

Features of the Chase Performance Business Checking account include:

• $0 minimum first deposit
• 250 free transactions per month with unlimited online deposits
• No fees for incoming wire transfers, plus two free outgoing domestic wire transfers per month
• $20,000 in free cash deposits each month
• $30 monthly fee, which can be waived with a $35,000 minimum balance or with active qualifying accounts at Chase
• Chase business debit cards
• Online and mobile banking including bill pay and mobile deposits
• 24/7 customer service

You still have that same great foundation of unlimited transactions with the second-tier Capital One business checking account. As with the Chase Performance account, however, the Capital One Spark Business Unlimited account significantly raises the threshold to waive the monthly fee—requiring a minimum account balance of $25,000 as opposed to $2,000.

This being said, features of the Spark Business Unlimited checking account includes:^[2]

• $250 minimum opening deposit
• Unlimited transactions each month
• No fees for cash deposits
• No fees for incoming domestic wires, plus five free outgoing domestic wires
• $35 monthly fee, which can be waived with a minimum average balance of $25,000 over a 30- or 90- day period
• Online and mobile banking including bill pay and mobile deposits
• Free business debit cards
• Up to two Spark Business Basic Checking accounts with monthly service fee waivers included
• Next-day funds availability with deposits

If outgoing wire transfers are important to your business, then you’ll find a big advantage with Capital One vs. Chase here—as Capital One gives you three more free outgoing transfers than Chase. You’ll also appreciate the fact that this Capital One account also offers unlimited transactions and no fees for cash deposits.

On the other hand, Chase offers free incoming domestic and international wires, whereas Capital One charges for incoming international wires. Additionally, although the balance to waive your monthly fee is higher with Chase, their monthly fee is slightly cheaper than Capital One’s, to begin with.

Although Capital One only offers the two business checking account options, as we mentioned above, Chase offers three. The top-tier Chase account, Chase Platinum Business Checking, is designed for larger businesses with greater transaction and cash management needs.

When it comes down to it, it’s unlikely that the Chase Platinum Business Checking account will be suitable for newer, smaller businesses. This being said, however, you might consider upgrading your business checking account to the Platinum level as you grow and expand.

Features of the Chase Platinum Business Checking account include:

• $0 minimum first deposit
• 500 free transactions per month with unlimited online deposits
• No fees for incoming wire transfers, plus fees waived on your four most expensive outgoing domestic wire transfers per month
• $25,000 in free cash deposits each month
• $95 monthly fee, which can be waived with a $100,000 minimum balance or with active qualifying accounts or investments at Chase
• Chase business debit cards
• Online and mobile banking including bill pay and mobile deposits
• 24/7 customer service

As we’ve mentioned, it’s going to be difficult for most small business owners to reach the $100,000 minimum balance threshold to waive the monthly fee on the Chase Platinum Business Checking account. Along these lines, with a $95 monthly fee, paying for this Chase business checking account will require some serious budgeting.

Therefore, at the end of the day, although this top-tier Chase account has a number of benefits—500 free monthly transactions, $25,000 in monthly free cash deposits, free incoming wires, and more—it’s worth looking into the other accounts we’ve discussed if you’re not ready for this tier of business checking accounts.

Once again, however, if you do decide to opt for either the Chase Complete or Chase Performance account, you’ll always have the option to upgrade to the Platinum level as your business grows—which is not an option you’ll have if you opt for the Capital One Spark Unlimited account.

Although we’ve focused our comparison here on Chase vs. Capital One business checking accounts, it’s worth mentioning that both of these banks also offer business savings accounts.

Chase offers two business savings account options, as well as a Certificate of Deposit option. Capital One, on the other hand, offers one business savings account—Business Advantage Savings—as well as a Certificate of Deposit.

Overall, however, business savings accounts largely serve a different purpose—earning interest on your extra capital—compared to business checking accounts.

Nevertheless, if you’re interested in a business savings account from either of these financial institutions, you can learn more in our full reviews:

• Chase Business Savings Accounts Review
• Capital One Business Savings Accounts Review

At the end of the day, although they have their differences, both Capital One and Chase offer highly competitive business checking accounts that are well-suited for a variety of small business owners.

This being said, however, when comparing Chase vs. Capital One business checking accounts in detail, it seems that the Capital One accounts stand out with their unlimited transactions, whereas Chase stands out with their lack of minimum opening deposit requirements and three-tiered account options.

Moreover, both Chase and Capital One are known for their additional business products—including credit cards, loan products, and other banking accounts—which can be useful if you’re looking to consolidate services with one bank.

On the other hand, of course, you might determine that neither of these banks offers the business checking account that meets your needs and you might continue your search by comparing business bank accounts from local community banks, online-based banks, or other large banks, like Bank of America.