The best online business bank for a freelancer depends on whether you just need a reliable place to hold money or a complete system that manages your taxes and bookkeeping alongside your deposits. Both Found and Lili are financial technology companies built specifically for solo operators, bundling tax savings and expense tracking directly into a business checking account. If you need robust built-in tax tools and prefer no monthly fee for the core product, Found is a strong starting point. However, before choosing either platform, you must establish your business legally. The Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Small Business Administration require clear separation of personal and business finances. Getting your entity set up and your Employer Identification Number in place is the essential first step, which is where a formation and compliance service like ZenBusiness comes in. Once the entity exists, Found and Lili are the leading account options for the solo operator.

The Rule of Separation

Before comparing the software features of Found and Lili, you have to address the structural foundation of your freelance business. Many solo operators begin by running contract income through a personal checking account. This is a structural error that can cost you legally and financially.

The Internal Revenue Service states in Publication 583 that "One of the first things you should do when you start a business is open a business checking account. You should keep your business account separate from your personal checking account." This separation makes it possible to accurately track deductible expenses and prove that your freelance operation is a legitimate business.

When you operate as a sole proprietor or a single-member LLC, the line between personal and business activity can feel blurry. However, the legal system and the tax authorities demand a sharp boundary. By running all your business income and expenses through a dedicated account, you create a clean audit trail. This means that at the end of the year, identifying your deductible business expenses is a matter of reviewing one bank statement rather than trying to pick apart hundreds of personal transactions. If you are ever audited, this clear documentation is your strongest defense.

The U.S. Small Business Administration takes this separation requirement even further. The SBA states that "To keep personal funds and business funds completely separate you must have two different bank accounts." This is a liability question rather than just a bookkeeping preference. According to the SBA, failing to separate means "you risk forfeiting the legal protections that entity structures offer." The agency emphasizes that separation is "pivotal for protecting your own assets and credit."

Because of these rigid requirements, banks and fintechs will ask for proof of your business entity and your tax status when you apply. What a bank actually asks for varies by bank. For example, Bank of America asks for the business name and address, the state of formation, an Employer Identification Number or Social Security Number, the date established, and personal details including the Social Security Number and date of birth "for everyone on the application, including those with at least 25% or more ownership". It may request the Articles of Organization or an equivalent document, and trade name documentation where the business operates under a different name. Bank of America does not list an operating agreement as required, which means you should not assume every bank will demand one.

The reason traditional banks require such exhaustive documentation is to comply with federal regulations regarding beneficial ownership and anti-money laundering laws. They must know exactly who controls the business and where the funds are coming from. This is why having your entity formation documents perfectly organized is not just a best practice, but a strict prerequisite for accessing the financial system.

ZenBusiness

Because the financial institution needs the entity paperwork and the EIN before it can open the account, formation is the required step before banking. ZenBusiness is a service that handles entity formation, EIN acquisition, and registered agent services for freelancers and small businesses. ZenBusiness gets the necessary paperwork in order so that when you approach a provider like Found or Lili, your business is legally ready to hold money.

Found vs Lili: Head to Head for Freelancers

Once your entity is formed and your EIN is active, you are ready to open an account. Found and Lili are two of the most popular options for solo operators. Neither Found nor Lili is a chartered bank. They are financial technology platforms that provide software interfaces while partnering with traditional banks to hold your actual deposits. This model allows them to build specialized software for freelancers that traditional banks rarely offer.

Choosing between these two platforms usually comes down to how you prefer to pay for software. Found has chosen to pack a significant amount of value into its free tier, making it highly attractive for freelancers who are just launching their businesses and need to keep fixed costs as low as possible. Lili operates more like a traditional subscription software product, where the most valuable tools require a monthly commitment.

Found

Found is built entirely around the idea that a freelancer's bank account should also serve as their bookkeeper and tax planner. The platform automatically tracks expenses, categorizes transactions for tax purposes, and estimates your tax bill in real time. Found can even help generate Schedule C tax forms, which is a massive advantage for sole proprietors and single-member LLCs at tax time.

Pricing is straightforward. As of October 6, 2026, Found has a Free tier at $0. Upgrading to the Plus tier costs $35/mo or $315/yr. The top tier Pro plan is $80/mo or $720/yr.

The Free tier is remarkably generous. It includes the core tax estimation tools and basic expense tracking. The Plus and Pro tiers unlock more advanced features for scaling businesses. For a new freelancer, the $0 tier often provides more than enough functionality to manage a growing operation.

Lili

Lili also targets freelancers and solo business owners with tools for expense tracking and tax optimization. Its signature feature is the tax bucket, which automatically sets aside a percentage of your income for taxes every time you get paid. This prevents the common freelancer problem of accidentally spending tax money before the quarterly payment is due.

As of October 6, 2026, Lili offers a Core plan at $0. Paid tiers include Pro at $15/mo, Smart at $35/mo, and Premium at $55/mo. Lili occasionally offers a promotional rate of roughly 40% off for 3 months on the paid tiers, but this is a temporary discount and the standard figures represent the ongoing price.

While Lili's Core plan has no monthly fee, it functions as a standard checking account. The automated tax savings bucket, invoicing tools, and advanced accounting features are reserved for the Pro, Smart, and Premium tiers. This means that to get the real value out of Lili as a freelancer, you will likely need to pay a monthly subscription.

Other Banking Options for Solo Operators

While Found and Lili dominate the conversation for integrated tax tools, there are several other notable options for business accounts. The list below is alphabetical and does not represent a ranking.

Bluevine

Bluevine is a strong option for freelancers who keep larger cash reserves and want to earn a yield on their deposits. For a freelancer operating with high cash reserves, earning interest on idle funds can offset the cost of other business software. As of October 6, 2026, Bluevine Standard is $0/mo, Plus is $30/mo, and Premier is $95/mo. The Plus and Premier fees are waivable. APY is 1.3% on Standard subject to a monthly activity goal, 1.75% on Plus, and 3.0% on Premier.

Mercury

Mercury is positioned primarily for technology startups, but it is entirely functional for solo operators who need robust wire capabilities and a clean interface. A solo consultant or high-volume freelancer might choose Mercury if they frequently deal with wire transfers or need to issue physical cards to contractors. As of October 6, 2026, the base plan is $0/mo, Plus is $29.90/mo, and Pro is $299/mo.

Novo

Novo is a financial technology company with a heavy focus on software integrations. Rather than building a closed ecosystem, Novo acts as a central hub for the software you already use. If you already pay for dedicated accounting software or payment processors, Novo allows you to connect them all in one place. As of October 6, 2026, Novo is $0/mo, with no monthly fee.

Relay

Relay allows you to open multiple accounts, making it ideal for freelancers who simply want to organize their cash flow into distinct envelopes. By allowing multiple accounts, you can create dedicated buckets for operating expenses, payroll, taxes, and profit, ensuring you always know exactly how much cash is available for each specific purpose. As of October 6, 2026, Relay Starter is $0/mo, Grow is $30/mo, and Scale is $90/mo.

Wise

Wise is the standard for international freelancers who need to receive payments in multiple currencies. Freelancers who work with clients across different countries often lose significant amounts of money to foreign exchange fees and wire costs at traditional banks. Wise solves this by providing local account details in multiple currencies. As of October 6, 2026, there is no monthly fee and registering is free. A one-time 31 USD fee opens the full business feature set. Wise charges per transaction instead of a subscription, with sending and conversion fees from 0.23% varying by currency.

The Regulatory Reality of Fintechs

Because Found, Lili, Mercury, Novo, and Relay are financial technology companies rather than chartered banks, they operate under different regulatory frameworks. This is a critical point for freelancers holding large tax reserves in these accounts.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation provides explicit guidance on how insurance works with these platforms. The FDIC notes that "nonbank companies themselves are never FDIC-insured". Furthermore, "funds you send to a nonbank company are not eligible for FDIC insurance until the company deposits them in an FDIC-insured bank and after other conditions are met."

This pass-through insurance relies entirely on the partner bank. Crucially, "FDIC deposit insurance does not protect against the insolvency or bankruptcy of a nonbank company". If the financial technology platform itself fails, the FDIC does not step in to make you whole immediately. In that scenario, recovery runs through an insolvency or bankruptcy proceeding and "may take some time."

When your funds are safely deposited at the partner bank, the rules are strict. "The deposit accounts of a corporation, partnership, or unincorporated association are insured for up to $250,000." It is vital to understand that this limit is aggregated per institution. All accounts held by the same entity at one insured bank are combined. As the FDIC states, separate accounts for different divisions or purposes do not get separate coverage. If you maintain a main operating balance and a separate tax reserve balance at the same partner bank under the same business entity, those balances are added together when calculating your deposit insurance limit.

Sources

This article provides general information and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice; requirements vary and are subject to change.