Mercury vs Relay vs Bluevine in 2026: Fees, APY and Who Each Business Fits

Mercury, Relay or Bluevine: the choice turns on whether your balance earns yield and what each wire costs. As read on October 24, 2026, Mercury's entry plan has no monthly fee and prints no yield below a $250K balance, with banking through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A. Relay's Starter has no monthly fee and pays 1.19% APY on savings, with banking through Thread Bank. Bluevine's Standard has no monthly fee and pays 1.3% APY only in months that meet an activity goal, with banking through Coastal Community Bank.

Financeradar data: 4 of the 8 business accounts in our catalog charge no monthly fee, and the highest APY we list is 3.75%, which needs $50,000 and an open, funded business checking account (read October 17, 2026). None of Mercury, Relay or Bluevine is in that table, so the rates below come from their own pages, read on October 24, 2026.

All three open with a plan that has no monthly fee, so that fee does not separate them. The rate, the wire fees and the bank behind the deposits do. This page sets those out from each provider's own pages, works through one $50,000 month, and says which kind of business each account fits.

Side by side

As of October 24, 2026, every cell comes from the provider's pricing, plan or fee page. Rates are variable, and each one carries the date its provider printed.

Interest depends on three different conditions

Mercury pays yield only through Treasury, and Treasury starts at $250,000 across Mercury accounts. Its pricing page says "Earn up to 4.08% yield" and "Available to eligible customers with $250K Mercury balance." Its Treasury page shows 3.30% for the $250K to $2M tier in the government money market fund and 3.63% in the ultra-short bond fund. Both are net of fees. The 4.08% ultra-short bond figure is dated October 16, 2026, and the 3.30% government money market figure is dated October 19, 2026. The 4.08% figure sits in the $20M to $50M row.

Relay's rate follows the plan, not the balance. Savings pay 1.19% APY on Starter, 1.87% on Grow and 3.21% on Scale. Relay's pricing page dates those rates to September 17, 2026, and calls them variable. The interest sits on savings accounts, and every Relay plan allows two per business.

Bluevine's rate on Standard depends on activity. The 1.3% applies only in a month when the account spends $500 or more on its Bluevine Business Debit Mastercard or receives or deposits $2,500 or more in customer payments, per its business checking page. Plus pays 1.75% with no requirement, and Premier pays 3.0% on all balances with no requirement. Bluevine's pages print no rate date, so those figures carry October 24, 2026.

Fees: the wires split the three

Standard ACH carries no fee at Mercury and Bluevine, and Relay's pricing page does not state one. Mercury sends domestic wires with no fee on every plan, and its FAQ says customers can receive ACH, wire or check payments free of charge. Relay charges $8 for a domestic wire on Starter, and its higher plans charge less. Bluevine charges $15 on Standard, $12 on Plus and $7.50 on Premier. Bluevine's incoming domestic wires carry no fee, and Relay's page does not state one.

Same-day ACH is the other split. Mercury lists no fee on any plan. Relay charges $1 on Starter, $0.50 on Grow and nothing on Scale. Bluevine charges $10 on Standard and drops to its lowest fee on Premier, the plan with the highest monthly fee.

International USD wires cost $25 on Bluevine's Standard. Mercury sends them with no fee on the standard route, and its OUR option adds a flat $15 so intermediary fees are charged back to Mercury rather than the recipient. Non-USD wires add an exchange charge: 1% at Mercury and 1.5% on top of the USD wire fee at Bluevine's Standard. Relay's pricing page does not state its non-USD wire fee.

Cash and checks split on a different line. Mercury's help center says it does not support cash deposits. Relay charges up to $4.95 for a Green Dot cash deposit, and Bluevine charges $4.95 per Green Dot deposit. Mailed checks carry no fee at Mercury, and Relay's page does not state a check fee. Mercury's FAQ says it provides up to six complimentary checkbooks a year, while Bluevine charges $1.50 per printed check on Standard. A business that banks cash has to find another route at Mercury, and that is the first thing to check if cash is part of the revenue.

Mercury: no monthly fee, and a yield that starts at $250,000

Mercury's entry plan has no monthly fee, overdraft penalty or minimum balance, according to its pricing page. The paid tiers are Plus at $29.90/mo and Pro at $299/mo on the page's annual-pricing view, which takes 15% off. Paid plans cost $29.90/mo (Plus) and $299/mo (Pro) on annual billing, and $35/mo and $350/mo on monthly billing. Mercury Books, the accounting add-on, is $35/mo. Customers who subscribe by December 1, 2026 pay no fee through December 31, 2026, and later subscribers get a one-month waiver.

What the free plan leaves out is the yield, which sits behind Treasury's balance floor. A non-USD card purchase carries a 3% currency fee. Mercury's own wording on the bank is "Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC." Its sweep network is printed as up to $5M in FDIC insurance. Treasury accounts are covered by SIPC insurance instead, which protects up to $500K in securities and cash.

Relay: the rate steps up by plan, and so do the wires

Relay has three plans. Starter has no monthly fee, Grow is $30/mo, and Scale is $120/mo regular with a $90/mo price that the pricing page labels "discounted for a limited time." The page prints no end date for that discount. Starter allows 20 checking accounts and two savings accounts, and Scale allows 50 checking accounts.

The cost to plan around on Starter is the domestic wire, paired with a 1.19% savings yield. The 3.21% needs Scale. Relay's cash back on its Visa credit card runs from 1% on Starter to 1.5% on Scale.

Relay's bank wording is "Relay is a financial technology company and is not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC." Its footnote says deposits qualify for up to $3,000,000 in FDIC insurance when Thread Bank places them at program banks in its sweep program, with up to $250,000 at each program bank.

Bluevine: the 1.3% needs activity, and the waivers need two tests

Standard has no monthly fee. Plus is $30/mo and Premier is $95/mo, and an upgrade starts with a one-month trial that carries no fee. Bluevine's plans and pricing page waives the Plus fee with an average daily balance of $20,000 across the account and its sub-accounts and $2,000 of debit card spend in each billing period. The Premier waiver needs $100,000 and $5,000, and both tests apply together. A balance under $100,000 cannot waive the Premier fee.

The weakness on Standard is the outgoing wire, the highest of the three entry-plan wire fees, plus a $10 same-day ACH. Sub-accounts run to 5 on Standard, 10 on Plus and 50 on Premier. Bluevine's wording is "Bluevine is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking Services provided by Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC." and its deposit line reads "FDIC insured up to $3,000,000 per depositor through Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC and our program banks."

A $50,000 month, worked out

These figures are our arithmetic on printed prices and rates. A small LLC keeps a $50,000 average balance, sends one outgoing domestic wire and 15 standard ACH payments a month (Relay's pricing page does not state a standard ACH fee, so the Relay rows assume none), takes no cash and runs no card spend. Monthly interest equals the balance times the APY, divided by 12.

Mercury's entry plan earns nothing on this balance, because its only yield, Treasury, needs a larger balance. Relay's Scale card shows $90 a month against a $120 regular price, labelled as a limited-time discount, and the page prints no end date for it. The Bluevine Premier fee applies at this balance because its waiver needs $100,000 on average.

Who each business fits

These are fit statements, not picks.

Mercury fits a business that sends most of its money by ACH and USD wire, takes in no cash and does not need yield on a balance under Treasury's floor. The cost to weigh is currency: 1% on non-USD wires and 3% on non-USD card purchases.

Relay fits a business that wants a savings yield on a plan with no monthly fee and needs up to 20 checking accounts. The Starter wire is the cost to plan around, and the 3.21% savings rate needs Scale.

Bluevine fits a business that can meet Standard's activity goal every month, through debit card spend or customer payments. Premier fits a business whose average balance clears $100,000, where the fee can be waived with $5,000 of card spend and the 3.0% applies to every dollar.

For other providers, our best banks for small business, business checking and business savings guides cover the wider market, and the small business hub links the rest. For a business money market or savings product outside these three, see the Axos Bank business money market and Axos Bank business savings pages. Business card pages in our catalog include Capital One Spark Cash Plus and Amex Blue Business Plus.

FAQ

Which of the three pays the highest rate?

On entry plans, Bluevine's Standard pays the highest rate at 1.3% APY, and only in months that meet its activity goal. Relay's Starter pays 1.19% on savings, and Mercury's entry plan prints no yield below the Treasury floor. On the top plans, Bluevine Premier pays 3.0% on all balances, Relay's Scale pays 3.21% on savings, and Mercury Treasury's 4.08% needs total Mercury deposits of $20M or more, in the ultra-short bond fund.

Is Mercury a bank?

No. Its pricing page says it is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank, with banking provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC.

What does a domestic wire cost at each?

Mercury charges nothing on any plan. Relay charges $8 on Starter and less on the higher plans. Bluevine charges $15 on Standard, $12 on Plus and $7.50 on Premier. Mercury and Bluevine charge nothing for incoming domestic wires, and Relay's page does not state a fee.

What deposit insurance does each page print?

Mercury prints up to $5M through its sweep network. Relay prints up to $3 million when Thread Bank places deposits at program banks. Bluevine prints up to $3 million per depositor through Coastal Community Bank and its program banks. Each page says the company itself is not a bank.

Can I deposit cash at Mercury?

No. Its help center says Mercury does not support cash deposits. Relay and Bluevine both charge a fee for Green Dot cash deposits, as the table shows.

Does Relay's 3.21% need a balance?

Relay ties the 3.21% savings APY to the Scale plan. Its footnote names no balance condition. Scale costs $90/mo at the limited-time price or $120/mo regular.

Does Bluevine's 1.3% need card spending?

It can also be met with customer payments. Standard earns 1.3% in a month with $500 or more of spend on its Bluevine Business Debit Mastercard, or with $2,500 or more in customer payments received or deposited. Plus and Premier carry no activity requirement for their rates.

How we compared

We read Mercury's pricing and Treasury pages, Mercury's help center article on deposits, Relay's pricing page, and Bluevine's plans and business checking pages on October 24, 2026. Each rate carries the date its provider printed: Relay's savings rates are dated September 17, 2026, Mercury's Treasury yields October 16, 2026 (ultra-short bond fund) and October 19, 2026 (government money market fund), and Bluevine prints no date. Interest figures are our arithmetic on those rates. Financeradar may earn a commission from some links; it never affects rankings (how we make money).

This page is general information, not personalized financial advice. Confirm current terms with each provider before you rely on them, because rates are variable and partner banks change.

Cite this: Financeradar, "Mercury vs Relay vs Bluevine in 2026", October 2026.