first direct vs Starling
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
first direct
Manage your finances on the go with this intuitive banking app. Check balances, view transactions, and send money to friends and family with ease. This app simplifies everyday money management with a host of features designed for convenience.
- Check account balances
- View transaction history
- Pay friends and family
- Simplified money management
- Intuitive user interface
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Your everyday just got a whole lot easier. Even better banking has arrived. At the coffee shop, deciding if it’s a skinny soy latte or a cup of tea. In a taxi stuck in traffic, wondering how much you’ve saved for your trip to Machu Picchu. On a rollercoaster, planning the decorations for your dog’s third birthday party… Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, our new and improved mobile app makes banking even simpler. From checking your balances and viewing transactions to paying family and friends, mobile banking takes all the hassle out of everyday money stuff. You can now do more than ever from the comfort of your own phone - and if that’s not exciting enough, this is just the start of our mini digital revolution, with loads more improvements on the way. So go on. Get yourself up to date. Update now >> • Free to use, but providers may charge for download and usage • Use in accordance with local laws and check charges if using abroad • Use in accordance with our App terms and conditions • Use in accordance with Apple terms and conditions • This app may be withdrawn at any time, but we’ll always keep you in the loop.
Starling
A digital banking app offering personal, joint, and business accounts with advanced security and 24/7 UK-based support. Manage your money, organize spending, and build financial habits with intuitive tools.
- Apply for accounts from your phone
- 24/7 UK customer support
- Manage account security
- FSCS protection up to £120,000
- Personal, joint, and business accounts
- Organize finances with 'Spaces'
- Instant spending notifications
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Best-in-class banking, designed for your phone and life in the 2020s. Our free, habit-building bank accounts help millions of people be good with money. Apply for a free bank account directly from your phone – in minutes. Industry-leading digital banking security. • 24/7 UK-based customer support from real people. • Manage your account security with simple controls in the app. • FSCS protection up to £120,000. • Verify if it’s us calling you, with call status indicators in the app. One app. Everyday banking. From personal to joint to business banking, bring your finances under one roof: • Personal account: Spend, organise, save with the habit-building bank account. • Joint account: Bills, budgets or just getting brunch: it’s better together. • Business account: Pay no monthly fees, 24/7 UK customer support and free invoicing and accounting tools. • Under 16s: The free debit card for kids, managed from your account. • Student account: Budget with Spaces, spend abroad with no fees and apply for an interest-free overdraft. Easy mobile banking that just works. • Branchless and fully online. • Open and manage your account entirely from your phone. • Spend abroad like a local with no fees from us. • Get an instant notification every time you spend or receive money. Build life-changing habits with game-changing features. • Organise your finances by setting money aside into virtual ‘change jars’, aka Spaces. • Get instant notifications every time you spend. On holiday? Get notifications in both currencies. • Put your bills on autopilot so you only spend what’s actually available. • Make every penny count by rounding up payments to the nearest pound. • Get a clearer picture of your spending with our AI-powered features. Starling Bank Limited (trading as Starling) is registered in England and Wales (No. 09092149), 5th Floor London Fruit And Wool Exchange, 1 Duval Square, London, United Kingdom, E1 6PW. We are authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number 730166.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Starling at weekly against first direct's monthly. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for first direct against 4.9 for Starling. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2K and 2.8K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of first direct's written reviews are positive against 74% of Starling's.
first direct ships an update monthly, Starling weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | first direct | Starling |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (2K ratings) — better | 4.9 (2.8K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 76.5% of reviews — better | 74.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2K | 2.8K — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 319 MB | 558 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | first direct | STARLING BANK LIMITED |
Customer experience
first direct
Starling
User reviews
first direct
From 2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Fast and accurate
- 🔒 Excellent security
- 💡 Helpful customer service
- 👍 Consistent and reliable
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional app crashes
- 🔒 Overly complex security measures
- 💡 Outdated and basic design
- 🔒 Frustrating authentication process
- 🐛 Buggy cheque deposit feature
Starling
From 2.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use app
- 🚀 Instant transactions
- 🔒 Secure banking
- 💡 Useful features like Spaces
- 👍 Excellent customer service
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashes and freezes
- 🔒 Overly strict security measures
- 💰 Fees for cash deposits
- 🚫 Inability to open certain account types
- 🚫 Declined payments with no explanation
Bugs and requests
first direct
Reported bugs
4 issues- App freezing and crashing
- Issues with cheque deposit functionality
- Problems with multi-device authentication
- Inconsistent behavior when updating payee details
Requested features
5 requests- Dark mode option
- Improved transaction history and insights
- Ability to edit scheduled payments and payees
- Streamlined payment flow
- Better categorization and budgeting tools
Starling
Reported bugs
4 issues- Login issues after phone updates
- Inability to record video for verification
- App crashes on certain devices
- Delayed or failed money transfers
Requested features
7 requests- Joint account cards with different designs
- Ability to set up automatic transfers to savings
- More customization options for Spaces
- Integration with password managers
- Showing pending payments in balance
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- Daily balance history view
- Ability to split transactions into categories
In-app purchases
first direct
No in-app purchases
Starling
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is first direct free?
Is Starling free?
Which has better reviews, first direct or Starling?
Do first direct or Starling have ads?
Which is updated more often, first direct or Starling?
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