Comparison

Starling vs ZEN.COM

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

ZEN.COM

Manage multiple currencies, make secure payments, and earn cashback on purchases with this digital wallet and card. Ideal for international shopping and travel, it offers fair exchange rates and purchase protection.

Highlights
  • Multicurrency account
  • Digital wallet
  • Contactless payments
  • Cashback rewards
  • Shopping protection
  • Money transfers
Features
Read full description

ZEN.COM is a multicurrency account with a card and a digital wallet that make shopping and travel better. Pay at home and abroad, get more from every purchase and travel with peace of mind – all in one app. No need to switch banks – just switch cards. Pay better, get more, worry less Pay with your ZEN Card in shops and online, cover your subscriptions and book your trips – by card, phone or watch. Hold up to 35 currencies in one account, exchange them at the best rates and see what you’ve spent the moment you pay. Shop like always and earn cashback at 1,000+ partner stores, straight to your account. And if an order arrives faulty, wrong or not at all, ZEN Care Shopping Protection deals with the seller for you. Higher plans add more: Reward Zone, unlimited Shopping Protection and help claiming compensation when your flight is disrupted. Save money with cashback deals With ZEN.COM, you earn cashback on online shopping at hundreds of popular stores. Cashback rewards work with well-known brands such as AliExpress and Temu, along with many other shops. Choose the best and latest deals, enjoy special cashback offers and get real money back – no points, no coupons. Saving on everyday online shopping becomes effortless. Pay digitally and contactless Use your phone or smartwatch to pay quickly and securely. Add your card to Apple Pay or Google Pay to pay contactless wherever you shop. Whether shopping online or in store, payments are fast and easy. Multi-currency account with fair exchange rates Hold and manage multiple currencies in one mobile wallet. Pay in local payment methods at competitive foreign exchange rates with no hidden currency exchange fees. ZEN.COM is ideal for online shopping, exchanging travel money, calculating currencies and international spending – helping you avoid unnecessary conversion costs as you track and plan your personal finances. Send money simply Send digital money locally or internationally with transparent rules and no surprises. Use ZEN Buddies to send money instantly to other ZEN users. All transfers and payments are visible in one place, so you always know where your money goes. Secure payments and purchase protection Your payments are protected with ZEN Care. If something goes wrong with a purchase, you can request support directly in the app. How people in the UK use ZEN.COM • Emma shops online to find the latest hot deals at the best prices, and uses cashback rewards to save money on everyday purchases. • Fleur pays her subscriptions and does her online shopping using the ZEN virtual card. • James sends money, manages his personal finances and tracks monthly expenses in one app. Why choose ZEN.COM • Real-money cashback offers and fair exchange rates • Secure digital and contactless payments in store and online • One wallet for cards, transfers and spending • Secure payments with purchase protection • Clear pricing and full control over money management and expenses Download the ZEN.COM app and simplify how you pay, send, track and save money every day.

Screenshots

Starling4 screens
ZEN.COM4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Starling at 74% against ZEN.COM's 45%. Starling also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.6) and ratings volume (2.8K vs 653). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Starling holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.8K and 653 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Starling's written reviews are positive against 45% of ZEN.COM's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Starling versus ZEN.COM: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarlingZEN.COM
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (2.8K ratings) — better4.6 (653 ratings)
Positive reviews74.1% of reviews — better45.3% of reviews
Number of ratings2.8K — better653
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size558 MB384 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSTARLING BANK LIMITEDUAB ZEN.COM

Customer experience

Starling

All ratings2,804 ratings
Positive97.4%
Neutral0.9%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews1,588 reviews
Positive74.1%
Neutral4.1%
Negative21.8%

ZEN.COM

All ratings653 ratings
Positive89.6%
Neutral1.8%
Negative8.6%
Written reviews170 reviews
Positive45.3%
Neutral2.9%
Negative51.8%

Bugs and requests

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
Show 2 more
  • Daily balance history view
  • Ability to split transactions into categories

ZEN.COM

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Starling

No in-app purchases

None

ZEN.COM

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Starling free?
Starling is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ZEN.COM free?
ZEN.COM is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Starling or ZEN.COM?
Starling is rated higher. Starling averages 4.9 out of 5 from 2.8K ratings, while ZEN.COM averages 4.6 from 653 ratings.
Do Starling or ZEN.COM have ads?
Neither Starling nor ZEN.COM shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Starling or ZEN.COM?
Starling ships an update weekly, and ZEN.COM weekly. Most recently, Starling was updated on November 9, 2026 and ZEN.COM on November 7, 2026.

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