Comparison

Starling vs Circuit Go

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 free personal and business accounts with robust security features and 24/7 UK-based customer support. Manage all your finances, from everyday spending to savings and bills, all from your phone.

Highlights
  • Free personal and business accounts
  • Joint and under-16 accounts
  • Habit-building savings tools (Spaces)
  • 24/7 UK customer support
  • Advanced security controls
  • Fee-free spending abroad
  • Instant transaction 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

Circuit Go

Manage your laundry with ease using this app. Check machine availability, book a wash cycle in advance, and make secure payments directly through your phone. Get notified when your laundry is done and save money with in-app coupons.

Highlights
  • Check machine availability
  • Book laundry machines
  • In-app payments
  • Schedule laundry in advance
  • Notifications for cycle completion
  • In-app coupons for savings
Features
Read full description

We’re on a mission to make laundry less of a chore. So with our free Circuit Go app, you can quickly check availability, book a machine and start washing. Instant, reliable payments, straight through the app Simple to book – schedule your laundry in advance Skip the queues – check machine availability in your laundry Save some cash – in-app coupons add up to great savings All on your phone – get notified when your cycle’s complete Ready to wash? Visit nearest Circuit launderette, load your laundry, choose your machine and programme, and GO. Please note: Circuit Go relies on your phone having an internet connection. As long as you're online in the laundry room, you can activate our machines and see how long’s left on your cycle. Your Circuit Go app account works separately to the terminal you might see on the wall in your launderette. Rather just tap and go? Pay contactlessly through the terminal. By downloading the Circuit Go app, you agree to the following terms: You accept that you have a non-exclusive licence to use the app. You agree not to copy the app or infringe our intellectual property rights in the app. There’s no minimum amount of top-up credit. Payments are processed through a third-party payment provider. Circuit won’t store your card details. You can refund any part-used top-up credit yourself – use Withdrawing Balance in the Balance area in the app. Refunds incur an administration charge of £2.00. Your part-used credit will need to cover the £2.00 admin charged to be able to process the refund. No refund will be processed for any free credit or coupons. Balance transfer coupons will expire 12 months after the date of purchase. Visit circuit.co.uk for more information.

Screenshots

Starling4 screens
Circuit Go4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Starling at 74% against Circuit Go's 25%. Starling also leads on rating (4.9 vs 2.9) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Starling has 2.8K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Starling's written reviews are positive against 25% of Circuit Go's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Starling ships an update weekly, Circuit Go every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Starling versus Circuit Go: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarlingCircuit Go
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (2.8K ratings) — better2.9 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews74.1% of reviews — better24.6% of reviews
Number of ratings2.8K — better8
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size561 MB64 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperSTARLING BANK LIMITEDCircuit Laundrette Services LTD

Customer experience

Starling

All ratings2,808 ratings
Positive97.4%
Neutral0.9%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews1,588 reviews
Positive74.1%
Neutral4.1%
Negative21.8%

Circuit Go

All ratings8 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews329 reviews
Positive24.6%
Neutral4.9%
Negative70.5%

User reviews

Starling

From 2.8K App Store ratings

What 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

Circuit Go

From 8 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Surprisingly sufficient
  • 🚀 Acceptable
  • 👍 Way Better

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Circuit laundry made me rethink my life choices
  • 🐛 Dark and twisted
  • 🐛 SCAM COMPANY
  • 🐛 Abysmal
  • 🐛 Money stolen

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

Circuit Go

No bugs or feature requests surfaced in reviews.

In-app purchases

None

Starling

No in-app purchases

None

Circuit Go

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Starling free?
Starling is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Circuit Go free?
Circuit Go is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Starling or Circuit Go?
Starling is rated higher. Starling averages 4.9 out of 5 from 2.8K ratings, while Circuit Go averages 2.9 from 8 ratings.
Do Starling or Circuit Go have ads?
Neither Starling nor Circuit Go shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Starling or Circuit Go?
Starling ships an update weekly, and Circuit Go every 2 months. Most recently, Starling was updated on November 9, 2026 and Circuit Go on November 8, 2026.

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