Battle · 6 companies
Challenger banks
The upstarts came for the high street. Not all of them are banking the win.
Revolut leads on all five measures that matter most: turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin, growth and net assets. Revolut is the biggest by turnover at £4,516m, against £1,724m at Monzo. Revolut keeps the most of every £100 it takes, £37.94 as pre-tax profit.
The year ends are close enough to compare like for like. Starling Bank, Revolut, Zopa and OakNorth file group accounts that include subsidiaries; Monzo and Atom Bank file for a single company, which flatters the groups on size.
Accounts compared: Monzo to Mar 2026 · Starling Bank to Mar 2026 · Revolut to Dec 2025 · Zopa to Dec 2025 · Atom Bank to Mar 2026 · OakNorth to Dec 2025
The Numbers
| # | Company | Turnover | Change | Pre-tax profit | Margin | Employees | Pay per head | Turnover per head | Net assets | Bank and cash | Accounts to | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RevolutRevolut Group Holdings Ltd | £4,516m | +46.1% | £1,713m | 37.9% | 10,909 | £85,000 | £414,000 | £4,894m | £21,022m | Dec 2025 | Group |
| 2 | MonzoMonzo Bank Limited | £1,724m | +39.2% | £132m | 7.7% | 4,591 | £88,000 | £376,000 | £1,029m | £15,436m | Mar 2026 | Single company |
| 3 | Starling BankStarling Bank Limited | £862m | -6.2% | £234m | 27.2% | 3,902 | £83,000 | £221,000 | £1,269m | £4,189m | Mar 2026 | Group |
| 4 | ZopaZopa Group PLC | £615m | -24.9% | £43m | 6.9% | 924 | £108,000 | £665,000 | £629m | £2,226m | Dec 2025 | Group |
| 5 | OakNorthOakNorth Bank PLC | £606m | +1.8% | £223m | 36.7% | 266 | £160,000 | £2.3m | £1,057m | £2,184m | Dec 2025 | Group |
| 6 | Atom BankAtom Bank PLC | £510m | +15.5% | £9m | 1.8% | 560 | £72,000 | £911,000 | £505m | £2,620m | Mar 2026 | Single company |
Ranked by turnover. Click any column to sort. The leader on each measure is highlighted. Movements are against each company's own prior year. Pre-tax profit is filed except where marked (est.). For a bank, the turnover shown here is gross income: interest received plus fees and other income, before the interest it pays out to savers and lenders. Monzo's accounts call this Total Revenue, £1,724m; after £387m of interest paid out, fees paid and credit losses, its gross profit was £1,014m (accounts to 31 March 2026, p. 123). For a bank, the turnover shown here is gross income: interest received plus fees and other income, before the interest it pays out to savers and lenders. Starling's accounts show revenue of £861.7m; after £189.3m of interest paid out, fees paid and impairment its gross profit was £618.7m, and it also had £114.1m of income from other Starling companies (accounts to 31 March 2026, p. 142). This profile shows Revolut Group Holdings, the parent of Revolut's companies worldwide, not only its UK business. Its revenue of £4,515.8m is £3,429.2m of fees (card payments £1,003.9m, subscriptions £708.5m, wealth £663.5m, foreign exchange £605.8m, rewards programmes and other £447.6m), £974.2m of interest income and £112.4m of other income; £840.2m of the fees came from UK customers (group accounts to 31 December 2025, pp. 96 and 122). For a bank, the turnover shown here is gross income: interest received plus fees and other income, before the interest it pays out to savers and lenders. Its total operating income after that interest was £359.5m (accounts to 31 December 2025, p. 31). For a bank, the turnover shown here is gross income: interest received plus fees and other income, before the interest it pays out to savers and lenders. Its net interest income after that interest was £108.9m (accounts to 31 March 2026, p. 57). For a bank, the turnover shown here is gross income: interest received plus fees and other income, before the interest it pays out to savers and lenders. Its net interest and fee income after that interest was £318.0m (accounts to 31 December 2025, p. 94).
Category winners
The Takeaway
- Revolut converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £37.94 reaches pre-tax profit, against £1.82 at Atom Bank.
- Revolut is the largest on the top line, £4,516m of turnover, 2.6x Monzo's £1,724m.
- Revolut is growing fastest, turnover +46.1% on its own prior year. Starling Bank and Zopa went backwards.
- Revolut is the biggest employer with 10,909 people; OakNorth pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £160,000.
- Revolut has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £4,894m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
Revolut keeps the most: £37.94 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. Atom Bank keeps the least, £1.82.
Every profit figure here is the one the company filed.
The chart splits each company's turnover into £100: what goes on people, on interest and on everything else, and what is left as profit.
Out of every £100 of turnover
Each column is £100 of that company's own turnover, so companies of any size compare on one scale; the figures are pounds out of each £100, not millions. Companies run from the best margin to the worst. Payroll is staff costs, other running costs are everything else, and profit is pre-tax profit, filed or estimated as marked in the table. A loss is not an extra cost: it is the part of the costs that runs past the £100 line, marked with a red bracket. Hover over any segment for its figure.
Who is the biggest, and does the comparison hold?
By turnover the order is Revolut (£4,516m), Monzo (£1,724m), Starling Bank (£862m), Zopa (£615m), OakNorth (£606m), Atom Bank (£510m).
By headcount, Revolut leads with 10,909 employees.
The accounting periods all end within 3 months of each other. The bases differ: group accounts include the businesses a company owns, single-company accounts do not.
Turnover on the latest filing
Who is growing fastest?
Revolut grew fastest, turnover +46.1% on its own prior year, ahead of Monzo (+39.2%), Atom Bank (+15.5%), OakNorth (+1.8%), Starling Bank (-6.2%), Zopa (-24.9%).
Turnover change on each company's own prior year
Who employs the most, who pays the most, and who brings in the most per head?
Revolut employs the most, 10,909 people, against 4,591 at Monzo.
OakNorth has the highest average staff cost, about £160,000 a head; Atom Bank the lowest, about £72,000.
OakNorth brings in the most turnover per employee, about £2.3m, against £221,000 at Starling Bank. It says as much about the business model as the workforce: a marketplace or a wholesaler needs far fewer people per pound than a restaurant or a gym.
Monzo
4,591
employees, about £88,000 pay a head, £376,000 turnover a head, +21.3% on the year
Starling Bank
3,902
employees, about £83,000 pay a head, £221,000 turnover a head, +5.1% on the year
Revolut
10,909
employees, about £85,000 pay a head, £414,000 turnover a head, +9.8% on the year
Zopa
924
employees, about £108,000 pay a head, £665,000 turnover a head, +15.4% on the year
Atom Bank
560
employees, about £72,000 pay a head, £911,000 turnover a head, +2.9% on the year
OakNorth
266
employees, about £160,000 pay a head, £2.3m turnover a head, -4.3% on the year
Who owns each one?
Ownership as recorded on the Companies House register of people with significant control, in the bands the register uses.
Held by Monzo Bank Holding Group Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control in the 75% to 100% band. 2 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Monzo →
Starling Bank Limited · 09092149Held by Starling Intermediate Holdings Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control in the 75% to 100% band. 3 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Starling Bank →
Revolut Group Holdings Ltd · 12743269Held by Mr Nikolay Storonskiy
An individual recorded as a person with significant control.
Who owns Revolut →
Zopa Group PLC · 10624955Held by Brett Allen Hildebrand
An individual recorded as a person with significant control.
Who owns Zopa →
Atom Bank PLC · 08632552Held by Atom Holdco Plc
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 3 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Atom Bank →
OakNorth Bank PLC · 08595042Held by Mr Rishi Khosla
An individual recorded as a person with significant control.
Who owns OakNorth →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | Monzo | Starling Bank | Revolut | Zopa | Atom Bank | OakNorth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered name | MONZO BANK LIMITED | STARLING BANK LIMITED | REVOLUT GROUP HOLDINGS LTD | ZOPA GROUP PLC | ATOM BANK PLC | OAKNORTH BANK PLC |
| Company number | 09446231 | 09092149 | 12743269 | 10624955 | 08632552 | 08595042 |
| Incorporated | 2015 | 2014 | 2020 | 2017 | 2013 | 2013 |
| Accounts filed | 27 August 2026 | 12 July 2026 | 3 April 2026 | 7 May 2026 | 4 September 2026 | 29 March 2026 |
| Turnover, prior year | £1,239m | £919m | £3,090m | £818m | £442m | £595m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | £52m | £230m | £1,089m | £29m | £5m | £215m |
| Staff costs | £402m | £325m | £922m | £100m | £40m | £43m |
| Payroll share of turnover | 23.3% | 37.7% | 20.4% | 16.2% | 7.9% | 7.0% |
| Employees, prior year | 3,786 | 3,711 | 9,932 | 801 | 544 | 278 |
| Dividends paid | n/d | n/d | n/d | n/d | £15m | n/d |
| Charges outstanding | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
A figure the filing does not disclose is shown as n/d; a zero in a filing is treated as not disclosed. Rounding: below £0.1m in thousands, £0.1m to £2m to one decimal place, above that to the nearest million.
Challenger banks: common questions
Who is the biggest of Monzo, Starling Bank, Revolut, Zopa, Atom Bank or OakNorth?
Revolut, with turnover of £4,516m in the year to December 2025.
Which makes the most profit?
Revolut: £1,713m pre-tax in the year to December 2025.
Which employs the most people?
Revolut, with 10,909 employees in its latest accounts.
Monzo or Starling Bank: which is bigger?
Monzo, with turnover of £1,724m against £862m at Starling Bank on their latest filings. On margin, Starling Bank keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit. The full head to head is in the VS Series. Read the VS page →
Monzo or Revolut: which is bigger?
Revolut, with turnover of £4,516m against £1,724m at Monzo on their latest filings. On margin, Revolut keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit. The full head to head is in the VS Series. Read the VS page →
Monzo or Zopa: which is bigger?
Monzo, with turnover of £1,724m against £615m at Zopa on their latest filings. On margin, Monzo keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Monzo or Atom Bank: which is bigger?
Monzo, with turnover of £1,724m against £510m at Atom Bank on their latest filings. On margin, Monzo keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Monzo or OakNorth: which is bigger?
Monzo, with turnover of £1,724m against £606m at OakNorth on their latest filings. On margin, OakNorth keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Starling Bank or Revolut: which is bigger?
Revolut, with turnover of £4,516m against £862m at Starling Bank on their latest filings. On margin, Revolut keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Starling Bank or Zopa: which is bigger?
Starling Bank, with turnover of £862m against £615m at Zopa on their latest filings. On margin, Starling Bank keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Starling Bank or Atom Bank: which is bigger?
Starling Bank, with turnover of £862m against £510m at Atom Bank on their latest filings. On margin, Starling Bank keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Starling Bank or OakNorth: which is bigger?
Starling Bank, with turnover of £862m against £606m at OakNorth on their latest filings. On margin, OakNorth keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Revolut or Zopa: which is bigger?
Revolut, with turnover of £4,516m against £615m at Zopa on their latest filings. On margin, Revolut keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Revolut or Atom Bank: which is bigger?
Revolut, with turnover of £4,516m against £510m at Atom Bank on their latest filings. On margin, Revolut keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Revolut or OakNorth: which is bigger?
Revolut, with turnover of £4,516m against £606m at OakNorth on their latest filings. On margin, Revolut keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Zopa or Atom Bank: which is bigger?
Zopa, with turnover of £615m against £510m at Atom Bank on their latest filings. On margin, Zopa keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Zopa or OakNorth: which is bigger?
Zopa, with turnover of £615m against £606m at OakNorth on their latest filings. On margin, OakNorth keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Atom Bank or OakNorth: which is bigger?
OakNorth, with turnover of £606m against £510m at Atom Bank on their latest filings. On margin, OakNorth keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Where do these figures come from?
Each company's latest accounts filed at Companies House. Each links to its full Spark Intel profile, which names the filing it comes from.
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