Relay review (2026): is the free plan enough?
Online business banking with bill pay, cards and expenses
Black Friday: is there a Relay sale?
Relay report card
Good · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for business banking for a small team with several accounts
Relay is a business banking account with cards, bill pay, expense tracking and invoicing, and the free Starter plan allows unlimited users. It isn't an FDIC-insured bank, approvals and better savings rates start on the $30 Grow plan, and transfers carry fees on every plan.
Who Relay is for
- Fits if you run a small business and want several checking accounts with cards under one login
- Works for teams that want a savings rate and cash back, and will pay for Grow
Who Relay is not for
- Tight if you stay on Starter: it earns less on savings and lacks spend approval requests
- Pricey if you want automation, as Scale is $90 a month
- Watch out: transaction fees apply on every plan, for example $25 for SWIFT wires on Starter
- Watch out: Relay isn't an FDIC-insured bank, as banking comes from Thread Bank
- Watch out: pay-by-bank invoice collection costs 1%, 0.75% or 0.5% depending on plan, capped at $10
Why Relay gets a 2.8
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- BValue for moneyStarter is $0, and Grow is $30 a month and Scale $90. The $0 plan covers the core, so the paid plans are an upgrade, not a toll.
- AFree plan and trialStarter is free outright, with 20 checking accounts, cards with spend controls, invoicing and QuickBooks and Xero sync. A 14-day trial of Grow or Scale is also offered.
- CFeaturesChecking and savings, debit and credit cards, expense tracking, bill pay and invoicing. Spend approval requests and bookkeeping automation start on Grow.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record. You open a business bank account, which takes setup and verification.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, iPhone and Android, with QuickBooks Online and Xero. No desktop app.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Relay's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/relay#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/relay.svg" alt="Relay: 2.8 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Relay stands among spend and bill pay tools
Relay's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 64 of the 76 other spend and bill pay tools we grade, and level with 4.
It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 71 of 76) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $30 a month, against a middle price of $12 for the category: 28 of the 36 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 15 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 77 spend and bill pay tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Relay’s own letter is outlined.
- BValue for moneyAbove 61 of 76, level with 8
- AFree plan and trialAbove 71 of 76, level with 5
- CFeaturesAbove 4 of 76, level with 56
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 76, level with 64
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 18 of 76, level with 57
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 39 spend and bill pay tools. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Keep Relay, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Relay you would be making money moved between bank accounts, which takes a licensed payments partner. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.8 is higher than 64 of the 76 other spend and bill pay tools we grade. It costs $360 a year.
What you could make
- Expense tracking and invoicing: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Money moved between bank accounts, which takes a licensed payments partner.
- Cards issued through a bank.
- Live feeds from your bank, which take an agreement with each bank or a service that has them.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
What this rests on. Relay’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Relay?
Relay is a financial technology company that offers online business checking and savings accounts, Visa debit and credit cards, bill pay, expense tracking and invoicing in one account. Banking services are provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC. Every plan allows unlimited users, with higher plans adding approval rules, automation and better savings rates.
Worth knowing
- Relay is not an FDIC-insured bank; banking services come from Thread Bank, Member FDIC.
- Transaction fees apply on every plan: for example SWIFT international wires are $25 on Starter, $22 on Grow and $20 on Scale.
- Pay-by-bank invoice collection costs 1%, 0.75% or 0.5% of the amount on Starter, Grow and Scale, capped at $10.
- Savings APY and card cash back differ by plan and are variable, so the $0 Starter plan earns less than the paid plans.
Key features
- Checking and savings accounts
- Open up to 20 checking accounts (50 on Scale) and high-yield savings accounts, with deposits auto-transferred by rule.
- Debit and credit cards
- Visa debit and credit cards with spend limits and roles, up to 50 debit cards per cardholder per checking account.
- Expense tracking
- Receipt capture and upload reminders, expenses categorized as they happen, and sync to accounting software.
- Bill pay
- Upload bills, assign tasks, set multi-step approval rules and pay vendors by ACH or wire.
- Invoicing
- Create and track invoices, send payment links and automated follow-ups, and collect by card, bank payment or wire.
Relay pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, Relay has a free plan, and paid plans start at $30 per month.
- Starts at
- $30 per month
- Free plan
- Starter plan: $0 a month, with 20 checking accounts, cards with spend controls, invoicing and QuickBooks and Xero integration.
- Free trial
- 14-day trial of the Grow or Scale plan
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $0 | 20 checking accounts, 1.19% APY on savings and 1% cash back on credit cards, as of 9/17/2026. Same-day ACH is $1 and domestic wires are $8. |
| Grow | $30per month | Adds spend approval requests, batch vendor payments, bookkeeping automation and recurring invoices. 1.87% APY and 1.25% cash back. Same-day ACH is $0.50 and domestic wires are $5. |
| Scale | $90per month | Shown as $90, down from $120, no end date given. 50 checking accounts, bill payment automation, cash flow forecasts, 3.21% APY, 1.5% cash back and no fee for same-day ACH. |
Read from relayfi.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Relay before you buy.
How people rate the Relay app
4.8
out of 5 for the iPhone and iPad app
- 5 stars91%
- 4 stars4%
- 3 stars<1%
- 2 stars<1%
- 1 star3%
3,801 ratings on the App Store in the United States, read Nov 13, 2026. It rates the app, not everything the product does. See the listing
Works with
Relay alternatives
- Relay vs Mercury
Free plan · from $29.90/mo
- Relay vs Novo
Free
- Relay vs BILL
Free plan · from $49/mo
- Relay vs Ramp
Free plan · from $15/mo
- Relay vs Brex
Free plan · from $12/mo
Common questions
Does Relay have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Relay is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Relay have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Relay is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Relay open source?
Relay is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026. What people say is linked where it appears.