Part of the MITEY Network · independent, not a bankFees retrieved November 1, 2026 · lists checked October 30, 2026
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Ranking · institutions · method published

Best banks in Canada: a data-driven review

Weighing cost, access, savings rates, app ratings and complaints, EQ Bank scores highest nationwide (86.4/100), ahead of PC Financial (79.6) and Wealthsimple (74.6). The score blends what an account costs you with how you can reach the bank, what it pays on savings, how its app is rated and how often complaints reach the ombudsman.

Fee data retrieved November 1, 2026
Mitey the Yeti beside the institutions ranking cards
#1EQ Bankscore 86.4 / 100
#2PC Financialscore 79.6 / 100
#3Wealthsimplescore 74.6 / 100

Mitey sorts the best banks in Canada by what they cost, using the weights published below.

Our verdict

EQ Bank is the strongest all-round choice on our evidence (86.4/100): its cheapest account costs $0 a year for everyday use, and it posts 3% on savings, but there are no branches.

If you want a branch network, National Bank of Canada scores highest among institutions with 100 or more branches (64.7/100).

Among the Big Six, RBC Royal Bank has the cheapest everyday banking ($155 a year). Big Six fees fall to $0 once your balance meets the waiver — check the finder with your own balance.

The highest-rated app in this review is Neo Financial’s (4.78★ on the App Store in Canada).

13 institutions reviewed with chequing accounts offered in all ten provinces. Score out of 100 from five components (Cost 35% · Access 15% · Savings 15% · App 15% · Complaints 20%); a component without data is left out and the others scaled up. Data read November 1, 2026.
#InstitutionScoreCostAccessSavingsAppComplaints
1EQ Bank CDIC
Strongest on everyday cost and savings rate. Trails on branch and ATM access. Cheapest account for everyday use: $0 a year. No branches; ATM fee refunds on the Personal Account.
86.41004010088—
2PC Financial CDIC
Strongest on everyday cost and app rating. Trails on branch and ATM access. Cheapest account for everyday use: $18 a year. No branches; 600+ PC Financial ATMs.
79.69440—86—
3Wealthsimple Partner-held
Strongest on everyday cost and savings rate. Trails on branch and ATM access. Cheapest account for everyday use: $0 a year. No branches.
74.610008381—
4Neo Financial Partner-held
Strongest on everyday cost and app rating. Trails on branch and ATM access. Cheapest account for everyday use: $0 a year. No branches.
74.510007589—
5Tangerine CDIC
Strongest on everyday cost and app rating. Trails on savings rate and branch and ATM access. Cheapest account for everyday use: $18 a year. No branches; Scotiabank ATMs.
65.89440108762
6National Bank of Canada CDIC
Strongest on app rating and branch and ATM access. Trails on everyday cost. Cheapest account for everyday use: $215 a year.
64.74186—8873
7Alterna Bank CDIC
Strongest on everyday cost. Trails on savings rate and branch and ATM access. Cheapest account for everyday use: $23 a year. No branches; THE EXCHANGE and partner networks.
64.592403554—
8RBC Royal Bank CDIC
Strongest on branch and ATM access and app rating. Trails on complaints per client and savings rate. Cheapest account for everyday use: $155 a year.
505410022870
9TD Canada Trust CDIC
Strongest on branch and ATM access and app rating. Trails on savings rate and complaints per client. Cheapest account for everyday use: $215 a year.
47.636100188621
10Scotiabank CDIC
Strongest on branch and ATM access and app rating. Trails on complaints per client and savings rate. Cheapest account for everyday use: $203 a year.
46.2449813857
11CIBC CDIC
Trails on savings rate and everyday cost. Cheapest account for everyday use: $203 a year.
39.844—1061—
12BMO Bank of Montreal CDIC
Strongest on app rating. Trails on savings rate and everyday cost. Cheapest account for everyday use: $215 a year.
3932—1579—
13Manulife Bank CDIC
Strongest on app rating. Trails on everyday cost and branch and ATM access. Cheapest account for everyday use: $504 a year. No branches; THE EXCHANGE network.
38.29405589—

What evidence is behind each score?

Inputs, with sources. App ratings from Apple’s App Store (Canada) and Google Play, read November 1, 2026; branches and clients from annual reports and official pages; OBSI banking cases opened in fiscal 2025 (Nov 1, 2024 – Oct 31, 2025).
InstitutionEveryday costBest savings rateApp Store / Google PlayBranchesOBSI casesCases per million clients
EQ Bank$03%4.8★ (62,426) · 4.3★0
ATM fee refunds on the Personal Account
24—
PC Financial$18—4.7★ (358,212) · 3.7★0
600+ PC Financial ATMs
38—
Wealthsimple$02.5%4.6★ (130,001) · 4.1★0——
Neo Financial$02.25%4.8★ (55,788) · 4.8★0——
Tangerine$180.3%4.7★ (78,652) · 4.6★0
Scotiabank ATMs
7530
National Bank of Canada$215—4.8★ (280,658) · 4.7★3826621
Alterna Bank$231.05%4.1★ (112) · 3.3★0
THE EXCHANGE and partner networks
——
RBC Royal Bank$1550.65%4.7★ (212,149) · 3.7★1,1591,17278
TD Canada Trust$2150.55%4.7★ (250,000) · 4.8★1,05198562
Scotiabank$2030.4%4.7★ (1,098,388) · 4.7★89279973
CIBC$2030.3%4.2★ (27,929) · 3.2★—1,013—
BMO Bank of Montreal$2150.45%4.6★ (115,920) · 4.6★—617—
Manulife Bank$5041.65%4.8★ (22,182) · 4.4★0
THE EXCHANGE network
11—

“—” means no figure from an official source we could confirm: BMO and CIBC don’t publish Canada-only branch counts in the documents we read; client counts are used only where the institution states a comparable Canadian figure (RBC, TD, Scotiabank, National Bank, Tangerine). Scotiabank’s client count likely includes Tangerine’s. Google Play counts cover the whole listing, not only Canada.

No institution pays to be listed or ranked here. Order comes only from the published fees and your inputs — see the methodology.

What is the best bank in Canada?

Weighing yearly account cost (35%), complaints per client (20%), and branch or ATM access, savings rates and app ratings (15% each), EQ Bank scores highest at 86.4/100, ahead of PC Financial (79.6) and Wealthsimple (74.6). Every input is sourced and dated in the evidence table.

Bank review scores out of 100, top 12 of 13 (data read November 1, 2026)
  1. #1 EQ Bank86.4
  2. #2 PC Financial79.6
  3. #3 Wealthsimple74.6
  4. #4 Neo Financial74.5
  5. #5 Tangerine65.8
  6. #6 National Bank of Canada64.7
  7. #7 Alterna Bank64.5
  8. #8 RBC Royal Bank50
  9. #9 TD Canada Trust47.6
  10. #10 Scotiabank46.2
  11. #11 CIBC39.8
  12. #12 BMO Bank of Montreal39

How does this ranking work?

Each institution gets five component scores, 0–100, weighted Cost 35%, Access 15%, Savings 15%, App 15%, Complaints 20%:

  • Cost: its cheapest account that can serve each of the Light, Everyday and Heavy profiles, scored 100 − fees a year ÷ $3 and averaged.
  • Access: branches on a log scale (1,000 or more = 100). No branches but free use of a national ATM network or ATM fee refunds = 40.
  • Savings: best posted rate on a non-registered savings account at $10,000, relative to the best in the list.
  • App: App Store (Canada) rating, where 3.0 = 0 and 5.0 = 100.
  • Complaints: OBSI banking cases per million clients, where none = 100 and the highest rate in the list = 0. Only scored where a comparable official client count exists.

A missing component is left out and the remaining weights scaled up, so read the evidence table before comparing two close scores. Ties break on cost.

What the score leaves out

Mortgage and loan pricing, investment platforms, wait times and service you can only judge as a customer. App ratings are an imperfect proxy for service, and OBSI counts only complaints that reached the ombudsman.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best bank in Canada?

On cost, the institutions at the top of this ranking offer at least one account that is free or nearly free for everyday, light and heavy use, plus branch access. Survey-based awards measure satisfaction instead; we only score what can be checked in published fee data.

How are complaints counted?

We divide the banking cases OBSI opened about each firm in fiscal 2025 by the client count the institution itself reports, and only where that count is comparable. A bank with a lot of cases but many more clients can still score well.

Educational information only, not financial, legal or tax advice. CanadianBanks.ca is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or paid by any institution listed. Confirm details with the institution and the official sources linked on each page before you act. Read the full disclaimer.

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