What is the best chequing account in Canada?
On published fees, Personal Account from EQ Bank ranks first: $0 a year for our Everyday profile (household account, a few e-transfers), against a median of $359 across 33 ranked accounts. If you need a branch, RBC Advantage Banking (Royal Bank of Canada) ranks highest. Fees from FCAC, retrieved November 1, 2026.
What would the #1 account cost a typical customer?
Here is the engine’s arithmetic for the Everyday profile: 25 debit purchases, 6 bills, 5 e-Transfers, 0 branch visits and a $1,000 low balance a month.
Worked example — Personal Account (EQ Bank), Everyday profile
| Monthly fee × 12 | $0 |
| Transactions beyond the included number (0 a month) × 12 | $0 |
| Other-bank ATM access fees (1 a month) × 12 | $0 |
| Paper statements × 12 | $0 |
| Fees a year | $0 |
Against the median ranked account, that saves about $359 a year — $1,797 over five years. The cheapest Big Six option, RBC Advantage Banking at Royal Bank of Canada, costs $155 for the same banking.
- #1 Personal Account · EQ Bank$0
- #2 Neo Chequing account (Essentials) · Neo Financial$0
- #3 Wealthsimple Chequing · Wealthsimple$0
- #4 PC Money Account · PC Financial$18
- #5 Tangerine Chequing Account · Tangerine Bank$18
- #6 No Fee eChequing Account · Alterna Bank$23
- #7 RBC Advantage Banking · Royal Bank of Canada$155
- #8 RBC Signature No Limit Banking · Royal Bank of Canada$203
- Median of the 33 ranked accounts$359
Our verdict
Choose Personal Account for the lowest cost at this usage if online and ATM banking suits you. Choose RBC Advantage Banking if you want a branch you can walk into ($155 a year). Your own pattern can change the order: the finder re-ranks every account for your numbers.
How does this ranking work?
Each account gets a cost score for each usage profile: 100 − (fees a year ÷ $3), floored at 0 — so $0 a year scores 100 and $300 or more scores 0. A profile the account can’t serve (for example, branch visits at an online bank) scores 0.
Weights: Light 20% · Everyday 45% · Heavy 25% · Branch and cheques 10%. Profiles are defined in the finder; fees come from the true-cost engine described in the methodology.
Rebates for bundles or credit cards, welcome bonuses, app quality and customer service. Those matter, but they can’t be checked from published fee data — so they don’t move the order.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best chequing account in Canada?
On our published score, the top accounts are the ones that charge nothing for everyday, light and heavy use. Which one is best for you depends on whether you need branches, cash deposits or cheques — use the finder with your own numbers.
Why do Big Six accounts score lower?
Most Big Six chequing accounts charge a monthly fee unless you keep a minimum balance ($3,000 to $6,000 is common in FCAC’s data). The score uses each profile’s low balance, so the fee usually applies. If you keep a large balance, the finder will show those accounts as free.
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