Benchmark MoneyCanada

Best Chequing Accounts in Canada

A chequing account is priced on two numbers that are usually printed far apart: the monthly fee, and how many transactions that fee actually covers. An account at $4 a month with 12 transactions costs more than one at $11 with no limit the moment you use a debit card twice a week.

We track 92 chequing accounts from 32 institutions, 27 of them with no monthly fee. Every figure here comes from the institution’s own published pages and fee schedules, last checked 19 August 2026. Where an institution does not publish something we leave it blank rather than guess, which is explained on how we research.

How We Picked

  • The monthly fee first, and only where the institution publishes one. Twenty three accounts publish no fee at all and are not on this page, because a blank fee is not a free account.
  • What the fee includes. Transactions, e-transfers and teller visits are priced separately at most institutions, and the extra transaction fee is where a cheap account stops being cheap.
  • The balance that waives the fee, where there is one. A fee waived at $4,000 is only waived if you can afford to leave $4,000 sitting still.
  • Nothing here is ranked on a promotional offer. A cash bonus for opening an account is paid once and the fee is charged every month.

The 10 Best Chequing Accounts

  1. Alterna Bank No Fee eChequing Account

    Alterna Bank · No monthly fee · unlimited transactions · 0.05% interest

    Everything published about the Alterna Bank No Fee eChequing Account

  2. ATB Financial No-Fee All-In Digital Account

    ATB Financial · No monthly fee · unlimited transactions

    Open only to residents of Alberta.

    Everything published about the ATB Financial No-Fee All-In Digital Account

  3. CIBC Smart Start

    CIBC · No monthly fee · unlimited transactions

    Everything published about the CIBC Smart Start

  4. Coast Capital Savings Free Chequing, Free Debit and More Account

    Coast Capital Savings · No monthly fee · unlimited transactions · 0% interest

    Open only to residents of Quebec residents not eligible for the welcome offer; Canadian residents of age of majority.

    Everything published about the Coast Capital Savings Free Chequing, Free Debit and More Account

  5. Conexus Credit Union No-Fee Chequing

    Conexus Credit Union · No monthly fee · unlimited transactions

    Open only to residents of Saskatchewan (30 locations in Saskatchewan); in person account opening required. A credit union, so opening the account means buying a membership share of $5.00.

    Everything published about the Conexus Credit Union No-Fee Chequing

  6. DUCA Aim For More Chequing

    DUCA · No monthly fee · unlimited transactions

    Open only to residents of Ontario residents only. A credit union, so opening the account means buying a membership share of $1.00.

    Everything published about the DUCA Aim For More Chequing

  7. DUCA Feel Free Chequing

    DUCA · No monthly fee · unlimited transactions

    Open only to residents of Ontario residents only. A credit union, so opening the account means buying a membership share of $1.00.

    Everything published about the DUCA Feel Free Chequing

  8. EQ Bank Personal Account

    EQ Bank · No monthly fee · unlimited transactions · 1% interest

    Everything published about the EQ Bank Personal Account

  9. Innovation Federal Credit Union No-Fee Chequing Account

    Innovation Federal Credit Union · No monthly fee · unlimited transactions

    Open only to residents of Available to Canadian residents 18+ except Quebec. A credit union, so opening the account means buying a membership share of $5.00.

    Everything published about the Innovation Federal Credit Union No-Fee Chequing Account

  10. Scotiabank Preferred Package for Students and Youth

    Scotiabank · No monthly fee · unlimited transactions

    Everything published about the Scotiabank Preferred Package for Students and Youth

The Other 82

Every chequing account we track, in the same order. An account outside the top ten is not a bad account; it is one that lost to the accounts above it on the criteria at the top of this page.

Common Questions

How many chequing accounts are there in Canada?
We track 92 of them. That is what we have verified against the institution's own pages, not a claim about every account that exists, and the number moves as accounts are added and withdrawn.
What is the cheapest chequing account in Canada?
On published monthly fees the cheapest on this page is the Alterna Bank No Fee eChequing Account at $0.00 a month. Cheapest is not the same as best value: the account that costs least usually includes the fewest transactions, and the extra transaction fee is where the difference shows up.
How many of these have no monthly fee?
27 of the 92 publish a monthly fee of zero. That is a published zero, not a fee we could not find. Accounts whose institution publishes no fee at all are recorded as blank and are never counted as free.
Can the monthly fee be waived?
On 36 of these the institution publishes a balance that waives the fee. It is worth doing the arithmetic before treating that as free: money kept still to avoid a $16 fee is money earning nothing, and $4,000 in a savings account at 3% would have earned more than the fee costs.
Are unlimited transactions worth paying for?
51 of the accounts here include unlimited transactions. Only if you would otherwise go over the limit on a cheaper account. Extra transactions typically cost around $1.25 each, so an account including twelve of them costs the same as an unlimited one somewhere around the thirtieth transaction of the month. Below that the cheaper account wins, above it the unlimited one does.
Is my money safe at these institutions?
Bank deposits are insured by CDIC and credit union deposits by a provincial insurer, on different terms. A few products in our database are money services businesses rather than banks, and those are flagged on the account itself, because the account looks the same and the protection is not.

Other Lists

Comparing something other than chequing accounts? Compare every account on the way you actually bank, or browse the full directory.

When a Rate Changes, Know About It

Fees, interest rates and welcome offers move without announcement. We check them anyway, so the email is simply what changed, with the old figure and the new one. Twice a month at most, and nothing in a quiet month.

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