Starling Bank vs X1 Card
Two virtual cards people weigh up side by side. We put Starling Bank and X1 Card on the same rows so the difference is easy to see.
Starling Bank issues on Mastercard and X1 Card on Visa; both ask for ID + proof.
Starling Bank is the more cost-effective option for everyday spending and travel thanks to its free virtual cards, no monthly fee. X1 Card still clears the same checkouts in our tests, so match the table to the services you actually pay for.
The short version of the matchup
| Field | Starling Bank | X1 Card |
|---|---|---|
| Card network | Mastercard | Visa |
| Card type | Digital Bank / Neobank | Fintech Wallet |
| KYC | ID + proof | ID + proof |
| Card issuance fee | Free | Free (metal card) |
| Monthly fee | Free | No annual fee |
| Top-up fee | — | — |
| FX fee | 0% (no foreign transaction fee) | 0% |
| Crypto funding | No | No |
| AI tool support | ChatGPT / Claude / Midjourney | — |
| Risk level | Low-Medium | Low |
| Our rating | 9.1 | 8.5 |
| User reviews | 437 | 77 |
| Best for | All-rounder · Ad spend | App Store / Play · Free issuance |
A green left edge marks the side that holds the advantage on that row, where the data gives one.
Two cards, one decision
- Starling Bank shows up in more of our test scenarios, so it is the safer pick when you juggle several subscriptions.
- Starling Bank edged X1 Card on our composite rating across fees, risk and merchant tests.
- If risk rating weights your choice, X1 Card is the calmer of the two.
The two, compared
Both cards clear the same checkouts in our tests, so the call comes down to cost. Starling Bank is cheaper on issuance (free) and top-ups (no top-up fee), while X1 Card is worth the premium only for the rows where it leads in the table.
Questions people ask
That depends on what you spend on. Starling Bank scores 9.1/10 against X1 Card's 8.5/10 in our tests, but the two split on fees, KYC and crypto funding. Read the table above, then match it to the checkouts you actually run.
Starling Bank is the cheaper card to run. Both Starling Bank and X1 Card issue virtual cards for free.
Starling Bank asks for ID + proof at signup; X1 Card asks for ID + proof. If a light sign-up is the priority, the one with the lower KYC label is the faster route.
Both show up in 5 of the same test scenarios, including Best Buy, Nike US, Uber. They overlap on a good share of checkouts, so the choice between them matters most on those pages. Where one is accepted and the other is not usually comes down to the billing country and 3-D Secure handling.
Where both show up
Starling Bank and X1 Card both landed in our top picks for 5 checkouts. Grouped by category so you can jump straight to the one you actually pay for:
🧳 Travel & Productivity 3
Their BIN ranges
Cards issued in 🇬🇧 UK · 🇺🇸 US — the country guides group every range we track from there.
What our charge log shows
Every count here is a real charge attempt we placed on that range, renewals included, with the gateway response recorded. Weeks tracked is how long the range has been in the programme: