BMO alternatives in Canada (2026): 4 options compared

What are the best BMO alternatives in Canada?

The best BMO alternative depends on what you want back. EQ Bank pays the strongest rate on money you actually spend from, Tangerine keeps the familiar-bank feel without a monthly fee, Wealthsimple puts investing beside your chequing account, and Lodavo adds a free weekly cash draw to whichever bank you land on. All five are priced out in the table above.

Plenty of people reading this aren’t going anywhere, and that’s fine. BMO has branches where the online banks have none. If you’re just checking what else is out there, one of the four below sits alongside a BMO account rather than replacing it.

Why look for a BMO alternative?

Two numbers send most people looking. Chequing costs $4 to $30.95 a month, and the Savings Amplifier account posts 0.50% (as of August 2026). Whether either is worth switching over comes down to how much you keep on deposit and how often you walk into a branch.

The fee waiver costs more than it looks

BMO drops the monthly fee if you keep a set daily balance: $3,000 on Plus, $4,000 on Performance and $6,000 on Premium (opens in a new tab). The Practical plan at $4 a month and Blue Rewards at $17.95 have no balance waiver at all.

BMO chequing accounts pay no interest. The balance you park to avoid the fee earns nothing the entire time it sits there.

Take the Performance plan. Leaving $4,000 untouched saves you $17.95 a month, or $215.40 a year, so between the two BMO options the waiver does win. It still isn’t free. That same $4,000 at EQ Bank’s 2.75% would earn about $110 a year, which makes $110 the number to carry into the comparisons below, not zero.

The savings rate is the other half

The Savings Amplifier account has no monthly fee and no minimum deposit, which is genuinely good, and it posts 0.50% (opens in a new tab). A promotional 4.75% runs 120 days on a new account, and it’s competitive while it lasts, but it requires opening a BMO chequing account alongside it. Then you’re back to 0.50%.

On $10,000, the gap between 0.50% and EQ Bank’s 2.75% is about $225 a year. Two other BMO savings accounts sit lower still: Savings Builder pays 0.050%, or 0.550% in a month you grow the balance by $200 or more, and Premium Rate Savings pays 0.010%. Worth knowing before you compare: the Savings Amplifier charges $5 for a withdrawal or a pre-authorized debit, though transfers to your other BMO accounts are free. Our roundup of high-interest savings accounts in Canada goes wider on rates.

You might not need to leave at all

Check what you already qualify for before you move a chequing account. BMO discounts its plans for students, seniors and newcomers, and if you’re near a waiver threshold anyway, the fee may already be handled. Sort that out first. It’s a smaller job than changing where your pay lands.

The best BMO alternatives in Canada, at a glance

Behind the table, here’s how each option actually works, who it suits, and where it falls short. They aren’t competing for the same job: two are places to keep money, one is a place to keep money and invest it, and one holds no money at all.

EQ Bank, best for the rate on money you actually use

EQ Bank’s Personal Account pays a 1.00% base rate, rising to 2.75% once you direct deposit at least $2,000 a month in pay, with no monthly fee and no minimum balance (rates effective June 11, 2026 (opens in a new tab)). It works like a chequing account and pays like a savings account, which is the direct answer to BMO’s park-a-balance problem.

Where it beats the rest: nothing else here comes close on the rate for money you spend from. Where it falls short: there are no branches, and depositing cash isn’t straightforward. EQ Bank is the digital brand of Equitable Bank, and Equitable Bank is the CDIC member, so coverage is $100,000 per category.

If you’d rather not chase a direct deposit

The bonus needs your pay landing there. Without it you’re at 1.00%, which still beats 0.50% but not by much. EQ Bank’s 30-day Notice Savings pays 2.75% with no direct-deposit condition, as long as you can give 30 days’ notice before withdrawing. Its GICs run 3.30% to 4.00% over one to five years if you can lock money away.

Tangerine, best for a familiar name with no monthly fee

Tangerine is a Scotiabank subsidiary and a CDIC member in its own right, with no-fee chequing and savings and a long track record in Canada. Its posted savings rate is 0.30% (opens in a new tab), but it runs new-client promotions most of the year. Right now that’s 4.50% for up to five months on everyday Savings, and 5.00% on RSP, TFSA and RIF Savings (opens in a new tab).

Where it beats the rest: if you want a bank rather than a fintech, with a parent name you already recognize, this is the softest landing from BMO. There’s also no minimum balance and no fee on the chequing account. Where it falls short: the rate underneath the promo is lower than BMO’s posted 0.50%, so Tangerine rewards people who are willing to pay attention when the promo period ends.

Wealthsimple, best for keeping banking and investing together

Wealthsimple’s Chequing account has no monthly fee and no minimum balance, and it pays 1.25% at the Core tier, 1.75% at Premium ($100,000 in assets) and 2.25% at Generation ($500,000). Core and Premium clients get an extra 0.5% by direct depositing $2,000 within a 30-day period (as of August 2026 (opens in a new tab)).

Where it beats the rest: if your BMO relationship includes investments, this is the only option here that replaces both halves at once. It also runs its own prize draw, Monthly Millionaire, with tickets earned by moving money into Wealthsimple. Where it falls short: Wealthsimple isn’t a bank. Chequing balances are held in trust at CDIC-member partner banks rather than insured directly, and investments are covered by CIPF instead. Plenty of people are perfectly comfortable with that arrangement, but it’s worth understanding before you move a large balance.

Lodavo, a free weekly cash draw on the bank you already have

Lodavo is a different kind of thing from the three above. It’s a free app that rewards you for saving: connect the Canadian bank you already use, and what you save earns you free tickets in a weekly draw for up to $10,000, with at least $100 going to a user every single week. The more you save, the more tickets you get.

It doesn’t replace a savings account, and it isn’t trying to. Lodavo pays no interest, so your rate stays whatever your bank pays you. If your complaint about BMO is the 0.50%, Lodavo doesn’t fix that on its own. Put it alongside one of the accounts above and you get the better rate and the draw for free on top.

It works with virtually any Canadian bank or credit union, so it doesn’t matter which of these you end up choosing, and it works fine if you stay put at BMO. Every draw is published on our winning numbers page, and it’s built in Montreal.

How to choose the right one for you

Most people land on a combination rather than a single product: an account that earns a decent rate, and something that makes saving into it worth doing. If you want the wider context, why young adults are choosing online banks covers what people are actually leaving the big banks for, and our guide to prize-linked savings in Canada explains how the draw side works.

Terms and conditions apply. No purchase necessary (alternate method of entry available). Skill-testing question required. Open to legal residents of Canada who are the age of majority. Odds depend on the number of eligible entries received. Full rules and odds at our contest rules.