Lodavo vs EQ Bank: Honest Canadian Comparison

If you’re comparing Lodavo vs EQ Bank, the honest starting point is that these two aren’t really rivals, because they do different jobs. EQ Bank is the digital arm of Equitable Bank, a real CDIC-member bank that holds your money and pays one of the better no-fee savings rates in Canada. Lodavo holds no money and pays no interest. It connects read-only to the bank you already use and gives you free weekly draw tickets for the savings you keep there. So the real question isn’t which one wins. It’s whether you want a high-interest home for your cash, a free draw on top of it, or both.

What is the difference between Lodavo and EQ Bank?

The one difference that matters: EQ Bank holds your money and pays interest on it, while Lodavo holds nothing and pays no interest, adding free prize-draw tickets on top of the savings you keep at your own bank. EQ Bank is a place to store and grow money. Lodavo is a free layer on top of wherever you already store it.

EQ Bank is custody plus a rate. You open an account, your money sits with Equitable Bank, a federally regulated CDIC member, and you earn a competitive everyday rate while your deposits stay insured up to the usual limits. It’s a genuine high-interest savings home, with notice accounts and GICs if you want to push the rate higher. Your money lives inside EQ Bank.

Lodavo is a free prize-linked layer, not an account. As Canada’s first prize-linked savings app, it links to your existing bank through Plaid in read-only mode, checks your savings balance each week, and turns what you save into free tickets for a weekly draw. It can’t move a dollar. Your money never leaves your own bank, and it earns whatever it already earned there.

How EQ Bank works

EQ Bank is the no-fee digital bank from Equitable Bank, built around a single Personal Account that blends everyday banking and savings. It pays a base rate plus a bonus when you set up a recurring direct deposit, charges no monthly fees, and backs your deposits with CDIC coverage through Equitable Bank. The more of your banking you route through it, the higher your rate.

The everyday rate is the headline. As of 2026, EQ Bank’s own rates page (opens in a new tab) shows the Personal Account paying 1.00 percent as a base rate, rising to 2.75 percent when you add a qualifying recurring direct deposit of at least $2,000 a month. There’s no monthly fee, no minimum balance, unlimited transactions, and free Interac e-Transfers, and the EQ Bank Card reimburses ATM fees up to five times a month. If you’d rather set money aside for a better rate, the Notice Savings Account pays 2.35 percent on 10-day notice and 2.75 percent on 30-day notice, and EQ Bank also sells GICs.

On safety, this is a real bank. Equitable Bank is a CDIC (opens in a new tab) member, so your eligible deposits are insured up to $100,000 per category, per depositor (counted across EQ Bank and Equitable Bank together). For rate context, the Bank of Canada (opens in a new tab) has held its overnight rate at 2.25 percent since April 2026, so an everyday account paying at or above that is genuinely competitive. The trade is the one every bank account makes: to earn the rate, your money has to live at EQ Bank.

How Lodavo works

Lodavo doesn’t touch your money. You connect your existing Canadian bank account through Plaid (opens in a new tab), which covers over 99 percent of deposit accounts in Canada and gives apps scoped, read-only access (never your bank password). Lodavo reads your savings balance, and the more you keep saved, the more free tickets you get for the weekly draw. The draw pays up to $10,000, with a guaranteed weekly prize of at least $100 going to a member every week.

Because the connection is read-only, Lodavo can’t withdraw, charge, or transfer anything. Your money stays at your own bank, earning whatever it already earns, and you don’t switch banks or open an account. You can see exactly how each draw is run on the provably fair page, and eligibility and odds live in the contest rules. One read-only link, no money moved, and the bank you already have stays where it is.

Can you use Lodavo and EQ Bank together?

Yes, and EQ Bank is close to a perfect pairing for Lodavo. Because Lodavo holds no money, it doesn’t compete with EQ Bank for where your cash sits. Keep your savings in EQ Bank, earn up to 2.75 percent with your direct deposit, stay CDIC-insured, and then connect that same account to Lodavo to add free weekly draw tickets based on the balance you hold. Nothing about EQ Bank changes. You’re adding a free prize layer on top of a high-interest account.

That’s the cleanest way to think about it. EQ Bank answers where do I keep my savings and what rate does it earn. Lodavo answers can I also get a free weekly shot at cash prizes for that same saving, without moving it. One holds your money and pays interest; the other adds a free draw and never touches your balance. They stack, and stacking them costs you nothing extra. If anything, the people who save steadily in a high-interest account are exactly the people Lodavo’s draw rewards.

When EQ Bank is the better choice

EQ Bank is the right tool, on its own, if any of these is your main goal:

• You want a real place to keep your savings that actually pays interest, not just a prize chance.
• You want one of the better no-fee everyday rates in Canada, and you can set up a $2,000 monthly direct deposit to reach 2.75 percent.
• You want CDIC-insured custody from a federally regulated bank, up to $100,000 per category.
• You want notice accounts or GICs to push your rate higher or lock it in.
• You want no-fee everyday banking, free Interac e-Transfers, and a card, all in one account.

If you mainly care about a guaranteed return on your money, a high-interest account like EQ Bank does something Lodavo never will: it pays you a rate. The best savings apps in Canada guide lays a few out side by side.

When Lodavo is the better fit

Lodavo is the right fit if these sound like you:

• You want a free chance at cash prizes for the saving you already do.
• You don’t want to move money, switch banks, or open another account just to enter a draw.
• You want zero monthly cost and nothing new to manage.
• You like the bank you already have, EQ Bank included, and just want a reason to save a bit more.
• You want the upside of a draw without any of your money leaving your own bank, since Lodavo never holds it.

Lodavo won’t replace a savings account, and it pays no interest, so it isn’t the tool if a guaranteed rate is what you’re after. It’s the tool if you want saving to come with a free weekly shot at a real prize, on top of whatever bank or app (EQ Bank included) you already use.

Want a shot at cash prizes for the saving you already do, without moving a dollar? Get Lodavo free on the Apple App Store (opens in a new tab) or Google Play Store (opens in a new tab).

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.