Found vs. Lili: Which Offers Better Banking for Small Business?
What you need to know about Found vs Lili features, fees, and benefits for small business banking in 2026
Managing your small business shouldn’t mean drowning in financial admin. Between tracking expenses, handling taxes, paying contractors, and keeping your books straight, you need banking that works with you, not against you.
Found and Lili both offer mobile-first business banking designed for freelancers and small teams. While they share some similarities, the differences in features, costs, and support can make or break your business operations.
We’ll compare Found vs. Lili across banking, taxes, invoicing, and bookkeeping to help you find the right fit for your business needs.
The bottom line: While both Found and Lili offer free plans with business banking features, Found’s core plan also includes additional automated bookkeeping, invoicing, and tax tools at no extra cost, while Lili charges $15-$55 monthly for comparable features. Found delivers better value for most small businesses, though Lili has advantages for managing multiple businesses and earning higher interest on savings.
Found vs. Lili: Feature Comparison
Data compiled March 2026 and subject to change. Features, pricing, and availability may vary. Always confirm current details with providers directly.
| Feature Category | Found (Free) | Found Plus⁴ ($35/mo) | Found Pro⁴ ($80/mo) | Lili Basic (Free) | Lili Pro ($15/mo) | Lili Smart ($35/mo) | Lili Premium ($55/mo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan Fees | $0 | $35 per month or $315 yearly | $80 per month or $720 yearly | $0 | $15 or $144 yearly | $35 or $336 yearly | $55 or $528 yearly |
| Banking Basics | |||||||
| Business Checking Account | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| No Required Minimum Balance | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Debit Card | ✅ Found Business debit MasterCard® | ✅ Found Business debit MasterCard® | ✅ Premium metal¹⁹ Found Business debit MasterCard® | ✅ Lili Visa® Debit Card | ✅ Lili Visa® Debit Card with Cashback Awards through Visa SavingsEdge | ✅ Lili Visa® Debit Card with Cashback Awards through Visa SavingsEdge | ✅ Lili Visa® Debit Card – Metal with Cashback Awards through Visa SavingsEdge |
| Early Direct Deposit⁶ | ✅ (2 days) | ✅ (2 days) | ✅ (2 days) | ✅ (2 days) | ✅ (2 days) | ✅ (2 days) | ✅ (2 days) |
| APY¹⁴ | ❌ | ✅ 1.50% APY on balances up to $20K | ✅ 2.50% APY on all balances, no cap | ❌ | ✅ 3% APY on Savings | ✅3% APY on Savings | ✅ 3% APY on Savings |
| ATM Network | ⚠️ Cash deposits available for a fee | ⚠️ Cash deposits available for a fee | ⚠️ Cash deposits available for a fee | ✅ Fee-free MoneyPass ATM network | ✅ Fee-free MoneyPass ATM network | ✅ Fee-free MoneyPass ATM network | ✅ Fee-free MoneyPass ATM network |
| Overdraft Protection | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ ($200 BalanceUp) | ✅ ($200 BalanceUp) | ✅ ($200 BalanceUp) |
| Accounting & Tax | |||||||
| Expense Categorization | ✅ | ✅ Includes unlimited rules, tags, and categories | ✅ Includes unlimited rules, tags, and categories | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Real-time Tax Estimates | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Tax Form Generation | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Automatic Tax Savings | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Attach Receipt to Expenses | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Business Operations | |||||||
| Invoicing | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| 1099 Contractor Payment and Tax Forms | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Payment Processing | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Multi-Business Support | ✅ Up to 5 | ✅ Up to 5 | ✅ Up to 5 | ❌ | ✅ Up to 4 | ✅ Up to 4 | ✅ Up to 4 |
| Multiple Account Numbers | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Reports | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ⚠️ (Basic) | ✅ (Enhanced) | ✅ (Enhanced) |
| Support | |||||||
| Priority Customer Support | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Mobile App Ratings | 4.8 stars on App Store4.7 stars on Google Play | 4.8 stars on App Store4.7 stars on Google Play | 4.8 stars on App Store4.7 stars on Google Play | 4.6 stars on App Store4.1 stars on Google Play | 4.6 stars on App Store4.1 stars on Google Play | 4.6 stars on App Store4.1 stars on Google Play | 4.6 stars on App Store4.1 stars on Google Play |
Here’s how Found and Lili stack up across the features that matter most to your business.
Best for All-in-One Business Banking: Found
Found’s core plan offers a comprehensive business bank account for $0/year with no required hidden fees⁴ or required monthly maintenance costs. While Found and Lili’s free bank accounts are relatively comparable, Found’s core plan provides more comprehensive tools—such as bookkeeping, tax tools, invoicing, and contractor management tools—without any required monthly fees⁴, making it the more cost-effective choice for businesses seeking full-service banking capabilities.
Best for High-Yield Savings: Lili
Lili offers competitive APY on savings across all their paid plans — 2.25% APY on balances up to $500K, and up to 4.00% APY on balances between $500K and $1M. This significantly outpaces Found Plus’s⁴ 1.50% APY on balances up to $20K, and Found Pro’s⁴ 2.50% APY with no cap. While Found Pro’s⁴ uncapped 2.50% rate is a strong option for growing businesses, Lili’s higher ceiling makes it the better choice if maximizing interest on large cash reserves is your primary goal. Note that Found doesn’t offer dedicated savings accounts — its Pockets feature can be used for savings, but interest rates apply to checking balances only.
Best for Overdraft Protection: Lili
Lili’s BalanceUp feature provides $200 in fee-free overdrafts on all of Lili’s paid plans, offering a financial cushion for cash flow gaps. Eligible users get automatic coverage when they need it most. Found doesn’t allow overdrafts; transactions decline instead.
Best for Integrated Bookkeeping: Found
Found automatically categorizes your expenses, provides receipt capture, and generates profit and loss statements and financial reports on its free core plan. Found Plus provides additional bookkeeping features, such as activity import from other cards or accounts, the ability to auto-import an expense from receipt, and unlimited custom rules, categories, and tags. In contrast, Lili’s Basic plan offers no built-in bookkeeping tools whatsoever; you’ll have to purchase one of Lili’s paid plans, which provide a varying range of bookkeeping features.
Best for Tax Automation: Found
Found handles real-time tax estimations and automatically generates Schedule C, 1120, and 1120-S forms (depending on your business structure), with automatic tax savings and quarterly estimate generation at no cost. Found also provides a real-time tax estimate based on your provide tax profile and allows you set up a tax savings Pocket. In contrast, Lili requires their higher-tier paid plans to access pre-filled tax forms including Schedule C, 1065, and 1120-S, while their Basic and Pro plans offer no tax preparation features. This means you’ll need to upgrade to Lili’s most expensive plans for some of the same tax automation that Found provides completely free.
Best for Free Invoicing: Found
Found offers unlimited professional invoices with custom branding, multiple payment options, and automated payment tracking and reminders. Everything you need to get paid faster comes included. While Lili also offers built-in invoicing tools, they’re only available under their Smart and Premium plans, which start at $35/month.
Best for Managing 1099 Contractors: Found
Found offers a complete contractor management solution with free W-9 collection, payment processing via multiple methods, and automatic 1099-NEC generation and filing for contractors. Lili doesn’t provide contractor payroll services or 1099 management tools—their platform focuses on solo business owners rather than businesses that hire contractors. If you regularly work with independent contractors, Found’s integrated approach eliminates the need for separate contractor management tools or services.
Best for Multiple Business Management: Found
Both Found and Lili let you manage multiple businesses from a single login, with separate accounts and reporting for each. Found supports up to five businesses compared to Lili’s four, but the real advantage is what comes with each account. Every business you manage with Found gets access to the full suite of automated tools—automatic tax savings, bookkeeping, expense tracking, and quarterly tax estimates. This means you can efficiently run multiple ventures while keeping your finances organized and tax-ready across all of them, making Found the better choice for managing multiple businesses.
Best for Integrated Banking, Bookkeeping, and Tax Tools: Found
Found offers a comprehensive suite of financial tools for small businesses, including automatic expense categorization, real-time tax calculations, unlimited invoicing, contractor management, and built-in bookkeeping on its core plan at no cost. The platform supports businesses from independent operators to growing teams, making it easy to track income from multiple sources and stay organized for tax season. Lili’s Basic plan provides only fundamental banking services like a business debit card and ATM access, with no bookkeeping, tax planning, invoicing, or expense management features included.
Best for Small Business Startups: Found
Found provides everything new businesses need without required monthly fees⁴, helping preserve precious startup cash flow. You get a complete business banking solution from day one with built-in compliance tools, automatic tax management, unlimited invoicing, and contractor payments—all free. This comprehensive approach eliminates the need for multiple software subscriptions that can quickly drain startup budgets. Found’s feature offering on their core plan means you can operate longer before upgrading, while Lili requires earlier upgrades to paid plans for essential business tools—a significant consideration when every dollar counts in the early stages.
Which Platform Is Best for Small Business?
The right choice depends on your specific business needs and priorities. Here’s how to decide between Found and Lili based on what matters most to your operations.
Choose Found if you:
- Want a complete business banking solution with no required monthly fees⁴
- Work with contractors and need built-in 1099 payments and filings
- Want automated tax tracking and quarterly tax estimates
- Need free, unlimited invoicing with payment tracking and reminders
- Manage multiple businesses under one login and need separate reporting
- Prefer built-in bookkeeping with auto-categorization and P&L reports
- Run a freelance or sole proprietor business with gig economy integrations
- Are cost-conscious and want a full suite of tools with no required monthly fee⁴
- Are launching a startup and want to minimize costs without sacrificing features
Choose Lili if you:
- Prioritize high-yield savings for larger balances
- Need overdraft protection to managing cash flow
Bottom line: Found includes all the must-have business banking tools for free—making it the smarter, more cost-effective option for small businesses that want their banking and financial tools in one place.
Ready to Make the Switch?
Found makes it simple to get comprehensive business banking without any required monthly fees*. With automatic bookkeeping, real-time tax calculations, unlimited invoicing, and contractor management all included free, you can focus on growing your business instead of managing multiple software subscriptions. Join thousands of entrepreneurs who’ve already made Found their all-in-one financial solution and start streamlining your business finances today.
FAQs
Is Found really free?
Yes, Found’s core plan is free. Found offers business banking, tax tools, invoicing, bookkeeping, and 1099 contractor management with no required monthly fees⁴. Found also offers optional paid plans: Found Plus for $35/month or $315/year, and Found Pro for $80/month or $720/year.
Can I switch from Lili to Found easily?
Definitely. You can open a Found account online in as little as five minutes. Found’s mobile and web platforms make the transition seamless. You can immediately start using Found’s complete suite of business tools—including built-in bookkeeping, tax savings, and invoicing—without needing to upgrade to a paid plan.
How does Found help with taxes?
Found helps simplify tax time by tracking your income and expenses, calculating quarterly estimates, and setting aside tax money in a dedicated Pocket so you’re never scrambling at tax time. You’ll get pre-filled tax forms, such as Schedule C, 1120, and 1120-S depending on your business structure.
Does Found support 1099 contractor payments?
Yes—and it’s built right into Found’s free plan. There are no per-contractor fees or limits. You can collect W-9 forms, pay contractors via multiple methods (ACH, instant transfers), and automatically generate and file 1099-NEC forms for contractors without needing a separate contractor payroll tool.
Is Lili better for earning interest?
Lili offers up to 4.00% APY on savings balances between $500K and $1M across all paid plans, with 2.25% APY on balances up to $500K. Found Plus⁴ earns 1.50% APY on balances up to $20K, while Found Pro⁴ earns 2.50% APY on all balances with no cap. If maximizing interest on large cash reserves is your priority, Lili’s higher rates may justify the monthly fees — but for comprehensive business banking features at low or no cost, Found delivers better overall value.
Data compiled March 2026 and subject to change. Features, pricing, and availability may vary. Always confirm current details with providers directly.