Is KOHO or EQ Bank better?

They serve different purposes, so the right answer depends on what you need. KOHO is designed for everyday spending — it has a prepaid Mastercard, cashback rewards, budgeting tools, round-up savings, and a credit-building feature. EQ Bank is designed for savings — it offers one of Canada's top HISA rates (around 3.75%), a no-fee Mastercard debit card, and full banking functionality including TFSA, RRSP, and GICs. Most people who use one would benefit from the other for a different job: KOHO for spending, EQ Bank for saving.

KOHO is not a bank — it is a fintech company. KOHO accounts are held at Peoples Trust Company, a federally regulated CDIC member institution. EQ Bank is the digital arm of Equitable Bank, a Schedule I chartered bank. Both offer CDIC-eligible deposit protection up to $100,000, but through different underlying structures. In practice, both are safe and regulated; the distinction matters mainly for features — EQ Bank as a chartered bank can offer registered accounts (TFSA, RRSP, FHSA) while KOHO cannot.

Does KOHO earn interest on savings?

Yes, but the rate is significantly lower than EQ Bank unless you pay for a higher KOHO plan. KOHO's free Essential plan earns 0.5% on savings; the $9/month Everything plan earns 4.0%; the $19/month Premium plan earns 5.0%. EQ Bank earns approximately 3.75% on all balances for free, with no monthly fee. For pure savings yield without a monthly fee, EQ Bank wins. KOHO's strength is cashback, budgeting tools, and credit building — not interest rates.

Does KOHO help build credit?

Yes. KOHO offers a Credit Building feature that reports a monthly instalment loan to Equifax, helping establish or rebuild your credit score over time without a hard credit check. It is included with all paid KOHO plans and available as a $7/month add-on on the free Essential plan. EQ Bank has no credit-building product. If building or repairing your Canadian credit history is a priority, KOHO is worth considering for this feature alone — it is one of the only no-hard-check credit-building products available in Canada.

Can I use KOHO and EQ Bank together?

Yes, and this is a common and efficient setup. Use KOHO for everyday spending — the prepaid card for purchases, cashback on groceries and transport, budgeting tools, and credit building. Use EQ Bank for savings — your emergency fund, TFSA, RRSP, and GICs earn the higher HISA rate. Payroll can be deposited to EQ Bank to earn interest from day one, with spending money transferred to KOHO as needed. There is no fee conflict; both accounts are free at the base level.

Which has better savings interest — KOHO or EQ Bank?

EQ Bank wins on savings interest for most Canadians. EQ Bank pays approximately 3.75% on all balances with no monthly fee and no conditions. KOHO pays 0.5% on the free plan, 3.0% on Extra ($4/month), 4.0% on Everything ($9/month), and 5.0% on Premium ($19/month). KOHO Premium's 5.0% rate beats EQ Bank's 3.75%, but the $19/month fee ($228/year) must be offset by the higher interest earnings — which requires a balance of roughly $14,400 or more before the incremental interest gain covers the plan cost versus using EQ Bank for free.

Does EQ Bank have cashback?

Yes, but modest compared to KOHO. The EQ Bank Card (Mastercard debit) earns 0.5% cashback on all purchases with no categories or caps. KOHO's free Essential plan earns 0.5% cashback broadly, with higher rates on specific categories (groceries, transport, restaurants) on paid plans, and partner cashback of up to 10% at select merchants on higher tiers. For cashback-focused spending, KOHO's category rates and partner offers generally outperform EQ Bank's flat 0.5%.

Can EQ Bank be used as a primary bank account in Canada?

Yes. EQ Bank's Savings Plus Account supports payroll direct deposit, Interac e-Transfers, bill payments, and the EQ Bank Card for everyday purchases. It functions as a full bank account for most Canadians. The main gap is cash — you cannot deposit cash at EQ Bank, and ATM withdrawals depend on network availability. EQ Bank also does not have a branch network. For Canadians comfortable with a fully digital banking relationship, EQ Bank is a legitimate primary account that also earns competitive interest on every dollar.

KOHO vs EQ Bank 2026: Which Canadian Digital Bank Should You Use?

KOHO and EQ Bank are both popular Canadian digital banking products, but they were designed for fundamentally different financial jobs. Choosing between them — or deciding whether to use both — comes down to understanding which problem each one solves.

KOHO is a spending and budgeting platform. The prepaid Mastercard at its centre means you can only spend what you load, which enforces spending discipline mechanically. Cashback on purchases, round-up savings, automated savings rules, and the Credit Building feature make it a strong tool for managing day-to-day money flows. The trade-off is a lower base savings rate and a monthly fee for the features that make it worth using.

EQ Bank is a savings and banking platform. Its Savings Plus Account pays one of Canada’s highest HISA rates — around 3.75% — on all balances, for free, with no conditions. It also functions as a fully operational bank account for payroll, bill payments, Interac e-Transfers, and purchases. The EQ Bank Card is a Mastercard debit with no foreign transaction fee and 0.5% cashback. For Canadians who want their savings working harder without switching their entire banking relationship, EQ Bank is a direct upgrade from a Big 5 savings account earning 0.01%.

What KOHO Offers

KOHO’s core product is a prepaid Mastercard loaded from your existing bank account or payroll. The prepaid structure means there is no credit check to qualify, no overdraft risk, and no interest charges — you spend what you have. The app wraps this with spending categorization, savings goals, and automation tools that most Canadian bank apps lack.

Feature	Details
Card type	Prepaid Mastercard
Cashback (Essential, free)	0.5% broadly
Cashback (Everything, $9/mo)	1% broadly, up to 10% at partners
Cashback (Premium, $19/mo)	2% broadly, up to 10% at partners
Savings interest (free)	0.5%
Savings interest (Everything)	4.0%
Savings interest (Premium)	5.0%
Credit Building	Included on paid plans; $7/mo add-on on free
Registered accounts	None
CDIC insurance	Via Peoples Trust

The Credit Building feature deserves separate attention. KOHO reports a monthly instalment loan to Equifax without a hard credit check, generating payment history entries that build your credit score over time. No direct competitor offers this in a no-hard-check format. For newcomers to Canada, students, and anyone rebuilding after credit problems, this feature alone can justify the monthly plan cost. See the full KOHO review for a plan-by-plan breakdown.

What EQ Bank Offers

EQ Bank’s Savings Plus Account is the product that most Canadians use it for: a HISA paying approximately 3.75% on all balances, with no monthly fee, no minimum balance, and no conditions. Unlike a traditional savings account at a Big 5 bank that may pay 0.01–0.5%, EQ Bank applies the HISA rate to your entire balance from day one, including payroll deposits.

Feature	Details
Savings interest	~3.75% on all balances (no conditions)
Monthly fee	$0
EQ Bank Card	Mastercard debit; 0.5% cashback; no FX fee
Registered accounts	TFSA, RRSP, RRIF, FHSA
GICs	Yes — 3 months to 10 years
USD account	Yes
International transfers	Yes (via Wise partnership)
Bill payments	Yes
Interac e-Transfer	Yes (free, unlimited)
CDIC insurance	Via Equitable Bank (Schedule I chartered bank)

The registered account access is a meaningful EQ Bank advantage over KOHO. A TFSA or RRSP at EQ Bank earns the same ~3.75% HISA rate, sheltered from tax. KOHO offers no registered accounts. For anyone building long-term savings — an emergency fund in a TFSA, RRSP contributions earning competitive interest — EQ Bank’s registered account options are a direct reason to keep savings there rather than in KOHO. See the EQ Bank review for full account details and current GIC rates.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Feature	KOHO	EQ Bank
Primary purpose	Spending and budgeting	Savings and banking
Free tier savings rate	0.5%	~3.75%
Best savings rate	5.0% (Premium, $19/mo)	~3.75% (free)
Cashback on purchases	0.5%–2% (plan-dependent)	0.5% flat (EQ Card)
Credit building	Yes (Equifax reporting)	No
Registered accounts	None	TFSA, RRSP, RRIF, FHSA
GICs	No	Yes
USD account	No	Yes
Budgeting tools	Yes — core feature	Basic
Monthly fee	$0–$19	$0
CDIC insurance	Via Peoples Trust	Via Equitable Bank

Which to Choose

Choose KOHO if your priority is managing day-to-day spending. The prepaid model prevents overspending; the cashback on groceries and transport offsets everyday costs; the budgeting tools provide visibility that bank apps rarely match. Add the Credit Building feature if you are working on your credit score — it is KOHO’s unique differentiator and there is no equivalent in the EQ Bank product lineup. KOHO is also stronger for partner cashback: up to 10% at select merchants on paid plans is a meaningful benefit for regular shoppers at those partners.

Choose EQ Bank if your priority is earning competitive interest on savings with full banking functionality. The 3.75% free rate beats KOHO’s free tier by 3.25 percentage points — on $20,000 in savings, that is $650 versus $100 per year, a $550 annual difference from choosing one account over the other. EQ Bank’s registered accounts and GICs make it the better long-term savings vehicle. For most Canadians, EQ Bank is also the better payroll destination: money earns 3.75% from the moment it lands rather than sitting in a Big 5 chequing account at 0%.

Use both if you want to optimize for both spending and saving. This is the most efficient setup for most Canadians: deposit payroll to EQ Bank to earn interest on the full amount, then transfer your spending budget to KOHO weekly or bi-weekly to earn cashback on purchases and use the budgeting tools. Savings, emergency fund, TFSA, and RRSP all stay at EQ Bank working at 3.75%. Both accounts are free at the base level — there is no cost conflict.

On savings alone, KOHO Premium ($19/month) earning 5.0% interest beats EQ Bank’s free 3.75% only when the incremental 1.25% interest gain on your balance exceeds the $228 annual fee — which requires approximately $18,000 in savings. Below that threshold, EQ Bank is the better savings vehicle even against KOHO’s highest-tier rate.