Best Chequing Accounts in Canada Compared by Need, With CIBC vs TD vs RBC

What a chequing account costs depends on how you bank: the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) makes identifying your banking habits the first step, starting with how many transactions you make in a typical month, and some accounts drop the monthly fee if you keep a minimum balance. The tables below put each bank’s packages for each of those needs side by side, each monthly fee with the condition that changes it, and each big-bank account links its row on that bank’s accounts page. FCAC points shoppers to its Account Comparison Tool to compare accounts, and what a chequing account is and the kinds of package are on chequing accounts.

Which chequing accounts have no monthly fee?

Accounts with no monthly fee and what each includes are compared on no-fee chequing accounts, and the low-cost and no-cost accounts, which the financial institutions that signed the commitment offer, are explained there too. The tables below list accounts that charge a monthly fee or waive it on a condition.

What do chequing accounts with a monthly transaction limit cost?

These plans include a set number of transactions a month and charge for each one over it, which the Transactions cell gives. At some banks each Interac e-Transfer you send counts as one of those transactions; the e-Transfer cell says so where it applies.

Checked against each bank's pages on October 20, 2026.

What do unlimited chequing accounts cost?

“Unlimited” is each provider’s own word, and what it covers differs, from debit transactions in Canada or digital transactions to debit transactions worldwide, as the Transactions cell gives it. The table lists chequing and spending accounts; accounts with no monthly fee are on the no-fee page.

Checked against each bank's pages on October 20, 2026.

Which accounts drop the monthly fee when you keep a balance?

This table sorts the accounts that waive their fee for a balance by the balance needed, lowest first, and the waiver cell says how the bank measures it; TD, for one, counts the balance at the end of every day of the month, and FCAC notes that a balance below the minimum for even one day may bring the full monthly fee.

Checked against each bank's pages on October 20, 2026.

RBC says its chequing accounts have no minimum balance requirement and lowers the fee through rebates instead, such as the Value Program for an enrolled account whose owner holds two or more other eligible RBC product categories and completes at least one account activity a month, as RBC’s fee waivers set out. CIBC places its Smart Account in tiers by the average monthly balance of deposits and investments, and the higher tiers carry no monthly fee (CIBC’s fee waivers). Seniors’ pricing starts at an age each bank sets, and it, with the student and newcomer waivers where a bank offers them, is on each bank’s page and on the seniors and student pages. FCAC notes that chequing accounts usually don’t earn interest on deposits; how a chequing balance compares with savings is on chequing vs savings.

CIBC vs TD vs RBC chequing accounts

The table puts CIBC’s, RBC’s and TD’s accounts together, each bank’s in its own order.

Checked against each bank's pages on October 20, 2026.

RBC’s lineup runs from Day to Day Banking, “The Essentials”, to VIP Banking, and the fee comes down through the Value Program, the Seniors Rebate and the student and newcomer waivers, with one rebate per account owner, the largest applying. TD’s lineup runs from Minimum Chequing to the All-Inclusive Banking Plan, and Every Day, Unlimited and All-Inclusive each drop the monthly fee for a minimum balance kept at the end of every day of the month (TD’s fee waivers). CIBC’s Smart Account is one account priced in tiers by the average monthly balance of deposits and investments, and its Everyday Chequing Account is a basic account with a low monthly fee; the table shows Smart Account Tier 1, and the other tiers are rows on CIBC’s lineup.

US-dollar and cross-border accounts at these banks are on cross-border banking (TD, RBC, CIBC); hours, phone lines and transit numbers are on each bank’s numbers page (TD, RBC, CIBC).

Savings, GICs, credit cards, mortgages and investing at the big banks

• Savings rates at each bank: high-interest savings accounts (CIBC, TD, RBC); how savings accounts work: savings accounts.
• GIC rates: GIC rates compared.
• Credit cards: TD, RBC and CIBC credit cards.
• Mortgages: mortgage lenders compared and prepayment privileges.
• Investing: TD Direct Investing, RBC Direct Investing and CIBC Investor’s Edge, with online brokers and robo-advisors.

Each bank’s accounts and related pages

• Each bank’s full lineup, waivers and fees: RBC, TD, BMO, CIBC, Scotiabank and Manulife Bank.
• No-fee chequing accounts and chequing vs savings.
• Bank fees, overdraft protection and NSF fees and bad cheques.
• Choosing a bank: online banks and big bank, online bank or credit union.
• Accounts for students, children and newcomers.
• Opening a bank account and switching banks.
• Some banks’ chequing pages carry sign-up offers; how they work is on bank account promotions.