The 10 best neobanks in Europe in 2026

Most Europeans no longer need a high-street bank for everyday money. A free app account will hold your salary, pay abroad without a markup, earn close to the central bank rate on cash and buy an ETF for a euro. The difficulty is choosing. There are now dozens of these accounts, their prices changed several times this year, and a few that looked solid in 2024 have since closed or been sanctioned.

I compared more than 20 current accounts for individuals across Europe on the offers in force on 5 October 2026: the specialist neobanks, the big fintech brands, and the online banks of traditional groups that now compete on the same terms. Business accounts are out. There are no affiliate links in this article, and no provider knew it was being written.

Trade Republic first, then pick by countryVerdict

Trade Republic is the best all-round account in Europe this year: no fees, no currency markup, cash interest near the central bank rate, and some of the cheapest investing on the list, from a licensed bank. Its weakness is support. If you live in the UK, Monzo is as good and better looked after; in Spain or Germany, Openbank; in France, BoursoBank. Wise remains the best tool for holding and moving several currencies, and Revolut the best app, with more open issues than its rivals. Whatever you choose, keep a second account elsewhere.

How the ranking works

Each provider gets a score from 1 to 5 on six criteria, using its free or cheapest plan unless a small fee unlocks the main features. The weights reflect what matters to most people:

Two rules keep the list useful. First, many of the best accounts are open only in one country, such as Chase in the UK or BoursoBank in France. Only the best of each such country enters the main ranking; the others appear in the country table further down. Second, a past regulatory fine that has been settled does not lower the safety score on its own. Open issues do.

For French readers: whether a provider offers a PEA, France’s tax-advantaged share account, is noted where relevant but not scored, since it means nothing elsewhere in Europe.

The ranking

The top 10, criterion by criterion

Weighted score out of 100. Each colour is one criterion; click the legend to hide one and see what drives each score.

A 3 in investing means the offer is limited or not available everywhere the account is.

1. Trade Republic: the best all-rounder

Trade Republic started as a broker and became a German bank in 2023. It now runs a full current account in 18 countries, with a French IBAN for French customers.¹ The account and the virtual card are free; a physical card costs €5 once. Card payments abroad are converted at the interbank rate with no fee, and cash withdrawals are free from €100 (€1 below).²

Uninvested cash earns 3% in France for accounts opened since 12 May 2026 and a rate tied to the ECB for older ones; the German headline rate is 2.5%.³⁴ Cash is held at partner banks such as Citi, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan, each covered by its own €100,000 guarantee.² Shares and ETFs cost €1 per order and regular investment plans are free; 1% of card spending can be invested automatically, up to €15 a month.² French customers get a PEA, and more than 400,000 had opened one by August.¹

The weak point is service. The app froze during the market sell-off of 7 April 2025, tax deductions were wrongly calculated in 2025, and the company answers only 13% of its negative Trustpilot reviews.⁵⁶

2. Monzo: the best in the UK, now in Ireland

Monzo is a UK bank with more than 15 million customers and a free plan.⁷ Card payments abroad carry no fee, and cash withdrawals are free across the EEA when Monzo is your main account, and up to £200 every 30 days elsewhere.⁸ Instant-access savings pay 2.75% to 3.50%.⁹ Deposits are covered up to £120,000 by the UK guarantee scheme. Monzo launched in Ireland in April 2026 with an Irish IBAN and plans Spain later this year.¹⁰

The UK regulator fined Monzo £21 million in July 2025 for weak financial-crime controls between 2018 and 2022; the fine is settled.¹¹ Brazil’s Nubank is reported to be in talks to buy the bank.¹²

3. Openbank: the high-street bank that behaves like a neobank

Openbank is Santander’s online bank, open to residents of Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal. In Germany the account and card are free, with six free cash withdrawals a month worldwide and no currency surcharge; in Spain the free account adds those travel features through a “Travel+” option.¹³¹⁴ New savers get introductory rates of 2.75% for a year in Spain and 4% for four months in Germany, falling to 2% after.¹³¹⁴ Shares cost €1 per trade.¹³ It is a fully licensed bank inside a major group. Its review scores are weak: 3.3 out of 5 in Spain.¹⁵

4. BoursoBank: France’s free bank with a full toolbox

BoursoBank, owned by Société Générale, has more than 9 million customers.¹⁶ Its basic Welcome card has been free with no condition since February 2026, card payments abroad are free on every card, and one foreign cash withdrawal a month is free (three with the Ultim card).¹⁷ It offers a full range of savings, brokerage from €1.99 per order, commission-free purchases of selected ETFs and a PEA, all from a French bank covered by the FGDR.¹⁷¹⁶ Its savings rate is ordinary at 1.50%.¹⁸

5. Wise: the best for several currencies

Wise is the account to hold if you earn, spend or send money in more than one currency. It handles 40 currencies, charges no subscription, and converts at the mid-market rate plus a fee from 0.2%; converting euros to dollars cost 0.47% on the day of this test.¹⁹ Cash withdrawals are free up to €250 a month, then 2.69%.²⁰ Wise’s “Interest” feature pays 2.25% after fees through a BlackRock money market fundMoney market fundA fund that invests in very short-term debt and pays close to the central bank rate. It is an investment, not a deposit, so no deposit guarantee applies.Read in the glossary →.²¹

Wise is a payment institution licensed in Belgium, not a bank.²² Money on the account is safeguardedSafeguardingHow payment and e-money firms protect customer money instead of a deposit guarantee: they keep it apart from their own funds, at a bank or in safe assets.Read in the glossary → rather than covered by a deposit guarantee, which is why it scores low on safety. In June 2026 investigative journalists reported suspected money laundering through Wise accounts; Belgian prosecutors were said to be investigating, and nothing has been proven.²³

6. Lunar: the Nordic pick

Lunar is a Danish bank open only to residents of Denmark, Sweden and Norway.²⁴ Its free Light plan charges a 1% to 1.5% currency markup depending on the country, and savings rates vary, up to 4% in Norway.²⁵²⁶ Shares are traded through Saxo Bank for 19 Danish kroner.²⁷ Deposits are covered by the Danish guarantee. The company raised €46 million in January 2026 but has changed chief executive twice this year.²⁸

7. Revolut: the best app, with the most open issues

Revolut remains the most complete app on the list, with a free plan available across Europe.²⁹ Card payments in another currency are free up to €1,000 a month on weekdays, with 1% above that and at weekends; cash withdrawals are free up to €200 or five a month.³⁰ Savings on the free plan pay 2.25% on the first €500 and 0.75% above, and shares cost €1 per order since May.³¹ French customers will be moved from the Lithuanian bank to Revolut’s new French bank between 2 and 5 December 2026, keeping their IBAN and cards, with deposits then covered by the FGDR.³² Our full Revolut review has the details.

Its safety and service scores are lower because of open issues. The Financial Times reported in June that the ECB had restricted Revolut from launching new products in the European Economic Area since July 2025, pending fixes to its approval processes; it is not known whether all restrictions have been lifted.³³ Italy’s competition authority fined it €11.5 million in April, including €5 million for its handling of blocked accounts, which Revolut is appealing.³⁴ And in September it confirmed handing customer data to fraudsters posing as a government agency.³⁵

8. Klarna: a solid card if you never need cash

Klarna, best known for paying in instalments, is a Swedish bank and has offered a debit card in France and nine other EU countries since September 2025.³⁶ The standard plan is free with a virtual card, there is no currency markup, and its flexible savings account pays 2.20%.³⁷³⁸ Two limits: a physical card needs a paid plan, and the account allows no cash withdrawals at all.³⁷³⁹ Sweden’s regulator fined Klarna SEK 500 million in December 2024 for money-laundering failings; the matter is closed.⁴⁰

9. N26: still good for card payments, weaker elsewhere

N26 is a German bank in 24 markets with more than 8 million customers.⁴¹ Card payments abroad are free, but the free plan includes only two free cash withdrawals a month in the euro area and charges 1.7% outside it, savings pay 0.25%, and the physical card costs €10.⁴²⁴³ Shares cost €0.90 per trade.⁴²

In December 2025 Germany’s regulator, BaFin, found that N26 “lacked proper business organization”, appointed a special monitor and banned new mortgage lending in the Netherlands.⁴⁴ Both founders have left, and a former UBS executive became chief executive in April 2026.⁴⁵ Deposits are protected up to €100,000; the bank simply has more work to do than its rivals.

10. bunq: rewarding savings, expensive free plan

bunq is a Dutch bank open across the EU.⁴⁶ Its savings are attractive: 1.51% as a base rate and 3.01% on money above your highest balance of the past six months.⁴⁷ Its free plan is the weakest on this list: no physical card, €2.99 for every cash withdrawal, and a 0.5% currency fee that rises to 1.5% after the first €1,000 of the year.⁴⁷ The Core plan at €3.99 a month is the realistic entry point. The Dutch central bank fined bunq €2.6 million in August 2025 for money-laundering control failures in 2021 and 2022; bunq is challenging the fine in court.⁴⁸ Its Trustpilot score is 3.7, with 27% one-star reviews.⁴⁹

What a week abroad really costs

Fees on a tariff page are hard to compare, so I priced one realistic trip: a week in New York with €1,500 of card payments (a third of it at the weekend) and €300 of cash in one withdrawal, with no other currency spending that month.

What a week in New York costs in fees

€1,500 of card payments in dollars (a third at the weekend) and €300 of cash in one withdrawal, on each account’s free or entry plan.

Trade Republic, BoursoBank and Openbank cost nothing. Revolut, Wise and N26 cost between €5 and €10, which is fine. bunq’s free plan, Vivid and Nickel cost between €20 and €33 for the same week.

Where your cash earns the most

What your cash earns, account by account

Headline gross rate on uninvested cash. Circles are bank deposits; diamonds are money market funds. The dashed line is the ECB deposit rate.

The ECB pays banks 2.50% on their deposits since 16 September.⁵⁰ Trade Republic, Wise and Klarna pass on roughly that much; Revolut’s free plan and N26 keep most of it. Note that Wise’s rate comes from a fund, not a deposit: it is not covered by the deposit guarantee, though it carries very little risk.

The best pick in each country

The bad ones

These are not the weakest accounts on price alone. They are the ones where the record gives a clear reason to stay away, or where the deal has become poor enough that I would not recommend them to anyone.

1. Unlicensed “neobanks” and fake savings accounts. The clearest category. France’s banking and markets regulators added more than 1,300 unauthorised websites and actors to their blacklists in 2025, many offering fake savings accounts or credit.⁵⁷ In July they warned that fraudsters also pose as their own staff.⁵⁸ Before opening any account, check the provider on your national register: REGAFI in France, the FCA register in the UK, BaFin’s database in Germany.

2. Curve. Curve is a card that routes payments through your other cards, now owned by Lloyds. Its Trustpilot score is 2.2 out of 5 from more than 13,000 reviews, a quarter of them one-star, and the recurring complaint is accounts suddenly blocked with support taking weeks or months to answer.⁵⁹ A product that sits between you and your money should not have that record.

3. Wirex. The crypto card has a Trustpilot score of 1.1 out of 5, with 94% one-star reviews describing frozen funds and withdrawals blocked by changing requirements.⁶⁰ The sample is small, 432 reviews, but the pattern is consistent and the company has not claimed its profile.

4. Vivid Money. Vivid’s free account has quietly disappeared. The Standard plan now costs €4.90 a month unless you hold €3,000 or spent €1,000 the month before, card payments abroad cost 1%, the physical card costs €19.90, and the interest rate drops to 0.1% after two introductory months.⁶¹ It is an e-money institution, not a bank, and has shifted its focus to small businesses.⁶² Most accounts in the top 10 do more for less.

5. Nickel, unless you have no other option. Nickel serves a real purpose: it opens an account for anyone from age 12, with no income condition. For everyone else it is poor value, at €25 a year with €1.50 charged on every card payment outside the euro and no interest.⁶³ If a bank has refused you, it is a good door in. Otherwise, any free account above costs less.

How to choose in five minutes

• You travel a lot: Trade Republic, or Monzo in the UK. Add Wise if you hold several currencies.
• You want interest on your cash: Trade Republic, Klarna’s flexible savings, or bunq if you keep growing your balance.
• You want to invest small amounts every month: Trade Republic’s free investment plans. French readers who want a PEA can get one there or at BoursoBank.
• You want a bank in your own country with branches behind it: BoursoBank, Openbank, Monzo or Lunar, depending on where you live.
• Whatever you pick: keep a second account at a different institution. Closures and account freezes happen, even at good providers.

The list will change

Nearly every provider here changed its prices in 2026, and two of the top ten are under active supervision. Revolut’s French customers change bank in December; Monzo may change owner. I will update this ranking when the offers move. If one of these companies changes its fees after publication, the tariff document cited below is the place to check first.

Sources

All links accessed 5 October 2026.

Footnotes

1. Meilleur-PEA, “PEA Trade Republic”, 1 October 2026; Wikipedia, Trade Republic. ↩ ↩²

2. Café de la Bourse, “Trade Republic”, 5 October 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. Trade Republic, Intérêts; MoneyVox, “Trade Republic”, 5 October 2026. ↩

4. Trade Republic, Interest (Germany). ↩

5. Wikipedia, Trade Republic, citing Reuters and WirtschaftsWoche. ↩

6. Trustpilot, Trade Republic reviews. ↩

7. Monzo, Plans; Wikipedia, Monzo. ↩

8. Monzo, Travel. ↩

9. Monzo, Savings. ↩

10. Monzo, Monzo Ireland; The Irish Times, “Monzo’s EU chief in Dublin to quit”, 22 September 2026. ↩

11. Financial Conduct Authority, “FCA fines Monzo £21m for failings in financial crime controls”, 8 July 2025. ↩

12. Silicon Republic, “Brazil’s Nubank in talks to acquire UK’s Monzo”. ↩

13. Openbank, openbank.es and Cuenta Remunerada. ↩ ↩² ↩³

14. Openbank, Girokonto and Tagesgeld. ↩ ↩²

15. Trustpilot, Openbank Spain reviews. ↩

16. BoursoBank, boursobank.com and Bourse. ↩ ↩²

17. BoursoBank, Brochure tarifaire. ↩ ↩²

18. BoursoBank, Livret Bourso+. ↩

19. Wise, Account and Pricing. ↩

20. Wise, Card fees. ↩

21. Wise, Interest, rate dated 23 September 2026. ↩

22. Wise, wise.com. ↩

23. Wikipedia, Wise (company), citing the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the BBC. ↩

24. Lunar, What is Lunar. ↩

25. Lunar, Pricing, Denmark and Priser, Sweden. ↩

26. Lunar, Priser, Norway. ↩

27. Lunar, Invest. ↩

28. Lunar, Press releases. ↩

29. MoneyVox, “Revolut”, updated 5 October 2026. ↩

30. Revolut, Standard plan fees (France). ↩

31. Revolut, Plans; Revolut help centre, “Trading fees”. ↩

32. Journal du Geek, “Revolut va transférer vos comptes en France”, 3 October 2026. ↩

33. AML Intelligence, “ECB blocked new Revolut products over compliance concerns”, June 2026, citing the Financial Times. ↩

34. Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, press release PS12974, 2 April 2026. ↩

35. TechCrunch, “Revolut confirms customer data breach through fake government requests”, 12 September 2026. ↩

36. Klarna, “Klarna launches debit-first card across Europe”, 2 September 2025. ↩

37. Klarna, Compte bancaire. ↩ ↩²

38. Klarna, Compte épargne Flex. ↩

39. Klarna, Balance terms (France), 16 September 2026. ↩

40. Finansinspektionen, “Klarna receives a remark and an administrative fine”, 11 December 2024. ↩

41. N26, n26.com. ↩

42. N26, Tarifs. ↩ ↩²

43. JeChange, “Tarifs N26”. ↩

44. Banking Dive, “BaFin orders N26 additional oversight”, 15 December 2025. ↩

45. Banking Dive, “N26 hires UBS executive Mike Dargan”, 16 December 2025. ↩

46. bunq, bunq.com. ↩

47. bunq, Pricing information sheet, 22 September 2026; bunq, Savings. ↩ ↩²

48. DutchNews, “Online bank bunq fined for lack of money laundering controls”, 25 August 2025. ↩

49. Trustpilot, bunq reviews. ↩

50. European Central Bank, Key ECB interest rates. ↩

51. Chase UK, Travel with Chase; MoneySavingExpert, “Best bank accounts”, 1 October 2026. ↩

52. Starling Bank, Travel. ↩

53. Fortuneo, Conditions tarifaires, 6 August 2026. ↩

54. MoneyVox, “Hello bank!”, updated 5 October 2026. ↩

55. C24 Bank, c24.de. ↩

56. imagin, Tarjetas. ↩

57. ACPR, “Le pôle commun de l’ACPR et de l’AMF publie son rapport annuel 2025”, 24 June 2026. ↩

58. ACPR, “L’été, les escrocs ne prennent pas de vacances”, 8 July 2026. ↩

59. Trustpilot, Curve reviews. ↩

60. Trustpilot, Wirex reviews. ↩

61. Vivid Money, Fee schedule for retail users, v4.1, 18 August 2026; Vivid Money, Personal. ↩

62. Vivid Money, vivid.money and Press. ↩

63. Nickel, Conditions générales, in force 1 July 2026; Nickel, Tarifs et services. ↩

64. GloboBanks, “Revolut multata, Bnext chiusa, bunq sanzionata”, 30 April 2026. ↩

65. Wikipedia, Ma French Bank, citing Le Figaro and mind Fintech. ↩

66. ACPR, Retraits d’agrément devenus définitifs, décembre 2025. ↩

67. Wikipedia, Hello bank!. ↩