Revolut vs N26 vs Wise vs Bunq: 2026 Comparison

Revolut's strength is breadth. In addition to a current account and card, it offers stock and ETF trading, crypto, savings vaults, joint accounts and business accounts under one interface. Its European card acceptance is essentially universal. The downside is a paywall structure — many features are behind Premium (€7.99/mo) or Metal (€13.99/mo) tiers, and support quality drops sharply on free plans.

N26's strength is being a boring, well-run German bank with a good app. Fully licensed by BaFin, deposits are covered by German DGS up to €100,000. For an EU resident who wants a primary current account with SEPA transfers, a debit card and light savings features, N26 is the most straightforward choice. It is less strong on multi-currency and on non-EUR spending.

Wise's strength is FX transparency. It publishes fees explicitly, uses mid-market rates, and provides local receiving accounts in 10+ currencies. If you invoice US or UK clients, or you convert non-trivial amounts of money across currencies, Wise almost always beats the alternatives on all-in cost. What Wise does not offer is deposit protection: client funds are safeguarded at tier-1 banks under FCA/EMD rules, not DGS-guaranteed.

Bunq's strength is sub-IBANs and product design. A Bunq Easy Money account gives you multiple free IBANs to organise money by category (rent, savings, business), and Bunq's Green tier plants trees for every euro spent. Bunq holds a Dutch banking licence; deposits are DGS-covered up to €100,000.

If you want one account and do not want to think about it — pick N26. Full bank, EUR-first, clean app, DGS-covered. It will not be optimal for anything, but it will be adequate for everything.

If you regularly move money between currencies — invoicing in USD or GBP, holding a foreign salary, paying overseas suppliers — add Wise. Do not use it as your only account: the lack of DGS coverage matters for balances above a few thousand euros.

If you travel or spend on card frequently, and want investment and crypto features in one place — add Revolut. Metal tier makes sense if you spend more than €500/month on FX or want the higher weekly limits.

If you want a primary account that gives you sub-IBAN organisation and stronger sustainability positioning — pick Bunq. Sub-IBANs are the standout feature; you can't get them at N26 or Revolut in the same form.

The most common stack for a cross-border knowledge worker is: N26 or a local traditional bank as the primary account for salary and rent, plus Wise for USD/GBP invoicing, plus Revolut for card spend and travel. This gives full DGS coverage on the primary balance, cheap FX for professional income, and best-in-class card acceptance.

For freelancers and small business owners, the pattern shifts: Wise Business for invoicing and FX, Bunq or Revolut Business for daily operations, and a licensed EU bank for larger cash balances above the €100,000 protection line. See /business-accounts for the business-focused comparison.

For high-balance savers, none of these is the right home for the excess above €100,000. Move that money to a diversified deposit ladder via /fixed-deposits or a marketplace like PickTheBank.