Which is the best? Revolut, Monzo, N26 or Bunq for personal customers?

Brendan Burgess

Brendan Burgess

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Anyone know enough to do a compare and contrast?

Revolut
I am a customer of Revolut, so this is my view

1) Very handy as most of my contacts have Revolut. If I want to pay someone even at a market, they nearly always have Revolut. I have never been asked "Do you have N26?".
2) Forex is cheaper than mainstream banks - don't know if it's cheaper than the other neobanks.
3) Very easy to use

Cons
1) Appalling service when things go wrong. Impossible to resolve. So only use it as a payments service and not as your main bank.
2) Queries and freezes accounts for no apparent reason leaving customers high and dry. I have had to supply information recently for a series of €20 payments back and forwards between friends. I have no idea whether they are happy with the explanation or not.
3) Seems to be much more vulnerable to fraud and they take a much more robust attitude when fraud does happen "It's your fault, we are not refunding you" compared to the main banks.
4) I have never sought a chargeback with them, but I would expect a lot of hassle.
 
I have just opened a Monzo account to see what it is like.

As I did, one thing occurred to me which I would like. I do my banking from my laptop and not my phone. Does any of these neobanks provide a banking service from the laptop?

It doesn't look as if Monzo does. It doesn't even work in Chrome.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
Does any of these neobanks provide a banking service from the laptop?
Click to expand...
Bunq and N26 work from a browser.



I just tried to move some money out of Monzo savings, and it was not intuitive, especially since they have just updated the app. It's still a better layout than Revolut, but this is not a great sign.
 
The Google AI comparison is interesting.

No mention of Revolut's appalling service, random freezing of accounts and vulnerability to fraud. Nor does it mention its usefulness in paying for things, which probably trumps the disadvantages for most people.

In-Depth Analysis

1. Revolut (The All-Rounder)
Revolut is often the preferred choice in Ireland due to its free standard account and competitive features.
moneysherpa
  • Pros: Excellent FX rates (interbank), wide range of currencies, crypto/stock trading, and free "under-18" cards.
  • Cons: Charges a 1% markup on currency exchanges on weekends.
  • Best for: Daily spending and travel.
    Reddit +3

2. N26 (The Reliable Daily Bank)
N26 offers a very stable German-licensed banking experience, popular with those who want a reliable alternative to traditional banks.
Reddit +2
  • Pros: Solid app, fast, and secure (German deposit protection).
  • Cons: Lower interest rates on savings compared to competitors.
  • Best for: Primary checking account/daily banking.

3. Bunq (The High-Interest Specialist)
Bunq is known for its "bank of the free" branding, focusing on efficiency and high-yield savings.
ISIC Ireland +1
  • Pros: Offers the highest savings rates among these options, up to 3.36%, along with multiple sub-accounts for easy budgeting.
  • Cons: Higher fees on the basic plan compared to competitors; 2% foreign exchange fee.
  • Best for: Savers and tech-savvy users wanting many sub-accounts.
    Reddit +4

4. Monzo (The Budgeting Champion)
Monzo is primarily a UK bank that has expanded, known for its excellent customer service and in-app analytics.
Holafly +2
  • Pros: Intense focus on budgeting, instant notifications, and strong customer support.
  • Cons: Mostly geared toward the UK market, with less competitive travel features for European users compared to Revolut or N26.
  • Best for: UK residents looking for better budgeting tools.
    Reddit +1


Major Considerations
  • IBAN Discrimination: While illegal under EU law, some Irish companies may still struggle with non-Irish IBANs. Both N26 (German) and Bunq (with Irish options) generally offer more stability here than Revolut’s Lithuanian IBAN.
  • Cash Withdrawals: Revolut and N26 are generally better for ATM withdrawals in Europe, whereas Bunq charges more on its entry-level accounts.
  • Security: All four are fully licensed banks, meaning deposits are protected up to €100,000 under European law.
 
I think people would need to ask what is important for them?

Free banking
High deposit rates
Forex
Ease of use
Customer service when things go wrong
Ability to pay pay people quickly and simply
An Irish IBAN - Despite the above answer, I presume all 4 have them.
A UK IBAN - I know some Irish Revolut customers have found this very handy
Budgeting
Able to buy shares, currencies and crypto
A web interface
Cash withdrawals
 
Other considerations:
Availability of accounts for children
Availability of joint account
Debit card processor - Visa or Mastercard (can be handy to have diversification if you have more than one bank account if Visa/MC have a tech issue)

Useful comparison of N26 & Revolut Forex here:
https://www.bonkers.ie/guides/perso...foreign-exchange-fees-when-travelling-abroad/
"N26 will charge you nothing while Revolut will charge you nothing on all major currencies up to a limit of €1,000 a month - after that there’s a small 0.5% fee.

What’s more, when converting your spend back into euro, N26 applies the Mastercard exchange rate at all times while Revolut applies the Interbank exchange rate with a 0.5% mark-up at weekends on major currencies and a 1% mark-up on less common currencies. Both these rates are likely to be better than the rate you’d get with one of the main banks.

If you’re withdrawing cash abroad, N26 will charge you a 1.7% flat fee while Revolut allows you to withdraw the equivalent of €200 a month at no charge, after which a €1 or 2% fee is added."
 
I've banked with all them for several years.

N26 and Monzo I'd rate similarly. They have simple interfaces, and useful functionality. Revolut is trying to do too much (bank, share dealing, crypto, insurance etc) and Bunq, too little.

N26 originally launched without a joint account, which stopped us fully moving over to them, whereas Monzo got all the important things right. Breeze to use, joint account, kids account, decent FX rates, IE IBAN etc. It's a solid offering, and they deserve to do well.
 
Fortune said:
I don't think there's anything about Revolut which leaves it more vulnerable than any other card issuer.
Click to expand...

I think that there probably is.
1) If you have an urgent problem, you can't get through to them - so the fraudsters are more likely to get away with a fraud.
2) Fraudsters seem to target Revolut customers
3) There were accusations that the sacrificed security for growth.

Brendan
 
While possibly occupying a similar place in the market I think Monzo comes at it from being a regular bank first (without the branches).

I use YNAB to track expenditure and budget, it’s kind of the envelope system and you can sync most banks that I use.

I’m currently considering if Monzo could replace it, 1. I would save the YNAB subscription of about €100 a year. 2. It has the potential to be smoother, you can sync other bank data to Monzo and it seems to sync quicker than with YNAB.

My guess it won’t be as good but might be good enough although I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes a paid feature.

A feature I do really like is the pots feature, I think revolut call them vaults. What’s different about Monzo’s is that you can spend from them not just put money y in. They are basically accounts that you can only get a virtual card for.

You could do a holiday and put €800 in the account and only use the assigned colour coded card and really track your spending with (I presume) a hard stop of insufficient funds. You could use YNAB to track your spending also but I think there is a lot more to be said for a hard stop. A bit like running out of cash when younger would stop me drinking more (sometimes).
 
Brendan Burgess said:
What does that mean? You have one physical credit card and another virtual card on each pot?
Click to expand...

I haven’t got a credit card.

You get sent a physical card for your regular bank account, however you can create a “pot” for say holidays. This could be used to save say €100 a month. I don’t believe it’s an account, at least I haven’t seen an IBAN for it. I suspect it’s just money in the regular account shown separately.

However you can make virtual card for these pots. A virtual card is in Apple Pay (or maybe Google pay) and spend from the pot.

In a way it’s like having multiple accounts with each one having a purpose. Not sure how many I would use but I could see it being useful for holidays, coffee / socialising budget etc. Wouldn’t be for everyone I suspect.
 
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