What Is the Best Business Bank Account in Germany? (2026)
The verdict
You freelance or run a GmbH: the monthly fee is the recurring cost you control, and your legal form decides which accounts will take you at all. N26 Business Standard leads this ranking at no monthly fee. Read the legal-form line before the price. Several free tiers are open to sole traders only: N26 Business Standard is for freelancers in their own name and bunq Business Free for sole traders, while a GmbH or UG needs the paid company product. Vivid Business Free Start is the free tier that takes every legal form.
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Which bank account is best for freelancers and businesses?
Sorted by monthly fee, not our recommendation. The default view is our ranking, weights published below.
Sorted by pre-arrival opening, not our recommendation. The default view is our ranking, weights published below.
Sorted by german iban, not our recommendation. The default view is our ranking, weights published below.
Sorted by english support, not our recommendation. The default view is our ranking, weights published below.
Sorted by opening time, not our recommendation. The default view is our ranking, weights published below.
- Monthly fee
- Free
- IBAN
- German (DE)
- Cards included
- Virtual Mastercard; first physical card 10 EUR
- English support
- App and support
- Anmeldung needed
- No
- Opening time
- 0 days
More details
- Fee waiver
- Free; sole traders/freelancers only (own name); GmbH/UG need the separate company account product
- Free ATM network
- 2 free EUR withdrawals/month
- Outside that network
- 2 EUR; 1.7% non-EUR
- How to identify yourself
- VideoIdent
- Tax ID needed
- Not required
- Deposit protection
- EUR 100,000 per depositor
- Contracts
- Available in English
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Pros
- Free with 0.1% cashback on card payments
- No per-transaction fees on any plan
Cons
- Sole traders only; no GmbH/UG here
Best for Freelancers and businesses who want the strongest overall fit.
- Monthly fee
- Free
- IBAN
- German (DE)
- Cards included
- Cards per plan
- English support
- App and support
- Anmeldung needed
- No
- Opening time
- 1 day
More details
- Fee waiver
- Free Starter tier limited to 5 transactions/month; Basic from 9 EUR/month excl. VAT
- Free ATM network
- Plan quotas
- How to identify yourself
- in-app/VideoIdent
- Tax ID needed
- Not required
- Deposit protection
- EUR 100,000 per depositor
- Contracts
- Available in English
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Pros
- Free entry tier
- German IBAN
Cons
- Starter capped at 5 transactions monthly
Best for Freelancers and businesses who need a different bank or setup.
- Monthly fee
- Free
- IBAN
- German (DE)
- Cards included
- Debit card
- English support
- German only
- Anmeldung needed
- Yes, registered German address
- Opening time
- 2 days
More details
- Fee waiver
- BASE free for freelancers/sole traders; company account (GmbH/UG) 6 EUR/month from month 7
- Free ATM network
- Cash Group
- How to identify yourself
- VideoIdent, PostIdent
- Tax ID needed
- Steuer-Identifikationsnummer required
- Deposit protection
- EUR 100,000 per depositor
- Contracts
- German only
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Pros
- Free BASE tier from a major bank
- Cash Group ATM access
Cons
- Company tier 6 EUR from month 7
Best for Freelancers and businesses who need a different bank or setup.
- Monthly fee
- Free
- IBAN
- German (DE)
- Cards included
- Free virtual and physical cards
- English support
- App and support
- Anmeldung needed
- No
- Opening time
- 1 day
More details
- Fee waiver
- Free; open to all legal forms incl. GmbH and UG
- Free ATM network
- Plan quotas
- Outside that network
- 2 EUR non-EUR markup
- How to identify yourself
- photo ID
- Tax ID needed
- Not required
- Deposit protection
- Client money safeguarded, not deposit protected
- Contracts
- Available in English
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Pros
- Free tier open to GmbH/UG directly
- Unlimited sub-accounts with own DE IBANs
Cons
- No deposit insurance
Best for Freelancers and businesses who need a different bank or setup.
- Monthly fee
- Free
- IBAN
- NL, not a German IBAN
- Cards included
- Cards per plan
- English support
- App and support
- Anmeldung needed
- No
- Opening time
- 1 day
More details
- Fee waiver
- Business Free 0 EUR for sole traders only; companies from 7.99 EUR (Core)
- Free ATM network
- Plan quotas
- How to identify yourself
- in-app
- Tax ID needed
- Not required
- Deposit protection
- EUR 100,000 per depositor
- Contracts
- Available in English
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Pros
- Free sole-trader tier
- Up to 25 sub-accounts with own IBANs
Cons
- NL IBAN for business (discrimination risk)
Best for Freelancers and businesses who need a different bank or setup.
Revolut
Revolut Business (Basic/Grow/Scale/Enterprise)
GmbH/UG eligible
Open a Revolut account
- Monthly fee
- EUR 10
- IBAN
- LT, not a German IBAN
- Cards included
- Business cards per plan
- English support
- App and support
- Anmeldung needed
- No
- Opening time
- 2 days
More details
- Fee waiver
- No free plan: Basic from 10, Grow 35, Scale 125 EUR/month; Enterprise custom
- Free ATM network
- n/a business
- Outside that network
- n/a
- How to identify yourself
- in-app
- Tax ID needed
- Not required
- Deposit protection
- EUR 100,000 per depositor
- IBAN note
- No German IBAN for Business as of Aug 2026 (Revolut help centre); country IBANs exist for FR/IE/LT/NL/RO/ES/UK; German IBANs announced for end-2026
- Spending abroad
- Interbank within allowance (1,000/15,000/60,000 EUR per plan); 0.6% beyond, 1% outside market hours
- Contracts
- Available in English
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Pros
- GmbH/UG eligible
- 25+ currencies
Cons
- No free plan (from 10 EUR)
Best for Freelancers and businesses who need a different bank or setup.
- Monthly fee
- n/a
- IBAN
- German (DE)
- Cards included
- Visa debit
- English support
- German only
- Anmeldung needed
- No
- Opening time
- 1 day
More details
- How to identify yourself
- VideoIdent
- Tax ID needed
- Steuer-Identifikationsnummer required
- Deposit protection
- EUR 100,000 per depositor
- Contracts
- German only
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Pros
- Automatic tax set-aside calculation
- German IBAN
Cons
- Solaris dependency and its BaFin history
Best for Freelancers and businesses who need a different bank or setup.
Also a strong fit
Compare two accounts
Already down to two? Each comparison declares a winner on every criterion that decides the purchase.
Ranked by: Monthly fee, read from each account's own record; business banking features vary too much between providers to rank honestly on anything else. The free tiers carry limits of their own: Qonto Starter allows 5 transactions a month, and FYRST BASE is free for freelancers but charges a GmbH or UG EUR 6 a month from month seven.
Which Other Accounts Did We Compare?
The three above are picked from 70 current accounts in the catalogue. The full set lives on the bank and fintech overviews.
See the best bank accounts comparedFees, IBAN, English support and opening time side by sideFrequently Asked Questions
Do the free business accounts take every legal form?
No. N26 Business Standard is for sole traders and freelancers trading in their own name, and bunq Business Free is for sole traders only, with companies starting at EUR 7.99 a month on bunq Business Core. A GmbH or UG needs the separate company product at N26. Vivid Business Free Start is free and open to all legal forms including GmbH and UG.
Is a fintech business account a bank account?
Not always. Finom runs an EMI and partner-bank model rather than a bank, Holvi is a payment institution, and Qonto is a French payment institution whose client funds sit at partner banks. Vivid Business Free Start carries no deposit protection in its record at all: money there is safeguarded, not covered by the EUR 100,000 per depositor per bank that a licensed bank owes you.
What does a business account cost?
The fee row on each card states it. N26 Business Standard, Qonto Starter, Finom Solo, Holvi Flex, FYRST BASE and bunq Business Free start at zero; N26's business ladder runs EUR 4.90, EUR 9.90 and EUR 16.90 a month; Revolut Business starts at EUR 10 a month and rises to EUR 35 and EUR 125. Holvi Flex is free but charges EUR 0.25 per SEPA transfer.
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