Revolut vs bunq — Which Is Better in 2026?

I use both Revolut and bunq from Barcelona. Not because I’m indecisive — because they’re genuinely different banks solving different problems, and living in Spain as an expat has taught me that having the right banking setup matters more than you’d think.

Revolut is the financial super-app. It does everything: spending, saving, investing, crypto, insurance, eSIMs, salary advances. If a financial product exists, Revolut has probably built a version of it. I’ve used it as my primary bank for nine years.

bunq is the quieter, more opinionated alternative. Fewer features, but the ones it has — multi-IBAN sub-accounts, automation rules, a proper developer API — are built with real care. It’s a licensed Dutch bank that positions itself as “the bank of the free,” with an eco-conscious angle that appeals to a specific kind of user.

Both hold EU banking licenses. Both protect your deposits up to EUR 100,000. Both work beautifully across Europe. The question isn’t which one is “better” — it’s which one fits how you actually manage money.

Here’s how they compare across every dimension that matters.

Quick Comparison: Revolut vs bunq

Pricing and Plans

The first thing you’ll notice: Revolut has a free tier. bunq doesn’t.

Revolut’s Standard plan costs nothing and gives you a full IBAN, a debit card, interbank exchange rates (with fair-use limits), EUR 200/month in fee-free ATM withdrawals, savings vaults, and instant notifications. For a free account, it’s remarkably capable. Most traditional banks charge monthly fees for less.

bunq starts at EUR 2.99/month for Core, which gets you a basic current account with an EU IBAN and the essential app features. To access the multi-IBAN sub-accounts that are bunq’s real differentiator, you need Pro at EUR 8.99/month. Elite at EUR 17.99/month adds tree-planting perks and premium extras.

Revolut’s paid tiers run from EUR 3.99 (Plus) through EUR 7.99 (Premium) and EUR 13.99 (Metal) up to EUR 45/month (Ultra). The Premium tier is where Revolut starts to feel premium — travel insurance, lounge access, and better exchange limits. Ultra only makes sense if you travel constantly.

Here’s the pricing reality: if you just need a solid European bank account with no frills, Revolut’s free tier is hard to beat. If you want bunq’s best features (multi-IBAN budgeting, automation), you’re paying EUR 8.99/month. And if you want Revolut’s best features (travel insurance, lounge access, higher limits), you’re paying EUR 7.99/month.

Neither is expensive. But Revolut’s free entry point gives it a massive advantage for anyone just trying things out.

Features

This is where the two banks diverge most clearly.

Revolut is wide. It tries to be the only financial app on your phone. Stocks, crypto (200+ tokens), robo-advisor, travel insurance, eSIMs, junior accounts, salary advance, RevPoints cashback, airport lounge access. The app has become a financial super-app, and for the most part, each feature works well enough to be useful — even if no single feature is best-in-class.

bunq is deep. It does fewer things, but the things it does are thoughtfully built. The standout feature is multi-IBAN sub-accounts: create separate bank accounts within your main account, each with its own IBAN, and use automation rules to sort income, allocate money for bills, and fund savings goals automatically. For freelancers managing taxes, couples splitting expenses, or anyone who wants precise control over cash flow, this is genuinely powerful.

bunq also has a public developer API — rare for a consumer bank. If you want to build automations, connect to accounting software, or create custom workflows, bunq lets you. Revolut doesn’t offer anything comparable for personal accounts.

For investing, both offer fractional stocks and ETFs, and both have crypto. Revolut has the edge in breadth (more tokens, a robo-advisor, RevPoints), while bunq’s crypto runs on Kraken infrastructure and includes staking with no lockup period.

One feature gap that matters for anyone in Spain: bunq supports Bizum, the peer-to-peer payment system that’s essentially mandatory here. Revolut doesn’t. If you split restaurant bills with Spanish friends, that one integration makes a real difference in daily life.

Banking License and Safety

Both are real, licensed banks. This isn’t the early neobank era where “but is my money safe?” was a legitimate concern.

Revolut holds its EU banking license through Revolut Bank UAB in Lithuania, supervised by the Bank of Lithuania and the European Central Bank. Deposits are covered by the Lithuanian Deposit Guarantee Scheme up to EUR 100,000 — the same level of protection you’d get at Deutsche Bank or BBVA.

bunq holds its license from De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the Dutch central bank. Deposits are protected under the Dutch Deposit Guarantee Scheme, also up to EUR 100,000.

Both schemes operate under the same EU Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive. In practical terms, your money is equally safe at either bank.

A couple of caveats. Revolut’s UK banking license remains in a restricted “mobilization” state as of early 2026 — if you’re in the UK, FSCS deposit protection isn’t in place yet. That doesn’t affect EU customers. bunq has faced its own compliance scrutiny, including an AML-related fine the bank disputes.

Neither issue should keep you up at night. Standard advice applies: keep a backup account elsewhere. Not because either bank is likely to fail, but because any app-based bank can temporarily freeze an account during automated compliance checks, and you don’t want to be locked out of your only source of funds.

Ease of Use and App Experience

Revolut’s app is packed. The home screen shows your balance, recent transactions, and quick access to payments. But deeper features — insurance, eSIMs, investing — take some digging. If you use Revolut for everything it offers, the app feels like a financial control center. If you just want to check your balance and send money, it can feel like overkill.

My biggest frustration with Revolut after nine years: no desktop or web interface for personal accounts. Everything happens on your phone. Copying an IBAN, downloading a statement, reviewing three months of transactions — all of these are worse on a phone screen than they would be in a browser. Revolut has been promising web access for years. It still hasn’t shipped.

bunq offers web access. You can log in from a browser and manage your account from a desktop. For anyone who works from a computer, that’s a meaningful quality-of-life advantage. The app itself is cleaner and more focused than Revolut’s. The multi-account view makes it easy to see exactly where your money sits across sub-accounts. Automation rules are intuitive to set up.

Both apps have real-time notifications, card controls (freeze/unfreeze, toggle contactless and online payments), and biometric authentication. Both support Apple Pay and Google Pay. The core banking experience is polished on both platforms.

The difference is philosophy. Revolut gives you everything and lets you figure out what you need. bunq gives you less but organizes it better.

International Transfers and Currency

For anyone living abroad — and Barcelona is full of us — multi-currency support is non-negotiable.

Revolut is the clear winner here. It supports spending in 150+ currencies and exchanging between 30+ currencies at the interbank rate — the real mid-market rate, no markup. That’s the rate you see on Google. No traditional bank comes close to this, and it saves real money over time. The one caveat: on weekends, Revolut adds a ~1% markup because currency markets are closed.

bunq supports EUR, USD, and GBP with competitive exchange rates. Sufficient for most Europeans, but the currency breadth doesn’t compare. If you regularly deal in SEK, PLN, CHF, or anything outside the big three, Revolut gives you much more flexibility.

For SEPA transfers within Europe, both are fast and free. For international transfers outside SEPA, Revolut handles more corridors and generally offers better rates. If international transfers are a significant part of your banking life, you might also want to pair either bank with Wise, which specializes in cross-border payments.

ATM withdrawals follow similar patterns: both offer a monthly free allowance (Revolut gives EUR 200/month on the free plan), with fees beyond that. Higher-tier plans increase the allowance on both platforms.

Who Should Choose Which?

Choose Revolut if you:

• Want one app for everything — banking, investing, crypto, insurance, travel
• Travel frequently and want interbank exchange rates, travel insurance, and lounge access
• Deal with multiple currencies regularly (beyond EUR/USD/GBP)
• Want a free account that’s genuinely functional
• Have kids and want junior accounts with parental controls
• Don’t mind managing everything from your phone

Choose bunq if you:

• Want precise budgeting with multiple sub-accounts, each with its own IBAN
• Are a freelancer or small business owner who needs to separate taxes, expenses, and income
• Value automation and want rules that sort your money automatically
• Want desktop/web access to your bank account
• Live in Spain and need Bizum support
• Care about sustainability and want your banking to reflect that
• Are a developer who wants API access

Use both if: You want the best of each. This is what I do. Revolut handles my day-to-day spending, travel, and investing. bunq handles budgeting and money organization with its sub-accounts. The combination covers every scenario, and since both are EU-licensed banks, you’re also getting platform-level diversification — if one bank ever has a temporary issue, the other keeps you running.

Verdict

If I’m picking one account for a European expat starting fresh, it’s Revolut. The free tier alone beats most traditional banks, the currency exchange saves real money, and the breadth of features means you won’t outgrow it. Nine years in, it’s still the account I reach for first.

But bunq has earned its place. The multi-IBAN sub-accounts are a feature I genuinely miss when I’m not using bunq. The automation rules save time. Web access saves sanity. And Bizum support in Spain is more practical than any number of headline features you’ll use twice a year.

They’re not competitors in the way most people think. Revolut is the Swiss Army knife. bunq is the precision tool. The best setup for most European residents — and definitely for expats — is both.

For a deeper look at each platform, read my full Revolut review and bunq review. For a broader comparison of all the options, see my guide to the best online bank accounts in Europe.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Revolut or bunq safer for my money?

Both are equally safe for EU residents. Revolut holds a Lithuanian banking license (Bank of Lithuania / ECB supervision) and bunq holds a Dutch banking license (De Nederlandsche Bank). Both protect deposits up to EUR 100,000 under their respective EU deposit guarantee schemes. The practical safety level is identical.

Does bunq have a free plan like Revolut?

No. bunq’s cheapest plan (Core) costs EUR 2.99/month. Revolut offers a genuinely capable free Standard plan with a full IBAN, debit card, interbank exchange rates, and EUR 200/month in free ATM withdrawals. If cost is the primary concern, Revolut’s free tier is hard to beat.

Which is better for expats in Spain?

It depends on your priorities. bunq supports Bizum (essential for peer-to-peer payments in Spain) and offers multi-IBAN sub-accounts for organizing finances. Revolut excels at multi-currency exchange and travel features. Many expats in Spain use both. For everyday Spanish life, bunq’s Bizum support is a significant practical advantage.

Can I use Revolut and bunq as my only bank accounts?

Yes, either can serve as a primary bank account. Both offer EU IBANs, direct debit support, and salary deposits. However, standard advice for any app-based bank is to keep a backup account elsewhere in case of temporary account freezes during automated compliance checks.

Which has better exchange rates for international transfers?

Revolut. It offers interbank (mid-market) exchange rates across 150+ currencies for spending and 30+ for exchange. bunq supports EUR, USD, and GBP with competitive rates but much narrower currency coverage. For frequent international transfers or multi-currency spending, Revolut has a clear advantage. The one caveat: Revolut adds a ~1% markup on weekends.

Does bunq or Revolut have web/desktop access?

bunq offers web browser access for managing your account from a desktop. Revolut does not — it remains app-only for personal accounts as of 2026. If you prefer managing finances from a computer, this is a notable advantage for bunq.

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