N26 vs Revolut
Two virtual cards people weigh up side by side. We put N26 and Revolut on the same rows so the difference is easy to see.
Both issue on Visa · Mastercard; verification is ID + proof at N26 versus ID only at Revolut; only Revolut takes crypto top-ups.
Revolut is the more cost-effective option for everyday spending and travel thanks to its free virtual cards, no monthly fee. N26 still clears the same checkouts in our tests, so match the table to the services you actually pay for.
The head to head
| Field | N26 | Revolut |
|---|---|---|
| Card network | Visa/Mastercard | Visa, Mastercard |
| Card type | Digital Bank / Neobank | Digital Bank / Neobank |
| KYC | ID + proof | ID only |
| Card issuance fee | Free (with N26 account) | Free |
| Monthly fee | Free (standard account) | Free (Standard); Plus £3.99; Premium £7.99; Metal £14.99; Ultra £55 per mo |
| Top-up fee | — | — |
| FX fee | Free EUR transactions within SEPA | 0.5% |
| Crypto funding | No | Yes |
| AI tool support | — | ChatGPT / Claude / Midjourney |
| Risk level | Medium | Low-Medium |
| Our rating | 7.8 | 9.0 |
| User reviews | 376 | 80 |
| Best for | App Store / Play · Free issuance | All-rounder · Ad spend |
A green left edge marks the side that holds the advantage on that row, where the data gives one.
Where they split
- Budget-led users will lean to Revolut: the running cost is the lower of the two.
- If you wear several hats, Revolut is the more flexible of the pair.
- Revolut has the lighter onboarding; N26 will want more documents from you.
- Revolut can sit on a crypto balance; N26 cannot, so the call depends on how you fund it.
- Revolut edged N26 on our composite rating across fees, risk and merchant tests.
- If risk rating weights your choice, Revolut is the calmer of the two.
Two cards, one decision
Run the numbers against your own usage. Revolut runs free to create plus no top-up fee per top-up; N26 runs about $26 plus no top-up fee. For one or two subscriptions the first column wins; for the rows where it leads in the table, the second does.
Questions people ask
That depends on what you spend on. N26 scores 7.8/10 against Revolut's 9.0/10 in our tests, but the two split on fees, KYC and crypto funding. Read the table above, then match it to the checkouts you actually run.
Revolut works out cheaper: no virtual card issuance fee, free account maintenance. N26 adds about $26 per virtual card.
N26 asks for ID + proof at signup; Revolut asks for ID only. If a light sign-up is the priority, the one with the lower KYC label is the faster route.
Both show up in 1 of the same test scenarios, including Booking.com. They overlap on a good share of checkouts, so the choice between them matters most on those pages. Where one is accepted and the other is not usually comes down to the billing country and 3-D Secure handling.
Where both show up
N26 and Revolut both landed in our top picks for 1 checkouts. Grouped by category so you can jump straight to the one you actually pay for:
🧳 Travel & Productivity 1
Their BIN ranges
Cards issued in 🇩🇪 Germany · 🇬🇧 UK — the country guides group every range we track from there.
What our charge log shows
Every count here is a real charge attempt we placed on that range, renewals included, with the gateway response recorded. Weeks tracked is how long the range has been in the programme: