Paycek vs Revolut
Both Paycek and Revolut clear the checkouts our readers ask about most. Here is where the two part ways on fees and verification.
Paycek issues on Visa + Mastercard and Revolut on Visa · Mastercard; verification is No KYC at Paycek versus ID only at Revolut; only Revolut funds by bank transfer.
Paycek is the more cost-effective option for everyday spending and travel thanks to its free virtual cards, no monthly fee. Revolut is the better fit for power users who need bank-transfer funding and ad spend and AI subscriptions.
The head to head
| Field | Paycek | Revolut |
|---|---|---|
| Card network | Visa + Mastercard | Visa, Mastercard |
| Card type | Crypto Card | Digital Bank / Neobank |
| KYC | No KYC | ID only |
| Card issuance fee | Free | Free |
| Monthly fee | Free | Free (Standard); Plus £3.99; Premium £7.99; Metal £14.99; Ultra £55 per mo |
| Top-up fee | 1.5% | — |
| FX fee | 1.5% | 0.5% |
| Crypto funding | Yes (20+ currencies) | Yes |
| AI tool support | — | ChatGPT / Claude / Midjourney |
| Risk level | High | Low-Medium |
| Our rating | 8.8 | 9.0 |
| User reviews | 138 | 80 |
| Best for | App Store / Play · No KYC | All-rounder · Ad spend |
A green left edge marks the side that holds the advantage on that row, where the data gives one.
What sets them apart
- Multi-task users get more from Revolut — it clears more of the checkouts we run through our test suite.
- Paycek asks for less verification up front, which matters if you want a card live the same day.
- Revolut carries the lower risk flag in our file, which some users prefer for a primary card.
Where they split
Run the numbers against your own usage. Paycek runs free to create plus a 1.5% top-up per top-up; Revolut runs free plus no top-up fee. For one or two subscriptions the first column wins; for bank-transfer funding and ad-platform billing, the second does.
Questions people ask
That depends on what you spend on. Paycek scores 8.8/10 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.
Paycek is the cheaper card to run. Both Paycek and Revolut issue virtual cards for free; Paycek reloads at 1.5%, while Revolut publishes no top-up percentage.
Paycek asks for No KYC 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 10 of the same test scenarios, including Linode, Heroku, Namecheap. 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
Paycek and Revolut both landed in our top picks for 10 checkouts. Grouped by category so you can jump straight to the one you actually pay for:
🧳 Travel & Productivity 3
🎮 Gaming 2
Their BIN ranges
Cards issued in 🇪🇺 Europe (EEA) · 🇬🇧 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: