Featured Partner · Bundle dealSeeking Alpha Premium and Alpha Picks: $629 instead of $798Premium: research tools and screeners. Alpha Picks: two stock picks a month. Get $169 Off Premium: research tools and screeners. Alpha Picks: two stock picks a month. This page is not financial advice. A bank deposit and an investment are different products. Rates are variable unless a provider has agreed a fixed term, and none of the everyday rates below are fixed. Confirm the current terms on the provider's own site before you move money.
- A spending account and a savings pot are different products. Some firms pay on the money you can spend today. Others pay only after you move it.
- Read the fee before the rate. A free plan with a lower rate can leave you with more than a paid plan on a small balance.
- The deposit cap is €100,000 per person, per bank. The European Commission describes that as the harmonised level. A fund is not that protection.
- The licence country and the IBAN country can differ from where you live. That is what decides the scheme, and the rate can change with the country too.
A savings pot is money you have already set aside. A bank account is where salary arrives and the card draws. This page is about that second thing, for people in Europe, and whether the balance you use pays interest. The list is not a ranking. The first group pays on money you can still spend. The second group pays only after you move money into a savings space. Partners are included where the product fits. The order follows that split, not a score.
If the cash does not need to stay spendable, start with the euro savings account comparison. If you are choosing between a deposit, a fund and a higher risk product, the alternatives to a savings account page sets the protection out first.
CriteriaWhat we looked at, in plain words
Five questions decide whether an account belongs here. We did not score the providers, and the table is not numbered.
Where the interest sits. A rate on a savings pocket is not a rate on the card balance. Fees. A free plan can beat a paid one, because the plan price leaves every month. Protection and the licence country. If a member bank fails, the scheme repays deposits up to €100,000 per person and per bank. The European Commission calls that the harmonised level. The licence country tells you which scheme. A money market fund is outside it. IBAN country. Salary payments care about the country code, and it may not be where you live. Support. We only repeat what the provider prints.
At a glanceHow the accounts compare
The first group pays on money you can spend. The second group pays on a savings space inside an otherwise normal bank account. This is not a ranking, and a higher rate is not the better account if the fee or the protection is wrong for the job.
Rates and plan prices come from the site fact store. Each figure on this page was checked against the provider's own page on 10 November 2026. C24, Trade Republic, bunq and N26 links go to the provider's site. Wise, Revolut and Klarna use our existing partner links. A variable rate can change before this table does.
C24C24 Bank: interest on the current account
C24 is the clearest fit for the search. It is a German current account, a Girokonto, and the interest is on that account rather than on a pot you have to fund first. The help page, updated on 9 November 2026, sets the Girokonto rate at 1.00% a year on balances up to €50,000, paid quarterly. That rate was checked on 10 November 2026. The same page says the rate is the ECB deposit facility rate minus 1.50 percentage points, and it dates the ECB figure it used at 10 September 2026. The opening page shows the same 1.00%.
Pockets earn the same 1.00% up to €5,000, paid quarterly. A Tagesgeld pocket earns 1.00% up to €100,000, paid monthly. That pocket is savings. The Girokonto rate is the one that belongs here. C24's security page says C24 Bank GmbH holds a German banking licence, with the statutory deposit guarantee up to the harmonised cap. The opening page calls the Smart account free. Plus and Max are paid models. We did not quote their monthly prices, because the price list we found still described an older ECB reference rate. The pages are the German site, the product is a German Girokonto, and there is no partner link.
Trade RepublicTrade Republic: a current account, with a fund in the mix
Trade Republic now describes a Girokonto, not only a brokerage cash balance. The Germany interest page, checked on 10 November 2026, offers 2.5% a year on unlimited cash. You turn it on in the app. Interest is calculated daily and paid monthly, and you can withdraw at any time. The same page says there is no fee for the current account, and that you can use it for instant transfers, bills and salary.
The rate is not plain bank interest. Trade Republic says you receive interest from partner banks and dividends from money market funds, and that investments carry price risk. Rates can change. If you turn interest off, uninvested cash stops earning. Our Trade Republic review covers the broker. The rate on this page is the Germany page. Other countries can show a different number, and we did not re-read the Belgium or Spain pages today.
Protection follows the holding. Cash on a trust account at a partner bank is covered by that bank's deposit guarantee, up to the harmonised cap per customer. The partner banks named on the page are Citibank Europe plc, Crédit Agricole CIB, Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Continental Europe S.A., J.P. Morgan SE, Natixis CIB, Société Générale and SEB AB. Cash placed in money market funds is held in a separate custody account, apart from Trade Republic's own assets. That portion is not a deposit, so a fall in the fund is not what a deposit scheme pays. The fee sheet names the account provider as Trade Republic Bank GmbH. There is a link on the site for deposit guarantee information in Trade Republic's own name as well. Read both before you treat the whole balance as one scheme.
The fee sheet is dated 1 January 2025 and is still the file they publish. Account management, transfers, standing orders and direct debits are €0. A virtual debit card is €0. A Classic card is a one-off €5, and a Mirror card is €50. ATM withdrawals under €100 cost €1. From that amount they are €0. There is no arranged overdraft. German customers have 26.375% withheld on the interest. The sheet calls it a Girokonto of Trade Republic Bank GmbH, so the IBAN is German. We did not see a sample IBAN. There is no referral link.
Trade Republic's interest can include a money market fund. The value can move. The 2.5% figure is the Germany page, checked on 10 November 2026, and it is variable. This is not a referral link.
WiseWise: you can spend it, and it is a fund
Wise is the multi-currency account many people already use to hold euros. Interest is a switch, not a separate savings account you have to open first. The Ireland page says you turn Interest on, the money is invested in a fund, returns are added every working day, and you can send and spend without locking the money away. If the money is in a Jar, you move it back to the main account before you spend it. Our Wise review covers transfers and the card. The rate here is the interest feature.
On that Ireland page the euro figure is 2.20%, after a 0.29% annual fee. Wise splits the fee into 0.13% for Wise and 0.16% for the fund manager. The Wise part is charged monthly from the main account. The fund manager's part is inside the fund value, so you do not see a second line. The page dates the variable 7-day rate at 23 September 2026, and it says past performance does not guarantee future growth. The fund is the JPMorgan Liquidity Funds EUR Government CNAV Fund, offered through Wise Assets Europe AS. Wise says the value can fall if rates go to zero or below, or if a government defaults.
That is not a deposit guarantee. Wise says you may owe tax, for example capital gains tax, and that it cannot advise you. You can move up to €120,000 a day. Above that, processing can take up to two working days. Support on the page is 24/7, in 14 languages. The page does not state the IBAN country. Check the account details in the app before you give them to an employer.
Capital at risk. Wise Interest is a fund. The stored euro rate is 2.20%, after a 0.29% annual fee, variable, from the Ireland page, checked on 10 November 2026. Sponsored link.
RevolutRevolut: a current account, interest on savings
Revolut is one of the accounts people mean when they search for a euro bank. The interest is not on the spending balance. The Ireland plans page lists Instant Access Savings as its own line, and the current account page describes interest as something you move back from savings to the main balance. Treat the card account as paying nothing until the money is in Instant Access Savings.
The Ireland plans page, checked on 10 November 2026, shows these variable AER rates. Standard is free. Plus is €3.99 a month, Premium is €9.99, Metal is €17.99, and Ultra is €55 a month, which the page labels an introductory offer. Standard and Plus pay 2.50% AER up to €2,500, then 1%. Premium pays 2% AER. Metal pays 2.50% AER. Ultra pays 2.75% AER up to €100,000, then 2.50%. AER means the rate as if interest were compounded once a year. Interest on the savings product is described as paid daily.
On a €2,500 balance, Standard already earns the higher slice and the plan is free. Ultra is only a fraction higher on that slice, and twelve months of the Ultra price dwarfs the extra interest. Buy a paid plan for the extras, not for the rate. The same page lists Flexible Cash Funds, which are money market investments from Revolut Securities Europe UAB, authorised by the Bank of Lithuania. Capital is at risk. They are not the bank account rate.
Revolut's Ireland savings page says eligible deposits are protected up to the harmonised cap, by the scheme of Revolut Bank UAB or Deutsche Bank AG, depending on who holds the money. Revolut Bank UAB is authorised by the Bank of Lithuania and the European Central Bank, and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland for consumer protection. The app tells you which scheme applies. The plans page does not print the IBAN country. Our Revolut trading review is about investing, not this savings line. Support is in-app chat, with priority chat on paid plans.
bunqbunq: a Dutch bank account, interest on savings
bunq is a Dutch bank, bunq B.V., supervised by the Dutch central bank and the AFM. The savings page says deposits are covered by the Dutch deposit guarantee up to the harmonised cap. Each bank account has its own IBAN. The pages we read do not print the country code. The bank is Dutch, and the IBAN in the app is the one to give an employer.
Every plan includes a savings account, and interest is paid weekly. It is not paid on the card balance. You can move money in and out. bunq calls 3.11% the bonus gross annual rate. Until the first threshold calculation, on 1 January or 1 July, all your euro savings earn 3.11%. The threshold is the highest balance over the previous six months. Up to the threshold, the first €10,000 earns 1.61% and the rest earns 1.51%. Anything above the threshold earns 3.11%. All of these rates are variable.
Personal plan prices, from bunq's plan article the same day, are €0 for Free, €3.99 a month for Core, €9.99 for Pro and €18.99 for Elite. Support is 24/7 chat, and personal plans are listed for most EU countries. There is no affiliate link yet.
N26N26: the current account pays nothing
N26 is a German bank, N26 Bank SE in Berlin, and the everyday account is a real current account. N26 says so in plain words: the main account is for everyday payments, and the money in it does not earn interest. Interest is on Instant Savings, a second account. You cannot pay a card or a bill from it. You move money back to the main account first. There is no extra fee to open Instant Savings, and N26 says there is no minimum and no maximum.
The rate depends on the plan and the country. On the EU page, from 11 June 2025, Standard and Smart pay 0.30% a year, Go pays 0.50%, and Metal pays 1.50%, before tax. That offer is listed for Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia. The same page says you need a German IBAN. Interest is calculated daily and paid on the first day of the next month. N26 says it does not withhold tax on that page, and that you should check the rules where you live. If you move to Germany, German withholding applies.
Germany is a different page. The German support article, checked on 10 November 2026, shows Metal at 1.50%, Go at 0.55%, and Smart and Standard at 0.25%. Metal customers who opened between 19 February 2025 and 11 June 2026 keep 2.25% from 17 June 2026. New Metal accounts after the ECB change on 11 June 2026 get the standard Metal rate. You need a German IBAN, a German address and a German tax ID. Do not assume the EU table is your rate if you live in Germany, or the other way round.
EU plan prices are free for Standard, €4.90 a month for Smart, €9.90 for Go and €16.90 for Metal. The gap between Metal at 1.50% and Standard at 0.30% is 1.20 percentage points. On a €10,000 savings balance that is €120 a year before tax, which is less than twelve months of Metal. Buy Metal for the card and the travel extras, not because the interest covers the fee. N26 says bank balances, including Instant Savings, are protected up to the harmonised cap by the German deposit guarantee. The EU page also shows a flexible cash fund that is not a deposit. Its variable rate is dated two different ways on the same page, so we are not quoting it.
KlarnaKlarna in Germany: the Flexkonto is the savings account
Klarna's German app has a bank account and, beside it, a Flexkonto. The Flexkonto page calls it a flexible savings account with no account fee and no minimum. The rate is 2.20% a year, variable, calculated daily and paid monthly. You can open up to three Flexkonten, and you can move money in or out without a fee. Klarna's help page says you earn by opening a Flexkonto or a fixed-term account and moving money across from the Girokonto. The spending balance itself is not the balance that earns 2.20%.
The Flexkonto page says deposits are covered by the Swedish deposit guarantee, up to the harmonised cap per customer. Compensation is paid out by the German scheme, EdB, within seven business days. That is a deposit, not a fund. Paid memberships can show a higher Flexkonto rate. The membership page also shows more than one price next to the lower tiers, so we are not quoting those monthly fees. Check the rate and the fee in the app before you pay for a tier.
You need the Klarna bank account first. The German help calls it a Girokonto, and the Flexkonto page does not show a sample IBAN. Support is 24/7 chat, with a weekday callback. The pages we read are the German site.
DecisionHow to choose an everyday euro account
If the money has to stay spendable and you want a deposit, C24 pays on the Girokonto itself, up to €50,000, at a lower rate than the fund headlines. If you want 2.5% on a German current account, read Trade Republic's page before you turn interest on, because part of the cash can be a money market fund. The link here is the official site. If the euros are already at Wise, the Interest switch is convenient and it is a fund, which the Wise review sets next to the card and the transfer fees.
If you will move money into a savings space, compare the fee with the extra interest. Revolut Standard is free and pays 2.50% on the first €2,500. bunq Free is €0, and the rate depends on your threshold. N26 Standard is free and, on the EU page, pays 0.30% only after the move. A Metal or Ultra plan is a bundle. Then check the country. N26's EU and German pages do not match. Revolut's figures here are Ireland, Trade Republic's are Germany, and C24 and Klarna's pages are German. For salary, N26 states a German IBAN. C24 and Trade Republic describe a German Girokonto. bunq is Dutch and prints an IBAN per account. Wise, Revolut and Klarna do not print the IBAN country on the pages we read.
Frequently asked questions
No. A bank account here means the everyday account: salary in, bills and card payments out. A savings account, or a vault inside an app, is money you have moved aside. Our euro savings comparison is built around rates on money you set aside. This page is about the account you live in.
Only at some providers. C24 pays on the current account balance, up to a cap. Trade Republic pays on cash in the account once you turn interest on, and part of that cash can sit in a money market fund. Wise pays only after you turn Interest on, and that money is in a fund you can still spend. Revolut, bunq, N26 and Klarna pay on a separate savings balance, not on the money sitting in the spending account.
If a member bank fails, the scheme repays deposits up to €100,000. The European Commission describes that as the harmonised level of protection. It is per person and per bank, and other deposits you hold at the same bank can count towards the same cap. It does not cover a fall in a fund. The Commission page is Deposit guarantee schemes.
No. On the Ireland page, Wise invests the balance in the JPMorgan Liquidity Funds EUR Government CNAV Fund, through Wise Assets Europe AS. You can still send and spend. The value can fall, and growth is not guaranteed. The stored euro figure is
Part of it can be. Trade Republic says it holds customer cash either on trust accounts at partner banks or in money market funds. Cash at a partner bank is covered by that bank's deposit guarantee up to €100,000 per customer, and other money at the same bank counts towards the cap. The money market fund portion is held separately and is not a deposit. Turning interest on is what brings the fund into the picture, and the fund can move in price.
It depends on the firm and the country. bunq lists personal plans across most of the EU. Revolut's rates on this page are the Ireland plans. N26's EU Instant Savings page covers a list of countries and still asks for a German IBAN, while the German page shows different rates. C24 and Klarna's Flexkonto are written for Germany. Trade Republic's rate on this page is the Germany page, and other countries can differ. Check the provider's page for your country before you apply.
Usually yes, in the country where you are tax resident. Trade Republic says it withholds
Only the part that is actually a deposit, and that you can reach quickly. A fund is the wrong place for money you might need this week. Our emergency fund guide puts access and a deposit guarantee ahead of the rate. If the cash does not need to stay in the spending account, the savings alternatives page is the wider map.
Deposit guarantee: The harmonised level described by the European Commission applies to deposits at a member bank, per person and per bank. It does not cover a money market fund. The figure is in the short version at the top of this page.
C24: German banking licence and statutory deposit guarantee, as described on C24's security page. The Girokonto rate is 1.00% up to €50,000.
Trade Republic: The 2.5% figure is the Germany interest page, checked on 10 November 2026. Interest can include a money market fund, and the value can move. Cash at a partner bank falls under that bank's deposit guarantee. This is not a referral link.
Wise: Capital at risk. Interest is an investment in a fund through Wise Assets Europe AS. The stored euro rate is 2.20%, after a 0.29% annual fee, variable. Sponsored link.
Revolut: Instant Access Savings rates are variable AER from the Ireland plans page, checked on 10 November 2026. Flexible Cash Funds are a separate investment. Capital at risk on investments. Sponsored link.
bunq: Dutch banking licence. Savings rates are variable gross annual rates. The bonus gross annual rate is 3.11%. There is no affiliate link.
N26: The main account does not earn interest. Instant Savings rates differ between the EU page and the German page. The German deposit guarantee is described on N26's page.
Klarna: The Flexkonto rate is 2.20%, variable. It is a savings account. The Swedish deposit guarantee is described on Klarna's German page. Sponsored link.
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