N26 Bank Review [2024 Guide]

N26 review overview

In our review, N26 achieved a 6.1 out of 10 overall. It lost 1.4 points due to poor customer service and almost 3 points for limited services in its free plan.

N26 used to be one of the best banks for expats in Germany, but not anymore. They have removed almost all the features from their free checking account, which banks like C24 offer.

Additionally, the internet is filled with customer complaints against N26. It’s the only bank with so many complaints regarding account blocking and lack of access to money.

NOTE: We find that everyone should have accounts with at least two different banks in Germany. It’s because if one of your bank accounts is blocked, you can continue using the other account.

It’s also beneficial to have one account with a bank that has physical branches.

Table of Contents

Pros and cons of N26 Bank account

Pros	Cons
Zero fees with no minimum monthly deposit	Poor customer service
Unlimited ATM withdrawals outside Germany but within the EU.	1.7% fee on ATM withdrawal outside the EU
1.26% to 4% interest on the money in the savings account	Only 3 free ATM withdrawals within Germany
Free trading account	No sub-accounts in the free plan
Good for travelers: Make payments all across the world for free.	No interest in checking account
Insurance: Paid plans offer various types of insurance, such as travel health insurance, delayed flights, trip cancellations, etc.	No physical branches
Overdraft facility at 13.4% interest	No phone support in the free plan.
Amazing app: N26 offers a top-rated modern mobile app with a simple interface.	No credit card
Deposit protection up to 100,000 €	No cashback
	Cash deposit: 1.5% fees

Summary of N26 checking account bank services

Account model	Standard	Smart	You	Metal
Price/month	Free	4.90 €	9.90 €	16.90 €
Pockets (subaccounts)	✖️	10	10	10
Cashback	✖️	✖️	✖️	✖️
Overdraft	13.46%	13.46%	13.46%	13.46%
Free cash withdrawals per month	3	5	5	8
Insurance	✖️	✖️	✔️	✔️
Real-time transfers	✔️0.49€	✔️0.49€	✔️0.49€	✔️0.49€
Free physical Mastercard (Debit card)	10 € delivery cost	✔️	✔️	✔️
Interest in a savings account	1.26%	2.26%	2.26%	4%
Interest in the checking account	✖️	✖️	✖️	✖️
Free trading account	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️

How did we review N26 Bank?

Parameter	Weightage	Score out of 10
Customer service	20%	3
Ease to open an account	10%	10
English support	20%	10
Fees	20%	7
Real-time transfer	5%	5
Overdraft facility	5%	5
Technology	10%	9
Special features	10%	7
Overall score		6.1

Is N26 a bank?

Yes, N26 is a bank with a German banking license. You can also find N26 Bank UAB in Bafin’s financial institutes directory.

Is N26 Bank safe?

N26 Bank has a German banking license and is part of the statutory deposit protection scheme (Gesetzlichen Einlagensicherung).

Statutory deposit protection comes into play if the bank goes bankrupt. It covers up to 100,000€ per customer.

NOTE: The 100k€ coverage includes all your balances at N26 Bank, i.e., your checking account, all subaccounts (pockets), and the daily account (Tagesgeldkonto).

So, if you have more than 100k €, consider opening multiple bank accounts with different banks. This way, you won’t lose all your money if one of the banks goes bankrupt.

How good is N26 Bank’s customer service?

We rated N26’s customer service 4 out of 10. N26 got such a low rating because of the following reasons.

• N26 only offers customer service via in-app chat only for free accounts. So, you can’t even contact customer support if your app is not working.
• Account blocked out of the blue: Of all the banks we reviewed so far, N26 has the most complaints about account blocking.

What did we find?

N26 customer reviews

• Trustpilot: 3.8 out 5 (31,582 reviews)
• Finanzfluss: 2.9 out of 5 (251 reviews)
• Finanztip: 74% of people had a negative experience (349 reviews)

Positive reviews summarized

• Traveling and paying using N26: You can use N26 to pay for goods and services for free all across Europe. 
• Great mobile app: Customers are impressed by the app’s ease of use and the features it offers.
• Opening a new account: Customers highly rated N26’s account opening service. They could open a new account online within a few minutes without hassle.
• Sub-accounts: People like the feature of sub-accounts (spaces). However, N26 removed this feature from free plans. Older customers still have it in their free plan. C24 Bank and Revolut offer free sub-accounts in their free plans.

Negative reviews summarized

• In-app chat customer service: The free plan offers only in-app chat customer support. If you can’t access your account, you can’t reach customer care.
• Account blocked: Many customers complain that their accounts were suddenly inaccessible or blocked. It can take months to resolve the issue or get your money back. This is why having multiple accounts with different banks is vital.
• Money blocked: Many customers wrote that they have to hire a lawyer to get their blocked money. If you don’t have legal insurance, you have to spend money hiring a lawyer to get your money back.
• Incompetent customer service: Many customers find N26’s customer support incompetent.

NOTE: Of all the banks we reviewed so far, N26 has the most complaints about accounts being blocked out of the blue. Moreover, customers have to hire a lawyer to get their money back.

Ease to open an account with N26 Bank

We gave N26 10 out of 10 for ease of opening an account. You can open an account online in just a few minutes.

Does N26 Bank offer English support?

N26 offers its mobile app and customer support in English. Thus, we gave it 10 out of 10 for this parameter.

English app and customer support are critical for expats who can’t speak German.

What fees does N26’s checking account charge?

We gave N26 7 out of 10 points on its fee structure and took three points for the following reasons.

• ATM withdrawals: N26 offers a limited number of free ATM withdrawals per month: 3. After that, you pay 2€ per withdrawal.
• Cash deposit: You pay a fee of 1.5% of the deposit amount.
• No free physical card: You have to pay a one-time delivery cost of 10€ to get a physical Mastercard.
• ATM withdrawals abroad: You pay a 1.7% fee on ATM withdrawals outside the EU.

N26 offers

• a free checking account without a minimum deposit every month
• free payment all across the world

Real-time transfer

We gave N26 a 5 out of 10 because you have to pay 0.49 € for every real-time transfer. Nowadays, most online banks, like C24, offer free real-time transfers.

Does N26 Bank offer an overdraft facility?

Yes, N26 offers an overdraft facility. However, its interest rate is the highest among most banks in Germany.

You pay 13.4% interest on the overdraft facility. Thus, it gets 5 out of 10 on the overdraft facility.

How good are N26 Bank’s online and mobile banking?

N26 gets 9 out of 10 on app design, usability, and intuitiveness. Here are the N26 mobile app ratings on Playstore and App Store.

• Playstore: 3.8 (133k people reviewed it)
• Appstore: 4.6 (9.1k people reviewed it)

In our test, the mobile app worked seamlessly. The user interface was self-explanatory and worked as expected.

N26 checking account’s features you’ll love

We gave N26 5 out of 10 for the services it offers its customers. We deducted 5 points as N26 removed almost all the features from its free checking account.

Services banks like C24 offer for free that are removed from N26’s free checking account.

• Sub-accounts
• Automatic saving rules
• Cashback on every transaction
• Promotional cashback
• Interest in the checking account

Here are the features N26 offers in free and paid plans.

Free plan

• Free trading account
• Spending analysis and budget
• Joint accounts

Paid plans

• Sub-accounts or spaces: You can create 10 sub-accounts for free in the paid plans.
• Insurance: N26 offers insurance plans, such as emergency medical insurance, travel insurance, etc., to its paid plan customers. We didn’t evaluate the insurance plans N26 offers.
• Automatic saving rules: Like C24, N26 allows paid users to create rules to save money automatically.