Qonto • EUR
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Ingrid Schneider · Updated: 3 September 2026
Qonto is a French neobank that offers business accounts in Germany for freelancers, self-employed professionals, and companies of various sizes. The Smart plan reviewed here is one of six Qonto tiers – alongside Starter, Basic, and Smart, there are three higher-priced tiers (Essential, Business, Enterprise) for larger teams. Smart sits in the middle of the price range and targets businesses that already have a noticeable monthly transaction volume and need several company cards, without yet requiring the extensive features of the Business or Enterprise plans.
Qonto charges 19 euros net per month for the Smart plan, which works out to 228 euros per year. For comparison: the entry-level Starter plan is free, Basic costs 9 euros, and the higher tiers Essential, Business, and Enterprise cost 49, 109, and 199 euros per month respectively. The Smart price includes up to 100 online transactions per month; every additional transaction beyond that costs €0.20. Businesses that regularly exceed 100 bookings a month should factor in these extra costs or consider a higher tier. Neither the product data nor the provider page states a concrete overdraft interest rate for an arranged overdraft – anyone who regularly needs an overdraft facility should ask Qonto directly before opening an account.
Qonto is currently running a welcome-bonus promotion for newly opened business accounts, valid from 24 August to 30 September 2026. This matters for anyone considering the Smart plan specifically: the bonus amount is tiered by plan. For the Starter, Basic, Smart, and Premium plans, the bonus is €200; the higher amount of €600 only applies to the pricier Essential, Business, or Enterprise plans. For the Smart plan reviewed here, €200 is the realistic figure – not the larger number that might catch the eye at first glance at the promotion. To receive the payout, the company card must be used for at least €1,000 in card spending in three consecutive months; the credit is paid automatically in the fourth month after account activation. That's an achievable but not trivial target – anyone who only uses the card sporadically, or uses the account mainly for savings rather than ongoing payments, will easily miss out on the bonus.
The Smart plan includes two physical Mastercard company cards plus up to 50 virtual cards. Virtual cards can be assigned to individual employees, projects, or software subscriptions and blocked individually without touching the main physical card – useful for businesses where several people make company purchases. Account management is fully online and via the mobile app; no branch network or phone support is advertised on the provider's page, which is typical for a pure digital account. Deposits are protected up to €100,000 per customer and institution under the EU deposit guarantee directive – the same level of protection as a traditional bank.
As a French institution, Qonto is regulated under the EU deposit guarantee directive rather than the German scheme. In practice this makes no real difference for customers: the €100,000 per-customer, per-institution protection level applies uniformly across the EU. The only thing to note is that, in the event of a claim, the deposit guarantee scheme of Qonto's home country pays out, not the German one.
Weighing the €228 annual base fee against the potential €200 welcome bonus, effective first-year costs work out to roughly €28 – provided the spending requirement of at least €1,000 in card payments in three separate months is met. From the second year onward, without a repeat bonus, the full €228 annual fee applies, plus any extra costs for bookings beyond the free allowance. Anyone doing this math should keep in mind that the bonus is a one-time offer and doesn't repeat every year.
Some points that may matter for choosing an account aren't backed by reliable data here: the concrete interest rate for an arranged overdraft, possible fees for international transfers outside the eurozone, and the exact processing time for opening an account. Anyone who needs these details for their decision should ask Qonto directly before signing up.
According to Qonto, the account is aimed at freelancers, sole proprietorships, sole traders, GmbHs, GbRs (civil-law partnerships), non-trading partnerships, and UGs (haftungsbeschränkt). The Smart plan is the best fit for businesses that need several company cards for a team or recurring subscriptions and have a monthly transaction volume of up to around 100 bookings, without yet needing one of the pricier Business or Enterprise plans. For very low transaction volumes, the free Starter plan or the cheaper Basic plan is likely sufficient. Businesses that book more than 100 times a month, or that need additional features such as advanced accounting integrations, should instead look at one of the higher tiers.
Qonto Smart is a solid business account for small and medium-sized companies with moderate-to-higher card needs and a monthly transaction volume in the low hundreds. The €19 monthly base fee is noticeably higher than the entry-level tiers, but it comes with significantly more cards and a larger free transaction allowance. Anyone hoping to claim the current welcome bonus should realistically plan for €200 rather than the initially tempting €600, and keep the €1,000-per-month, three-month card-spend requirement in mind.
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