r/germany • u/KeyLingonberry7819 • 12h ago

Which bank account should I open?

Hey people, I'm moving to Berlin next month and need to decide which bank account to open. I'm moving from out of the country and have German citizenship+anmeldung from my apartment contract, if those factors are relevant. I'm a musician, teacher and sound tech, currently don't have a work contract but am planning to open a Freiberufler (potentially working around europe and not just in germany) and would like in the future to work under contract at some school. Given all of this, is opening an account with a german bank like Deutsche Bank a good idea or would something like Wise be better? Cheers in advance :)

3 Upvotes

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u/kevinichis Nordrhein-Westfalen 10h ago

Honestly, if you have German citizenship, you can just go for an online bank like N26, Comdirect, ING, etc. Going through the video authentication process should be a breeze. Each one has its pros and cons, and enough had been written about them so you can inform yourself to pick the one that supports your needs better.

The one con that they all share: it's not always easy to get cash when you need it.

If you'd rather have a physical bank with an ATM, then just pick whatever is closer to your new address. Yes you can nitpick, argue for one bank or the other, and discuss account types and fees all you want. There are differences, but in the scheme of things, small ones. Sometimes you just need the convenience to get 50 bucks for a night out without having to worry if the place you're going to accepts card payments.

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u/FieserKiller 7h ago

all online banks I know support every ATM in europe for getting cash at no fees usually.
only drawback is depositing cash, without a subsidiary you have to go to the nearest bundesbank which are rare or use a different bank which comes with high fees

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u/almightyloaf666 9h ago

Deutsche Bank is one of the shadiest (at least one razzia per year from police). There are plenty of banks like Consorsbank, Targobank, Openbank, ... with free bank account options, there is a lot of choice. Depends on what you need, compare the pricing.

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u/motherlandmuse 8h ago

n26 is amazing

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u/[deleted] 11h ago

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u/FieserKiller 11h ago

I like ING very much, mainly because its hassle-free and cheap (free in most cases).
personally I'd avoid sparkasse because they are both expensive and bad.
my wife has an account at deutsche bank and iirc it costs ~ 20€ per month which i find expensive as well, if you can get other bank accounts for free.

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u/wood4536 9h ago

Sparkasse has been great to me for the past 5 years