Bank accounts for students in Germany: our top 5 compared

Last updated: 29 September 2026

At some point, everyone needs their own current account, and the banks know this. They advertise with ‘free of charge’ and almost always mean: free, as long as you meet a certain condition. That condition is in the price and service list (Preis- und Leistungsverzeichnis), not in the advert. For students, this is precisely where the difference lies between zero euros and around 60 euros a year.

We’ll show you five accounts, four of which we’ve used ourselves, and tell you for each one what its free account depends on. We checked all the conditions in this article directly with the banks on 29 September 2026. Please check them again before applying, as price lists change faster than advice websites.

How to find the right current account for you

It’s natural to follow the example of friends, acquaintances and family and to open your first bank account with the same bank they use. However, you’ll often find that this account isn’t quite right for you. That’s hardly surprising. The people you look to for guidance often have a completely different lifestyle from yours (working vs. studying) and therefore different needs.

So what are you going to do? Either stick with your current bank or switch. Many local banks charge for current accounts. But there are often free accounts available for students. So if you don’t want to switch, at least keep your account running for free 🙂 And you still won’t have a credit card, or it costs money again, so just switch!

If you do decide to switch, don’t make the same mistakes I did:

I’ve struggled through lots of banks myself (five so far, with a sixth on the way) and had to gain a lot of experience to reach this conclusion. I’d like to spare you this hassle, so here are my tips for you. And yes, I’ve dealt with the pushy advisers, the endless waits on hold and the long queues at cash machines. And don’t get me started on only being able to make transfers at the terminals in your home town.

What you should bear in mind when choosing your current account

How often do you go to the branch, and why?

On the one hand, you should decide whether you need a branch that you’d like to pop into to speak to a customer adviser, or whether you’d prefer to do it over the phone and don’t mind not looking someone in the eye. Please be honest with yourself here. The idea that I might use it at some point, but I won’t actually do it doesn’t count here. Bear in mind that the staff in the branches usually have a 9 to 5 job just like you. If you have a problem on a Sunday evening, a branch employee probably won’t be able to help you. And you don’t need a bank counter to withdraw cash.

I’ve done that twice myself and it didn’t really help me much. I could just as easily have got the information over the phone and wouldn’t have been talked into buying anything extra. I don’t mind filling in online forms either.

Do you often make cash deposits? If so, a bank with branches might actually make sense for you. However, if you only make deposits rarely, you might want to consider whether your parents, for example, could handle this via their account and transfer the money to you. But let’s be honest, who still pays in cash these days? And even if, for some reason, I came into a large sum of cash, I’d keep it at home until it was used up.

What account maintenance fees apply?

Do you want to pay for your bank account? Probably not. As a student, you generally don’t have to. At most direct banks, the reason is your age, not your student status. At ING, DKB and comdirect, the account is free for those under 28. Once you pass this age limit, the account costs €4.90 a month at ING, €4.50 at DKB and €4.90 at comdirect, unless €1,000 (ING) or €700 (DKB, comdirect) is paid into the account every month. Consorsbank only draws the line at 31; after that, the account costs €4 a month if less than €700 comes in each month.

That’s the real catch: you’ll reach the age limit in the middle of your Master’s degree or shortly afterwards, and changing your bank account is the last thing on your mind at that point. Anyone opening an account today should therefore be aware of which conditions apply after their 28th or 31st birthday.

As a rule, it isn’t particularly difficult to get an overdraft facility on your account. Whether you need one is another matter. If you can manage it responsibly, it’s certainly a good thing. What you should definitely check is the overdraft interest rate – in other words, the interest you pay on your bank debt.

It can always happen that your income arrives later than expected – BAföG, for example, or your salary – or that your washing machine breaks down. In such cases, it’s good to know that you can temporarily overdraw your account. The cost of doing so varies considerably from bank to bank. An analysis by Verivox, based on a BaFin dataset covering around 1,100 banks and savings banks, arrived at an average of 11.28 per cent on 26 February 2026, with peak rates of 15.31 per cent for standard overdrafts and 19.75 per cent for tolerated overdrafts (Verivox, February 2026).

So ‘over 11 per cent is unfair’ isn’t a benchmark, just a description of the average. The direct banks featured in this article are below this figure: 9.90 per cent at Consorsbank, 9.14 per cent at ING, 8.51 per cent at DKB and 7.91 per cent once active status applies there. For more on when an instalment loan might be a better option, see our article on credit cards for students. Even if you don’t want to get into debt, it’s better to choose a bank with a low interest rate: going into the red once is enough.

None of the five banks pays interest on the current account itself. Savings earn interest where that is intended: in a savings account (Tagesgeldkonto). comdirect currently pays 1.75 per cent a year on one (comdirect, as at 29 September 2026). Consorsbank currently pays 3.80 per cent for five months on a newly opened instant-access savings account, and 1.00 per cent thereafter (Consorsbank, as at 29 September 2026). You won’t get rich as a student with this. However, the account remains yours even after you graduate, and that’s when it really counts.

You might be thinking, ‘I don’t need a credit card!’ That’s fine – not everyone actually needs one. Especially not if you’ve only just left school and might still be living with your parents. But as I said, every degree course comes to an end at some point, and perhaps you’ll want one then? It would be a shame if it ended up costing a fortune or if you had to open yet another account somewhere else just for that, wouldn’t it?

You might also want to go abroad, on holiday, or – as we do – spend a semester abroad. And how will you pay for things when you’re there? Traveller’s cheques are a thing of the past, and you don’t want to be lugging a suitcase full of cash around with you. All five accounts listed here come with a free Visa debit card; with ING, DKB and Consorsbank it comes with no conditions. Consorsbank also offers a free credit card instead, which lets you pay and withdraw cash in foreign currencies at no extra cost.

One point that adverts often gloss over: a Visa debit card is not a credit card. It debits funds directly from your account, and it isn’t accepted everywhere for hire cars and hotel deposits. If you need a proper credit card that lets you pay later, you can find the differences in our article on credit cards for students.

What other benefits can an account with this bank offer me?

Some banks and credit card providers work with partners to offer additional benefits such as discounts, bonuses, points, air miles, etc. Have a look to see if there’s anything there that you can benefit from.

The best current accounts for students

We have used four of the following five accounts ourselves; Consorsbank is included because of its higher age limit and its credit card with no overseas fees. For each one, we’ve specified the conditions under which it’s free of charge and what fees apply when used abroad. Those two points decide whether ‘free’ actually remains free for you. Some of the links on this page are affiliate links; this does not affect the conditions – we have verified them directly with the banks.

Tomorrow: the sustainable account, free only under conditions

Tomorrow is a smartphone bank that channels part of its revenue into climate projects. Important for you: Since the price list of 1 June 2026, there has been no unconditionally free account. The Now plan starts at 0 euros, but it is only free if you are under 21 or 500 euros comes in each month (Tomorrow). Above that, Change costs 8.90 euros and the Plus plan 17.90 euros per month (price list, as at 1 June 2026).

For students over 21 who don’t have a regular 500 euros coming in each month, Tomorrow is therefore no longer a free option, unlike a few years ago. If you choose to pay, you get an account opened in minutes via the app, a Visa debit card and a climate protection contribution, which Tomorrow currently channels into the development of ecosystems in South Africa. Tomorrow no longer mentions the previously advertised claim of ‘one square metre of rainforest for every euro spent’ or CO₂ offsetting in tonnes; it now only reports the total areas covered by the community (Tomorrow, climate protection contribution).

• Now plan from 0 euros; free only if you are under 21 or 500 euros comes in each month
• Free Visa debit card, plus a virtual card
• Account opening entirely digital via the app
• On the Now plan, one free cash withdrawal per month; each additional one costs 3 euros
• On the Now plan, a 2 per cent foreign currency fee applies; fee-free payments abroad start with Change
• Account and card management via the app at any time, with a push notification for every transaction
• Part of its revenue goes to climate protection, visible in the app’s Impact Board

ING: free of charge for those under 28, no conditions attached

• Free account for anyone under 28; from 28, free if at least 1,000 euros comes in each month, otherwise 4.90 euros per month
• Visa Card (debit card) included free of charge
• Free cash withdrawals within the eurozone; minimum withdrawal amount 50 euros
• Girocard available only as an add-on for €1.49 per month
• Overdraft interest rate: 9.14 per cent (variable)
• Support available around the clock, online banking including app

The Visa Card works just like a Girocard in everyday life: the amount is debited directly from your current account – no monthly bill, no nasty surprises. You can use it to withdraw cash free of charge anywhere in the eurozone from any cash machine that accepts Visa. There is one restriction for students: you cannot withdraw amounts under 50 euros. If you regularly need 20 euros, this won’t get you very far. A Girocard is available as an option, but it costs 1.49 euros a month.

If you travel outside the eurozone, it will cost more. ING charges a foreign transaction fee of 2.20 per cent on the amount in euros (ING, conditions). For goods worth 100 euros, that amounts to 2.20 euros. This is not an outlier, but the standard rate; DKB charges the same if you do not have an ‘Aktiv’ status. Anyone who travels frequently outside the eurozone should therefore specifically look for a card with no foreign currency fees.

I’ve been an ING customer for 14 years and have never been let down. Not even on my third call on a Sunday evening, when I’d forgotten my PIN yet again.

DKB: free worldwide, but only with Aktivstatus

• Free account management for those under 28 or with monthly deposits of 700 euros or more; otherwise, 4.50 euros per month
• Free Visa debit card, linked directly to the current account
• Free cash withdrawals within the eurozone, with or without active account status
• Free payments and withdrawals worldwide only with active status; without it, a 2.20 per cent currency conversion fee applies
• Mobile payments via Apple Pay and Google Pay
• Overdraft interest rate 8.51 per cent; 7.91 per cent with active status

I got the DKB card so I’d have a second one for travelling. The conditions are very similar to ING’s, with one difference that makes all the difference for frequent travellers: with Aktivstatus (active status), the currency conversion fee is waived entirely. You get this status with 700 euros coming in each month – which is certainly achievable as a working student, though usually not on BAföG alone.

Two things have changed since the first versions of this article – and for the better: the card is now a Visa debit card that debits directly from your current account, so you no longer have to top it up by bank transfer. On the other hand, there is no longer any interest on a card balance. What hasn’t changed: if an ATM abroad displays its own fee, you pay it; DKB does not reimburse it.

comdirect: four ways to avoid fees

• The account costs 4.90 euros per month but is free as soon as you meet one of these four conditions
• under 28 years of age and in school, vocational training, higher education or an internship, without proof
• or 700 euros coming in each month
• or three payments per month via Apple Pay or Google Pay
• or one securities trade or one savings plan execution per month
• The first six months after opening the account are free of charge anyway
• Visa debit card free of charge; girocard optional for 1 euro per month
• With the girocard, you can withdraw cash free of charge from around 5,000 cash machines in Germany
• Mobile banking via the app, Apple Pay and Google Pay

comdirect is a brand of Commerzbank and is currently offering up to 150 euros cashback for new customers; this promotion is for a limited time only, so check the current conditions before applying (comdirect, as at 29 September 2026). The difference between comdirect and ING and DKB lies less in the price than in the options available: even if you don’t have 700 euros in your account each month, you can still qualify for a fee-free account here by making three mobile phone payments or setting up a savings plan. If you already have a savings plan in place, you meet the condition on the side.

Consorsbank: free until 31, credit card with no foreign transaction fees

• Free account for anyone under 31 or with 700 euros or more coming in each month; otherwise 4 euros per month
• No proof of student status needed; age is all that counts
• When you open the account, you choose your card: Visa Debit Card or Credit Card Gold Light, both free
• With the Credit Card Gold Light, you pay and withdraw cash worldwide without any bank charges, even in foreign currencies
• With the Visa Debit Card, cash withdrawals in the EEA are free from 50 euros, below that 1.95 euros; in foreign currencies 2.10 per cent
• girocard optional and free
• Overdraft interest rate: 9.90 per cent (variable)
• Open the account online via POSTIDENT; Apple Pay and Google Pay work with the Visa cards

There are two points in Consorsbank’s favour for students. The age limit is 31 rather than 28, meaning it often only applies after you’ve completed your Master’s degree. Furthermore, the Credit Card Gold Light is a genuine credit card with no annual fee: during a semester abroad, you won’t be charged any foreign transaction fees when using it at the till or at cash machines; the bank debits the transactions from your current account once a month (Consorsbank fee schedule, as at 29 September 2026). The bank sets the card limit, and third-party ATM operators may charge their own fees.

Consorsbank is a brand of the French bank BNP Paribas. Your funds are therefore initially protected by the French deposit guarantee scheme (FGDR) up to 100,000 euros, and above that amount by the voluntary deposit guarantee fund of private banks in Germany. It does not have any branches or its own cash machines.

To the Consorsbank current account

Current accounts for students – the comparison tool

Five accounts, five different conditions, and your age is the key factor across the board: free for those under 21 at Tomorrow, under 31 at Consorsbank, and under 28 at the other three. If you’re unsure which account best suits your habits, go through our current account comparison and tailor it to your needs: