Start with what a month actually costs
Providers can both look cheap until you read what regular use costs. Separate the account charge from the transaction charges, because a provider can charge nothing for the account and still charge for the things you use most.
Worked example: on its free plan, bunq lists a monthly fee of €0 and an annual fee of €0, and bunq Spain lists an annual fee of €0. Entry into the premium plan starts at €0. The point to check is which of those figures a provider quotes is the one you will be billed, and whether a lower monthly number is offset by something else.
Across the insurance listings held here, the starting premium runs €0 to €3,431.08. A span like that only means something next to the cover it buys, so pair any headline price with the review that explains the terms. The Insurance rankings set the providers side by side for that reason.
Read the small fees, they dominate the total
Daily costs matter more than the account headline. bunq charges a currency conversion fee of 0.5% to 3% and holds accounts in 8 currencies, so how often you convert decides what that rate adds up to over a year.
Crypto costs sit elsewhere. bunq lists a maker fee of 0.25% to 1.99% and a taker fee of 0.25% to 1.99%, and crypto trades start at from 350 coins. Cards need the same treatment: bunq's card type is debit, it runs on the mastercard network, and the recorded card kind is credit.
When you compare, ask whether a provider charges per card, per withdrawal or per currency, then read each range from its lowest figure to its highest rather than quoting only the cheapest end.
Check the protection, it is not one scheme but separate ones
This is the section most readers skim and the one that matters most when money sits with a provider. Separate schemes can apply to the same brand and they are not interchangeable: bunq's deposit protection is EU DGS up to EUR 100,000, while its investor protection is EU ICS up to EUR 20,000. Savings sit under the deposit figure, investments under the investor figure, so match the scheme to what you are holding.
Regulators tell you who is answerable when something goes wrong. bunq is regulated by De Nederlandsche Bank and SIPC, and the legal entity is bunq B.V. Licence records matter for any unfamiliar name: bunq's registrations include W0086933I for Spain, alongside entries for Germany, France, Ireland, Italy and Belgium. A provider that will not name a regulator or a protection scheme has given you a finding in itself.
Work through how the account or policy behaves day to day
A product can be free and still be awkward. bunq's account kind is easy access and bunq Spain's is easy access. On access, bunq allows free withdrawals of any amount within a monthly allowance that grows over time, with interest paid weekly.
Interest needs the same scrutiny. bunq's rate type is variable with a headline rate of 3.01%, and the minimum deposit is €10. A variable rate and a headline figure belong together, because a headline figure can move.
Support and access finish the check. bunq offers support by email and through a help centre, runs on the bunq app, supports monthly payments, and lists crypto, fractional shares and a mobile app among its features. Markets covered are stocks, etfs and crypto, and the crypto exchange type is cex. The bunq review sets out how those parts fit together.
Match the provider to the reader
Fit for your situation can decide between two equal numbers. bunq is aimed at expats, which is the clearest fact separating it from providers built for domestic savers, and bunq Spain is the local entry point for readers comparing in that market. Read the bunq Spain review before opening an account outside your home country.
Insurance is a different purchase from a savings account, and the same method carries across. Start from the Insurance rankings, then read provider pages in full: Euroasia Insurance and Good Sam Insurance Agency for direct cover, and EverQuote for a comparison route. The questions are unchanged: what is charged, who regulates it, what protection applies, and how the policy or account works day to day.
A short verdict checklist
Pick a provider whose fee line you can say in a single phrase, whose protection scheme is named and relevant to what you hold, whose regulator and licence you can check, and whose everyday mechanics match how you bank. Where two providers tie on those points, the cost range decides it; where the ranges overlap, the protection figure decides it.
Keep the reviews open while you decide, because the pages show which facts a provider publishes and which it leaves out. An everyday money account such as Linxea is set out in the same way, so you can weigh an insurance shortlist against a savings shortlist in one pass.