The short answer: Start with N26 Standard at €0/month — full English, no branches, open it before you arrive. If €700/month will land on the account (or you're under 28), DKB is also €0. For a cheap account with a real Austrian IBAN, bank99 smartkonto99 and BAWAG PSK KontoBox Light both cost €1.99/month. Want a branch you can walk into? Erste Bank's s Kompakt at €3.89/month buys Austria's biggest network plus the George app. And ignore any guide telling you to open ING in Austria — ING's retail banking there closed in 2022.
Austria's banking market is deceptively simple. The fee ladder is short: genuinely free app banks at the top, €1.99 direct banks in the middle, and €3.89–€8/month branch banks at the bottom. The complications aren't the fees — they're the Austria-specific quirks competitors' guides rarely cover. This guide compares the accounts expats actually open — N26, DKB, bank99, BAWAG PSK, easybank, BankDirekt, Erste Bank, Bank Austria, Raiffeisen, Wise and Revolut — and covers what most guides skip: the ING trap, cash-deposit reality, the Meldezettel-first paperwork order, and AT-IBAN friction.
⚠️ The ING trap — read this before you Google. Many expat guides (some updated as recently as last year) still list ING-DiBa as a top pick for Austria. But ING-DiBa Austria closed its retail banking business in 2022 and moved its private customers to bank99. If you follow an outdated guide, you'll waste an afternoon applying to a bank that no longer takes Austrian retail customers. The budget account ING would have given you is bank99's smartkonto99 at €1.99/month — Austria's actual ING-successor option.
Compare: fees at a glance
| Bank / app | Account | Monthly fee | Free if | Branches | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N26 | Standard | €0 | Always free | None (app bank) | Full English |
| DKB | Girokonto | €0 / €4.50 | €700/month incoming or under 28 | None (German online bank) | English onboarding |
| Wise | Multi-currency | €0 | Always free | None (app) | Full English |
| Revolut | Standard | €0 | Always free | None (app) | Full English |
| bank99 | smartkonto99 | €1.99 | — | Limited (co-located with Post) | Limited |
| BAWAG PSK | KontoBox Light | €1.99 | — | Many | Limited |
| easybank | Girokonto | Free with regular income | Regular income | Limited BAWAG branch access | Limited |
| BankDirekt | Girokonto | Free | — | Via Raiffeisen network, incl. cash deposits | Limited |
| Erste Bank / Sparkasse | s Kompakt | €3.89 | Students up to 27 | Largest network in Austria | Growing |
| Bank Austria (UniCredit) | ErfolgsKonto | ~€4.91 | — | Extensive | Limited |
| Raiffeisen | Varies by Landesbank | €3–€8 | — | Dense branch network | Varies |
Fees change; confirm the current tariff on each provider's site before opening. Bank Austria's ErfolgsKonto is billed quarterly (€14.74); Raiffeisen fees depend on your regional Landesbank.
Free app banks: N26, DKB, Wise, Revolut
N26 Standard (€0) is the default expat pick: a German-licensed neobank with a full-English app, free to open and run, no branches. It's the account you can set up from your home country before your flight — one reason so many Vienna newcomers land with it. The caveats are Austrian-specific: N26 issues a German DE-IBAN (see the AT-IBAN section below), and cash deposits through retail partners cost ~1.5% — painful in cash-heavy Austria.
DKB (€0 if €700/month incoming or under 28, otherwise €4.50) is the other German heavyweight expats use from Austria. If your salary lands here, the account is genuinely free, and DKB customers value its solid debit card and established reputation. Note it's also a German bank issuing a DE-IBAN — same AT-IBAN caveat as N26. If you can't guarantee €700/month, compare it honestly against the €1.99 Austrian direct banks instead. (See also our Germany guide for the full DKB picture.)
Wise (€0) and Revolut Standard (€0) are the pre-arrival combo. Both open fully online from anywhere, Wise gives you local EUR account details for receiving salary like a domestic transfer, and both are unbeatable for transfers home — see our money transfer guide for fee comparisons. They're complements to an Austrian account, not replacements.
Cheap direct banks: bank99, BAWAG PSK, easybank, BankDirekt
This is the tier outdated guides never explain — and it's where most settled expats land.
bank99 smartkonto99 (€1.99/month) is the direct-bank successor of ING Austria: it absorbed ING-DiBa's private customers in 2022. You get a real Austrian AT-IBAN, modern app banking, and co-located presence in Post offices — but only limited branches compared to the big players.
BAWAG PSK KontoBox Light (€1.99/month) is the same price with a different trade: a much bigger branch footprint behind a budget online account. If you want occasional face-to-face service at the lowest price, this is the pick.
easybank (free with regular income) and BankDirekt (free) are the two true €0 Austrian-IBAN answers. easybank is BAWAG's direct brand — free if you have regular income, with limited BAWAG branch access. BankDirekt runs on the Raiffeisen network, including cash deposits — which matters enormously in cash-heavy Austria. English support is limited at both; bring patience (or a German-speaking friend) for the tricky bits.
Traditional branch banks: Erste Bank, Bank Austria, Raiffeisen
Erste Bank / Sparkasse s Kompakt (€3.89/month; free for students up to 27) is the premium local pick: Austria's largest branch network, the well-regarded George app, and English support that's steadily improving. At €3.89 you know exactly what you're paying for — walk-in service anywhere in the country.
Bank Austria (UniCredit) ErfolgsKonto (~€4.91/month, billed quarterly at €14.74) is the international-flavoured alternative — useful if you already bank with UniCredit elsewhere in Europe, though the fee is the highest on this list.
Raiffeisen (€3–€8/month) is actually a federation of regional Landesbanks, so the fee depends on where you live — always ask your local Raiffeisen for its current tariff before signing. The upside is a dense, community-style branch network that works well outside Vienna.
Cash in Austria: why a "free" account can get expensive
Austria is still a cash-heavy society — far more than Germany or the Netherlands. Landlords, second-hand markets, mountain huts and plenty of small shops expect banknotes, so as an expat you'll handle cash whether you like it or not.
This is where the "free" app banks bite. N26 lets you deposit cash only through retail partners, and it costs ~1.5% of the amount — deposit €500 in cash and you pay €7.50 for the privilege. On a "free" account, that stings. The same applies in milder form to other app banks.
The fix is pairing your free account with a cash-friendly Austrian account: BankDirekt (free, uses the Raiffeisen network including cash deposits), any branch bank, or even a €1.99/month account you treat as your cash handler. Run digital life on N26; feed cash through the local account. Two free/near-free accounts beat one expensive habit.
The paperwork order: Meldezettel first, bank second
Many guides list the documents for opening an account without telling you the order matters. In Austria it does: register your residence at the local Meldeamt (registration office) FIRST — this gives you the Meldezettel (residence registration certificate) — and then go to the bank.
Traditional banks (Erste, Bank Austria, Raiffeisen, BAWAG, bank99) want to see the Meldezettel plus proof of address (rental contract) before they open anything. Arriving at a branch with just your passport and asking to open an account earns you a polite "come back with your Meldezettel" — a second trip across town.
The one exception proves the rule: N26, Wise and Revolut need no Meldezettel, which is exactly why you open them before arrival and do the local account after registration. The winning order is: app account (before landing) → Meldeamt registration → local Austrian account.
AT-IBAN vs foreign IBAN: keep a local account
Legally, there's no debate: IBAN discrimination is illegal across the EU, so an Austrian employer, landlord or insurer must accept any SEPA IBAN — including the German DE-IBAN that N26 and DKB issue.
In practice, Austria is one of the countries where the illegal still happens. Some Austrian payroll systems and landlords still balk at non-AT IBANs, rejecting them in forms or "requiring" an Austrian account. Fighting each case is technically winnable and practically exhausting.
The pragmatic fix costs almost nothing: keep a cheap AT-IBAN account alongside your free app bank — bank99 or BAWAG PSK at €1.99/month, or a free BankDirekt/easybank account. Salary and rent flow through the Austrian IBAN; everything cross-border flows through N26/Wise/Revolut. Zero friction, near-zero fees.
How expats actually open an account in Austria
The winning sequence most expats use:
- Before arrival: open N26 (and optionally Wise/Revolut) from your home country. You now have euro banking and a card that works on landing day.
- After arrival: register your address at the Meldeamt — this gives you your Meldezettel and proof of address.
- Open your local account: apply for bank99, BAWAG PSK, BankDirekt or easybank with your passport/ID, Meldezettel and rental contract. First visit to a traditional bank (Erste, Bank Austria, Raiffeisen) if you want branch service.
- Split your flows: salary and rent through the AT-IBAN account; transfers home and travel through Wise/Revolut. Cash deposits through the local account — never pay N26's 1.5%.
A one-line tax note: savings interest in Austria is taxed at 27.5% (Kapitalertragsteuer), deducted at source — so don't expect your headline savings rate to be what lands in your pocket.
Questions expats actually ask about Austrian banking
Can I open an Austrian bank account before I arrive?
Traditional Austrian banks need your Meldezettel, so no. The workaround: open N26, Wise or Revolut from anywhere in minutes — you land with working euro banking — then open your local Austrian account after registering at the Meldeamt.
Which Austrian bank is free for expats?
N26 Standard is €0/month with full English (DE-IBAN though). DKB is €0 with €700/month incoming or under 28. For a free account with an Austrian IBAN: BankDirekt is free (Raiffeisen network incl. cash deposits) and easybank is free with regular income.
Do I need a Meldezettel to open a bank account?
For traditional Austrian banks — Erste, Bank Austria, Raiffeisen, BAWAG, bank99 — yes. Register at the Meldeamt first, then go to the bank with your Meldezettel and proof of address. App banks (N26, Wise, Revolut) don't need one.
Will my employer accept a foreign IBAN?
Legally they must — IBAN discrimination is illegal in the EU. In practice, some Austrian payroll systems and landlords still resist non-AT IBANs. The fix: keep a cheap local account (bank99 €1.99/month or free BankDirekt) alongside N26 and give employers the AT-IBAN.
Is my money safe in an Austrian bank or with Wise/Revolut?
Austrian banks are covered by Austria's €100,000 deposit guarantee per person per bank. Wise holds client money safeguarded (segregated) as a licensed payment institution; Revolut's EU banking accounts fall under Lithuania's €100,000 guarantee.
What about ING Austria?
ING-DiBa Austria closed its retail banking in 2022 — its private customers moved to bank99. Any guide still recommending ING Austria is outdated. The closest budget successor is bank99's smartkonto99 at €1.99/month.
This guide is for information only, not financial advice. Fees and eligibility change — always confirm the current tariff on the provider's site before opening an account. Links marked for partner banks are affiliate placeholders until our partnerships are approved.