Kontist as a Qonto alternative: Built for self-employed professionals
Qonto and Kontist are designed for different audiences. While Qonto primarily supports businesses and teams with expense management and collaboration features, Kontist was built specifically for solo self-employed professionals and freelancers in Germany. Its focus is on simplifying taxes, bookkeeping and financial organisation in your day-to-day work. With Kontist, you'll benefit from features such as:
- Always knowing how much of your money is actually available after taxes
- Automatic tax reserve calculations
- Submit your VAT directly to the tax office
Users love the Kontist app
4.5
on the Google Play Store
4.7
on the App Store
Users love the Kontist app
Is Kontist a good alternative to Qonto?
Qonto is primarily aimed at businesses that want to manage their finances collaboratively. Features such as expense management, team cards and approval workflows make it easier to work together and make Qonto particularly attractive for growing teams.
Many self-employed professionals, however, work on their own or in very small businesses. In these cases, different questions are often more important: How much money needs to be set aside for taxes? How much of my income is actually available? How can I make bookkeeping and tax management as simple as possible?
Kontist could be the better choice if you want to:
keep track of your tax obligations at all times
minimise the number of tools you need for banking and bookkeeping
manage invoices, receipts and banking in one place
work as a solo self-employed professional or freelancer
use a solution specifically designed for self-employed professionals in Germany
Kontist vs. Qonto: Direct comparison
Kontist and Qonto both offer far more than a traditional business account. While Qonto focuses on helping businesses organise their operations, Kontist concentrates on the needs of self-employed professionals in the German market.
The comparison below shows how Kontist Plus and Qonto Smart compare across the features that matter most.
Banking
Kontist Plus | Qonto Smart | |
|---|---|---|
Mobile apps (iOS & Android) |
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Web app |
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German IBAN |
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Subaccounts | 5 | 1 |
Free SEPA transfers & direct debits | 100/month | 100/month |
Real-time notifications |
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Debit card | Virtual & physical | Virtual & physical |
Apple Pay & Google Pay |
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Overdraft facility |
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Loans |
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Account statements |
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Biometric authentication |
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Standing orders |
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Bulk transfers |
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Automatic tax calculation |
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Bookkeeping & Taxes
Kontist Plus | Qonto Smart | |
|---|---|---|
Invoicing tool |
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Receipt scanning |
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Submit VAT returns to the tax office |
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AI-powered bookkeeping |
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Add external transactions |
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Fixed asset tracking |
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Integrations with external accounting software |
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Business reports (BWA) |
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Customer service
Kontist Plus | Qonto Smart | |
|---|---|---|
Chat & email |
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Blog & Help centre articles |
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Phone support |
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Automatic tax estimation with Kontist
With real-time tax estimation, you'll always know how much of your money is actually available after taxes. Kontist automatically calculates your income tax and VAT based on incoming payments and sets the estimated amount aside as a tax reserve. The settings can be customised to match your individual tax situation.
Automatic tax calculation: Income tax and VAT are recalculated automatically after every incoming payment.
Build tax reserves: The estimated tax amount is automatically set aside in a separate subaccount.
Fully customisable: Tax rates, VAT settings and tax prepayment intervals can all be adjusted to suit your individual circumstances.
More highlights from Kontist
Many of Kontist's features are designed to help self-employed professionals organise their finances more efficiently and manage important administrative tasks directly within their business account.
Quotes & Invoices
Create and manage quotes and invoices directly in the app without needing additional software.
Automatic Categorisation
Income and expenses are categorised automatically, with the categorisation becoming increasingly accurate over time.
Google Pay & Apple Pay
Pay contactlessly with your Kontist Visa card while keeping full control of your finances directly in the app.
Easy Account Switching Service
Switching to Kontist is completely online and guides you through the process step by step.
Notes & Receipt Scanning
Attach receipts directly to transactions and export everything together whenever you need it.
Kontist vs. Qonto: Price comparison
Both providers offer different account plans for different needs. While Kontist offers three plans specifically for self-employed professionals, Qonto's plans are geared more towards businesses of different sizes.
The comparison below shows how Kontist Plus and Qonto Smart compare in the areas that matter most.
Kontist | Qonto |
|---|---|
Free – 0 € | Starter – 0 € |
Start – 11 € | Basic – 9 € |
Plus – 25 € | Smart – 19 € |
Premium – 39 € |
Who is Kontist the best Qonto alternative for?
Qonto is primarily aimed at businesses that want to manage their finances collaboratively as a team. Kontist, on the other hand, focuses on the needs of self-employed professionals and freelancers who want to manage as many administrative tasks as possible directly from their business account.
Kontist may be particularly appealing for the following groups:
1. Founders
If you're starting your own business, you often have to win clients, send invoices and keep track of your taxes all at the same time. Kontist helps you organise these tasks in one place from day one.
2. Small business owners (Kleinunternehmer)
If you want to minimise the number of additional tools you use, you'll benefit from a solution that combines banking, tax planning and bookkeeping.
3. Self-employed professionals
Automatic tax calculations, centralised receipt management and integrated bookkeeping features reduce administrative work and free up more time for your actual business.
4. GmbH/UG/GbR
Businesses can also benefit from Kontist's banking, bookkeeping and financial management features. Smaller businesses in particular benefit from a straightforward solution for managing their day-to-day finances.
Make the switch easy with the Kontist account switching service
Thinking about switching from Qonto to Kontist but keep putting it off? Many self-employed professionals stay with their existing account longer than they intended because switching initially seems like too much effort.
With the Kontist Account Switching Service, the process becomes much easier. You'll be guided through every step and receive support in transferring your existing banking setup.
The switching service helps you with:
notifying your payment partners of your new bank account
transferring your existing standing orders
organising the switching process
10,000s of freelancers trust in Kontist.
"I feel very well taken care of and can wholeheartedly recommend Kontist."
"The best thing about Kontist is that I can see immediately after each transaction how much is left for me and how much goes to the tax office. This saves me from nasty surprises when I file my tax return".
