Kontist as a Vivid alternative: More focus on your self-employment
Vivid and Kontist both complement their business accounts with a wide range of additional features, but they focus on different priorities. While Vivid combines banking with cashback, interest and investment features, Kontist was built specifically for self-employed professionals in Germany and supports you with taxes, bookkeeping and financial organisation. With Kontist, you'll benefit from features such as:
- Always knowing how much of your money is actually available after taxes
- Automatic income tax and VAT calculation
- Banking, tax planning and bookkeeping in one place
- BWA and DATEV exports for working with your tax adviso
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 Vivid?
Vivid offers a wide range of additional financial features that go beyond a traditional business account. Cashback, interest and other financial services can be attractive for self-employed professionals who want to manage as much of their financial life as possible within a single platform.
For many self-employed professionals, however, different questions are more important in day-to-day business: How much money should be set aside for taxes? Which receipts are still missing? What information is needed for bookkeeping? And how can as many administrative tasks as possible be simplified?
Kontist could be the better choice if you want to:
keep track of your tax obligations at all times
keep track of your tax obligations at all times
minimise the number of additional tools you need for tax management and bookkeeping
use DATEV exports and BWA reports for working with your tax advisor
Kontist vs. Vivid: Direct comparison
Both providers offer far more than a traditional business account. While Vivid expands its offering with a range of financial features, Kontist focuses on supporting self-employed professionals with taxes, bookkeeping and financial organisation.
The comparison below shows how Kontist Plus and Vivid Pro compare across the features that matter most.
Banking
Kontist Plus | Vivid Pro | |
|---|---|---|
Mobile apps (iOS & Android) |
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Web app |
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German IBAN |
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Subaccounts | 5 | Up to 30 |
Free SEPA transfers & direct debits | 100/month | Unlimited |
Real-time notifications |
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Debit card | Virtual & physical | Virtual & physical |
Apple Pay & Google Pay |
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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 | Vivid Pro | |
|---|---|---|
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 | Vivid Pro | |
|---|---|---|
Chat & email |
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Blog & Help centre articles |
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Phone support |
| Partially available |
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. Vivid: Pricing comparison
Both Kontist and Vivid offer different plans for different needs. When comparing prices, however, it's worth looking beyond the monthly account fee. For self-employed professionals in particular, features for tax planning, bookkeeping and financial organisation can make a bigger difference than additional financial features such as cashback or interest.
Kontist | Vivid |
|---|---|
Free – 0 € | Standard – 0 € |
Start – 11 € | Prime – 6,90 € |
Plus – 25 € | Pro – 19,90 € |
Pro+ – 41 € |
Who is Kontist the best Vivid alternative for?
Kontist is particularly well suited to self-employed professionals and freelancers who want to keep managing their business finances as simple as possible. The business account is closely integrated with features such as automatic tax estimation, bookkeeping and receipt management. Rather than extending banking with cashback, interest or investment features, Kontist focuses on supporting the tasks that regularly arise in day-to-day business.
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 Vivid to Kontist but keep putting it off? Many self-employed professionals stay with their existing business account longer than they intended because switching initially sounds like extra work.
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".
