Kontist vs Holvi vs Penta: freelancer banking compared (2026)

If you run a one-person business in Germany or the wider EU and you have been comparing freelancer-focused accounts, three names keep surfacing: Kontist, Holvi and Penta. But this comparison has to open with a correction, because getting it wrong wastes your time: Penta is no longer an independent product. For the wider field, see the best business bank accounts for EU freelancers.

How this was compared. From a solo’s chair: which one makes running a business of one easier, saves me the most admin time, and fits how I actually work? Enterprise finance-team features aren’t the point. Plans, fees and country availability change often and vary by market, so every detail below is indicative; confirm on each provider’s own page before deciding.

The honest line-up

Because Penta has been absorbed into Qonto, treating it as a live third option would send you chasing a product you can’t buy. So here is the accurate shape of the decision:

Indicative — confirm current details on each provider’s page.

Kontist — German freelancer tax automation

Kontist is the most narrowly aimed of the three, and that focus is its strength. It is built for the German-market self-employed, and its whole reason to exist is taking the pain out of tax. The signature idea is automatic tax set-aside: as money lands, the account helps you ring-fence what you will owe for income tax and VAT, so you are not left scrambling at deadline with a balance you have already spent. Around that sit bookkeeping automation features that keep your records tidy as you go rather than in a year-end panic — the same discipline that makes bookkeeping and tax genuinely painless later.

For a German freelancer who treats tax as their single biggest source of dread, that is a compelling pitch: the account does the worrying for you. The flip side is scope. Kontist is not trying to be a broad EU business-banking platform, and its focus on the German tax system means it is at its best precisely where that system applies. If you operate mainly outside Germany, or you want a wider set of business-banking features, it is worth weighing against the alternatives below.

Best for: German solopreneurs whose main pain is tax and VAT, and who want the account to automate setting money aside.

Holvi — invoicing-integrated freelancer banking

Holvi approaches the same customer from a different angle. It is a freelancer and light-business account with invoicing and bookkeeping built in, so the pitch is banking and admin in one place rather than tax automation specifically. You can raise and send invoices, track who has paid, and keep your books next to the money they relate to — which is genuinely useful when you are the finance department and don’t want to stitch together three separate tools.

That makes Holvi a natural fit for the solo whose admin pain is the invoice-to-payment-to-bookkeeping loop rather than German tax rules in particular. It reaches across several EU markets, which broadens its appeal beyond a single tax system. The honest limitation is the mirror image of Kontist’s: it is not a dedicated tax-automation engine for the German self-employed, so a German freelancer who specifically wants automatic tax set-aside may find Kontist’s narrower focus fits better. Match the tool to your actual bottleneck.

Best for: freelancers who want invoicing and bookkeeping baked into the account and value admin and banking living together.

Penta → Qonto — the broader EU business banking option

Here is where the correction pays off. Penta was a German business-banking startup aimed squarely at small companies and the self-employed — and it was acquired by Qonto, after which the Penta brand was wound down and its customers migrated across. So the realistic modern version of “Penta” is Qonto.

Qonto is a broader EU business-banking platform: invoicing, accounting integrations, expense management and multiple cards in a business-first interface, popular across France, Germany, Spain, Italy and other EU markets. For a professionalising solo who wants real business banking and an admin layer — rather than a tax-automation specialist or an invoicing-first account — it is the natural home of the Penta legacy. The detail is in the full Qonto review, and the direct Qonto vs Holvi comparison covers that specific match-up if you are torn between the platform and the invoicing-first account.

Best for: solos who wanted Penta and now need a broader EU business-banking platform — Qonto is where that offering lives.

The safety and licensing point

This matters across all three, and it is worth being precise. Kontist, Holvi and Qonto all operate as e-money institutions (EMIs), not deposit-taking banks. The practical difference is how your money is protected: client funds are safeguarded — held separately at partner banks — rather than covered by a national deposit-guarantee scheme. That is not the same as deposit insurance.

Who picks which?

The honest split, for a business of one:

• You’re a German freelancer and tax is your biggest dread → Kontist. Automatic tax set-aside and bookkeeping automation are its whole point.
• You want invoicing and bookkeeping built into the account → Holvi. Banking and admin in one tidy place, across several EU markets.
• You wanted Penta, or you want a broader EU business-banking platform → Qonto, which absorbed Penta and carries the offering forward.
• You want guaranteed deposit protection for a reserve → none of these EMIs; use a licensed bank like N26 or bunq for that slice of your money.

Whichever way you lean, get the fundamentals straight first: read the full banking for freelancers in Europe guide — including the EMI-versus-bank point above — so you choose the account that matches your stage and market rather than the loudest brand.

The verdict

• Penta is not a live option — it was acquired by Qonto and wound down, with customers migrated across; the real choice is Kontist vs Holvi vs Qonto.
• Kontist = German tax automation: built for the German self-employed, with automatic tax set-aside and bookkeeping automation as its whole reason to exist.
• Holvi = invoicing-integrated banking: a freelancer/light-business account with invoicing and bookkeeping baked in, for the solo who wants admin and banking together.
• Qonto = broader EU business banking: the platform that absorbed Penta — invoicing, accounting integrations, expense tools and a business-first interface.
• All three are EMIs — funds are safeguarded, not deposit-insured; use a licensed bank (N26, bunq) for a large reserve you want guaranteed.
• Verify current status and availability for your own country on each provider’s page before committing, because plans and coverage change.

Part of the complete banking for freelancers in Europe guide.