Wise Business vs Qonto: Global Transfers vs European Expense Management

Wise has no monthly fee on either tier. Essential is completely free; Advanced has a one-time setup fee of approximately 31 USD. Every transfer carries a variable fee from 0.57% depending on the currency corridor. There are no free transfer allowances — you pay per use.

Qonto offers six subscription plans: Basic (EUR 9/month), Smart (EUR 19/month), Premium (EUR 39/month), Essential (EUR 49/month), Business (EUR 99/month), and Enterprise (EUR 199/month). Each plan includes a set number of free SEPA transfers (30 to 10,000/month) and increasing feature access.

For businesses that primarily send international transfers, Wise's pay-as-you-go model is more cost-effective — you pay nothing when you do not transfer. For businesses that make many SEPA transfers monthly, Qonto's bundled free transfers (up to 10,000/month on Enterprise) provide better value.

Wise is purpose-built for international transfers and is the clear leader. It uses the real mid-market exchange rate with zero markup, charges a transparent variable fee from 0.57%, sends to 160 countries, and provides local account details in 24+ currencies on the Advanced plan. Batch payments handle up to 1,000 recipients per upload. Volume discounts apply for businesses sending over 20,000 GBP or 25,000 USD equivalent monthly.

Qonto supports outgoing transfers to 130+ countries and can receive 32+ foreign currencies. However, FX rates are significantly higher: 0.80% on standard currencies and 1.80% on others for Basic and Smart plans (minimum EUR 5 per transfer), improving to 0.56% and 1.56% on Premium and above. Incoming SWIFT transfers cost EUR 5 (waived under EUR 500).

For a EUR 10,000 transfer to a non-EUR currency, Wise charges approximately EUR 57 (0.57%). Qonto on a Premium plan charges EUR 56 (0.56%) — comparable. But on Qonto Basic or Smart, the same transfer costs EUR 80 (0.80%) plus the EUR 5 minimum. And Wise's mid-market rate gives slightly better value on the exchange itself.

For businesses making regular international transfers, Wise is significantly more cost-effective at every volume level.

This is Qonto's defining advantage. The platform offers three card tiers (One, Plus, X Metal) with different spending limits, FX commissions, and insurance levels. OCR receipt scanning with automatic VAT detection works across all plans. Custom approval workflows are available for team spending control. The Expense Plus add-on (EUR 69/month) adds multi-layer approvals and mileage tracking.

Team plans (Essential, Business, Enterprise) include unlimited users with configurable roles: Account Owner, Admin, Manager, Employee, Accountant, and Reporting. Each role has specific permission levels, creating structured financial governance.

Wise has no expense management features. You get a multi-user account with role-based permissions and up to 2 debit cards. There are no team spending controls, no receipt capture, no approval workflows, and no expense reporting.

If you have a team that needs controlled spending and expense tracking, Qonto is the only viable choice between these two. Wise is an international payment tool, not an operational banking platform.

Qonto is authorized by the ACPR as a Payment Institution (license #16958) with FGDR deposit protection up to EUR 100,000 per client. Safeguarding partners include Credit Mutuel Arkea, Societe Generale, Natixis, CACIB, and BNP Paribas. A banking license application was submitted in July 2025.

Wise holds an FCA e-money institution license in the UK (Wise Payments Limited) and an NBB Payment Institution license in the EEA (Wise Europe S.A.). Funds are safeguarded — held in cash, secure liquid assets, or comparable guarantees — but not covered by any deposit guarantee scheme.

For businesses holding significant operating balances, Qonto's FGDR protection provides stronger formal guarantees. Wise is generally used more as a payment tool than a balance-holding account, so the distinction matters less for typical Wise usage patterns.

Qonto integrates with DATEV (Bankdatenservice and Belegbilderservice), Xero, QuickBooks, and TeamSystem. EBICS connectivity is available from Smart onward. Custom export formats include MT940 for German businesses. Accountant access with read-only permissions is available from Smart plan.

Wise integrates with Xero and QuickBooks via Open Banking, and provides the Wise Platform API for custom automation. The API supports batch group management, balance queries, FX quotes, and webhooks.

For businesses using European accounting software (DATEV, TeamSystem) or needing EBICS connectivity, Qonto's native integrations are more useful. For businesses building custom financial workflows or embedding payments into their product, Wise's developer-friendly API is more powerful.

Wise is available globally — sending to 160 countries, holding 40+ currencies, and providing local account details in 24+ currencies. EU/EEA businesses receive Belgian (BE) IBANs through Wise Europe S.A. Wise operates across the US, UK, Australia, Singapore, Japan, and most of Europe.

Qonto is focused on eight European markets: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria, and Portugal. All accounts receive French (FR) IBANs. The geographic focus is narrower but the local depth (DATEV, TeamSystem, EBICS, regional export formats) is greater.

For businesses with international operations across multiple continents, Wise's global reach is unmatched. For businesses operating within the EU that need deep local accounting integration, Qonto's focused approach is more useful.