bunq vs Lydia
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
bunq
A mobile banking app offering easy account opening, budgeting tools, and investment options. Choose from various plans to manage personal or business finances, with features like contactless payments, multi-currency accounts, and travel insurance.
- Open account in 5 minutes
- Budgeting and income organizer
- Invest in stocks and crypto
- Contactless payments
- Multi-currency accounts
- Worldwide travel insurance
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Say hello to bunq – the mobile bank that's there for you at every chapter of your life! Whether exploring new countries, building your dream business, or managing family life, bunq helps you grow your wealth, spend, and budget effortlessly. Open your account in just 5 minutes and start your 30-day free trial today. Our Plans bunq Free - €0/month Get started with essential banking. • 3 Bank Accounts to get you started • 1 Digital Card with Apple Pay support • Scheduled Payments and AutoAccept for requests • Earn 3.51% interest on USD/GBP savings • Invest in stocks with ease • Buy and sell cryptocurrencies in the EEA • Save up to 90% on roaming costs with an eSIM from bunq Business features: • Accept contactless payments with Tap to Pay • Integration with 50+ bookkeeping tools bunq Core - €3.99/month A bank account for everyday use. All bunq Free benefits, plus: • 5 Bank Accounts for your everyday needs • 1 Physical Card included • Personalize your Physical Card to make it uniquely yours • Shared account access • Add loyalty cards for quick access • Unlimited ZeroFX • 24/7 SOS Hotline for emergencies Business features: • Co-founder access • Shared account access • Bookkeeping integrations bunq Pro - €9.99/month The bank account that makes budgeting easy. All bunq Core benefits, plus: • 25 Bank Accounts for effortless budgeting • 3 Physical Cards and 25 Digital Cards included • Personalized budgeting insights and income organiser • 5 fee-free foreign currency payments per month • Secondary PIN for multiple accounts on one card • 20% discount on stock trading fees • Student offer: pay €0 per month Business features: • Add up to 3 employees • Company Cards (debit or credit) and Tap to Pay access • AutoVAT bunq Elite - €18.99/month The account for your international lifestyle. All bunq Pro benefits, plus: • Worldwide Travel Insurance • 10 fee-free foreign currency payments per month • 8GB worldwide data • 50% discount on stock trading fees Business features: • Add up to 10 employees • 500 fee-free transactions per year Your security = Our priority Boost your bank security with two-factor authentication and 100% control of cards. Your deposits = Fully protected Your money is insured up to €100,000 by the Deposit Guarantee Scheme (DGS). Invest in the bunq app through our partners. Investing involves risks, including potential loss. bunq does not provide trading advice. Manage your investments at your own risk. bunq is authorized by the Dutch Central Bank (DNB). Our US office resides at 401 Park Ave S. New York, NY 10016, USA.
Lydia
Easily send and receive money with just a phone number. Create shareable money pots to collect funds quickly. This free service prioritizes security and privacy, meeting the latest banking standards.
- Send and receive money
- Money pots for group collections
- Wire transfers via phone number
- Secure and private transactions
- Free to use
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Millions of French users open Lydia each month to send and receive money and collect funds with money pots. Simple and handy, this free app will make you forget about counting pocket change and fussing with wire transfers. Make a wire transfer with just a phone number. And start collecting money right away with a shareable money pot URL available in three clicks. Lydia is a French service developed in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux and Nantes by a passionate and independent team meeting the latest banking and computer security standards, respecting your privacy and complying with the GDPR.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Lydia at 5.0 against bunq's 4.5. Lydia also leads on monetization model (free vs freemium) and review sentiment (60% vs 42%). bunq's advantage is ratings volume (1.5K vs 6). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Lydia holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: bunq has 1.5K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 42% of bunq's written reviews are positive against 60% of Lydia's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | bunq | Lydia |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (1.5K ratings) | 5.0 (6 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 42.4% of reviews | 60.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.5K — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 468 MB | 240 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | bunq | LYDIA Solutions |
Customer experience
bunq
Lydia
Bugs and requests
bunq
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes on login
- Incorrect transaction recording
- Verification issues
Requested features
3 requests- Bring back previous app design
- Improve account management features
- Provide phone-based customer support
Lydia
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
bunq
No in-app purchases
Lydia
No in-app purchases









