What the French paperwork actually expects
The rule catches people off guard. If you sell goods or run a commercial activity, a dedicated business account is required from day one, whatever your turnover. For service and craft activities, it becomes compulsory once revenue passes €10,000 for two consecutive years. Plenty of freelancers stay under that line and keep using a personal account, which works until a URSSAF check asks them to rebuild a year of turnover from a mixed statement.
The second obstacle is timing. Traditional banks often want a SIREN before they will open an account, while the business needs the account to receive payments. Online providers solve this by accepting the temporary SIRET printed on your URSSAF confirmation receipt, which breaks the loop. That single detail explains why so many new micro-entrepreneurs end up on a digital platform first and move to a branch later.
Documents matter more than marketing. For a sole trader, an INSEE avis de situation is widely accepted, while the extrait K that branch staff usually request is refused by some digital providers. Getting this wrong costs days. A freelance translator in Nantes, Camille, lost a week because she uploaded an extrait K to an online provider that only accepted the INSEE version.
There is a third deadline worth knowing. Every business must be able to receive electronic invoices from September 2026, and smaller companies must issue them from September 2027. Providers that bundle an approved e-invoicing platform into the account save you from stitching two tools together later.
Comparing the main options
Prices below are quoted the way French business pricing is usually published: excluding VAT. Do not add 20% automatically, because part of banking fees is exempt.
| Provider | Entry price | IBAN | Strong fit | Watch for |
|---|
| Qonto | €9 excl. VAT/month on a 12-month term, €11 month to month | French | SASU, startups, small teams needing cards and accounting exports | €10 excl. VAT per extra admin after the two included on the Smart plan |
| Shine | €0/month entry plan | French | Freelancers and micro-entrepreneurs who invoice from the app | Five SEPA transfers included monthly, then €0.40 excl. VAT each |
| Indy | €0/month | French | Sole traders who want bookkeeping in the same place | No foreign currency transfers yet |
| Revolut Business | Tiered monthly plans | Local EUR details in several countries | Frequent international payments, no cap on team members | Currency exchange allowance depends on the plan |
| Wise Business | €0 to open, one-time €60 for account details | Multi-currency local details | Paying suppliers outside the eurozone | Up to 10 working days for verification, often one or two |
| Traditional bank, for example Hello bank! Pro | Around €10.90/month | French | Overdrafts, credit lines, cash deposits | Business credit usually reserved for clients past six months |
Qonto remains the default choice for anyone who expects to hire. The interface is in French, expense limits can be set per card, and it connects to French accounting software and tax filings. The trade-off is that the entry plan covers one user, and a team of four quickly pays more in seats than in subscription.
Shine suits the solo consultant who wants invoicing, quotes and an approved e-invoicing platform in one place. A RIB typically arrives within 24 hours. Beyond the included transfers, each additional one costs €0.40 excl. VAT, which matters little at 20 transfers a month and a lot at 200.
Indy is the cheapest online business bank account for micro-entrepreneurs who mainly need a clean separation between personal and professional spending. No monthly fee, unlimited transfers, a Mastercard. What it does not do is send money in dollars or yuan.
For cross-border work, Wise Business charges once for account details and then moves money at rates close to the interbank level. Revolut Business goes further on team controls and bulk payments. A two-person e-commerce outfit in Bordeaux imports from Shenzhen and pays in dollars every month. They keep Wise for supplier payments and a French IBAN account for local clients, and their accountant reconciles both from exports rather than screenshots.
Nothing here replaces a branch if you need an overdraft. Qonto offers one up to €5,000 at 17.5% annual percentage rate, and longer loans run through partners. A bakery in Toulouse with seasonal cash swings still needs a physical bank, and that is a legitimate reason to keep both.
The costs that show up after month three
Subscription is the visible number. Everything else arrives quietly. Extra users cost between €5 and €10 excl. VAT each per month. Non-SEPA transfers carry a fixed fee plus a percentage, and Qonto charges 0.8% with a €5 minimum on dollar transfers under its entry plans. Cash deposits are capped per deposit at many providers, and paying in capital declaration fees are separate: €69 excl. VAT at Qonto and Shine, nothing at Indy or Manager.one for a single-partner SASU or EURL.
Sarah, a marketing consultant in Lyon, ran the numbers before choosing. She compared two plans across 12 months, added the card she needed and the second user who joined in spring, and found the annual commitment saved €24 over the flexible option. Small money. But she also caught a cash deposit fee she would have paid four times a year.
How to open one without losing a week
- Register first on the guichet unique and download your avis de situation from the INSEE Sirene directory. This is the document most digital providers ask for.
- Match documents to the provider before you apply. Companies need an extrait Kbis under three months and proof of the registered office; sole traders need the INSEE notice or the URSSAF attestation.
- Count your users and your transfers before picking a plan, not after. The subscription is rarely the expensive part.
- Check that the account connects to your accounting tool, then hand the exports to your accountant quarterly. Many micro-entrepreneurs in France pay €300 to €500 a year for a first-year accountant to review declarations, and clean exports keep that fee at the low end.
One more habit helps. Keep the business account for business only, even under the €10,000 threshold. When revenue grows past the limit, you will already have the statements, the invoices and the history a bank wants to see.
Start with the document, not the app. Pull your INSEE notice, list the transfers and users you actually expect, and the right online business bank account in France becomes fairly obvious. Most providers let you upgrade a plan later, but switching accounts mid-year is the part nobody enjoys.
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