Qonto is Europe’s leading business finance platform for SMEs and freelancers. Alexandre Prot and Steve Anavi founded it in 2016 in Paris after experiencing firsthand how frustrating traditional business banking was for small companies in France.
The platform handles business accounts, corporate cards, expense management, bookkeeping automation, and accounts payable from a single dashboard. Teams can issue physical and virtual cards with custom spending limits, and every transaction is automatically categorized and matched to receipts via OCR. The accounting export feature generates files ready for import into major European accounting software.
Qonto acquired Penta (a German business banking competitor) in 2022, instantly gaining a foothold in Germany’s market. The company also operates in Spain, Italy, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Portugal. Each market gets localized features — VAT handling, local payment methods, and compliance with country-specific regulations.
Pricing tiers start at €9/month for freelancers and solo entrepreneurs, scaling up to €299/month for larger teams needing advanced features like multi-approval workflows, API access, and dedicated account management. The per-seat model means costs grow predictably with team size.
Qonto raised €552 million in a 2022 Series D at a €4.4 billion valuation, making it one of Europe’s most valuable fintechs. The company serves over 500,000 businesses and processes billions in transactions annually. Unlike many neobanks chasing consumers, Qonto’s exclusive focus on business customers gives it deeper domain expertise and higher revenue per user.
