Revolut Metal vs Standard 2026 — Which Plan Is Worth It?

TL;DR

Revolut offers four consumer plans in 2026: Standard (free), Premium (€7.99/mo), Metal (€13.99/mo), and Ultra (€45/mo). Standard caps fee-free FX at €1,000–2,000/month then charges 1%, gives €200/mo of free ATM withdrawals, and pays no cashback. Metal at €13.99 lifts FX to unlimited, raises ATM to €800/mo, pays 0.5–1% cashback, includes Allianz travel insurance, and gives one free LoungeKey visit per month plus €25/visit thereafter. Standard wins for casual users; Premium is the value sweet spot for moderate travelers; Metal pays for itself if you spend €5,000+/year abroad or take 4+ trips/year. Revolut runs on a Lithuanian banking license with €100,000 deposit protection.

Why This Comparison Matters

Revolut hit 50 million European users in early 2026, and a growing share of them are debating whether to upgrade beyond Standard. The plans changed meaningfully in 2024 and again in late 2025 — fee thresholds shifted, Ultra was repositioned, and Metal added Ultra-style perks at a lower price. Many users still pick a plan based on outdated 2022 information, which means they're either overpaying for perks they don't use or missing real value on the tier they could justify. This guide is current as of May 2026 and reflects pricing as published on revolut.com.

The right plan depends almost entirely on three behaviors: how much you spend in foreign currency monthly, how often you withdraw cash abroad, and how often you travel through airports. Get those three numbers right and the plan choice becomes mechanical.

This review unpacks the four 2026 plans side by side, with concrete cost examples for typical user profiles.

Key Facts at a Glance

How Each Plan's Fees Actually Hit You

Standard (Free)

Free in name but with caps that bite. Foreign currency spending is fee-free up to €1,000/month (or €2,000 in some EU markets) at the interbank weekday rate. Above the threshold, a 1% fee applies. Weekends always carry a 1% markup on less-liquid currencies. ATM withdrawals are free up to €200/month, then 2% with a €1 minimum.

Cashback on Standard is nominally 0.1% but only on selected merchants and capped — most users earn under €5/year. The Standard plan still includes virtual cards (5 of them), instant card freeze/unfreeze, transaction notifications, basic budgeting tools, peer-to-peer payments to other Revolut users, and access to the in-app crypto and stocks features (with reduced free-trade allowances). For light users — students, occasional travelers, secondary-account holders — Standard remains genuinely useful and often sufficient.

Premium (€7.99/mo)

The middle option. FX free limit jumps to €5,000/month — covers most digital nomads and frequent business travelers. ATM allowance doubles to €400. Cashback rises to 0.5% within the EEA. Basic travel insurance covers trip cancellation up to €1,000 and medical up to €100,000.

Metal (€13.99/mo)

Removes the FX cap entirely. Spend €20,000 abroad in a month and pay zero FX fees on weekday transactions. ATM allowance is €800/month. Cashback is 0.5% within EEA and 1% outside, paid in real time. Includes Allianz travel insurance with medical up to €1,000,000, trip cancellation up to €5,000, and one free LoungeKey visit per month. Beyond one visit, lounge access is €25/visit. Includes a 12-gram physical metal card in five color options (Stardust, Plum, Onyx, Slate Grey, Rose Gold).

Ultra (€45/mo)

Aimed at high earners. No weekend FX markup, €2,000/month free ATM, 1.5% cashback on all spending, unlimited lounge visits via DragonPass, more aggressive travel insurance including cancel-for-any-reason. Heavier metal card. Bundles include WeWork access, NordVPN Plus, ClassPass credits, and Tinder Gold. Generally only worth it if you spend €5,000+/month and travel 10+ times/year.

Real-World Cost Examples

The break-even between Premium and Metal sits at roughly €5,000/year in foreign spending plus 4 trips/year. The break-even between Metal and Ultra sits much higher — around €60,000–€100,000 in foreign spending and 12+ trips per year.

Card Features and Perks Side by Side

Cashback

Standard: 0.1% on rotating merchants only. Premium: 0.5% on all card spending within EEA, paid daily. Metal: 0.5% within EEA, 1% outside EEA, paid daily. Ultra: 1.5% on all card spending, paid daily.

Cashback caps apply on all plans (typically €100/month max). Cashback can be earned in any of 36 supported currencies and is convertible at interbank rates within plan limits. Many users overlook that Revolut's cashback is paid as instant card credits rather than at month-end — a small UX advantage over competitors who only credit cashback monthly. Cashback also works on virtual cards and Apple Pay tokenized transactions, not just the physical card swipe.

Card Designs

Standard: plastic, blue or pink. Premium: plastic with metallic accents, four colors. Metal: 12-gram brushed metal, five colors (Stardust, Plum, Onyx, Slate Grey, Rose Gold). Ultra: heavier metal card with engraved finish, three exclusive colors plus a luxury shipping box.

Replacement cards on Standard cost €5; on Premium and Metal, free.

Travel Insurance

Standard: none. Premium: trip cancellation €1,000, medical €100,000, baggage €500. Metal: trip cancellation €5,000, medical €1,000,000, baggage €2,000, plus winter sports cover. Ultra: same as Metal plus cancel-for-any-reason rider.

Coverage activates when at least 50% of the trip cost is paid via the Revolut card.

Lounge Access

Standard and Premium: pay-per-use via LoungeKey at €25/visit. Metal: 1 free LoungeKey visit per month (12/year), then €25/visit. Ultra: unlimited DragonPass visits including +1 guest.

Crypto, Stocks, Savings

All plans access Revolut's stock and crypto trading. Higher tiers get more free monthly trades and reduced spreads on crypto. Savings vaults pay variable interest on EUR (typically 2.5–3.5% in 2026 depending on plan and ECB rates). Standard users get one free stock trade per month; Premium gets eight; Metal gets unlimited free trades on European-listed stocks. Crypto spreads are roughly 1.99% on Standard, 1.49% on Premium, 0.99% on Metal, and 0.49% on Ultra — the difference can quickly cover the subscription delta for active crypto traders.

Joint Accounts and Family Plans

Premium, Metal, and Ultra users can open joint accounts with one or two co-holders, who get linked cards and shared budgets. Revolut Family (an add-on) lets parents issue cards to children aged 6–17 at €2.99/month per child, with parental controls, automated allowances, and Revolut Junior gamified savings goals.

Bundled Subscriptions on Ultra

Ultra includes WeWork day-pass credits, NordVPN Plus annual subscription, ClassPass monthly credits, Tinder Gold, and Financial Times Premium. Bundle value is roughly €700/year for users who would have paid for those services anyway. For users who wouldn't, the bundle is largely fluff.

Account Opening Process

Revolut sign-up is the same regardless of plan tier:

1. Download the Revolut app
2. Verify phone via SMS
3. Provide personal details and tax residency
4. Complete video KYC with passport or national ID
5. Choose a plan (you can upgrade or downgrade later from the app)
6. Order a card — virtual immediately, plastic 5–10 days, metal 7–14 days
7. Activate via app

Plan changes take effect at the next billing cycle, except for upgrades where the new plan unlocks immediately and the prorated balance is charged. Trial promotions are sometimes available — Revolut occasionally offers Premium for free for the first month or Metal for €1 for the first month, particularly during summer travel season. Many users use these trials to test the perks before committing to a year on Metal.

The metal card design choice is locked at the time of upgrade but can be changed later for a €5 reissue fee. If the metal card is lost or stolen, the first replacement is free; subsequent replacements within 12 months cost €15.

Pros and Cons

Standard

Pros: truly free, full feature access for casual use, includes virtual cards. Cons: weekend FX markup, low ATM cap, no insurance, no cashback worth speaking of.

Premium

Pros: sweet spot for moderate travelers, doubles all caps, basic insurance. Cons: still has weekend FX markup, lounge access not bundled.

Metal

Pros: unlimited fee-free FX (weekday), 1 lounge/month, comprehensive insurance, metal card. Cons: weekend markup still applies (Ultra removes this), cashback caps at €100/month.

Ultra

Pros: removes weekend markup, unlimited lounge, 1.5% cashback, premium bundles. Cons: €540/year only justified at very high spending levels.

Who Should Pick Which

Pick Standard if: you spend under €1,000/month in foreign currency, withdraw cash rarely, travel 0–2 times a year, and use Revolut as a secondary card alongside your primary domestic bank account for everyday purchases.

Pick Premium if: you spend €1,000–€5,000/month in foreign currency, take 2–4 trips a year, want some travel insurance, and value 0.5% cashback.

Pick Metal if: you spend €5,000+/month in foreign currency, take 4+ trips a year, want lounge access at least monthly, and value comprehensive Allianz coverage.

Pick Ultra if: you spend €60,000+/year in foreign currency, travel 10+ times/year, value bundled subscriptions, and want a no-thinking-required premium tier.

FAQ

Is Revolut Metal worth it for someone in Poland? Data shows that Polish users on Revolut Metal who travel 4+ times a year and spend €4,000+/month in foreign currency typically save €200–€500 a year compared to Standard. If you fit that profile, Metal pays for itself. If you mostly spend in PLN and travel once or twice a year, Premium or Standard is enough.

Are Revolut deposits protected? Yes — Revolut Bank UAB holds a Lithuanian banking license, and customer deposits are protected up to €100,000 by Lithuania's Deposit Insurance Fund. This is a real DGS scheme equivalent to Germany's EdB or the Netherlands' DGS — not the safeguarded-funds model used by some other fintechs. UK Revolut customers fall under FCA safeguarding rules instead.

Can I downgrade from Metal to Standard? Yes, at any time from the app. The downgrade takes effect at the next billing cycle. If you've already paid for the current month, the metal card stays usable until that cycle ends, then is deactivated. There's no termination fee.

Does Metal include weekend FX-free spending? No — only Ultra removes the weekend markup. On Metal, Premium, and Standard, weekend transactions in less-liquid currencies pick up a 1% surcharge. Many travelers consider this Metal's biggest weakness against Ultra.

Should I pick Revolut Metal or N26 Metal? Revolut Metal (€13.99) is cheaper, includes unlimited fee-free weekday FX, and offers richer cashback. N26 Metal (€16.90) runs on a German banking license, has stronger LoungeKey allowance (5/year free vs 12 included at €25 each on Revolut), and ships a heavier 18g card. If you travel monthly through European airports, Revolut Metal is better. If you value full German banking and rarely visit lounges, N26 Metal is better.

To track which plan is actually paying off across multiple cards and accounts, Freenance gives you multi-account expense tracking that surfaces FX fees, cashback, and ATM costs across Revolut tiers and competitor cards in one dashboard.

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Disclaimer: Revolut Bank UAB is a Lithuanian credit institution; deposits up to €100,000 are protected by the Lithuanian Deposit Insurance Fund. UK customers fall under FCA safeguarding rules. Pricing reflects publicly available 2026 plans and may vary by EU market — verify on revolut.com before signing up.