Brex vs N26: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
A full-year revenue figure is unavailable here for Brex. N26 had ~$566.8M of annual revenue in FY2025 and ~$1.8M of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Brex
Brex never published audited results as a private company. Sacra estimates annualized revenue slowed to $312 million in 2022, growing 30%, while the company was reportedly burning about $22 million a month. After the January 2024 restructuring, growth picked up: Brex said in February 2025 that enterprise revenue rose 80% with net revenue retention near 140%, and Sacra estimates total annualized revenue reached $700 million in August 2025, up 50%. Brex turned operating-cash-flow positive for the first time in October 2025, according to Sacra. Before the sale it raised about $2.3 billion in equity. Capital One paid $5.15 billion, roughly 58% below the $12.3 billion valuation of 2021.
N26
N26 burned through heavy losses for most of its first decade, with cumulative losses of roughly $1.13 billion (€1 billion) through 2024 as the BaFin growth cap coincided with the ECB rate-hike cycle. The turn came in 2024, when it posted its first quarterly profit in Q3, and 2025 delivered the first full-year profit: revenue rose 13% to ~$567 million (€501.6 million), gross profit rose 33% to ~$396 million (€350.5 million) and net income swung from a ~$47.5 million (€42.0 million) loss to a ~$1.81 million (€1.6 million) profit. Preliminary Q1 2026 figures showed ~$147 million (€130.0 million) in revenue and ~$11.1 million (€9.8 million) in net income, and management expects to stay profitable in 2026. N26 GmbH is a massive German digital challenger bank operating across Europe, commanding a private market valuation of approximately $9 billion.
Revenue and profit by year
Brex
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 run-rate | $700M | — | — | — | Source |
| FY2024 run-rate | $466.7M | — | — | — | Source |
| FY2022 run-rate | $312M | — | — | — | Source |
N26
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | ~$566.8M | ~$1.8M | 0.3% | +12.6% | Source |
| FY2024 | ~$503.3M | ~-$47.5M | -9.4% | +42.1% | Source |
| FY2023 | ~$354.3M | ~-$115.7M | -32.7% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Brex
- Card interchange
Majority (undisclosed)
Fees paid by merchants' banks when customers use Brex corporate cards. Sacra estimates gross take of about 2.7% of card volume before partner costs.
- Software subscriptions
Growing share (undisclosed)
Brex Premium at $12 per user per month, plus enterprise contracts for spend management, approvals, travel and accounting automation.
- Cash management and payments
Undisclosed
Fees from partner banks and funds that hold customer cash in Brex Business Accounts, and transaction revenue from bill pay.
N26
- Net fee and commission income
53% of gross profit (2025)
Mostly premium subscriptions (Smart, Go and Metal) and card interchange on ~$193 billion (€170.7 billion) of transaction volume. ~$208 million (€184.2 million).
- Net interest income
47% of gross profit (2025)
Interest on deposits placed with central banks and treasury assets, plus overdrafts and consumer loans. Up 49% to ~$188 million (€166.3 million).
- Investing products
Not formally reported
Trading fees on stocks, ETFs and crypto.
Business model and strategy
Brex
How it makes money
Brex makes most of its money from interchange, the fee a merchant's bank pays each time a Brex card is used. Sacra estimates Brex collects about 2.7% of card volume as gross revenue and keeps roughly 65% gross margin after paying its issuing and network partners.
Growth strategy
Brex's growth since 2024 has come from enterprise customers, international companies and partners. It serves more than 300 public companies, holds an EU payment institution licence obtained in August 2025, and distributes its cards through other software: Brex Embedded partners include Navan, Zip, Coupa and Sabre, and Brex is the default commercial card for Fifth Third Bank's commercial clients, according to Sacra.
Competitive advantage
Brex's main technical advantage is its own card-issuing stack. It integrated directly with Mastercard rather than relying on a third-party processor, which lets it issue local corporate cards, settle in local currency and reimburse employees in more than 50 countries. That matters to multinational customers such as Anthropic, Arm and Robinhood.
N26
How it makes money
N26 earns money from two roughly equal engines. Net fee and commission income, mostly premium subscriptions (Smart, Go and Metal tiers) and card interchange on ~$193 billion (€170.7 billion) of 2025 transaction volume, reached ~$208 million (€184.2 million), or 53% of 2025 gross profit.
Growth strategy
After leaving the UK in 2020 and the US in early 2022, N26 concentrates on continental Europe, with Germany, France, Spain and Italy as core markets. Growth now comes from converting free users into primary-bank and paying customers, cross-selling savings, investing and credit, and scaling efficiently so that revenue growth turns into profit.
Competitive advantage
N26 pairs a full German banking license with a product built only for the phone. Holding its own license since 2016 lets it take deposits covered by German statutory deposit protection up to €100,000, lend through overdrafts and consumer credit, and passport services across 24 markets without a sponsor bank.
Questions about Brex vs N26
Which company has higher revenue — Brex Inc. or N26?
N26 had ~$566.8M (FY2025). A comparable annual revenue figure for Brex Inc. was unavailable here.
How does revenue per employee compare for Brex Inc. and N26?
N26 generates $354k / employee in revenue per employee. A comparable figure for Brex Inc. requires matching employee and revenue data from the same reporting period.
How do Brex Inc. and N26 make money?
Brex Inc. and N26 generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Brex Inc.: Brex makes most of its money from interchange, the fee a merchant's bank pays each time a Brex card is used. N26: N26 earns money from two roughly equal engines.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Brex vs N26 overview