We have made an objective overview and calculation based on the data available. We had to take a realistic scenario into consideration about the arrival date in Germany and the start of university / language course. Also, we had a close look at the Health Insurances available in the packages.
Ultimate conclusion for the realistic scenario: Expatrio is ~€13 cheaper per month compared to Fintiba and includes the best Public Student Health Insurance (Techniker Krankenkasse, TK). If you make use of the fully integrated current account (Monese, not compulsory), you can even save ~19 per month.
Below you will find the comparison for University Students. A comparison for Language Students is in the making and will be published here in August 2020.
| Coracle Prime | Expatrio Value Package | Fintiba Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BLOCKED ACCOUNT | |||
| Opening fee | €59 | €49 | €89 |
| Monthly fee | €0 | €5 | €4.90 |
| Cash-back | €0 | €49 | €0 |
| Example 1: Sum of the fees for a six months Blocked Account | €59 | €30 | €118.4 |
| Example 2: Sum of the fees for a twelve months Blocked Account | €59 | €60 | €147.8 |
| DeGiS opinion on Blocked Account | Coracle is the cheapest provider with Expatrio being €1 more expensive. Fintiba is by far the most expensive provider. | ||
| CURRENT ACCOUNT | |||
| Current account included in package? | No, current account can be opened at any bank. | Yes, but is not mandatory, thus a current account can be opened at any bank. | No, current account can be opened at any bank. |
| Current account pricing | n/a | Free Monese "Classic" plan will be free of charge (usually €5.95 p.m.) | n/a |
| DeGiS opinion on current account | Expatrio is offering the opening of a current account from abroad simultaneously while opening the Blocked Account. This is a convenient feature, Fintiba and Coracle do not offer. | ||
| PROVIDER & PRICING FOR STUDENT HEALTH INSURANCE | |||
| Public Health Insurance provider | Choice between Barmer, HEK or TK | Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) | DAK |
| Rating of Public Health Insurance provider by Focus Money (17/2019) and German Finance-Service Institute (DFSI) | Focus Money (17/20) has awarded TK as the "Best Health Insurance for Students" (86,1%), HEK on 2nd place (79,7%), DAK on 9th place (69,6), Barmer far behind on 15th (65,4%). TK also awarded as "Best German Health Insurance Fund" (Focus Money 07/20) | ||
| Example 1: Pricing student below 23 | Barmer €106,91 p.m. HEK €106,17 p.m. TK e103,94 p.m. | TK €103,94 p.m. | DAK €109,89 p.m. |
| Exaple 2: Pricing student above 23, no children | Barmer €108,77 p.m. HEK €108,03 TK €105,80 p.m. | TK €105,80 p.m. | DAK €111,75 |
| Important information on pricing of Public Health Insurance | The pricing is regulated by the German Government. However as provided, not all contributions are the same, with TK having a clear advantage compared to DAK. TK is also independently awarded. | ||
| Private Health Insurance available? | No information provided | Yes, DR-WALTER EDUCARE (S starting from €33 p.m.) and Care Concept College (Basic starting from €28 p.m.) | Yes, Mawista Student (Classic from €33.10 p.m.) |
| Important information on private Health Insurance coverage for students | Please be advised that the tariffs mentioned above may not cover all the treatments you wish to have covered. Please also pay attention that depending on the local Foreigners Office handling the residence permit application, the above-mentioned tariffs might not be accepted as they do not qualify as a so-called “substitutive” health insurance, so basically they do not offer the coverage on the same level as the public health insurance. Therefore, DeGiS always recommends concluding a “substitutive” private health insurance for a stay of more than 90 days as presented below. | ||
| Substitutive Private Student Health Insurance available | No information provided | Yes, the tariff "Care Concept Student" is available on request. | No information provided |
| DeGiS opinion on provider and pricing for student health insurance | Expatrio is the only provider offering a special substitutive tariff for students with Care Concept. | ||
| PROVIDER & PRICING FOR TRAVEL HEALTH INSURANCE | |||
| Travel Health Insurance provider | ERV ERGO | DR-WALTER | Mawista |
| Name of tarriff | 220318, 221318 | Provisit group insurance | Visum |
| Pricing for Travel Health Insurace | Free for up to 90 days, worth €58. | Free for up to 92 days, worth €69. | Free for up to 92 days, worth €95. |
| Insurance confirmation validity | No information provided | 185 days | 183 days |
| Travel Health Insurance optional? | Yes | Yes | No |
| Travel Health Insurance cancelled with beginning of semester/language course? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Important information on pricing for Travel Health Insurance | The free Travel Health Insurance is a great plus in the packages. However, the insurance coverage is only needed and therefore only provided for the period of arriving to Germany and the start of the university / language course. | ||
| DeGiS opinion on provider and pricing for Travel health insurance | The Travel Health Insurance is free in all packages and used in the marketing as the differentiating factor. It has however to be calculated on a daily basis, which you can find in the more realistic calculation below. | ||
| ADDITIONAL BENEFITS | |||
| ISIC card for free for University students? | No | Yes, for one year | Yes, for three years |
| Liability insurance fro free? | No | No, but can be concluded separately for €21 p.a.. | No, but can be concluded separately for €55 p.a. |
| Upgrade possible from Blocked Account to bundle? | Yes, manual via Email | Yes, in log-in portal | Yes, in log-in portal |
Before going into detail, we are happy to share the results of the comparison:
| Coracle Prime | Expatrio Value Package | Fintiba Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| MANDATORY PRODUCTS | |||
| Blocked Account | €59 | €60 | €147.8 |
| Current Account1 | €0 | €-71.4 | €0 |
| Travel Health Insurance (92 days) | €-58 | €-69 | €-95 |
| Public Student Health Insurance | €1247.28 (TK) | €1247.28 (TK) | €1318.68 (DAK) |
| ADDITIONAL BENEFITS | |||
| ISIC card | €0 | €-15 | €-15 |
| Conclusion | abc | ||
| Sum for one year | €1248.28 | €1151.88 | €1356.48 |
| COMPARISON | |||
| If you compare Expatrio to Coracle, with Expatrio you can save | €96.40 | ||
| If you compare Coracle with Fintiba, with Coracle you can save | €108.20 | ||
| If you compare Expatrio with Fintiba, with Expatrio you can save | €204.60 | ||
| If you compare Expatrio with Fintiba and deduct the Monese Current Account, with Expatrio you still save | €133,20 | ||
This has been shared already above in the “spoiler”, but is repeated here as a conclusion again:
Ultimate conclusion for the realistic scenario (10 days): Expatrio is ~€13 cheaper per month compared to Fintiba and includes the best Public Student Health Insurance (TK). If you make use of the fully integrated current account (Monese, not compulsory), you can even save ~19 per month.
| Coracle Prime | Expatrio Value Package | Fintiba Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| MANDATORY PRODUCTS | |||
| Blocked Account | €59 | €60 | €147.8 |
| Current Account | €0 | €-71.4 | €0 |
| Travel Health Insurance (10 days) | €-6.44 | €-7.50 | €-10.33 |
| Public Student Health Insurance | €1247.28 (TK) | €1247.28 (DAK) | €1318.68 (DAK) |
| ADDITIONAL BENEFITS | |||
| ISIC card | 0 | -15 | -15 |
| Sum for one year | €1299.84 | €1213.38 | €1441.15 |
| COMPARISON | |||
| If you compare Expatrio to Coracle, with Expatrio you can save | €86.46 | ||
| If you compare Coracle with Fintiba, with Coracle you can save | €141.32 | ||
| If you compare Expatrio with Fintiba, with Expatrio you can save | €227.77 | ||
| If you compare Expatrio with Fintiba and deduct the Monese Current Account, with Expatrio you still save | €156.37 | ||
| CONCLUSION for the realistic scenario (10 days) | Expatrio is ~€13 cheaper p.m. compared to Fintiba and includes the best public health insurance (TK) and a fully integrated current account (Monese). | ||
DeGiS gGmbH
Friedrichstraße 194
10117 Berlin
