Zilveren Kruis vs Menzis 2026: which Dutch health insurer fits you
The widest provider network against the member-owned cooperative, separated by €2,70 a month
The short answer
Menzis Basis Voordelig (€151,25/mo) is €2,70 a month cheaper than Zilveren Kruis Basis Start (€153,95/mo), which works out at €32,40 over a year. That is the entire price story at the standard excess, and it is small enough that it should not decide anything on its own.
The real difference is the network. Zilveren Kruis is the largest health insurer in the Netherlands and holds the widest set of hospital and clinic contracts. On a naturapolis that matters, because going outside the contracted network leaves you paying a share of the bill yourself. Menzis is a member-owned cooperative with a narrower network and Dutch phone support.
Bottom line: take Menzis if you are healthy, price-sensitive and stay inside the Randstad. Take Zilveren Kruis if you already have a specialist, live further out, expect to use hospital care, or want a moderate voluntary excess, where it is the cheaper of the two because Menzis pays no discount below the €885 maximum.
Table of contents
Provider network and policy type
This is the part most people skip and later regret. On a naturapolis, your insurer has negotiated prices with a specific list of hospitals, clinics and therapists. Treatment inside that list is covered in full after your excess. Treatment outside it is reimbursed at roughly 75 percent of the contracted rate, and you pay the remainder.
Zilveren Kruis, as the biggest insurer in the country and part of Achmea, has the widest contracted network of the two by a clear margin. Menzis contracts a narrower set. Neither is a problem if you are young, healthy and living in a large city where almost everything is contracted by everyone. It becomes a real cost the moment you need a specific clinic.
When the network matters
- You already see a specialist and want to keep them
- You live outside the Randstad, where choice is thinner
- You have a chronic condition needing ongoing treatment
- You expect planned surgery in the next year
When it does not
- You are young, healthy and use only a huisarts
- You live in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht or The Hague
- You are in the Netherlands for a year or two at most
GP visits are free either way
Whichever you pick, visits to your huisarts do not count against your eigen risico and cost you nothing extra. The Dutch system uses the GP as a gatekeeper deliberately, so the network question only bites once you are referred onwards.
Zilveren Kruis
Largest Dutch insurer · Achmea group
€153,95/mo
Basis Start (natura). Also Basis Zeker (€159,25) and Basis Exclusief combinatiepolis (€176,45). Dutch support only.
- Widest contracted provider network in the Netherlands
- Most consistent eigen risico discount at €3/mo per €100
- Basis Exclusief is a genuine combinatiepolis
- Highest entry premium of the two
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The eigen risico discount gap
Every Dutch resident carries a compulsory €385 excess in 2026, set by law and identical at every insurer. You may raise it voluntarily in €100 steps up to €885 in total, and in exchange the insurer lowers your monthly premium. How much they lower it is entirely their choice, and this is where the two diverge sharply.
Zilveren Kruis reduces the premium by a flat €3 per month for every extra €100 of excess, at every step. Menzis takes the opposite approach: it gives no discount at all at the intermediate levels of €485, €585 and €685, then jumps to €17,50 a month if you go all the way to €885.
That produces a genuinely odd result. Menzis is cheaper at the standard excess and cheaper again at the maximum, but Zilveren Kruis wins everywhere in between. At €685 excess, Zilveren Kruis costs €144,95 against Menzis at €151,25, a €6,30 monthly advantage. If you want a moderate excess rather than an extreme one, that reverses the usual ranking.
| Total excess | ZK Basis Start | Menzis Basis Voordelig | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| €385 (standard) | €153,95 | €151,25 | Menzis by €2,70 |
| €485 | €150,95 | €151,25 | Zilveren Kruis by €0,30 |
| €685 | €144,95 | €151,25 | Zilveren Kruis by €6,30 |
| €885 (maximum) | €138,95 | €133,75 | Menzis by €5,20 |
Do the arithmetic before you take the gamble
Going from €385 to €885 saves you €180 a year in premium and exposes you to €500 more risk. You are ahead only if you use less than €180 of non-GP care in the year, and badly behind if you need one unexpected scan or minor procedure. It is a sensible bet for a healthy person with savings, and a poor one for anyone with a condition or a tight buffer.
Note that neither insurer offers the largest discount in the Dutch market. Univé and UnitedConsumers cut around €22 a month at the €885 maximum, comfortably ahead of both. If the excess discount is your main lever, widen the search beyond these two using our full comparison.
Whichever you choose, check whether you qualify for zorgtoeslag, the healthcare allowance. It is worth up to about €131 a month and is unaffected by which insurer you pick.
Dental, physiotherapy and abroad cover
Adult dental care and most physiotherapy sit outside the basic package entirely, at every Dutch insurer. If you want either, you buy an aanvullend (supplementary) module on top. This is where the two insurers actually compete, because the basic package cannot differ by law.
Zilveren Kruis aanvullend modules
| Module | Monthly | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Basis Plus Module | €2,25 | Treatment abroad at 100% of the local rate, repatriation, €10.000 dental accident cover |
| Start Zorg & Tand 1 | €11,95 | 1 check-up, 20 minutes hygiene, €75 fillings, 3 physiotherapy sessions |
| Start Zorg & Tand 2 | €15,95 | 2 check-ups, €150 fillings, 6 physiotherapy sessions |
| Aanvullend 1 to 4 sterren | €10,50 to €74,25 | On Basis Zeker: 8, 12, 20 or 32 physiotherapy sessions. Three stars and above add orthodontics to €2.000-€2.500 after a one-year wait |
The €2,25 module is the one most expats miss
If you travel home regularly or take holidays outside the Netherlands, the Basis Plus Module at €2,25 a month is the single best-value line on either insurer's menu. It covers treatment abroad at the local rate and includes repatriation, which the basic package does not. That is €27 a year against a medical evacuation bill that runs into five figures.
Menzis publishes its own aanvullend ladder with comparable dental and physiotherapy tiers. Because supplementary packages are the one place insurers genuinely differ, compare the specific module you need rather than the headline premium. Our Menzis vs VinkVink comparison breaks the Menzis packages down in more detail.
Menzis
Member-owned cooperatieve
€151,25/mo
Basis Voordelig (natura). Also Basis (€156,25) and Basis Vrij combinatiepolis (€175,75). Dutch phone support on 088-222 40 40.
- Cheapest of the two at entry level
- Member-owned, no external shareholders
- Phone support rather than chat-only
- Narrower contracted network than Zilveren Kruis
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Who should choose Zilveren Kruis
- You want the widest hospital access. The largest network in the country, which is the one thing a naturapolis cannot give you retrospectively.
- You want a moderate voluntary excess. At €485, €585 or €685 Zilveren Kruis is genuinely cheaper than Menzis, which pays no discount at all until the €885 maximum. At €685 the gap is €6,30 a month in Zilveren Kruis' favour.
- You travel often. The €2,25 Basis Plus Module with repatriation is unusually cheap for what it covers.
- You live outside the big four cities, where a narrow network is felt much more sharply.
Skip it if: you are purely price-driven at standard excess, since it carries the highest entry premium in our whole comparison, or if you need English-language service, which it does not really offer.
Who should choose Menzis
- You want a lower premium at standard excess. €2,70 a month is not much, but it is real and it compounds across a household.
- You prefer talking to a person. Phone support on 088-222 40 40, which the cheaper digital insurers do not provide at all.
- The cooperative model appeals to you. Member-owned rather than answerable to shareholders.
- You live in a major city and are healthy enough that network breadth is theoretical rather than practical.
Skip it if: you need a specific hospital or specialist, or you want the deepest possible discount for carrying a high excess. Also worth knowing that Menzis owns VinkVink, its own digital brand, which sells the identical basic cover for €142,40 if you can live without phone support.
Not convinced by either?
These two are the large traditional insurers. If English-language service matters more to you than network breadth, FBTO handles it noticeably better at €148,75. If you only want the lowest premium, VinkVink sells Menzis-backed cover for €142,40 with chat-only support. Zorgkiezer compares the whole Dutch market in one place, including insurers we do not cover individually.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zilveren Kruis or Menzis cheaper in 2026?
It depends entirely on your excess. At the standard €385, Menzis Basis Voordelig at €151,25 beats Zilveren Kruis Basis Start at €153,95 by €2,70 a month. At the €885 maximum, Menzis is still ahead at €133,75 against €138,95. But in between, Zilveren Kruis wins: it cuts €3 a month for every extra €100, while Menzis gives nothing at €485, €585 or €685. At a €685 excess, Zilveren Kruis costs €144,95 against €151,25, so it is €6,30 a month cheaper.
Does Zilveren Kruis or Menzis have the better provider network?
Zilveren Kruis. As the largest Dutch health insurer and part of the Achmea group, it holds the widest set of contracts with hospitals and clinics in the Netherlands. This matters on a naturapolis, where treatment at a non-contracted provider is only partly reimbursed. If you already have a specialist, live outside the Randstad, or expect hospital treatment, the wider network is worth more than the €2,70 monthly saving.
What is the difference between a naturapolis and a combinatiepolis?
On a naturapolis the insurer contracts providers directly and reimburses roughly 75 percent if you go elsewhere. Zilveren Kruis Basis Start and Basis Zeker are both naturapolissen. A combinatiepolis gives you free choice of provider at close to full reimbursement, for a higher premium. Zilveren Kruis Basis Exclusief (€176,45) and Menzis Basis Vrij (€175,75) are the free-choice tiers at each insurer, and they sit within a euro of each other.
Do either of them offer English-language support?
Not properly. Menzis operates Dutch phone support on 088-222 40 40 and Zilveren Kruis is Dutch-language across its channels. Neither is a good fit if you need to handle a complex claim in English. FBTO and ASR handle English noticeably better in practice, and are worth comparing before you commit if language is your deciding factor.
Is the €385 eigen risico different between the two?
No. The €385 compulsory excess for 2026 is set by Dutch law and is identical at every insurer in the country. Only the voluntary top-up above it varies, in €100 steps to a maximum of €885 total. What differs is the monthly discount each insurer gives for taking that extra risk. Zilveren Kruis is the most consistent, at a flat €3 per €100. Menzis pays nothing until you reach the maximum, then gives €17,50. Neither is the market leader on this: Univé and UnitedConsumers cut around €22 a month at €885.
Can I switch from Menzis to Zilveren Kruis mid-year?
Generally no. The Dutch switching window runs from mid-November to 31 December, with cover starting 1 January. You cancel the old policy by 31 December and take out the new one by 31 January. Outside that window you can normally only switch after a qualifying life event. Both insurers must accept you for the basic package regardless of health, so there is no medical screening on the basisverzekering.
Menzis is a cooperative. Does that change anything for me?
In practice, very little on the basic package, which is legally identical everywhere. Menzis being a cooperatieve means it is member-owned rather than shareholder-owned, so surpluses are meant to flow back into premiums and services rather than dividends. Zilveren Kruis sits inside Achmea, a much larger commercial group. It is a genuine philosophical difference, but it does not change your cover.
Official sources
Premiums are the 2026 figures published by each insurer and change every November for the following year. Verify before you commit.
- • Government.nl: how the Dutch health insurance obligation works, in English
- • Rijksoverheid: the statutory basic package and the eigen risico for 2026
- • Toeslagen (Belastingdienst): zorgtoeslag eligibility and current amounts
Related health insurance guides
Compare the rest of the Dutch market before you settle on one.
Dutch health insurance rules
The four-month deadline, CAK fines and how the system works
Full insurer comparison
Every insurer we cover, ranked by premium
Menzis vs VinkVink
The same company at two prices, €151,25 against €142,40
VinkVink vs FBTO
Cheapest digital option against the best English support
Switching insurer
The November to December window and how to use it
Dutch healthcare system
Huisarts, hospitals, apotheek and emergency care