Information about A-kasse and Dagpenge

In Denmark there are 22 Unemployment Insurance Funds.
Danish unemployment insurance funds (in Danish: A-kasse) are private non-profit institutions that are supported by the state.

You need to be a member of an A-kasse to be eligible for Unemployment benefits ("Dagpenge"). However it is not enough to be a member, also other requirements apply.

Of the 22 A-kasser some only take members from certain occupations/within certain professions.
Some others are in principle open for anyone, but target specific groups of employees, examples are "CA A-kasse" (individuals with business-related higher education) and AJKS (journalists).

The rest are interdisciplinary and accept any employees or self-employed as members. This means that no matter your profession you can apply for membership with these A-kasser or if you are already a member of an A-kasse, you can always switch A-kasse to an interdisciplinary A-kasse.

In the table below you will find those interdisciplinary A-kasser where it says "anyone" in the column "for whom", or you can read our article about the interdisciplinary A-kasser.

Are you in doubt about which A-kasse suits your job/education best, then you can have a look at our list over the typical members in the different A-kasser.

Tabel: A-kasser in Denmark 2023
A-kasseFor whomPrice
/month
2023
Pros and
Cons
Has an office
in these
cities
Members dev. in 2023/
Members as of 01/07/23
Sign Up
online/
Read more
A-kassen Frie
Anyone498Pros: cheap Union, TrustScore 4.8/5Odense + meeting places by appointment -1.5%
37,842
(ad link)
Sign Up
online

about Frie
FTF A-kasse
Anyone472Pros: cheap, has few complaints, TrustScore 4.3/5
Cons: no Union
Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense, Aalborg, Herning, Kolding and Næstved 2.5%
139,353
(ad link)
Sign Up
online

about FTFa
Ase A-kasse
Anyone514Pros: TrustScore 4.5/5, cheap union, high quality in guidance. Free Union the first 6 months (seen 16/08).Copenhagen + meeting places by appointment 0.3%
135,098
(ad link)
Sign Up
online

about ASE
DFH A-kasse
Anyone485Pros: DK's cheapest A-kasse with Union, best price trend, and most new members. Free Union the first 6 months (seen 16/08).Esbjerg, Kolding, Herning, Aarhus, Aalborg, Odense, Ringsted, Copenhagen and Hillerød. 3.3%
176,953
(ad link)
Sign Up
online

about DFH
Min A-kasse
Anyone490Pros: cheap, TrustScore 4.5/5
Cons: no Union
Aalborg, Aarhus, Fredericia, Næstved, Copenhagen and Odense 0.0%
81,987
(ad link)
Sign Up
online

about Min A-kasse
3F A-kasse
Some
profes-
sions
524Pros: Strong Union (if you buy Union together with A-kasse)
Cons: is expensive
3F has branches throughout the country 0.0%
208,101
Find out
more

about 3F A-kasse
MA A-kasse
Anyone502Cons: has more complaints than average, no unionCopenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg and Odense 3.6%
69,977
(ad link)
Sign Up
online

about MA A-kasse
HK A-kasse
Some
profes-
sions
517Pros: TrustScore 4.3/5
Cons: has more complaints than average, is expensive
HK has branches throughout the country -0.2%
166,826
Find out
more

about HK A-kasse
ajks
Journa-
lists
468Pros: good price trend, cheap
Cons: no Union
Copenhagen and Aarhus 0.5%
23,244
Find out
more

about AJKS
DSA
Some
profes-
sions
457Pros: DK's cheapest A-kasse, has few complaints
Cons: no Union, gets criticism for case handling and guidance
Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg, Fredericia 2.0%
91,506
Find out
more

about DSA A-kasse
BUPL-A
One
profession
One
profes-
sion
470Pros: cheap, has few complaints
Cons: gets criticism for case handling
BUPL has branches throughout the country 1.8%
55,462
Find out
more

about BUPL A-kasse
Lærer
One
profession
One
profes-
sion
4755 cities, including Copenhagen, Aalborg, Aarhus 1.2%
68,672
Find out
more

about Lærer A-kasse
SL A-kasse
One
profession
One
profes-
sion
47310 cities, including Copenhagen, Aarhus, Esbjerg, Odense 0.6%
33,071
Find out
more

about SL A-kasse
Teknikernes
A-kasse
Some
profes-
sions
520Cons: is expensive9 cities, including Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg, Odense -0.8%
20,387
Find out
more

about TL A-kasse
FOA A-kasse
Some
profes-
sions
519Cons: is expensiveFOA has branches throughout the country -0.4%
129,810
Find out
more

about FOA A-kasse
METAL-A
Some
profes-
sions
522Cons: is expensive, has more complaints than averageMETAL has branches throughout the country -0.5%
61,925
Find out
more

about Metal A-kasse
Din Faglige
A-kasse
Some
profes-
sions
525Pros: has few complaints
Cons: is expensive
12 cities, including Copenhagen, Aalborg, Aarhus -0.5%
32,528
Find out
more

about FAK
NNF A-kasse
Some
profes-
sions
532Cons: poor price trend, is expensive, has many complaints13 cities, including Copenhagen, Ringsted, Rønne -2.9%
15,351
Find out
more

about NNF A-kasse
Lederne
A-kasse
ManagersMana-
gers
482Copenhagen + meeting places by appointment in 6 cities 0.8%
123,791
(ad link)
Sign Up
online

about Lederne
Akademiker
AcademicsAcade-
mics
4677 cities, including Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg, Odense 3.7%
252,978
(ad link)
Sign Up
online

about AKA A-kasse
Krifa
A-kasse
Anyone507Cons: has lost members in the last 5 years, is expensive14 cities, including Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg, Odense -2.0%
148,516
Find out
more

about
Krifa
CA A-kasse
Business
academics
Busi-
ness
acade-
mics
505Aalborg, Aarhus, Kolding, Odense, Gentofte 2.3%
57,484
(ad link)
Sign Up
online

about CA A-kasse

Number of members are from Styrelsen for Arbejdsmarked og Rekruttering's annual estimates of the number of members. Students with free membership are not included.

Main topics about A-kasse

Transferring periods of work and insurance from another EEA CountryAs an EU citizen you can transfer acquired rights from Unemployment Insurance between EU contries. Be aware that there are some requirements and deadlines that are important to meet. And you have to use a PD U1 Form. Read more here..
Transferring unemployment benefitsUnder certain conditions you can go to another EU country to look for work and continue to receive your unemployment benefits from the country where you became unemployed. And you have to use a PD U2 Form. Read more here..
Unemployment benefits ("dagpenge")Remember you have to be member of an A-kasse for 1 year before you can claim Unemployment benefits ("dagpenge"). And you must meet the income-requirement. Read more here..
International graduatesGraduates in Denmark can get Unemployment benefits from the first day after graduation, if they have been member as student of an A-kasse for at least 1 year. Read more...
Residence CardIf you are a non-EU citizen you must have a residence Card which allows you to take any job with one day notice. This is because you must be available for the labor market for being eligible for unemployment benefits ("dagpenge").
Membership fee and taxYou will automatically get a deduction in your tax for your fee to the A-kasse and trade union. There is no ceiling on the amount you can get a deduction for when it comes to contributions to A-kasse, whereas you can get a maximum deduction of DKK 6,000 for a trade union.