DEGIRO vs Trade Republic: fees, tax and protection compared
Pick Trade Republic for a monthly ETF plan at €0 per execution and automatic tax in Germany and Belgium. Pick DEGIRO if you place your own orders and want options, futures or around 50 exchanges.
| If you want… | Pick |
|---|---|
| Monthly ETF savings plan | Trade Republic €0 per execution from €1. DEGIRO has no automatic plan, so 12 manual orders cost €12 a year. |
| Tax handled for you in Germany | Trade Republic Withholds Abgeltungsteuer. DEGIRO doesn't and can't issue a German Steuerbescheinigung. |
| Options, futures and more exchanges | DEGIRO Exchange-traded options and futures, and around 50 exchanges. Trade Republic offers no exchange-traded options or futures. |
| Published currency costs | DEGIRO 0.25% via AutoFX is on the tariff sheet. Trade Republic's FX fee isn't published on its website. |
| iDEAL deposits in the Netherlands | DEGIRO iDEAL up to €50,000 per deposit. Not confirmed at Trade Republic. |
| Interest on uninvested cash | Trade Republic 2.50% variable at the Dutch branch, 2.5% in Germany. DEGIRO lists none. |
| Feature | DEGIRO | Trade Republic |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | Licensed: BaFin (Germany) | Licensed: BaFin (Germany), with ECB/SSM supervision |
| Account fee | €0 (no service fee) | €0 |
| EU stock trade | €2 + €1 handling fee on Euronext Amsterdam/Brussels; €3.90 + €1 on Xetra, Paris and most other EU exchanges | €1 per order with Best Price (Trade Republic as counterparty); €2 with Direct Price on a chosen exchange such as Xetra or Euronext; plus third-party costs and spreads |
| US stock trade | €1 + €1 handling fee (NYSE, Nasdaq) | €1 per order with Best Price; €2 with Direct Price on NYSE or Nasdaq; plus third-party costs and spreads |
| ETF savings plan | – | €0 per execution (stocks, ETFs, crypto), from €1 |
| Currency fee | 0.25% via AutoFX; manual conversion €10 + 0.25% | – |
| Investor protection | 90% of the claim, up to €20,000, if securities cannot be returned | Securities are client property held in custody, not deposits; EdB investor compensation covers 90% of claims from securities business up to €20,000 if a bank cannot return securities |
| Founded | 2013 | 2015 |
Facts checked 23 October 2026 against each provider's official fee and licence pages.
DEGIRO vs Trade Republic comes down to how you invest. If you want to put a fixed amount into an ETF every month, Trade Republic is cheaper and simpler: its savings plans cost €0 per execution and it withholds tax for German and Belgian residents. If you place your own orders and want options, futures or a wide choice of exchanges, DEGIRO gives you more.
Both are now run by German banks supervised by BaFin, and both serve the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Ireland, but not the UK. We checked every fee, licence and tax detail below on 23 October 2026. Investing involves risk, and you can get back less than you put in.
DEGIRO vs Trade Republic: the quick verdict
Trade Republic is the better choice for most European investors who buy ETFs every month. DEGIRO is the better choice for self-directed investors who want low flat fees per order, published currency costs and access to markets Trade Republic doesn’t cover.
Who should look elsewhere: if you live in Germany and don’t want to fill in Anlage KAP, avoid DEGIRO. If you want to see every cost before you trade, Trade Republic’s unpublished spreads and FX fee are a drawback. For a third option, see our Trade Republic vs Scalable Capital comparison.
What you get with a DEGIRO account
DEGIRO is a discount online broker run by the Dutch branch of the German bank flatexDEGIRO Bank SE, with access to around 50 exchanges. It offers stocks, ETFs, bonds, options, futures and, since 2025, about 20 crypto-assets via partners.
Its best feature for ETF investors is the ETF core selection: all of the more than 1,000 ETFs, ETCs and ETNs on Tradegate cost €0 commission plus a €1 handling fee per order, with no connectivity fee. There’s no account fee, no custody fee, no inactivity fee and no withdrawal fee. Dutch customers can deposit by iDEAL, up to €50,000 per deposit.
The main downside of its model is that everything is manual. There’s no automatic savings plan, so you place each monthly order yourself, and DEGIRO lists no interest on your cash. The cash sits in a separate personal account at flatexDEGIRO Bank SE with its own IBAN. Read the full DEGIRO review.
What Trade Republic offers
Trade Republic is an app-focused German bank for stocks, ETFs, bonds, crypto and savings plans, with an account that pays interest. Savings plans in stocks, ETFs and crypto cost €0 per execution and start at €1, using fractional shares.
Since 2 July 2026, one-off orders cost €1 with Best Price, where Trade Republic is the counterparty, or €2 with Direct Price on one of 30 exchanges. That replaced its old single-venue set-up after the EU ban on payment for order flow took effect on 30 June 2026. Uninvested cash earns 2.50% variable at the Dutch branch and 2.5% in Germany, both with no cap.
Trade Republic also gives you a payment card (ATM withdrawals under €100 cost €1). That’s handy for everyday banking, but it isn’t an investment feature. Read the full Trade Republic review.
DEGIRO vs Trade Republic fees: worked examples
On published fees, Trade Republic is cheaper for savings plans and for most single orders, while DEGIRO is easier to price in advance because it publishes its currency fee. Here’s what typical orders cost at each, using the Dutch tariff for DEGIRO.
| Order | DEGIRO | Trade Republic |
|---|---|---|
| €100 a month into one ETF, 12 months | 12 × €1 = €12 (core selection) | €0 + spread |
| €500 a month into one ETF, 12 months | 12 × €1 = €12 | €0 + spread |
| €1,000 Dutch stock on Euronext Amsterdam | €2 + €1 = €3 | €1 (Best Price) or €2 (Direct Price) + spread |
| €1,000 German stock | €3.90 + €1 = €4.90 on Xetra, plus €2.50 connectivity fee per year | €1 (Best Price) or €2 (Direct Price on Xetra) + spread |
| €1,000 US stock | €1 + €1 + €2.50 FX (0.25%) = €4.50, plus €2.50 connectivity fee per year | €1 + spread; FX fee not published |
In year one, the US stock costs €7.00 at DEGIRO including the €2.50 annual connectivity fee for the exchange (capped at 0.25% of your account value). At Trade Republic the €1 order fee is clear, but you can’t see the spread or currency cost in advance on its website.
Other transaction fees are low at both. Neither charges an account fee, custody fee or inactivity fee. DEGIRO charges no withdrawal fees; Trade Republic charges nothing for bank transfers out but €1 for card ATM withdrawals under €100.
ETF core selection vs Trade Republic savings plans
DEGIRO’s core selection makes single ETF trades cheap, but a savings plan is still cheaper for small, regular amounts. At €50 a month, DEGIRO costs €12 a year (2% of the €600 invested), while Trade Republic costs €0 plus the spread.
The gap shrinks as amounts grow: at €500 a month the same €12 is 0.20% of €6,000. If you prefer one larger order every quarter, DEGIRO’s €4 a year for four core-selection orders is hard to beat. Both brokers’ ETF prices include a spread, and the ETF’s own running costs come on top.
Trading platform and products
DEGIRO is a broader trading platform; Trade Republic is a simpler app. DEGIRO offers exchange-traded options and futures and around 50 exchanges, while Trade Republic’s derivatives are securitised products from partner issuers, not exchange-traded options or futures.
- Fractional shares: Trade Republic lets you invest from €1. We couldn’t confirm fractional shares at DEGIRO on an official page.
- Bonds: both offer them.
- Crypto: Trade Republic offers about 50 real coins you can transfer to an external wallet, for €1 per order plus spread. DEGIRO offers about 20 coins via tradias and Tangany for 0.29% per transaction on the Dutch tariff (0.50% in Germany).
- Private markets: Trade Republic offers ELTIFs from €1.
For a beginner, Trade Republic’s app with savings plans is the easier start. For an investor who wants to choose the exchange and order type for every trade, DEGIRO gives more control.
Regulation, protection and track record
Both brokers are supervised by BaFin, and in both your securities are held for you, separate from the bank’s own money. The difference is in their records.
| DEGIRO | Trade Republic | |
|---|---|---|
| Regulated entity | flatexDEGIRO Bank SE (BaFin); Dutch branch registered with DNB and AFM | Trade Republic Bank GmbH (BaFin, ECB); branches in NL and BE |
| Securities cover | 90% up to €20,000 (German investor compensation) | 90% up to €20,000 (EdB) |
| Cash cover | Up to €100,000 at flatexDEGIRO Bank SE | Up to €100,000 per partner bank; money market funds not covered |
| Size | More than 3 million clients (group) | More than 10 million customers (July 2026) |
DEGIRO says client securities are held by a separate special purpose vehicle. Its regulatory history is long: AFM fines in 2021 (one cut to €85,000, another set at €797,500 on appeal), a €1.05 million BaFin fine in 2023 with a special commissioner, €560,000 in 2025 for presenting services as free without a recurring fee, and €1 million in 2026 for late disclosure of inside information.
Trade Republic halted purchases of GameStop and other meme stocks on 28 January 2021, and a 2025 consumer lawsuit over its interest and deposit-protection advertising ended in a settlement with a €5,500 contractual penalty. A record of fines doesn’t by itself tell you how a broker handles client assets, but it’s part of the picture.
Tax reporting by country
Tax handling is often the deciding factor. Trade Republic does more of the work for you in Germany and Belgium; in the Netherlands both give you usable paperwork.
| Country | DEGIRO | Trade Republic |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | Jaaroverzicht for box 3; the German cash account isn’t pre-filled | Pre-filled Dutch tax return data |
| Germany | No withholding, no Steuerbescheinigung | Withholds Abgeltungsteuer automatically |
| Belgium | Withholds TOB (opt-out possible); doesn’t pay the 2026 capital gains tax | Withholds TOB, roerende voorheffing and Reynders tax since 15 September 2026 |
| Ireland | Not covered in our data | Not checked; interest is paid gross |
In Germany the difference is real money and time: with DEGIRO you declare all gains and dividends yourself at 26.375% (plus any church tax), and you claim your €1,000 Sparer-Pauschbetrag in the tax return instead of at the broker.
Customer support compared
Both offer phone support; Trade Republic adds 24/7 chat in the app. Neither states its support languages on the pages we checked, so we can’t confirm Dutch- or German-speaking staff.
- DEGIRO: help centre, phone and email per country site. Netherlands and Ireland: +31 20 261 3072; Germany: +49 69 96 755 001.
- Trade Republic: phone and live chat in the app, 24/7; complaints by email or post. Dutch branch customers can take complaints to Kifid.
We haven’t tested response times ourselves, so we don’t rate them.
Who should choose DEGIRO, and who should choose Trade Republic
The right broker depends on your country and how hands-on you are.
Choose Trade Republic if you want an automatic ETF plan from €1, you live in Germany or Belgium and want tax withheld, or you like interest on your cash. Avoid it if you need exchange-traded options or futures, or want to see spreads and FX costs before you trade.
Choose DEGIRO if you place your own orders, want around 50 exchanges or options and futures, and live in the Netherlands, where it offers iDEAL deposits and a jaaroverzicht for box 3. Avoid it if you live in Germany and want your taxes handled, or if its record of fines worries you.
For most European ETF investors with €100 to €500 a month, Trade Republic is the stronger overall choice.
More alternatives to consider
DEGIRO and Trade Republic aren’t the only low-cost options. Scalable Capital offers €0 savings plans and €0.99 orders in six countries, Interactive Brokers suits advanced investors with currency conversion at 0.03%, and Saxo’s AutoInvest is an option for Dutch and Belgian residents.
See our full rankings of the best ETF brokers in Europe, the best brokers in the Netherlands and the best brokers in Germany.
Questions people ask
Which is better, DEGIRO or Trade Republic?
For a monthly ETF plan, Trade Republic: savings plans cost €0 per execution and it withholds tax in Germany and Belgium. DEGIRO is better if you place your own orders and want options, futures or access to around 50 exchanges.
Which is better for monthly ETF investing?
Trade Republic. At €50 a month, its savings plan costs €0 over a year, while 12 manual orders in DEGIRO's ETF core selection cost €12, which is 2% of the €600 you invested. Spreads apply at both.
Can I use DEGIRO and Trade Republic together?
Yes. You can hold an account at both, for example a savings plan at Trade Republic and individual stocks or options at DEGIRO. You then track your portfolio across two apps and combine both annual statements for your tax return.
Can I transfer my investments between DEGIRO and Trade Republic?
Usually you can transfer securities between brokers instead of selling them, but we haven't verified either broker's transfer fees, so check both price lists first. Selling and buying again can trigger tax on gains, for example in Germany.
What happens if Trade Republic goes bust?
Your securities are client property held in custody, so they don't belong to the bank's estate. If they can't be returned, the German EdB scheme pays 90% of claims up to €20,000. Cash at partner banks is covered up to €100,000 per partner bank, but cash in money market funds has no deposit guarantee.
Is DEGIRO a good trading platform?
DEGIRO is a low-cost platform for self-directed investors: €1 per order in its ETF core selection, around 50 exchanges, and options and futures. Its weak points are the lack of an automatic savings plan, no German tax withholding and a long record of regulatory fines.