I wrote the first version of this article back in 2016 when the options for European investors were genuinely limited. DEGIRO had just launched and was disrupting the market. eToro was mostly known for forex and copy trading. That was it for most of us.
Ten years later, the landscape looks completely different. European retail investors now have access to institutional-grade platforms, commission-free brokers, and automated ETF savings plans that didn’t exist at a retail level a decade ago. The problem isn’t lack of choice. It’s figuring out which broker actually fits how you invest.
This is my 2026 update, based on more than a decade of hands-on experience with European brokers, mostly for buy-and-hold ETFs with some individual stocks and crypto on the side. I cover what each broker is best for and give you my honest take on the tradeoffs. I checked the fees below against each broker’s own pricing pages in October 2026.
If you’re based in Spain specifically, I have a separate article on the best brokers for Spain that covers the local tax reporting requirements in more detail.
The Short Answer
- Interactive Brokers: best for larger portfolios and global market access, with the cheapest currency conversion here.
- DEGIRO: best for low-cost buy-and-hold, with €1 orders on more than 1,000 Core Selection ETFs.
- Scalable Capital: best for automated ETF savings plans, free to execute from €1 a month.
- Trade Republic: best mobile-first option, with €1 trades, free savings plans and interest on cash.
- Trading 212: best for commission-free fractional investing and pie-based auto-investing.
- eToro: best for beginners and copy trading, with commission-free ETFs.
- Lightyear: worth a look if you only buy ETFs, since ETF trades carry no execution fee.
How I Evaluate Brokers
Before getting into the individual brokers, I weigh five things when choosing a platform:
- Fees: Commission per trade, annual custody fees, currency conversion costs. These compound against you over decades of investing.
- Asset coverage: Can you access the ETFs and stocks you want? Are they UCITS-compliant for European investors? US-listed ETFs like SPY and QQQ are effectively off-limits for EU retail investors (thanks to PRIIPs), so you need a broker with good UCITS equivalents.
- Regulation: Is the broker regulated by a serious authority? For Europe, that means MiFID II compliance and regulation under BaFin, CBI, AFM, or equivalent. This matters for investor protection.
- Tax reporting: Does the broker generate usable annual tax statements? This varies wildly and can be a significant administrative burden if your broker doesn’t help.
- Platform quality: Can you actually use the thing without wanting to throw your laptop out a window?
Interactive Brokers: Best for Serious Investors
Interactive Brokers is the professional’s choice, and it shows. If you’ve ever tried to access a specific international market, trade options, or get institutional-grade data through a retail broker, you’ve probably hit a wall. IBKR doesn’t have that wall.
European clients are served through Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. The platform gives you access to 150+ markets across 33 countries: stocks, ETFs, bonds, options, futures, forex, and more. For a European investor who wants to go beyond vanilla ETFs, nothing else comes close.
Fees
On the Fixed plan, stock trades on European exchanges cost 0.05% of the trade value with a €3 minimum, so any order up to €6,000 costs €3. US stocks cost $0.005 per share with a $1 minimum. Currency conversion costs 0.002% of the amount (with a $2 minimum per conversion), which matters a lot if you’re holding USD-denominated assets. There are no hidden platform fees on the standard account.
There’s also no account minimum, no inactivity fee, and no deposit or withdrawal fees on the standard plan. IBKR scrapped its old monthly activity minimum back in 2021, so even a passive buy-and-hold investor making a couple of trades a year pays nothing just to keep the account open. That removes the one historical reason smaller investors avoided the platform.
Who It’s For
Investors with larger portfolios, anyone who needs access to non-European markets, options traders, and anyone who wants the most complete, professionally built platform available to European retail investors. The interface is not beginner-friendly. It’s genuinely complex. But if you’re willing to learn it, you won’t find a more capable platform.
IBKR also offers a Stock Yield Enhancement Program (for margin accounts, or cash accounts with more than $25,000 in liquid net worth) that pays you 50% of the market rate when it lends out your shares. That’s a small but real passive return on top of your holdings.
Open an Interactive Brokers Account
DEGIRO: Best for Buy-and-Hold Simplicity
DEGIRO is the broker I have the most hands-on experience with. It’s Dutch, now part of the flatexDEGIRO group, supervised by BaFin with its Dutch branch supervised by AFM and DNB, and available in most European countries. The core value proposition is simple: very low fees and no fuss.
It’s built for holding ETFs and stocks over the long term. The interface is clean and functional without being cluttered with features most long-term investors don’t need. Account setup is straightforward. And the fees genuinely are low, which is the whole point.
Fees
DEGIRO’s ETF Core Selection is where the real value is. It now covers the full range of more than 1,000 ETFs, ETCs and ETNs listed on Tradegate, and each order costs just the €1 handling fee. ETFs on other exchanges cost €2 per order plus the handling fee. There’s also an annual connectivity fee of €2.50 for each exchange outside your home market that you trade on or hold positions on, capped at 0.25% of your account value.
US stocks cost €1 plus the €1 handling fee, so €2 per order. Stocks on the main European exchanges, such as Xetra, Euronext and the London Stock Exchange, cost €3.90 plus the handling fee. Automatic currency conversion adds 0.25%. These figures come from DEGIRO’s Irish fee schedule for 2026, and they differ slightly from country to country, so check the schedule for yours.
What’s Missing
DEGIRO added direct crypto trading in late 2025, so you can now buy around 20 coins alongside stocks and ETFs, for a 0.50% fee, in most of its European markets, though not in the UK. There’s still no automated savings plan feature and no interest paid on uninvested cash. Research covers charts, company financials, news, an economic calendar, and analyst and ESG data from LSEG and Infront, so it’s better than it was, but this is still an execution-first platform. That’s by design.
For a full breakdown of the platform, features, and my experience, see my DEGIRO review.
Who It’s For
Long-term investors across Europe who want cheap, straightforward access to stocks and ETFs without paying for features they’ll never use. If your strategy is buy a diversified ETF portfolio and leave it alone, DEGIRO is hard to beat on cost.
Scalable Capital: Best for Automated ETF Investing
Scalable Capital is a German broker regulated by BaFin, and it has become one of the go-to options for passive investors in Europe, particularly those who want to automate their ETF contributions. The platform is available in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and France.
The feature that sets Scalable Capital apart is the ETF savings plan (Sparplan). You set a monthly amount, pick your ETFs, and the platform invests automatically on a schedule. Thousands of ETFs are available for savings plans, starting from just €1 per month. For someone who wants a set-it-and-forget-it approach to index investing, this is genuinely excellent.
Fees
Scalable Capital has two main tiers:
- Free Broker: All savings plan executions are €0. Individual trades on gettex or the European Investor Exchange (EIX) are €0.99 per order, and purchases of PRIME partner ETFs (Amundi, iShares, Vanguard and Xtrackers) from €250 are free. Orders routed to Xetra cost €1.99.
- PRIME+ Broker (€4.99/month): Unlimited commission-free trading on gettex and EIX for orders from €250, with €0.99 below that. Includes all savings plans free. Better value if you’re trading more actively or making larger individual purchases.
For a passive investor making monthly automated contributions, the Free Broker tier is unbeatable. €0 on every savings plan execution means the only cost you’re paying is the ETF’s TER.
Who It’s For
Passive investors who want to automate their ETF investing with monthly contributions. Also good for beginners who want a clean, modern app without the complexity of Interactive Brokers. If your strategy is “invest €500 per month into a world index ETF and don’t think about it,” Scalable Capital makes that trivially easy.
Open a Scalable Capital Account
eToro: Best for Beginners and Social Trading
eToro is the platform everyone’s heard of, and for good reason. It has over 40 million registered users worldwide and was genuinely one of the first platforms to push commission-free stock trading into the mainstream for European investors.
The social and copy trading features are eToro’s most distinctive offering. You can browse other investors’ portfolios, see their returns and risk scores, and copy their trades automatically. For someone who’s new to investing and wants to learn by following experienced investors, this is a real differentiator. No other major broker does this well.
Fees
eToro charges no commission on ETFs. Stocks now carry a $1 or $2 commission when you open and when you close a position, depending on your country and the exchange, so its old zero-commission stock pitch no longer applies. The bigger cost consideration for European investors is currency conversion. eToro now offers EUR accounts in some countries, which removes the deposit conversion fee, but converting euros into dollars to buy US assets still costs around 150 pips. For frequent traders this is a meaningful cost.
ETF trades are commission-free in any size. eToro also offers crypto, which is natively integrated into the same platform, useful if you want exposure to Bitcoin or Ethereum without opening a separate account.
What to Watch
eToro has come a long way on regulation. It holds licenses across multiple jurisdictions including CySEC for EU clients. But the stock commissions and USD conversion costs mean it’s not the cheapest option for pure long-term ETF investing. For someone investing €1,000/month into index funds year after year, those costs add up noticeably versus DEGIRO or Scalable Capital.
Where eToro shines is as a gateway: it’s easy to use, has a good mobile app, covers stocks, ETFs, and crypto in one place, and the social features make it more engaging for investors who are still building their knowledge. See my full eToro review for a deeper breakdown.
Who It’s For
Beginners who want an accessible, all-in-one platform. Investors who want to explore social and copy trading. Anyone who wants stocks, ETFs, and crypto under one roof without managing multiple accounts.
Trade Republic: Best for Low-Cost Mobile Investing and Savings Plans
Trade Republic is Europe’s largest neo-broker, with over 10 million customers across 18 countries. It’s a Berlin-based bank with a full German banking license, supervised by BaFin, so your cash sits with a licensed bank rather than a brokerage. If you want the cheapest way to run automated ETF contributions from your phone, this is the one to look at.
The pitch is simple: a flat fee, free savings plans, and interest on the cash you haven’t invested yet, all in a clean mobile app. It has become the default first broker for a huge number of younger European investors, and its free savings plans cover thousands of stocks and ETFs.
Fees
Trades cost a flat €1 each regardless of order size, which is cheap for larger orders and reasonable for small ones. ETF and stock savings plans are completely free, with no execution fee at all. There are no account, custody, inactivity, or withdrawal fees. Trade Republic also pays interest on uninvested cash, which DEGIRO doesn’t do. The rate and any cap depend on your country and follow the ECB rate over time.
Execution changed in 2026. Trade Republic used to route every order to a single venue, LS Exchange. Since the EU’s ban on payment for order flow took effect in mid-2026, stock and ETF orders run in one of two modes: Best Price fills your order against Trade Republic at the best price across the relevant exchanges, and Direct Price lets you pick a specific exchange yourself. For buy-and-hold investors making periodic purchases, the default works fine.
Who It’s For
Mobile-first investors who want to automate ETF contributions at the lowest possible cost, beginners who want one simple app for stocks, ETFs, and crypto, and anyone who likes earning interest on idle cash. It’s built around the mobile app, with a simpler web version for desktop, and everything runs through a German bank, so it suits people who want simplicity over the market access and tooling of something like Interactive Brokers. For a deeper look, see my full Trade Republic review.
Trading 212: Best for Commission-Free Fractional Investing
Trading 212 is one of the most popular brokers in Europe, and it’s easy to see why. It’s commission-free across stocks and ETFs with no platform fee and no inactivity fee, and the fractional shares feature lets you buy into any stock from as little as €1. If you’re starting with small amounts, that accessibility is hard to match.
The standout feature is Pies and AutoInvest: you build a portfolio as a “pie” of holdings and set contributions to invest proportionally across it on a schedule. It’s similar to Scalable Capital’s savings-plan idea but more flexible in how you structure and rebalance the portfolio. Trading 212 also pays interest on uninvested cash, which is a genuine plus.
Fees
Stocks and ETFs are commission-free, with no custody or inactivity fees. The currency conversion fee is 0.15%, which is very reasonable for a EUR investor buying USD-denominated assets. As with any zero-commission broker, read the FX and spread details for your specific trades, but for straightforward ETF and stock buying the cost is low.
Who It’s For
Beginners and small-balance investors who want commission-free access with fractional shares, and anyone who likes the pie-based automated investing approach. It’s regulated by the FCA in the UK and CySEC in the EU, and if you’re UK-based the ISA option makes it particularly compelling. A strong all-rounder if none of the brokers above fit perfectly.
Lightyear: Best for Fee-Free ETF Buying
Lightyear is an Estonian-founded broker aimed at long-term investors who want to keep costs close to zero. ETF trades carry no execution fee, and there are no custody or inactivity fees. If you buy euro-listed UCITS ETFs from a euro account, the only ongoing cost is the fund’s own TER.
Stocks cost more than the ETFs: 0.1% per order on US shares (capped at $1) and €1 per order on euro-denominated stocks. Currency conversion costs 0.35%, which is higher than Trading 212, DEGIRO or Interactive Brokers. Lightyear suits investors who mainly buy ETFs and want the cheapest way to do it, rather than anyone who needs a wide range of markets.
Key Considerations for European Investors
Choosing a broker isn’t just about trading fees. There are a few European-specific factors that will affect every investor here.
What Low Commission Really Costs
Headline commissions are only part of the bill. Brokers that advertise zero commission earn money from spreads, currency conversion, subscriptions or the interest on your cash, and until mid-2026 many also took payment for order flow, which the EU has now banned. Compare the total cost of the way you actually invest: a monthly euro ETF purchase costs very little at most brokers here, while regular trading in US stocks makes currency conversion the biggest line item.
Using a Broker on Your Phone
Every broker on this list has iOS and Android apps. Trade Republic, Trading 212 and Scalable Capital are built around the app, while Interactive Brokers keeps its deeper tools on the desktop platform. If you plan to invest mostly from your phone, try the app before you move money in.
MiFID II and UCITS ETFs
Under EU regulations (specifically PRIIPs), European retail investors cannot buy US-domiciled ETFs like SPY, QQQ, or VTI. You need UCITS-compliant equivalents, funds domiciled in Ireland or Luxembourg. The good news is that UCITS equivalents exist for virtually everything worth owning: IWDA (iShares Core MSCI World), VWCE (Vanguard FTSE All-World), CSPX (iShares Core S&P 500), and so on. All brokers on this list give you access to these.
Withholding Tax on Dividends
Where an ETF is domiciled affects the withholding tax on dividends. Ireland-domiciled funds benefit from the US-Ireland tax treaty (15% withholding on US dividends versus 30% for Luxembourg-domiciled funds). This is why most serious European ETF investors prefer Ireland-domiciled funds. Check your ETF’s ISIN: an IE prefix means Ireland-domiciled.
The W-8BEN Form
If you’re investing in US stocks directly, your broker should ask you to complete a W-8BEN form. This certifies you’re a non-US person and reduces US withholding tax on dividends from 30% to 15% (for most EU countries with a tax treaty). Make sure your broker handles this. DEGIRO and Interactive Brokers both do.
Currency Conversion Costs
Many European investors overlook this. If you’re investing in USD-denominated assets and your account is in EUR, every trade triggers a currency conversion. IBKR’s 0.002% rate is best-in-class, Trading 212 charges 0.15% and DEGIRO 0.25%. eToro’s conversion fee of around 150 pips is at the expensive end unless you can use one of its local currency accounts. For a long-term investor making regular contributions, this difference is significant over time.
Annual Tax Statements
Every European country handles investment taxation differently. What they have in common is that you need accurate records of dividends received, trades executed, and, in some countries, unrealized gains. IBKR produces detailed and usable annual reports. DEGIRO provides annual statements that are serviceable for most tax purposes. eToro’s tax reporting has improved but can still be a pain for high-volume traders.
Broker Comparisons
Not sure which broker to choose? See our detailed comparison:
My Recommendation
DEGIRO is my default recommendation for buy-and-hold ETF investing. It’s the broker I know best, the fees are low, and it covers everything a long-term UCITS ETF investor needs without extra complexity.
If you’re starting with a larger portfolio or more complex needs, take a serious look at Interactive Brokers. The platform complexity is real, but so is the cost efficiency at scale and the depth of market access. For serious long-term investors, IBKR is the grown-up choice.
For someone brand new to investing who wants to start small and automate contributions, Scalable Capital and Trade Republic both make the process nearly frictionless. Pick a world ETF, set a monthly amount, and let it run. Trade Republic is the cheaper, more mobile-first of the two and pays interest on your idle cash; Scalable Capital gives you a slightly more grown-up platform and a deeper savings-plan ETF list.
eToro is fine for beginners who want an accessible entry point, and it’s particularly useful if you want stocks, ETFs, and crypto in one place without juggling multiple accounts.
The honest answer is that there’s no single best broker for every European investor. It depends on your portfolio size, how actively you invest, which asset classes you want, and how much you care about platform sophistication versus simplicity. But any of the brokers on this list is a serious, regulated option, far better than what was available when I started investing in Europe.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest broker in Europe?
It depends on how you invest. For monthly ETF purchases, Scalable Capital and Trade Republic execute savings plans for free, and DEGIRO charges €1 per Core Selection ETF order. For larger trades and anything involving currency conversion, Interactive Brokers is the cheapest, at 0.05% per European stock trade and 0.002% on currency conversion.
Are zero-commission brokers really free?
Every broker earns money somewhere. Zero-commission brokers make it on spreads, currency conversion, premium subscriptions or interest on your cash. Payment for order flow used to be another source, but the EU banned it in mid-2026. Compare the total cost for the way you invest, not the headline commission.
Should I use one broker or several?
One broker keeps tax reporting and portfolio tracking simple. A common pairing is a low-cost broker such as DEGIRO or Trade Republic for regular ETF purchases and Interactive Brokers for US stocks and currency conversion, as long as you’re ready for the extra paperwork at tax time.
Is my money safe with a European broker?
EU-regulated brokers have to keep client securities separate from their own assets, so your holdings stay yours if the broker fails. Every EU country also runs an investor compensation scheme that covers at least €20,000 per investor. The exact protection depends on the broker’s country and regulator.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Trading history presented is less than 5 complete years and may not suffice as basis for investment decision. Copy Trading does not amount to investment advice. Cryptoasset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
Related
Thanks for the post Jean, A comment on eToro – this platform is great for small retail investors but if you are thinking of investing more than 10k then be warned. Their compliance resources do appear to be struggling to cope – or the quality of resources employed is not up to par – or a bit of both. Malta being greylisted doesn’t help either presumably.
And what about directa sim? It’s quite famous in Italy, active in the online trading business since the early ’90s
What is the best way to buy vanguard ETFs from Malta if you plan to invest some money every month? Thanks
You can use Interactive Brokers, Saxo Bank or a local broker like CC Trader.
Hi Jean!
I have two comments:
1. Interactive Brokers does not have 10 euro / month for maintenance costs IF you open the account using Tradestation Global as an introducing broker.
2. Degiro is having two accounts : basic and custody. Only for Basic account they could loan your stocks. For the Custody account they cannot, but the fees are a little bigger especially for dividends.
Thank you!
Bogdan
Hi Bogdan,
Thank you, those are two good points.
Do you have any experience with trading212?
Hi Jasper, I have an in-depth review of Trading212 in the works, should be published soon.
cheers both; looking forward to the review then Jean.
Hi Jean, great, interesting site you built!
I would like to point out to everyone to check the insured sum of the investing platform should the company go belly up!
Most repurable US based trading site are insured for hundreds of thousands of USD. CCtrader is covered up to €20k through MFSA so think about that when investing long term, and this does not apply to cash sitting in the account, it includes also securities, stocks, etc
….just my two cents on the subject hoping to help someone.
Hi Jean, Great website, keep it up 🙂 . Do you know whether CC trader have an inactivity fee and/or withdrawal or deposit fees? Also when they say 10 euros per trade [flat fee minimum] and rate of 0.1%, what does that actually mean? I am a beginner investor. Thanks in advance
Hi Jean, very informative. Do CC trader have an inactiviy fee and/or withdrawl or deposit fees? Also what does CCtrader’s 0.1% rate mean (versus flat fee min as per ETFs) in reference to Ben’s request? Thanks in advance,
I am interested in investing in ETF such as Vanguard to buy and hold (interested in around 2 or 3 of them) and not interested in active trading (yet). What would you say is the best? CCtrader seems to be the best for Maltese however they charge 10 euro per trade or 0.1%, whichever is the highest. this would mean that technically it only makes sense to invest EUR 10,001 for it to be “worthwhile” but what do you think?!
Have also looked into eToro but its Israeli origins and mostly involved in CFD trading which is too risky i chose not to use.
Interactive brokers, whislt being the most professional, is probably not worth it for beginning investor as myself investing say once a year in ETF.
What do you think?
Ben, check out Trading212 (they also have an app)
What would you say is the best for just investing in ETF (buy and hold long term) and not be an active trader? CCtrader is probably the best for Maltese, but they have large fees of 10 euro per trade or 0.1%, whichever is the highest. This means it technically would only make sense for investments of above 10,000 to hit the 0.1%.
Have also looked into eToro which is mostly involved in CFD trading which is riskier due to leveraging and plus since its origins is in Israel can raise a few questions. Therfore, I am not really inclined to use this.
Even though interactive brokers is probably the most professional, i am not sure it is suitable for a beginning investor who just wants to invest in ETF and maybe increase it year by year.
What do you think?
I would say try DeGiro or Saxo Bank.
Degiro is unavailable in Malta unfortunately.
Saxo bank, as you explained, has fees on non activity and considering I would be passively investing in these ETF, it doesn’t make sense to use it
Think until revolut release ETF (which in July 2019 they said they will) I will just have to use CCtrader
In that case CCtrader would be a good solution. I’ve used them and they’re decent enough.
U can access degiro even from malta, however u need to have an account abroad to deposit. Revolut is not accepted.
Hi Jean,
Thank you for your great post!
I think of investing in either eToro or DeGiro (mainly stocks but potentially Indiceds and ETFs).
From what I have checked so far in eToro platform, I was not able to find some stocks (listed in Nasdaq and a few in NYSE, mainly related with the fintech and biotech fields), while I will do the same for DeGiro in the coming days.
Do you might know, from your personal experience, if eToro has included all of the stocks listed in Nasdaq and NYSE or if there is a limitation on that?
Thank you!
Hi Nikolas, I haven’t run into this problem myself and unfortunately I don’t have a good answer for you. It’s probably best to contact eToro support and ask them about the specific stocks you’re looking for. I’d be interested to know what they tell you.
Degiro don’t answer emails to open an account, you’re placed in a queue of hundreds of people, their customer service is pretty much unresponsive
And Robinhood is not available for people residing in Europe
I think all brokers are experiencing issues at the moment, Saxo bank had 6 weeks lead time for new accounts last time I checked last week.
Is DEGIRO available in malta? I went on the website and didn’t see Malta on the list
No it is not unfortunately. I’m not sure why.
Great post Indeed!
I would like to know how realiable is finmarket.com
Looks pretty legit to me, but I personally recommend DeGiro.
The hyperlink for degiro links to a Honda (degiro) website.
My mistake, fixed.