It depends on your contribution size and frequency. For small monthly contributions of EUR 100–300 buying Core UCITS ETFs, Trading 212 or DEGIRO Core typically rank first due to zero or EUR 1 commission and no custody fees. For larger portfolios where FX conversion applies, Interactive Brokers wins decisively thanks to its 0.002% FX rate. Scalable Capital PRIME+ beats the free plan above roughly 61 trades per year. Use the calculator above to find the answer for your exact situation.

No. German investors also need to evaluate tax handling, savings plan quality, and product access alongside fee arithmetic. German-domiciled brokers such as ING, DKB, Trade Republic, and Scalable Capital automatically deduct Abgeltungsteuer (26.375% including solidarity surcharge) and produce annual tax certificates. Using a foreign-domiciled broker like Interactive Brokers or DEGIRO typically means filing capital gains manually via Anlage KAP each year. For high-volume traders this is manageable; for passive investors who prefer set-it-and-forget-it, a slightly more expensive steuereinfach broker is often the better long-term choice.

Not usually when investing in EUR-denominated UCITS ETFs on EUR-native brokers like Scalable Capital, Trade Republic, or DEGIRO Core. All major European index ETFs — VWCE, IWDA, CSPX — trade in EUR on European exchanges, so no currency conversion is needed. FX costs become relevant only if your broker routes non-EUR trades through a multi-currency account, or if you convert EUR to USD. For those scenarios, Interactive Brokers charges approximately 0.002% while most neobrokers charge 0.15% to 1.5%.

Trade Republic, Scalable Capital (FREE and PRIME+), Trading 212, finanzen.net ZERO, Smartbroker+, ING Germany (on 900+ ETFs), and Consorsbank all offer free or low-cost ETF Sparplan execution. For monthly investors who automate contributions rather than placing manual orders, savings plan support can matter more than the manual commission rate shown in the calculator. Check that your specific ETF is available as a savings plan before committing to any platform.

The FREE plan charges EUR 0.99 per trade with no monthly fee. PRIME+ charges EUR 0 per trade on orders of EUR 250 or more on Gettex and EIX, but costs EUR 4.99 per month (EUR 59.88 per year). PRIME+ breaks even against the free plan when you make roughly 61 or more trades per year. For a monthly investor buying one ETF, that is five trades per month — PRIME+ only becomes cheaper if you trade more actively or buy multiple ETFs each month. Note: Xetra trades cost EUR 3.99 extra on all Scalable plans regardless of subscription tier.

The EU banned Payment for Order Flow effective June 30, 2026. PFOF was the practice of brokers earning revenue by routing trades through specific market makers who paid for the order flow — it helped fund zero-commission and flat-fee models. With PFOF eliminated, brokers are adapting their execution venue structures. Some have obtained their own exchange licenses (Trade Republic’s MTF); others operate on a closed-loop basis through Gettex or similar venues. Pricing for the brokers on this page reflects information available at the time of the last update — verify current terms before opening any account, as fee structures may evolve through 2026.

For savings plan investing, yes — ETF Sparplan executions are free. For manual trades, the EUR 1 external settlement fee is minimal at typical contribution sizes. The cost to watch is the FX spread embedded in the Lang and Schwarz exchange, estimated at around 0.5% for cross-currency assets. For standard EUR-denominated UCITS ETFs, that exchange spread is already baked into the execution price rather than being a separate line-item charge.

DEGIRO’s Core Selection covers over 1,000 ETFs (expanded significantly in 2026) from iShares, Vanguard, Xtrackers, and others. These trade under the Fair Use Policy — you pay only the EUR 1 handling fee per trade, and the first trade per calendar month per ETF has no commission at all. This makes DEGIRO Core one of the cheapest options for German investors accumulating standard UCITS ETFs. Non-Core ETFs and stocks cost EUR 2 commission plus EUR 1 handling (EUR 3 total). Always verify your chosen ETF appears on the current Core Selection before assuming the discount applies. As a foreign-domiciled broker, DEGIRO investors typically need to file capital gains manually on Anlage KAP.

Saxo Bank Classic charges a 0.15% per annum custody fee on top of 0.08% commission (minimum EUR 5 per trade) and a 0.25% FX markup. The custody fee compounds as your portfolio grows — on a EUR 50,000 portfolio it costs EUR 75 per year in custody before any trading. Saxo suits active traders and investors who want access to a wider product range or more advanced tools, not passive ETF accumulators optimising for cost.