It depends on how you invest. For automated monthly contributions via savings plans, Trade Republic is free — zero execution fee. IBKR’s Recurring Investments feature applies normal commissions (€3 minimum on Fixed pricing). Where IBKR wins decisively is FX conversion: approximately 0.002% versus Trade Republic’s 0.5–1% embedded in the Best Price/Direct Price execution spread. For EUR-only ETF investors making small monthly contributions below roughly €600, Trade Republic is typically cheaper. For investors with multi-currency needs or large FX conversions, IBKR wins by a significant margin that compounds year over year.

Partially. IBKR has a Recurring Investments feature that allows automatic purchases of eligible European-listed shares on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule using fractional shares. However, normal Fixed or Tiered commissions still apply per execution — typically €3 minimum on Fixed pricing. Trade Republic’s savings plans are completely free, with no per-execution fee, across 1,500+ ETFs. For zero-commission automated ETF investing, Trade Republic is the better choice at most portfolio sizes. IBKR becomes more competitive once the absolute FX saving on larger contribution amounts outweighs the €3 per-trade fee — roughly above €600 per contribution.

IBKR charges approximately 0.002% for manual spot FX conversions ($2 minimum). Trade Republic embeds FX costs in the Best Price/Direct Price execution spread — approximately 0.5–1% on non-EUR assets, though this figure is not published as a clean percentage. For a €1,000 FX conversion: IBKR costs roughly €2 (the minimum); Trade Republic costs roughly €5–10 embedded in the execution price. At €10,000 per conversion: IBKR approximately €2; Trade Republic approximately €50–100. The gap compounds significantly for investors making regular large conversions. The FX difference matters most for investors in non-EUR assets — for EUR-denominated UCITS ETFs only, the impact is present but smaller.

Trade Republic for most beginners. The app is clean and simple, savings plans are free, fractional shares start from €1, and the debit card and IBAN make it easy to manage as a combined savings and investment account without opening a separate bank account. IBKR has a significantly steeper learning curve — it is built for professional investors and requires understanding FX conversion workflow, order types, and platform navigation before you can invest efficiently. The right approach for most beginners: start on Trade Republic with one or two broad UCITS ETFs on a free savings plan, and open IBKR later when portfolio size and multi-currency needs justify the additional complexity.

Trade Republic typically offers a higher headline rate: 2.25% p.a. in Germany and around 3%+ p.a. in most other EU markets (ECB-linked, variable, country-specific, as of July 2026) paid on all uninvested cash with no minimum threshold. IBKR pays approximately 1.44% EUR p.a. (as of April 2026) but only on cash above €10,000 — below that floor, no interest is paid. If you hold €8,000 uninvested: IBKR pays €0; Trade Republic pays roughly €180–240/year. Even at €20,000 uninvested, IBKR pays less than Trade Republic in most EUR scenarios. Always verify current rates on each broker’s official pricing page — both are variable.

For cash deposits, Trade Republic is better protected: as a fully licensed German bank, cash balances are covered by the €100,000 German statutory deposit guarantee. Securities are protected up to €20,000 under the German investor compensation scheme. IBKR Ireland (the entity used by most EU clients) provides investor compensation up to €20,000 for 90% of losses in cases of broker failure only. IBKR does not hold a banking licence, so cash is not deposit-guaranteed in the same way. IBKR’s broader safety case rests on institutional scale: $20.5B equity capital, S&P 500 membership, and client assets held separately from broker capital by regulation. Both are sound choices — the structural advantage for cash protection goes clearly to Trade Republic.

Yes, and many EU investors do. A common approach: use Trade Republic’s free savings plans for automated monthly ETF contributions in EUR-denominated UCITS funds at zero cost, and use IBKR for larger lump sum purchases, FX-heavy investing, or assets requiring multi-currency account management. This gives you the zero-fee automation of Trade Republic alongside the FX efficiency and market breadth of IBKR. The main overhead is managing two platforms and two sets of annual statements for tax purposes — manageable for most investors once both accounts are set up and running.

There is no hard threshold — but a few signals suggest it is worth opening IBKR: (1) You are making FX conversions large enough that Trade Republic’s embedded 0.5–1% spread costs more than IBKR’s €3 fixed minimum — roughly above €600 per conversion. (2) Your portfolio has grown to a size where you want explicit cost control, multi-currency accounts, and a platform you will not outgrow. (3) You need access to assets or markets not available on Trade Republic. (4) You want to avoid the €25-per-position exit cost by transferring in-kind to IBKR before the portfolio grows further. Many investors do not fully switch — they add IBKR for specific use cases while keeping Trade Republic running for free automated savings plans.