EU Broker Cost Index: what monthly ETF investing actually costs
Fees verified July 2026 against official broker pricing pages
Six of nine major EU brokers charge EUR0 in total explicit annual costs to run a monthly UCITS ETF plan. The most expensive charges EUR24/year. Every remaining cost is a fixed per-trade minimum, not a percentage — on a EUR150 monthly buy, Saxo’s 0.08% headline commission is effectively 1.33% because of its EUR2 minimum, 17x the advertised rate.
Some of the links on this site are affiliate links, meaning we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you if you sign up through them. This does not affect our reviews or recommendations — we only feature products we genuinely believe are useful for investors. This site provides educational content only, not personalized investment advice. Investments can lose value and past performance does not guarantee future results. You are responsible for your own financial decisions and for confirming the tax and legal rules that apply in your country.
The gap isn’t in the headline rate — it’s in the minimum
Every broker in this index that charges a commission prices it as a percentage: DEGIRO, IBKR, and Saxo Bank all advertise rates between 0.05% and 0.08% per trade. On paper, these look close to free. In practice, a monthly UCITS ETF investor rarely trades enough per order for the percentage to matter — the fixed minimum does the actual pricing.
On a EUR150 monthly buy: DEGIRO’s EUR1 handling fee is an effective 0.67%. IBKR’s EUR1.25 minimum is 0.83%. Saxo’s EUR2 minimum is 1.33% — against an advertised 0.08%, that’s roughly 17x the headline rate. None of these brokers are lying about their pricing. The minimum simply dominates at typical DCA order sizes, and it’s the number that matters for anyone investing EUR150–500 a month.
| Order size | DEGIRO (flat EUR1) | IBKR (0.05%, min EUR1.25) | Saxo (0.08%, min EUR2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUR150 | 0.67% | 0.83% | 1.33% |
| EUR300 | 0.33% | 0.42% | 0.67% |
| EUR500 | 0.20% | 0.25% | 0.40% |
| EUR1,000 | 0.10% | 0.13% | 0.20% |
| EUR2,500 | 0.04% | 0.05% | 0.08% |
Both minimums stop binding at exactly EUR2,500 per order — EUR1.25 divided by 0.05% and EUR2 divided by 0.08% both land on the same threshold. Unless you invest more than EUR2,500 in a single order, you never actually pay the advertised percentage at IBKR or Saxo. DEGIRO’s EUR1 is a flat handling fee rather than a minimum, so it keeps shrinking as a percentage forever.
The other six brokers — Trading 212, Trade Republic, Scalable Capital, Lightyear, XTB, and eToro — route the same plan through a free ETF savings plan, a zero-commission tier, or a EUR0 execution venue, and land at EUR0/year in explicit costs across all three investor profiles tested.
Ranked: annual cost of a monthly ETF plan
Ranking is identical across all three investor profiles — only the cost as a percentage of invested capital shrinks as portfolio size grows.
| Rank | Broker | Route used | Annual cost | Starter % | Core % | Established % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= | Trading 212 | EUR-listed VWCE, Invest account, commission-free | EUR0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| 1= | Trade Republic | Sparplan (savings plans always free), LSX | EUR0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| 1= | Scalable Capital | FREE plan, ETF savings plan (free on all plans), gettex | EUR0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| 1= | Lightyear | VWCE (Xetra, EUR Acc), zero ETF execution fee | EUR0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| 1= | XTB | VWCE Xetra, 0% under EUR100k/month turnover | EUR0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| 1= | eToro | VWRA (LSE, USD Acc), zero ETF commission, EUR local account | EUR0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| 7 | DEGIRO | Core Selection VWCE on Tradegate, 12 x EUR1 handling | EUR12 | 0.32% | 0.09% | 0.02% |
| 8 | IBKR | Fixed pricing, 12 x EUR1.25 minimum | EUR15 | 0.39% | 0.11% | 0.03% |
| 9 | Saxo Bank | Classic, manual order, 12 x EUR2 minimum | EUR24 | 0.63% | 0.18% | 0.04% |
The three investor profiles
Shared assumptions across all three profiles:
- 12 buys per year, one EUR accumulating UCITS ETF (VWCE-style)
- Cheapest verified route per broker: free or cheapest non-subscription tier, savings-plan pricing where the DCA qualifies
- SEPA deposits — no card-funding surcharges
- No sells, no tax wrappers
- Cost as % = annual cost divided by (starting portfolio + 12 monthly contributions)
Broker-by-broker breakdown
Trading 212 — EUR0/year
EUR-listed VWCE on the Invest account. Commission-free execution, no recurring fees on this route. Card deposits above EUR2,000 cost 0.7% — avoided here via SEPA.
Visit Trading 212 →Trade Republic — EUR0/year
Sparplan execution on LSX. Savings plans are free on Trade Republic regardless of tier — venue spread quality is covered qualitatively, not scored, in this index.
Visit Trade Republic →Scalable Capital — EUR0/year
FREE plan, ETF savings plan on gettex. Savings-plan execution is free across all Scalable Capital account tiers, not just the free one.
Visit Scalable Capital →Lightyear — EUR0/year
VWCE on Xetra, EUR accumulating share class, confirmed live on the platform. Zero ETF execution fee on this route.
Visit Lightyear →XTB — EUR0/year
VWCE on Xetra, 0% commission under EUR100k/month turnover. Custody stays free below EUR250k. The inactivity fee never triggers on a monthly buy plan.
Visit XTB →eToro — EUR0/year
FTSE All-World via VWRA (LSE, USD Acc) — zero ETF commission, funded from a EUR local-currency account (eToro Money, SEPA) with no conversion fee on deposit or when funding the trade. Note: some non-leveraged ETF buy orders can execute as CFDs — confirm the order screen shows no CFD marking before placing a real-position trade.
Visit eToro →DEGIRO — EUR12/year
Core Selection VWCE on Tradegate: 12 x EUR1 handling fee, no connectivity fee on Tradegate since the October 2025 restructure. Note: Tradegate positions are hard to transfer out to most other EU brokers.
Visit DEGIRO →IBKR — EUR15/year
Fixed pricing: 0.05% of trade value (EUR0.08–0.25 on a EUR150–500 buy) subject to a EUR1.25 minimum per order. The minimum binds on every trade in this plan — 12 x EUR1.25 = EUR15/year.
Visit IBKR →Saxo Bank — EUR24/year
Classic tier, manual order: 0.08% of trade value subject to a EUR2 minimum per order — 12 x EUR2 = EUR24/year. Custody is EUR0 in the Netherlands and core EU markets. Saxo’s AutoInvest (free recurring ETF plan) is available only to Danish residents in DKK, with separate Swiss and Singapore variants — it is not a route for general EU clients; manual ordering is the definitive route used in this index.
Visit Saxo Bank →What the index excludes — and why it matters more than ever
Once explicit fees compress toward zero across most brokers, the costs that don’t show up on a fee schedule start to matter more, not less. This index deliberately excludes:
- Spreads — venue quality differs between Tradegate, LSX, gettex, and Xetra, and is not captured by commission tables
- FX drag — relevant for any broker routing through USD-denominated assets
- Cash interest — 0% at DEGIRO and XTB versus roughly 2% at Trade Republic and Scalable Capital on uninvested balances
- Transfer-out fees and deposit-method fees — both broker- and route-specific
These are covered in depth in dedicated studies: FX drag, cash drag, the true cost of currency conversion in the EU, and the full cost of investing EUR10k in Europe.
How this index is built
Every figure in this index is reproducible: a reader with the official fee pages linked from each broker’s review and the assumptions stated above should arrive at the same numbers we did. Routes, tiers, and minimums are re-verified each quarter alongside QuantRoutine’s broker fee audit, and this page is edition-dated so you always know how current the data is.
Full scoring methodology, data sourcing, and editorial standards are documented on our methodology page.
Cite this study
You are welcome to reference the EU Broker Cost Index table and findings with attribution and a link to this page.
Suggested citation: QuantRoutine, “EU Broker Cost Index” (Q3 2026 edition), quantroutine.com/studies/eu-broker-cost-index/
Want the full version of this analysis?
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Get the EU Investor Cost Toolkit →Continue exploring
Frequently asked questions
What does it cost to invest EUR150/month in ETFs in Europe?
It depends entirely on which broker you use. Six of the nine brokers in this index charge EUR0 in explicit annual costs for a EUR150/month plan: Trading 212, Trade Republic, Scalable Capital, Lightyear, XTB, and eToro. DEGIRO costs EUR12/year, IBKR EUR15/year, and Saxo Bank EUR24/year on the same plan.
Which EU broker is cheapest for monthly ETF investing?
Six brokers tie at EUR0/year in explicit costs across all three investor profiles tested: Trading 212, Trade Republic, Scalable Capital, Lightyear, XTB, and eToro. Which one is actually best for you still depends on factors this index excludes, such as spread quality, FX handling, and product range.
Why does Saxo cost more than its 0.08% headline rate suggests?
Saxo’s Classic tier charges 0.08% per trade with a EUR2 minimum. On a EUR150 monthly buy, 0.08% works out to just EUR0.12, so the EUR2 minimum binds instead. EUR2 on a EUR150 trade is an effective rate of 1.33%, roughly 17 times the advertised percentage.
Why isn’t Interactive Brokers the cheapest broker here?
Because its EUR1.25 minimum per order binds at typical DCA sizes: 0.05% of a EUR150–500 buy is only EUR0.08–0.25, so every trade in this plan pays the minimum, totalling EUR15/year. IBKR’s cost advantages — near-interbank FX conversion and percentage pricing on large orders — sit precisely in the areas this index deliberately excludes. For a EUR-only monthly UCITS ETF plan, six brokers are simply cheaper on explicit fees.
What costs does the index exclude?
The index excludes spreads (venue quality varies between Tradegate, LSX, gettex, and Xetra), FX drag on USD-denominated assets, cash interest on uninvested balances, transfer-out fees, and deposit-method fees. These are covered qualitatively rather than scored, and linked out to dedicated studies.
Are savings plans really free at Trade Republic and Scalable Capital?
Yes, based on official pricing pages verified in July 2026. Trade Republic’s Sparplan execution is free on all savings plans, and Scalable Capital’s ETF savings plans are free across all account tiers, including the FREE plan used in this index.
How often is the index updated?
Quarterly, alongside QuantRoutine’s broker fee audit. Each edition is dated (this one is Q3 2026) and the headline findings section is what gets refreshed each quarter if broker pricing changes.
Some of the links on this site are affiliate links, meaning we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you if you sign up through them. This does not affect our reviews or recommendations — we only feature products we genuinely believe are useful for investors. This site provides educational content only, not personalized investment advice. Investments can lose value and past performance does not guarantee future results. You are responsible for your own financial decisions and for confirming the tax and legal rules that apply in your country.