It depends on how you invest. For savings plans, Scalable Capital is cheaper: executions are free on both FREE and PRIME+, with a spread surcharge on crypto ETPs the only exception. IBKR states that standard Fixed commissions apply to its Recurring Investments: 0.05% of trade value with a €1.25 minimum on fractional orders, so twelve monthly contributions cost €15 a year at any amount up to €2,500. An ETF IBKR does not offer in fractions cannot go into Recurring Investments, and buying it as a whole-share order costs the €3 Fixed minimum in Germany, or €36 a year. On one-off trades Scalable’s price depends on the venue: at the European Investor Exchange FREE pays €0.99 per trade, PRIME+ pays nothing from €250, and PRIME ETF purchases from €250 are free on both plans; at Xetra and gettex both plans pay €1.99. Against IBKR Fixed, with its €3 whole-share minimum in Germany, Scalable is cheaper at every order size. For USD positions or multi-currency cash, IBKR’s published FX commissions matter more — Scalable Capital has no multi-currency account and no USD cash balance.

Scalable Capital accepts residents of Germany, Austria, metropolitan France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. The Wealth robo-advisor is available to German and Austrian clients only. Scalable states it pays taxes only for clients who are taxable in Germany; clients taxable elsewhere, which normally includes Austrian residents, handle the taxation of their securities transactions themselves, and Scalable states it provides a tax report for that purpose, at no additional charge per its client documents. IBKR serves all EU and EEA residents through Interactive Brokers Ireland, and UK and Swiss residents through Interactive Brokers (U.K.). Its pricing still varies by market: Spain, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovenia are Fixed-only, and the Fixed minimum is €6 in Portugal and €10 in the Baltics.

Scalable Capital has the cheaper savings plan offer. It covers 2,700+ ETFs with executions free on both FREE and PRIME+ plans, from €1, on nine execution dates per month, and plans can also be set on shares, funds and crypto ETPs — crypto ETP executions carry a 0.99% or 0.69% spread surcharge depending on plan. Only one savings plan can be set per security. IBKR’s Recurring Investments schedules purchases by amount at an interval you set, for clients with fractional shares enabled. IBKR states that only stocks and ETFs tradable in fractions are eligible and that standard Fixed commissions apply: 0.05% of trade value with a €1.25 minimum on fractional orders, or €15 a year on twelve contributions. For zero-commission automated ETF investing, Scalable Capital is the cheaper option for investors based in its available markets.

Scalable Capital’s Overnight account pays more, even against IBKR’s full headline rate before any scaling, but only on cash you actively move into it; cash left in the Scalable broker clearing balance earns nothing. The Overnight rate applies to unlimited cash with no minimum balance, on both FREE and PRIME+. IBKR pays nothing on the first €10,000 of EUR cash, pays its rate only on the balance above that, and scales the rate down proportionally for accounts with a net asset value below USD 100,000. Both rates are variable; the current figures and the date they were read are in the cash interest section of this page.

Yes, for German tax residents. Without a Freistellungsauftrag, Scalable Capital withholds 25% Kapitalertragsteuer plus the 5.5% solidarity surcharge and, where applicable, church tax, and remits it to the Finanzamt on your behalf. German investors do not need to report broker gains manually in most standard cases. You can submit a Freistellungsauftrag up to the €1,000 individual allowance, or €2,000 for married couples and registered partners, through the platform; one order applies across all your Scalable business relationships. An annual Jahressteuerbescheinigung is issued where tax-relevant transactions occurred, normally delivered to your customer mailbox by the end of April of the following year. IBKR, by contrast, states it does not provide tax advice and cannot assist clients with tax filings; it issues an Annual Statement for all accounts, and preparing your German return from it is your job.

The two use different instruments. Scalable Capital Bank GmbH holds a banking permission granted by BaFin and is supervised by BaFin and the Deutsche Bundesbank. Scalable attaches its deposit-guarantee structure to Overnight account cash: with PRIME+, cash is spread across up to five banks, giving up to five times the €100,000 statutory deposit guarantee; without PRIME+, it goes to banks carrying the €100,000 statutory guarantee each or to qualifying UCITS money market funds, either of which can be the sole holding. Cash left in the broker account earns nothing. IBKR is an investment firm, not a bank. EU client money is held by Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited in accounts designated for the exclusive benefit of clients, reconciled daily, and pooled across a variety of banks inside and outside the EEA to reduce concentration risk. The Irish Investor Compensation Scheme is not a deposit guarantee: it covers private individuals for 90% of the amount lost, capped at €20,000, and covers failure of the firm rather than market losses.

Yes. German residents are onboarded to Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, and a member of the Irish Investor Compensation Scheme, which covers private individuals for 90% of the amount lost up to €20,000. German clients can hold multi-currency accounts, convert currencies at IBKR’s published FX commissions, and use Recurring Investments once fractional shares are enabled. The Stock Yield Enhancement Program has its own condition: an approved margin account, or a cash account with liquid net worth above USD 25,000. IBKR states it does not provide tax advice and cannot assist clients with tax filings, so German residents work from IBKR’s Annual Statement for their own return — unlike Scalable Capital, which withholds at source for German tax residents.

For German investors doing monthly savings plan contributions into EUR-denominated UCITS ETFs, Scalable Capital wins on total annual cost, convenience, and tax handling — savings plan executions are free, the Overnight account pays interest with no balance threshold once cash is moved into it, and Abgeltungsteuer is withheld at source. One-off trades are cheaper at Scalable too against IBKR Fixed: €0.99 or less at the European Investor Exchange, €1.99 at Xetra and gettex, against IBKR Fixed’s €3 whole-share minimum in Germany. PRIME+ only changes the one-off price at the European Investor Exchange, where it pays for itself from the 6th trade of €250 or more in a month, PRIME ETF purchases excluded. IBKR becomes the better choice when your portfolio grows in complexity: when you need multi-currency accounts, USD-denominated positions, or access to markets beyond Germany. You can also run both — Scalable Capital for the automated monthly plan, IBKR for positions Scalable cannot hold.