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.

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%.

Box 3 taxes your investment assets at a flat deemed return rate, not your actual broker fees or real returns. The choice of broker does not change your Box 3 liability directly. However, lower broker fees mean more of your real return stays invested and compounds over time, which matters because you pay Box 3 on the notional return regardless of actual portfolio performance. Minimising broker costs is therefore one of the few levers Dutch investors fully control.

DEGIRO was founded in Amsterdam and is now part of flatexDEGIRO AG, headquartered in Germany. Dutch investors using DEGIRO fall under Dutch investor protection rules administered via the AFM and DNB. Assets are held via the SPV structure (DEGIRO B.V. as securities custodian), separate from DEGIRO's own balance sheet. The Dutch investor compensation scheme covers up to EUR 20,000. DEGIRO also provides a fiscaal jaaroverzicht, making Box 3 filing straightforward.

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, 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 on all Scalable plans regardless of subscription tier.

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 alone. Saxo suits active traders and investors who need access to a wider product range or more advanced tools, not passive ETF accumulators optimising for cost.

Dutch bank brokers make sense for investors who prioritise convenience, Dutch-language support, iDEAL deposits, and integrated banking. ABN AMRO Basis and ING offer free ETF trades on their selected fund ranges (Basisassortiment and Topselectie respectively), but charge service fees of 0.20% and 0.24% per annum. Their most important advantage for cost-conscious investors is access to Dutch-domiciled FGR funds (such as Northern Trust trackers) which reduce dividend leakage by an estimated 0.20–0.30% per year compared to Irish-domiciled UCITS ETFs — an advantage not shown by this calculator. For investors with large equity allocations, the leakage saving can partially or fully offset the higher service fee. Rabobank's high per-trade commission structure makes it the weakest cost option among the three for regular contributors.

Dividend leakage refers to dividend withholding tax that cannot be reclaimed because of the fund's domicile and structure. Irish-domiciled UCITS ETFs — the most common ETF type held via DEGIRO, IBKR, neobrokers, and international platforms — suffer a 15% US dividend withholding tax that Irish funds cannot fully reclaim. Dutch-domiciled FGR funds (available via ABN AMRO, ING, and Rabobank) reclaim this tax more efficiently under Dutch tax law, saving an estimated 0.20–0.30% per year on a globally diversified equity allocation. This calculator does not model dividend leakage. It compares broker execution costs only. For investors with large portfolios and long time horizons, this distinction can be material.

Trade Republic and BUX both offer free ETF savings plans — automated recurring ETF purchases — in the Netherlands. This is their strongest feature for passive investors who want a set-and-forget workflow. Scalable Capital offers savings plans at low cost (EUR 0.99 or free on PRIME ETFs). ABN AMRO and ING support periodic investing (periodiek beleggen) but transaction costs apply. DEGIRO, Interactive Brokers, Trading 212, and most other international platforms require manual recurring orders rather than fully automated plans.