At a glance
| Feature | DEGIRO 🇳🇱 | Trade Republic 🇩🇪 | Scalable 🇩🇪 |
|---|
| ETF commission | Free (core selection) | Free (savings plans) | Free (Prime+ plan) |
| Stock trading | €1 + 0.10% (AEX, Xetra) | €1 flat | Free (Prime+) / €0.99 |
| Savings plans (Sparplan) | ✗ Not available | ✓ From €1/month | ✓ From €1/month |
| ETF universe | 5,000+ UCITS ETFs | 2,500+ ETFs | 2,000+ ETFs |
| Account types | Basic, Custody | Standard, Savings | Free, Prime+ |
| Custody model | Securities lending | No lending | No lending |
| Deposit insurance | €20,000 (BaFin / BdE) | €100,000 (BaFin) | €100,000 (BaFin) |
| Tax reporting (DE) | Manual (annual report) | Automatic (German Freistellungsauftrag) | Automatic |
| Tax reporting (NL) | Annual report provided | No NL-specific tools | No NL-specific tools |
| Fractional shares | ✗ No | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes (savings plans) |
| Mobile app quality | Functional | Excellent | Good |
| Regulated in | Netherlands (AFM) | Germany (BaFin) | Germany (BaFin) |
Key insight
All three brokers offer commission-free ETF investing. The real differences are: which ETFs they carry, how they handle tax reporting in your country, whether they support automated savings plans, and their securities lending practices.
Broker verdicts
🇳🇱
DEGIRO
Best for: active investors, Netherlands residents, large ETF universe
Strengths
✓ Largest ETF selection in Europe
✓ Strong for Dutch investors — AFM regulated, NL tax reports
✓ Low-cost stock trading on European exchanges
✓ Custody account option (no securities lending)
Limitations
✗ No savings plan / Sparplan feature
✗ Tax reporting requires manual work for most non-DE investors
✗ Securities lending in Basic account (opt-out with Custody)
Bottom line: The go-to for Dutch investors and anyone who wants the widest ETF selection with low commissions. Less convenient for automated monthly investing.
🇩🇪
Trade Republic
Best for: German investors, beginners, automated monthly DCA
Strengths
✓ Excellent savings plan feature — automate monthly ETF investments
✓ Clean, simple mobile app
✓ Automatic tax reporting for German investors (Freistellungsauftrag)
✓ 4% interest on uninvested cash
✓ No securities lending
Limitations
✗ More limited ETF universe vs DEGIRO
✗ Less suitable for non-German tax residents (no NL/FR-specific reporting)
✗ No desktop trading platform
Bottom line: The best choice for automated long-term DCA investing in Germany. The 4% cash interest is a genuine bonus. Less suitable if you live outside Germany and need local tax reporting.
🇩🇪
Scalable Capital
Best for: German investors wanting everything in one place
Strengths
✓ Savings plans + direct trading + robo-advisor in one platform
✓ Automatic German tax reporting
✓ No securities lending
✓ Prime+ plan includes free trading
Limitations
✗ Prime+ costs €4.99/month — adds up for small portfolios
✗ ETF universe smaller than DEGIRO
✗ Less established than DEGIRO or Trade Republic
Bottom line: A solid all-in-one for German investors who want savings plans, robo-advisory, and active trading in one app. The monthly fee makes less sense for very small portfolios.
Securities lending — what it means
DEGIRO's Basic account uses securities lending — your ETF holdings can be temporarily lent to other parties (typically hedge funds for short selling). DEGIRO keeps 50% of the fee earned; you keep 50%. The risk is counterparty default, though this is mitigated by collateral.
DEGIRO's Custody account opts out of securities lending entirely. Trade Republic and Scalable Capital do not lend securities. For long-term buy-and-hold ETF investors who prioritise simplicity, the Custody account or either German broker avoids the question entirely.
Practical tip
If you use DEGIRO and haven't checked your account type, log in to Settings → Account Type. Basic accounts participate in securities lending by default. Switching to Custody removes that feature and is free.
Browse UCITS ETFs available on these brokers
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For general educational purposes only. Not investment advice under MiFID II Article 24. Broker features, fees, and availability change. Verify current terms directly with each broker before opening an account.