In 2014, DEGIRO expanded its online trading platform across several European countries outside the Netherlands, its country of origin. Since then it has grown steadily, reaching over 3 million clients across Europe.
Is DEGIRO available in Croatia?
Yes, but not directly. Croatia is one of DEGIRO’s accepted residency countries, so Croatian residents can open and use an account. What DEGIRO does not have is a dedicated Croatian website or a local entity, and Croatia is not one of its focus markets. Those are the countries with localised sites, such as Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands.
In practice, this means you sign up through one of DEGIRO’s existing entities rather than a “DEGIRO Croatia” page. Registration is done through the DEGIRO app, and you will need to be 18 or over, hold valid identification, have a euro-denominated bank account within the SEPA zone, and be a tax resident in an accepted country, which Croatia is. It works, it is simply less straightforward than in DEGIRO’s core markets.
Croatia adopting the euro in 2023 removed one obstacle that used to matter here, since you no longer need to convert kuna to fund a euro account.
Because the setup is less direct and customer support is not tailored to the Croatian market, it is worth comparing DEGIRO against brokers that actively serve Croatian clients before you decide.
One thing that applies whichever broker you choose: none of these platforms handles your Croatian tax reporting for you, so you will be declaring dividends and gains yourself. That is worth factoring in alongside the fees.
What is DEGIRO?
Founded in 2008, DEGIRO is an online broker that changed the European investment industry by making low-cost investing available to ordinary investors, at a time when most retail brokers in Europe were bank-owned and expensive.
DEGIRO offers a straightforward platform for desktop and mobile, with real-time data, a wide product range and access to stock exchanges worldwide.
DEGIRO services are provided by flatexDEGIRO Bank SE, a German bank supervised by BaFin and the Deutsche Bundesbank, and its Dutch branch remains supervised by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). Because the entity is German, client securities fall under the German Investor Compensation Scheme, which covers 90% of non-returned assets up to a maximum of €20,000. Cash held in a DEGIRO Cash Account with flatexDEGIRO Bank is separately guaranteed up to €100,000 under the German deposit guarantee scheme.
Best DEGIRO alternatives in Croatia
DEGIRO does accept Croatian residents, but if you would rather use a broker better suited to the Croatian market, or simply want to weigh your options, competition has pushed many top brokers to cut commissions on stock and ETF trades.
All the alternatives below are regulated by top-tier European regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Ireland’s Central Bank (CBI) and Cyprus’ Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), and all of them can serve Croatian residents under MiFID II passporting.
Based on criteria such as demo account, trading costs, education materials and security, here are our top picks. For a wider comparison, see our guide to the best brokers in Croatia.
1. eToro
52% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
Founded in 2007, eToro is an international online broker with 4.28 million funded accounts (June 2026), listed on the Nasdaq since May 2025, offering thousands of instruments including stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, and CFDs on stocks, ETFs, commodities, forex and indices. Real ETFs are traded commission-free, whole or fractional (other fees apply), while real stocks carry a commission of $1 or $2 per trade, depending on your country and the exchange.
eToro’s platform, available on web and mobile, is a social trading hub. Investors can discuss ideas and market news with other users, replicate trading strategies through CopyTrader, and invest in ready-made Smart Portfolios built around themes.
The demo account is useful for beginners, with $100,000 in virtual money that closely mirrors live trading. The main barrier for Croatian investors is the entry point: eToro’s minimum first deposit varies by country, and in Croatia it is $2,000, well above the other brokers on this list, which start at zero or near it. On top of that, withdrawals from the USD account carry a $5 fee with a $30 minimum, and currency conversion is a real cost for euro-based investors (withdrawals from a local euro account are free).
New users can also claim eToro’s welcome bonus of up to $500 (T&Cs apply).
eToro is regulated by top-tier authorities including the UK’s FCA and Australia’s ASIC. Croatian clients are served by eToro (Europe) Ltd, authorised by CySEC and passported into Croatia under MiFID II, with investor compensation of up to €20,000.
Want to know more about eToro? Check our eToro review.
2. Interactive Brokers
Founded in 1978 and publicly listed on the Nasdaq (ticker: IBKR, an S&P 500 constituent since August 2025), Interactive Brokers is a global online broker that came through major financial crises, showing resilience and a rigorous risk management process.
Interactive Brokers offers an advanced platform covering a wide product range (stocks, options, mutual funds, ETFs, futures, bonds and currencies) on more than 175 markets worldwide, with solid execution through IB SmartRouting and a full set of technical and fundamental tools.
Beginners have educational material to work through, but the learning curve is steep, which is why we mainly endorse it to more experienced investors. Customer service gives clear answers when you need them.
On the downside, the fee structure is complex, registration is lengthy though fully online, and the broker is not commission-free. However, once you count FX fees, tighter spreads and the stock lending programme, IBKR clients typically save compared with most brokers. For a Croatian investor buying US or European assets, the currency conversion cost is the number worth comparing.
Interactive Brokers also offers IBKR GlobalTrader, a modern mobile app to trade stocks, options and ETFs, ideal for beginner investors, with automatic currency conversion, fractional shares and a demo account.
Croatian clients are served by Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited, authorised and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and passported into Croatia under MiFID II.
Want to know more? Check our Interactive Brokers review.
3. Freedom24
Freedom24 at a glance
Investing involves risk of loss.
Freedom24 is operated by Freedom Finance Europe Ltd, licensed by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) since 2015 and passported across the EEA under MiFID II, including Croatia. It is the European arm of Freedom Holding Corp., listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker FRHC.
The broker gives access to more than 1 million instruments on 15 exchanges in Europe, Asia and the US, including 40,000+ stocks, 3,600+ ETFs, 145,000+ bonds and US stock options, with access to venues such as the Nasdaq, NYSE, LSE and Deutsche Börse. For long-term investors, Freedom24 also offers ETF Investment plans, which let you invest in selected ETFs regularly with €0 commission. The €0 fee applies only to purchases made within the Freedom24 Recurring Investment function, and other fees apply according to the Freedom24 Fee Schedule.
Freedom24 has two pricing plans, with no minimum deposit:
- Smart in EUR: €0.02 per share + €2 per order on US and European stocks and ETFs, and $0.65 per US option contract. It suits investors with lower trading volumes.
- All Inclusive in EUR: 0.5% of the trade value + €0.012 per share + €1.20 per order, and $3 per US option contract + €10 per order. It includes a personal manager.
New clients can also get up to 20 gift shares, depending on the size of their first deposit (T&Cs apply).
The company offers a web platform and a mobile app. Both are well designed and usable for beginners. The feature we find most useful is the “InvestIdeas” tab, which collects research from Freedom24 analysts on individual stocks and investment opportunities.
On the downside, it charges €7 per withdrawal, does not offer fractional shares and does not offer cryptocurrencies. There is no Croatian-language version of the platform either, so that is worth checking before you open an account. Client assets are covered by the Cyprus Investor Compensation Fund up to €20,000.
Want to know more about Freedom24? Check our Freedom24 review.
Disclaimer: investments in securities and other financial instruments always involve the risk of loss of your capital. Forecasts and past performance are no guarantee of future results. Commission-free investing applies exclusively to specific recurring investment plans. Other fees apply according to the Freedom24 Fee Schedule. Options are complex financial instruments with a high risk of loss and are not suitable for all investors. Access to a specific financial instrument may depend on the suitability assessment. The WELCOME promotion is subject to Terms and Conditions. Gift Shares are allocated randomly from a selection of eligible stocks, with higher-value shares awarded less frequently. It is essential to do your own analysis before making any investment, and to seek independent advice from a certified professional if needed.
4. XTB
69-80% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
Founded in 2002, XTB is a major player in the brokerage industry with extensive worldwide experience, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and other relevant bodies, and listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. It had almost 1.5 million active clients in the first half of 2026, up 74% on a year earlier.
You can invest through xStation 5 and xStation Mobile in stocks, ETFs, and CFDs on stocks, forex, indices, commodities and cryptocurrencies, though the product range varies slightly by country. It offers 0% commission on stocks and ETFs up to €100,000 of monthly turnover, above which 0.2% applies with a €10 minimum per order.
Opening an account and transferring money is quick. Beginners get a demo account and educational tools, while more experienced investors will find plenty of technical and fundamental analysis tools.
On the downside, an inactivity fee of €10 a month applies if you have not traded for 365 days and have not deposited in the last 90 days, and cryptocurrency CFD costs are high, though forex costs are low.
Want to know more about XTB? Check our XTB review.
DEGIRO’s advantages
Compared with eToro, Interactive Brokers and XTB, DEGIRO offers a combination of features that is hard to find elsewhere, or at least not presented as simply:
- Trading platform: the interface is about as clean as it gets, minimalist but genuinely useful. You can find any security through the search engine using its name, ticker or ISIN.
- Manual currency conversion: DEGIRO lets you convert manually from your base currency into nine others. If you sell Amazon shares, you keep the dollars rather than having them converted automatically, so buying another US stock later does not mean paying the conversion twice. Most brokers convert automatically in both directions.
- Notifications: DEGIRO does not push the kind of alert that nudges you into short-term decisions. What you get is useful information such as market holidays and regulatory updates, rather than “X stock is up 8%”, which makes sticking to a long-term plan easier.
- Banking licence: DEGIRO services are provided by flatexDEGIRO Bank SE, so cash in a DEGIRO Cash Account is covered by the German Deposit Guarantee Scheme up to €100,000, a level of cover that brokers without a banking licence cannot offer.
DEGIRO’s drawbacks
DEGIRO was a significant shift for European investors when it arrived, but the first-mover advantage has faded as competitors caught up. Here are the drawbacks worth weighing against the alternatives above:
- No local presence: there is no Croatian website, no local entity and no support in Croatian, so the whole experience is in one of DEGIRO’s supported languages.
- Connectivity fee: DEGIRO charges €2.50 a year per exchange, capped at 0.25% of your account value. If you hold positions on the NYSE, Nasdaq and Frankfurt, that is €7.50 a year simply to keep them open.
- Handling and external costs: a €1.00 flat handling fee applies to most transactions, including on the ETF Core Selection, on top of the commission itself. DEGIRO often has tighter spreads, which offsets some of this, but spreads are hard to quantify in advance while these fees are certain.
- No fractional shares: DEGIRO does not offer fractional investing, so you always buy whole shares. For investors starting with small amounts, Interactive Brokers, eToro and XTB are more flexible here.
- Investment protection: DEGIRO covers 90% of non-returned securities up to €20,000, so on a €20,000 portfolio you would recover €18,000 in the event of failure. The other platforms here offer €20,000 in full through the Cypriot or Irish compensation schemes. Worth knowing, though this scenario is remote and the cover applies to the failure of the institution, not to market losses.
Commission levels change regularly across all these brokers, so check the current fee schedule for the markets you actually trade before deciding on cost alone.
Which platform should you choose?
Whether you go with DEGIRO, eToro, Interactive Brokers, Freedom24, XTB or another platform, take the time to compare before opening an account.
For a Croatian investor, four things usually decide it: the minimum first deposit, which ranges from zero to $2,000 depending on the broker, the currency conversion cost if you buy assets priced outside the euro, the recurring fees that apply whether or not you trade, and whether the interface and support work for you in practice. None of these brokers handles Croatian tax reporting, so that work is yours in every case.
The best broker in your specific situation depends on your profile, preferences and objectives. Explore the websites above and decide for yourself.
A reminder that the above should not be construed as investment advice and should be considered information only. Investors should do their own research and due diligence about the services best suited to their circumstances.
