Apps with free shares in Europe: free stock promotions!

Are you based in Europe and looking for free stocks and shares? You have come to the right place. With a growing number of investment platforms available across Europe, there are plenty of opportunities to claim free shares when opening an account.

To help you find them, we have compiled the best free stock promotions available to European investors in October 2026. Keep reading for a full breakdown of the rewards on offer, along with the conditions attached to each.

One point worth making upfront: a welcome share is a small, one-off benefit. What will actually shape your returns over time is the broker’s commission structure, currency conversion costs, product range, and platform quality. Treat these promotions as a bonus for choosing a broker that already suits you, rather than as a reason to choose one.

Trading 212 is an online broker for investing in stocks and ETFs through its web and mobile apps, with No commission (other fees may apply, see terms and fees).

To claim your free fractional share, follow these steps:

1. Open an account.
2. Complete full account verification.
3. Enter the promo code IITW* within 10 days of opening your account.
4. Make the qualifying deposit within the same 10 days.
5. Your free fractional share is credited to your account.

Once your account is set up, you can share your own promo code with friends. Both you and the person you refer receive a free fractional share, and you can earn up to five free fractional shares per referral campaign.

Conditions worth knowing before you sign up:

• The free fractional share’s value is random: there is an 80% chance it is worth €8 to €25, 15% for €25.01 to €50, 3% for €50.01 to €75 and 2% for €75.01 to €100.
• You can sell the share immediately once granted, but you can only withdraw the money 30 days after receiving it.
• Trading 212 may amend or terminate the referral programme at any time without prior notice.

Beyond the welcome share, Trading 212 offers fractional shares, interest on uninvested cash and Pies & AutoInvest. A 0.15% FX fee applies when converting funds. Other fees may apply. UK clients are served by Trading 212 UK Ltd (FCA), most EU clients by Trading 212 Markets Ltd (CySEC) and, since September 2026, new clients in Portugal and the Netherlands by Trading 212 EU GmbH (BaFin). Trading 212 isn’t available in Spain.

Want to know more? Read our comprehensive Trading 212 review, and check Trading 212’s promo code terms for the full details.

BUX is a mobile-first investing app owned by ABN AMRO, which completed its acquisition in July 2024. The app now trades as “BUX by ABN AMRO” and is available in several EU countries, with support in Dutch, German, French, Spanish and Italian.

The offer has changed. In October 2026, BUX’s website advertises a €50 start bonus for new clients in the Netherlands rather than the free share of up to €200 it used to offer through referrals. Check the conditions in the app before you open an account, since BUX’s promotions change often and differ by country.

BUX has three plans: BUX Basic (€0 a month, with investment plans for regular investing), BUX Plus (€2.99 a month, with 1.75% interest on uninvested cash) and BUX Prime (€7.99 a month, with the lowest transaction fees and up to 2.00% interest on cash). BUX B.V. is licensed and supervised by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), and deposits are protected up to €100,000 by the Dutch deposit guarantee scheme.

Interactive Brokers is a US-based broker operating one of the largest investment platforms globally, serving clients across the UK, Europe, the Americas, and Asia. It is listed on Nasdaq (ticker: IBKR) and has been an S&P 500 constituent since August 2025. European clients are served by Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Follow these steps to earn up to $1,000 of free IBKR stock:

1. Sign up using this referral link and open an individual or joint account.
2. For every $300 of net deposits, you get $1 of IBKR Class A shares, up to $1,000.
3. Keep the shares and the account open for 1 year, or the shares are forfeited.

Reaching the $1,000 ceiling requires $300,000 of net deposits, so the realistic reward for most investors will be much smaller: a €10,000 deposit, for example, earns roughly $35 of IBKR stock. That said, the structure rewards genuine long-term funding rather than a one-off deposit.

Once set up, you can earn further bonuses by referring others using your unique code, details are on the Interactive Brokers website.

Bottom line

There are several worthwhile promotions available to European investors, ranging from randomly allocated fractional shares to cash start bonuses and deposit-matched stock rewards.

A few points to keep in mind before signing up:

• Read the actual value, not the headline: “up to” offers usually cluster at the bottom of the range. At Trading 212, for example, 80% of free shares are worth €8 to €25.
• Check the deposit requirement: some promotions need only a small deposit, while deposit-matched offers only pay meaningful amounts on large balances. Never deposit more than you were already planning to invest just to reach a bonus.
• Watch the lock-up periods: some offers restrict withdrawals for 30 days or require you to keep the shares for a year.
• Verify the offer is still live: promotional terms change frequently and end dates pass. Check the broker’s own page before opening an account.

Most of the brokers above also run referral programmes, so once you have an account you can earn additional shares by introducing friends.

Finally, the most important consideration: choose the broker, not the bonus. Over any meaningful holding period, the difference between a 0.15% and a 0.75% currency conversion fee, or between a platform that offers tax-advantaged accounts in your country and one that does not, will far outweigh a one-off welcome share. Pick the broker that fits how you intend to invest, and treat the promotion as a small extra.

FAQs