Investing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is among the most attractive methods compared to direct investment in a single asset due to several factors, such as diversification and lower volatility. Like stocks and Forex, brokers give you access to ETFs through their platforms.
Finding the best ETF broker in Europe can be challenging, given the many brokers available, each offering different services. For instance, you must consider the number of ETFs you will get access to, the fees you’ll incur, the trading platform you will use, and which regulatory body supervises the broker.
But don’t worry, at Investing in the Web, we’ve gathered all this information, assessed the most crucial features of various European ETF brokers, and prepared a list of the best ETF brokers in Europe. Still, you may use our comparison tool to examine various asset classes, including Forex, stocks, cryptocurrencies, etc.
Without further delay, here are the best ETF brokers in Europe and why you should consider them:
- eToro: Best for social trading and commission-free investing
- Interactive Brokers: Best for the largest ETF offering
- DEGIRO: Best for low-cost ETF trading
- XTB: Best for commission-free ETFs investing in some European countries
- Lightyear: Best emerging low-cost broker in Europe
Best ETF Brokers in Europe for 2024
| Broker | ETF Fees | Minimum deposit | Number of ETFs | Regulators |
| eToro | $0 (other fees apply) | $50 (varies between countries) | 300+ | FCA, CySEC, ASIC |
| Interactive Brokers | Varies by exchange with tiered Pricing: 0.05% of Trade Value (min: €1.25, max: €29.00) | €/$/£0 | 13,000+ | FINRA, SIPC, SEC, CFTC, IIROC, FCA, CBI, AFSL, SFC, SEBI, MAS, MNB |
| DEGIRO | £/€0 (in some ETFs, + a €/£1 handling fee), plus an annual £/€2.50 connectivity fee | €/£1 | 200+ | DNB and AFM |
| XTB* | $/€/£0 | €/$/£1 | 100+ | CySEC, FCA, KNF, CNVM, and IFSC |
| Lightyear | No Lightyear execution fees for ETFs – other fees may apply) | €/$/£1 | 150+ | Stocks, ETFs, MMFs |
*ETFs are only available in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain.
In the following detailed reviews, we discuss the features of each broker in terms of pricing, accessible markets and instruments, and other special features.
#1 eToro
eToro at a glance
eToro, a global online broker, is at the top of the list of the best ETF brokers in Europe. It has been known for its social trading platform, where you can copy the trades of other successful investors. eToro has a vast community of over 30 million investors with access to over 3,000 financial products, including 300+ ETFs.
Their trading platform is intuitive, and you can easily open an account at eToro and fund it through various methods such as credit or debit cards, Paypal, Skrill, and bank transfers. Their minimum deposit is relatively low at $50 (it depends on your country). Moreover, they do not charge any fee on deposits, and you can benefit from commission-free trading on certain ETFs.
eToro is regulated and supervised by several top-tier regulators, such as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission (CySEC). As per the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) regulation, eToro also provides negative balance protection for Forex and CFD trading on a per-account basis to retail clients from the European Union.
On the downside, they charge a $5 fee per withdrawal, and if your deposit currency is different than your account currency, a currency conversion fee will be applied (example: from EUR to USD is 0.50%). Finally, their customer support may take over two business days to reply to customer requests.
For a full assessment, read our comprehensive eToro review.
Best ETF brokers in Europe – eToro dashboard
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
#2 Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers at a glance
Interactive Brokers is another outstanding broker that offers the most extensive range of ETFs and allows you to trade almost any financial instrument, such as stocks, options, futures, Forex, commodities, bonds, and even over-the-counter (OTC) securities. It was founded in 1978 and is regulated by many top-tier regulators, such as the SEC and the FCA.
Nearly all Europeans can open an account at Interactive Brokers, which is suitable for any investor. Although its web-based Client Portal, GlobalTrader Mobile app, and professional Trader Workstation platform (TWS) are very well designed and simple to use, a newbie may find the number of tools available overwhelming.
Deposits can be made through bank wire transfer, with no minimum deposit requirement to open an account. As for ETF trading, the fees follow tier-based pricing and vary depending on the exchange and the volume of your trades. For instance, the fees on most EU-listed ETFs are 0.05% of trade value, with a minimum fee of €1.25 and a maximum of €29.00.
As for their customer support, you can reach them by phone, email, live chat, or through their automated “iBot.” Even though their team is quite experienced, email inquiries might not get a reply right away.
You can read our IBKR review for more information.
Best ETF brokers in Europe – IBKR trading platform
#3 DEGIRO
DEGIRO at a glance
DEGIRO joins the list in third place as a low-cost ETF trading broker. It was founded in 2008, with its main office in Amsterdam.
There is no minimum requirement to open an account at DEGIRO, and they don’t charge any fees for maintenance, inactivity, deposits, or withdrawals. This is ideal for investors looking to minimize trading costs and build long-term portfolios. On top of stocks and ETFs, DEGIRO gives you access to mutual funds, bonds, warrants, futures, options, and warrants from over 30 exchanges, allowing you to trade on pre-market and after-hours trading. Their platform is among the best trading platforms in Europe; it has a modern design, and the company continuously adds new features based on clients’ feedback.
DEGIRO, officially known as flatexDEGIRO Bank Dutch Branch, is regulated by DNB and AFM in the Netherlands. Its parent company, flatexDEGIRO Bank AG, is regulated by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).
On the downside, DEGIRO does not offer a demo account, has a €/£2.50 annual connectivity fee, and has little research. For further details, you can read our DEGIRO review.
Best ETF brokers in Europe – DEGIRO dashboard
#5 XTB
XTB at a glance
XTB is the last broker on our list of best ETF brokers in Europe. It was founded in 2002 and is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. They provide access to trading stocks, ETFs, and CFDs on indices, commodities, Forex, and cryptocurrencies to over 400,000 clients worldwide. Overall, it has a stellar reputation for its affordable pricing, which varies depending on your account type, and its excellent customer service, accessible by live chat, phone support, and email.
XTB is regulated by several top-tier regulators, including the FCA. The fees depend on the account type (standard or pro) and your country. In general, it is relatively low with competitive spreads. Recently, XTB started offering commission-free ETFs (and stocks) in the following European Countries: Portugal, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, France, Spain, Romania, and Germany.
Once you open an account, you’ll have access to their two trading platforms, the xStation 5 and the xStation Mobile, which have a high level of customization but are, in our opinion, a bit complicated for first-timers.
Lastly, XTB’s limited product offering and their €10 monthly inactivity fee (after more than a year of inactivity with no deposits in the previous 90 days) are some drawbacks, particularly for long-term investors.
More information can be found in our XTB review.
Best ETF brokers in Europe – XTB Mobile App
#5 Lightyear
Lightyear at a glance
Lightyear is a European investment app that operates via the entity Lightyear Europe AS, authorized and regulated by the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority (EFSA – license number 4.1-1/31), with clients’ assets covered up to €20,000.
There are no Lightyear execution fees to trade ETFs. For stocks, commissions do not go over €/$/£1 per order, and there is a flat 0.35% fee for currency conversion (this fee can be minimized by their multi-currency account in EUR, GBP & USD). Lightyear offers one of the highest interest in uninvested cash: 4.50% in USD, 3.25% in EUR, and 4.50% in GBP (As of April 2024).
The investment platform is suitable for beginners and intermediate investors who can safely invest in fractional shares. With an easy-to-use app and more than 3,500 stocks available from the US, UK, European, and Asian markets, Lightyear is an excellent way to get exposure to the stock market.
There are, however, some downsides to Lightyear’s investing app: the product offering is limited (there are no options, commodities, and Forex) and there is no demo account.
Check our Lightyear review for more detailed information.
Disclaimer: Capital at risk. The provider of investment services is Lightyear Financial Ltd for the UK and Lightyear Europe AS for the EU. Terms apply: lightyear.com/terms. Seek qualified advice if necessary.
Best ETF brokers in Europe – Lightyear dashboard
Methodology
Investing in the Web aims to offer investors fair and unbiased reviews of online brokers. Our team thoroughly examined each of the brokers mentioned above to come up with this list, taking into account several variables, including:
- Regulation (at least supervised by one European regulator)
- ETF offering (access to several exchanges)
- Low trading and non-trading fees
- Easy deposit and withdrawal methods
- Sound customer service
Finally, we ensured that all brokers give you access to other financial products if you want to expand your trading beyond ETFs.
What Makes a Good ETF Broker?
A good ETF broker should first be a safe broker, and accordingly, it should be regulated by one of the top-tier financial authorities. Deposit and withdrawal of funds should be available by traditional payment methods such as bank transfer, debit, or credit card, as well as other quick and simple methods. As for fees, many brokers offer commission-free ETF trading; however, non-trading fees such as inactivity fees, deposit fees, and withdrawal fees should also be low. Finally, a good broker should offer a demo account for customers, which is the best way to test the broker’s trading platforms.
The bottom line
To summarize here’s the list of “Best ETF brokers in Europe”:
Best ETF brokers in Europe
| #1 | eToro | Best for social trading and commission free investing |
| #2 | Interactive Brokers | Best for the largest ETF offering |
| #3 | DEGIRO | Best for low cost ETF trading |
| #4 | XTB | Best for commission-free ETFs investing in some European countries |
| #5 | Lightyear | Best for emerging low-cost broker in Europe |
Finally, finding the best ETF broker in Europe is challenging due to the many brokers available, each offering different features with different pricing. We examined the tools offered by major European brokers and came out with this list to assist you in choosing the best ETF broker. This list includes brokers that provide access to a wide variety of ETFs globally and have key points of differentiation compared to other brokers. You may always visit our broker’s reviews page for an in-depth, unbiased assessment of various brokers’ services and our comparison tool, a dynamic solution for comparing top brokers in your country.
We hope that this post addressed some of your concerns. Before deciding when selecting the best European ETF broker, we advise opening a demo account and exploring its features. Please let us know in the comments if you have any thoughts or suggestions.
Other FAQs
What is an ETF? How does it work?
ETFs allow investors to mix their funds and collectively invest in a basket of securities. They typically track the performance of a particular industry, index, commodity, or other asset class and are bought and sold throughout the day on an exchange. As a result, although their prices may change in response to supply and demand, they often stay close to the underlying securities’ net asset value (NAV). Over the last decade, ETFs have been the main financial instrument used by Robo-advisors to create their investment portfolios.
Do ETFs Pay Dividends?
Not all. There are two types of ETFs: distribution and accumulation. Distributing ETFs pay the whole amount of dividends received from the underlying stocks they hold, and usually, the payment frequency is quarterly. However, accumulating ETFs do not distribute dividends but rather use them to reinvest in the stocks that the ETF already owns.
What’s the difference between an ETF and a mutual fund?
Despite many similarities, mutual funds and ETFs differ significantly in a few ways. For example, ETFs can be exchanged throughout the day on an exchange like stocks, while mutual funds can only be bought at the close of each trading day based on their net asset value. Another significant difference is the method each fund is managed. ETFs typically track a market index or sector and are passively managed. On the other hand, mutual funds are actively managed and have a fund manager who often buys and sells assets for the fund based on a specific investment mandate.
Toni is a Fintech Analyst with over 8 years of experience in the financial industry where he worked as a financial control analyst at a regional bank and later conducted independent investment research analysis.
