You already know that starting investing is a significant milestone in your financial life, but now you may wonder, “Where should I open my investment account?”. The search for a commission-free stock broker may be daunting!
Through cost-benefit analysis, we’ve compiled five online brokers as our top picks for the best brokers in Austria. We’ve listed the following factors that investors like you always take into account: fees (commission-free trading), investment platforms, the range of markets and instruments available, and education resources.
These are our suggestions for the best investing apps in Austria:
eToro
An online broker that offers commission-free stock trading. You can also copy other traders/investors. Slick, modern, and easy for anyone to use. It is trusted by more than 30 million clients worldwide. See our eToro summary.
Disclaimer: eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
Plus500
Plus500 is a multi-asset online broker that offers no commissions when trading CFDs in Indices, Forex, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, Shares, Options, and ETFs. It also recently launched Plus500 Invest for those who want to invest in real shares. See our Plus500 summary.
Disclaimer: 82% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
BUX
A recent mobile app with a simple and intuitive platform that offers stocks, ETFs and cryptos free of charge. For more details, check our BUX summary.
Trading 212
An online broker that offers real stocks, ETFs, and CFDs across various asset classes. More details on our Trading 212 summary.
Disclaimer: 76% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
Scalable Capital
Scalable Capital acts both as an Online Broker and a Robo-Advisor. Investors can invest in Stocks, ETFs, Funds, Derivatives, and Crypto ETPs in a “Do-it-yourself” approach or delegate that to Scalable Capital and get a personalized and globally diversified portfolio. More details on our Scalable Capital summary.
✔️ All of them are authorized to operate in Austria by the Finanzmarktaufsicht (FMA). As such, all are under investor protection schemes.
Comparison of commission-free stock brokers in Austria
- Broker
- Website
- Overview
- Demo Account
- Account minimum
- Fees
- US stocks
- EU stocks
- ETFs
- Currency Conversion Fee
- Security
- Regulators
- Investor Compensation Scheme(per person, per instituion)
Commission-free stock brokers in Austria
1# eToro
eToro at a glance
Founded in 2006, eToro is a well-known worldwide fintech startup and the leader in the social trading field (follow other people’s trades), with over 30 million users worldwide. You can also invest in other products through their platform, which is intuitive and simple to use, making it a good choice for beginners. Plus, eToro offers commission-free stock trading in Austria.
Opening an account and depositing is easy, and you can even try it out with virtual money (demo account). On the downside, spreads can be high for some products. The only currency accepted (base currency) is the USD, which means that you’ll be charged currency conversion fees upon deposit and withdrawal if you deposit in another currency.
If you want to learn more, check our eToro Review.
eToro Pros and Cons
Pros
- Commission-free stock trading
- Social Trading and other innovative products
- Wide variety of financial products
- Slick, modern, and easy for anyone to use
- Top tier regulators
Cons
- Limited disclosed financial information
- Withdraw and inactivity fees
- Spread, overnight, inactivity, and currency conversion fees higher than average
- Only one base currency account (USD)
Commission-free stock brokers in Austria
2# Plus500
Plus500 at a glance
Founded in 2008, Plus500 is an online broker offering a wide range of financial products, including real shares and CFDs on forex, indices, shares, commodities, options, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. It is available in over 50 countries and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
There are two distinct account types:
- Plus500 CFD: It only focuses on CFD products;
- Plus500 Invest: Where you can trade stocks (real shares);
As a side note, Trade Sniper, a platform only available for US users and where you can trade Futures, is also part of the Plus500 group.
The web platform you will use is the WebTrader, Plus500’s proprietary platform, offering a stable trading experience and easy access from multiple devices, including a mobile app. All platforms are user-friendly and responsive, and you can start testing the features by opening a demo account.
Their customer support is helpful and easy to assess through a chat that is always shown on the trading platform. Their spreads are low, and they offer accounts in sixteen currencies, including USD, EUR, and GBP. Still, they charge a 0.70% currency conversion fee and a $10 monthly fee following three months with no activity. On Plus500 Invest, they only charge a small commission per trade (US market: $0,006/share).
Finally, it is regulated by financial regulators like the FCA and CySec, meaning that Plus500 is appropriately supervised and that there is an investor protection scheme under the entity you open an account with. For instance, If you open an account as a European investor through Plus500CY Ltd, you are protected up to €20,000. Additionally, Plus500 provides negative balance protection for CFD trading on a per-account basis – only to retail clients from the European Union (regulatory requirement).
Want to know more about Plus500? Check our Plus500 Review.
Plus500 Pros and Cons
Pros
- Innovative and responsive platform
- Low spreads
- No dealing commissions
- Demo Account
- Top-tier regulators
Cons
- No ETF offering
- Inactivity fee ($10 per month after no login activity in 3 months)
- High overnight funding fees
- Very little research and education provided
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 80% 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.
Commission-free stock brokers in Austria
3# BUX
BUX at a glance
BUX is an online broker launched in 2019 that has positioned itself as an affordable way for Europeans to increase their savings. It brings a simple and elegant way to start investing.
It allows users to trade US and EU stocks (Dutch, German, Belgian, French, and Austrian) and 30+ ETFs. New users will also benefit from one free share worth up to €200 (terms available on page 31 of the BUX Client Agreement). You also have access to fractional investing, making it easy to invest in companies with big share prices (Amazon, Tesla, Alphabet,…) starting for as little as €10.
BUX is very transparent in its pricing structure: it charges no commission for Zero, Market and Limit Orders for US stocks, but it will cost you €1 per Market or Limit Order in EU stocks and ETFs (Zero Orders are free). Besides, it also earns money through an FX markup (currency conversion fee) of 0.25%.
On the downside, the only place to trade is its mobile app (no desktop or web trading platform available), the products available are limited and it has no demo account.
BUX is regulated by the Dutch Authority for Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten – AFM). If you want to learn more, check out our BUX Review.
BUX Pros and Cons
Pros
- Commission-free stock, ETF and crypto trading
- Offers one Free Share of up to 200€ upon deposit
- Fractional Investing
- Modern and user-friendly mobile app
- No inactivity, custody, deposit or withdrawal fee
- No minimum required deposit
Cons
- No investment advice
- No demo account
- Limited financial products
Commission-free stock brokers in Austria
4# Trading 212
Trading 212 at a glance
Founded in 2006, Trading 212 is a fintech based in London that aims to democratize the entire investment process through a simple mobile application. The company aims to do this by allowing anyone to invest in over 10,000 stocks and ETFs, Forex, commodities, CFDs, and cryptocurrencies. Over 15 million people have already downloaded the app. In 2017, it was the trading app with the most downloads in Germany and, since 2016, it has remained 1st in the United Kingdom.
In Trading 212, you will find commission-free stocks and ETFs trading, fractional shares, and even an automatic investment system (Robo-advisor). Opening an account is extremely quick and easy. On the downside, it shows limitations regarding available products, such as the lack of bonds and options. It charges a 0.15% currency conversion fee when buying assets in a currency different from your base account.
Within the app, you will notice two distinct sub-platforms: Trading 212 Invest, where you can trade a range of assets free of charge and trading 212 CFD, where you may trade leveraged financial products (CFDs).
If you want to learn more, check our Trading 212 Review.
Trading 212 Pros and Cons
Pros
- Commission-free Real Stocks and ETFs trading
- AutoInvest & Pies feature
- Fast and easy account opening process
- Demo account
- Top Tier Regulators
Cons
- Limited product portfolio (no Options, Bonds, Mutual Funds or Futures)
- No relevant Fundamental tools
- Spreads on Forex CFDs may be high in certain trading hours
- Foreign exchange fees (0.15% and 0.50% in “Invest” and “CFDs” accounts, respectively)
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.
Commission-free stock brokers in Austria
5# Scalable Capital
Scalable Capital at a glance
Founded in 2014, Scalable Capital is a German fintech that offers two services: Brokerage, where you can trade shares, ETFs, funds, crypto and derivatives and invest via a savings plan by yourself and a Wealth Service (Robo-advisor), where you get a personalized portfolio managed by Scalable Capital.
On the brokerage side, the range of available products is considerable: 7,000+ shares, 2,000+ ETFs, 2,000+ Funds, 70+ Crypto ETPs and 375,000+ derivatives. It offers three pricing plans: “Free broker” for €0/month; “Prime Broker” for €2.99/month and “Prime Broker Flex” for €4.99. In all of them, you have free trading in a list of “PRIME ETFs”. Commission-free trading in shares is included in the “Prime Broker” plan.
Within the Wealth Service, you will only be presented with different portfolios/strategies using ETFs. First, you need to answer a short questionnaire to access your risk profile, and then an appropriate portfolio will be set for you. Up to €100,000, you are charged an annual management fee of 0.75%. You can pay the minimum annual fee of 0.49% if you deposit over €500,000.
Scalable Capital has regulatory permission from the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) to provide securities services, and it is also supervised by the German Federal Bank (Deutsche Bundesbank). As such, it is a member of the investor compensation scheme, which protects your cash (up to €100,000) and your assets (limited to 90 %, up to a maximum of €20,000 per investor).
Scalable Capital Pros and Cons
Pros
- Commission-free ETFs trading (+0% commission in Stocks in PRIME Broker pricing plan)
- Fast and easy account opening process
- Wealth Management Service (Robo-Advisor)
- Top Tier Regulators
Cons
- Limited product portfolio (no Options or Bonds)
- Lack of detailed Fundamental tools
- Only available in a handful of countries
Which platform should you choose?
Some factors you should know when choosing an online broker are the fees charged if it is regulated by top-tier institutions such as the FCA in the UK, the range of products it allows you to trade (not all platforms allow you to trade EU stocks), among others.
The best online broker in your specific case will depend on your profile, preference, and objectives. Explore the websites above and decide for yourself!
A reminder that the above should not be seen as investment advice and should be considered information only. Investors should do their own research and diligence about the best-suited services and opportunities for their risk, returns, and impact strategy.
Hope we helped, and leave your comments below.
Happy investments!
Other FAQs about Brokers in Austria
How to invest in stocks from Austria?
You can use one of the online brokers shown above: eToro, BUX, Plus500, Scalable Capital, and Trading 212.
What is a brokerage company?
It is an entity designed to be the middleman between you and the people you are trying to buy or sell a stock, ETF, crypto,… you name it!
Which broker is best in Austria?
There is no single answer. It depends on what you value most: fees, security, investment platform or any relevant feature.
What are the types of investments you can make with a brokerage account?
You can trade stocks, ETFs, Forex, Bonds, Futures and CFDs on stocks, ETFs, indices, cryptocurrencies, commodities.
Franklin is a CFA Level III Candidate with 3 years of experience in Wealth Management as a Fund Research Analyst and the Host of the "Edge Over Hedge" YouTube Channel.
