Is Charles Schwab available in Europe? How it compares

eToro was founded in 2007. It’s famous not only for allowing investors to buy and sell financial instruments but also for its social (copy) trading features. Today, it’s one of the most well-known brokers in the world, with over 30 million users.

On the platform, you can discuss investments, speculations, and market news with other traders – even copying their strategies. The platform offers a wide range of assets suitable for beginners but also riskier assets recommended for advanced traders, such as cryptocurrencies and CFDs. You can open a demo account to practise your investments before trading with real money. 

As a downside, the base currency of the platform is USD$. So you will have to pay between 0.5% and 1% currency conversion fees when exchanging between US$ and EUR€ (depositing and withdrawing using a bank transfer is the cheaper option). Still, eToro is probably the best alternative you have to Charles Schwab in Europe.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 77% 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.

Interactive Brokers is an exceptional broker available to European traders and investors. The Trader Workstation (TWS) of Interactive Brokers is one of the top trading platforms in Europe. It caters both to beginners and professional investors looking for educational materials and an easy to use platform and advanced technical and fundamental trading tools and for in-depth research.

Due to its sophisticated and powerful tools, the wide range of products available for trading, and its low prices, Interactive Brokers normally attracts advanced traders. However, the mobile app IBKR GlobalTrader app is user-friendly and more suitable for beginners, simplifying investments without losing the powerful tools for which the broker is famous.

Interactive Brokers offers attractive features such as low commissions on US stocks, a demo account for practising investments, a wide range of tradable assets, and trading in EUR€. All of which makes it a great alternative to Charles Schwab for investors in Europe.

Founded in 2006, Trading 212 is a fintech company based in London aiming to democratise the entire investment process through a simple mobile app. You can invest in over 10,000 stocks and ETFs, CFDs on Stocks, Forex, Indices and Commodities. Over 15 million people have already downloaded the app.

In Trading 212, you will find commission-free stocks and ETFs trading, fractional shares, and even an automatic investment system. Opening an account is extremely quick and easy. On the downside, there are some limitations with the assets available (such as the lack of bonds and options). And, it charges a 0.15% FX fee when buying assets in a currency different from your base account. But, this Trading212 still offers much more than the Charles Schwab international account.

In a nutshell, the broker offers low prices, great educational resources, an impressive range of tradable assets, and user-friendly trading apps – making it an excellent alternative to investors in Europe thinking about using Charles Schwab. If you want to learn more, check out our Trading 212 review.

DEGIRO was founded in 2008 and provides services to over 2.5 million European clients. In addition to stocks and ETFs, DEGIRO’s products include mutual funds, bonds, futures, and options, warrants, with the ability to trade on pre-market and after-hours trading.

DEGIRO is a great trading platform in Europe for zero-commission ETF trading. It’s a perfect pick if you want to minimise your trading costs as it does not charge any fees for inactivity, deposits, or withdrawals while offering commission-free trading on several popular ETFs (plus external fees). Furthermore, the platform gives access to over 30 exchanges around the world.

On the downside, DEGIRO does not offer forex trading, charges €/£1 commission for US stocks, and charges €/£2.50 annually per exchange as a connectivity fee. There are also handling fees to pay on most trades. However, this is still much more convenient than using Charles Schwab for most European investors. For further details, you can read our full DEGIRO review.

Founded in 2002, XTB presents itself as a market player with extensive worldwide experience, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – and other local regulators like BaFin – and listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The platform offers 0% commissions on stocks in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain. However, its software is more oriented to CFDs and forex trading.

XTB also offers other financial products, such as commodities and cryptocurrencies. XTB charges high commissions on CFDs of cryptocurrencies but low costs for Forex. One major downside is that you’ll face an inactivity fee of €10/month after one year of non-trading or if you have not made any deposit in the last 90 days. 

Opening an account and transferring money is a quick and hassle-free process (demo account available). You can get started with just €1, which is much lower than the $25,000 Europeans need to open an international account with Charles Schwab. Take a look at our full XTB review for more details.

Freedom24 is a company founded in 2015 that offers more than 40,000 stocks from different exchanges around the globe. The broker is regulated by CySEC (License No. CIF 275/15) and, therefore, your funds are protected by the rules pursuant to the Investor Compensation Fund of Cyprus. 

Freedom24 is best known for offering IPO subscriptions, an exclusive feature that you will not find on many trading platforms (including Charles Schwab international). Their trading app, which can be used on your mobile and on a browser, is well-designed and intuitive – but lacks customisation options. 

Overall, the platform is reliable and comprehensive. It offers a unique feature regarding access to IPO subscriptions that sets it apart from other brokers, giving it a unique edge compared to the Charles Schwab international account. Please check our Freedom24 review to find out more about the broker and understand their pricing structure.

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 (LSE).

There are two account types:

• Plus500 CFD: It only focuses on CFD products;
• Plus500 Invest: Where you can trade stocks (real shares)

CFDs are an instrument that needs to be traded with care because it often leads to losses, due to the leverage effect that can magnify any loss. Despite this feature not being suitable for beginners, other factors may attract European investors who are new to the world of investments. 

The broker allows you to open a demo account to practise investments and familiarise yourself with the platform. Opening an account is extremely easy and the trading platform is intuitive, functional, and customizable. In addition, the broker provides educational resources and 24/7 customer service.

Finally, it is regulated by top-tier 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.

Plus500 has a slightly higher account minimum than some other platforms and is a bit limiting but still a great alternative to Charles Schwab for most investors throughout Europe. If you want to know a bit more about the platform, take a look at our in-depth Plus500 review.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 86% 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.