Is TD Ameritrade available in Germany? Alternatives in 2024

TD Ameritrade is a US-based broker which targets both beginners and more professional investors. Its assets include stocks and ETF (with no commission), as well as more complex financial assets, such as options and futures.

Do you want to know if TD Ameritrade is available in Germany and the alternatives available? Keep on reading. We’ve got you covered!

TD Ameritrade alternatives in Germany

eToro is the world’s leading social trading platform, with over 30 million clients in more than 140 countries. It allows retail account holders to mimic the trades and trading strategies of the most successful clients automatically and in real time.

Still, it does not only focus on social trading! It is also a multi-asset platform offering many different financial instruments to trade, such as ETFs, stocks and CFDs on Indices, commodities, Forex, and cryptocurrencies. eToro provides a 0% commission on stock trading. The spreads on CFDs may vary according to each financial product, so keep that in mind before placing an order.

The website and mobile app are nearly identical, attractively laid out, and incredibly simplified. The account opening process is pretty easy and fast. You only need a few minutes to sign up and follow the identification procedure. Moreover, if you are not yet comfortable with investing or its comprehensive dashboard, eToro provides you with a practice account.

eToro is considered safe since top-tier financial authorities regulate it, like the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and it has shown resilience during the Covid-19 market turmoil.

On the downside, it only has one account base currency (USD) and charges a 5$ commission per withdrawal. Plus, cost-free trading only applies when you trade real stocks or ETFs. In other words, if you leverage your positions, you’re trading CFDs and not real stocks or ETFs, and so you will incur spreads and overnight fees.

If you are interested, please read our review of eToro.

Founded in 1978 and publicly listed in NASDAQ (ticker: IBKR), Interactive Brokers is a global online broker which surpassed major financial crises, showing resilience and a rigorous risk management process.

Interactive Brokers offers an advanced investment platform that includes a wide range of products (stocks, options, mutual funds, ETFs, futures, bonds, and currencies) from 150 markets, solid trade execution (IB SmartRouting), and a set of technical and fundamental tools to help you in your investment decisions.

Beginners and intermediate investors have educational tools to explore, but the learning curve will be steep. That´s why we mainly endorse it to more advanced traders. Besides, the customer service gives crystal clear answers to your doubts, so there is no need to go back and forth.

On the downside, Interactive Brokers’ fee structure is quite complex, the registration process is lengthy but fully online, and the broker doesn’t offer commission-free trading. However, when considering FX fees, narrower spreads, and the stock loan program, Interactive Brokers’ clients still get significant savings compared to most brokers.

Interactive Brokers also launched IBKR GlobalTrader, a modern mobile trading app to trade Stocks, Options and ETFs, ideal for beginner investors. Some of the features of IBKR GlobalTrader include automatic currency conversions, fractional shares, demo account, and more.

Want to know more about Interactive Brokers? Check our Interactive Brokers Review.

Founded in 2013, DEGIRO is a low-cost brokerage firm that has become very popular due to its low rates! With over 2.5 million users, the innovative platform has become widely known for its “do-it-yourself” philosophy in that you have everything at your disposal to start investing on your own. It offers a wide range of financial assets to trade, including stocks, ETFs, bonds, options, futures contracts, warrants, investment funds, and some leveraged products (not quite the same as CFDs. More info here).

For instance, you can trade some ETFs for free (a 1.00€ flat handling fee – external costs – still apply) with no minimum amount required. The web trading platform is basic, but it is efficient and straightforward to use. In a matter of minutes, you get used to it. The same applies to its mobile app. On the downside, there is an absence of any significant fundamental research, a 2.50€ connectivity fee applies, and pricing alerts are missing.

Regarding security, DEGIRO is the Dutch branch of flatexDEGIRO Bank AG (a German-regulated bank). In the unlikely event that the segregated assets cannot be returned to clients, DEGIRO falls under the German Investor Compensation Scheme, which compensates any losses from non-returned assets up to 90% (with a maximum of EUR 20,000), so do bear this in mind if you are planning to invest much larger volumes. Furthermore, any money deposited on a DEGIRO Cash Account with flatexDEGIRO Bank AG will be guaranteed up to EUR 100,000 under the German Deposit Guarantee Scheme.

Still any doubts? Go through our DEGIRO Review!

Another world player in the online brokerage industry is XTB. It is regulated by top-tier regulators such as the UK’s FCA, is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and offers a professional trading platform – xStation 5.

Recently, it started offering 0% commission on stocks in Germany, alongside its currently available products like CFDs on several asset classes.

Its research and educational tools are also great when compared to competitors. Because it has multiple offices in Europe, XTB’s customer service is one of the best in the market if you are a European trader.

On the downside, the range of products offered is limited, as it is mainly focused on CFDs, Forex, and Crypto while providing access to real stocks and ETFs in some countries.

That’s XTB in a nutshell! If you want a more detailed review, read our XTB Review.

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, completely commission-free. New users will also benefit from one free share worth up to 200€ (terms available on P.30 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€.

Another great point for BUX is that it is very transparent: it has no hidden fees, and if you want to benefit from more premium services such as market or limit orders, it’ll cost you 1€ (all of that is available on the pricing page).

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.

Bottom line: which broker is better?

There’s no such thing as “the best online broker”. Different providers offer different features which will fit your profile, preferences, and objectives differently.

For instance, do you want an easy-to-use platform for long-term buy-and-hold or a more complex platform for options trading? Do you value research, or is an execution-only broker sufficient? Which products and markets are you looking to trade?

Even though many traders are now looking at commission-free trading as the main factor for their choice, one must be aware that it generally comes at a cost. Where is the broker routing its orders? It might compromise the quality of trade execution.

The best online broker in your specific case will depend on your profile, preference, and objectives. Explore the websites linked above and decide for yourself!

Remember that this article should not be construed as investment advice but should be considered information only. Investors should do their own research and due diligence regarding the services and opportunities best suited for their risk, returns, and impact strategy.

Happy investing!