XTB vs DEGIRO 2026 – Which is best? We tested both!

XTB and DEGIRO are among the most popular online brokers in Europe, but they take very different approaches.

This article compares them side by side, so you can work out which one fits the way you invest.

Quick summary

• XTB: Best for commission-free real stocks and ETFs, interest on uninvested cash and an all-in-one platform that also covers forex, CFDs, options (in selected countries) and spot crypto;
• DEGIRO*: Best for bonds, options, futures and access to local European exchanges at very low per-contract fees, with the safety of a German banking licence through flatexDEGIRO Bank SE.

We would be comfortable investing with either. They simply serve different investor profiles.

XTB suits investors who want commission-free real stocks and ETFs, interest on idle cash, or forex and CFDs in the same app. It is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE: XTB) and reports more than 2.5 million clients worldwide.

DEGIRO suits cost-conscious buy-and-hold investors who want cheap access to European exchanges, bonds, options and futures. It pays no interest on uninvested cash and charges a commission on most trades, but its all-in pricing is still among the most competitive in Europe, and the flatexDEGIRO Bank SE banking licence brings deposit protection of up to €100,000 under the German Deposit Guarantee Scheme.

*Disclaimer: Investing involves risk of loss.

Want a more in-depth comparison? Below we dig into fees, safety, products and platforms.

Feel free to also check our broker comparison tool for a side-by-side comparison of XTB and DEGIRO.

XTB overview

Founded in 2002, XTB is a major player in the European brokerage industry, regulated by several top-tier authorities including Poland’s KNF, the UK’s FCA, Cyprus’ CySEC and Germany’s BaFin, and listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE: XTB). Clients in the European Union are onboarded under the Polish entity, which is the one that gives access to real stocks and ETFs.

You invest through the proprietary xStation 5 and xStation Mobile platforms, across real stocks, ETFs, options (in selected countries), spot crypto and CFDs on stocks, forex, indices, commodities and crypto. The exact product range varies by country. XTB also offers Investment Plans, recurring purchases of ETF baskets from €15, and in the UK it has added ISA and Cash ISA accounts.

XTB offers 0% commission on real stocks and ETFs for monthly turnover up to €100,000, above which a 0.2% fee applies with a €10 minimum. It also pays interest on uninvested cash in EUR, USD, GBP and PLN, calculated daily and paid monthly. Those rates are variable, can change weekly and differ by country, so check the current figure for your market before you count on it.

For more insights, check our XTB review.

XTB pros and cons

DEGIRO overview

Founded in 2008 in the Netherlands and merged into flatexDEGIRO Bank SE in 2020, DEGIRO is one of Europe’s largest low-cost brokers, with more than three million clients across Europe. It is primarily supervised by Germany’s BaFin, and in the Netherlands it is registered with DNB and supervised by the AFM. The group holds a full banking licence, which brings deposit protection of up to €100,000 under the German Deposit Guarantee Scheme.

DEGIRO gives access to more than 50 exchanges in 30 countries, covering stocks, ETFs, bonds, funds, options and futures. In October 2025 it also added spot crypto in selected markets, at 0.5% per trade. It does not offer forex or CFDs, does not offer fractional shares and pays no interest on uninvested cash.

Pricing is where it earns its reputation, and it is built on two blocks: a commission that depends on the exchange, plus a flat €1 handling fee per order. On the Portuguese schedule, a trade costs €1 on Euronext Lisbon and on the US exchanges, €3.90 on most European exchanges including Xetra, Tradegate, the London Stock Exchange and Euronext Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Milan and Paris, and €5 on Börse Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney. The ETF Selection, made up of Tradegate-listed ETFs, carries no commission at all, so you pay only the €1 handling fee. Options and futures are €0.75 per contract on Eurex, Euronext, MEFF and Nasdaq Nordic, with no handling fee.

Check our DEGIRO review for an in-depth analysis.

DEGIRO pros and cons

Safety

Both brokers publish audited accounts and are scrutinised as listed companies, which is a useful extra layer of transparency. The practical difference is the banking licence: at DEGIRO your cash sits with a bank and is covered up to €100,000, while at XTB cash is client money held at partner banks and falls under investor compensation rather than deposit protection. Neither scheme protects you against losses in the market.

Investment products

DEGIRO wins on breadth for a long-term portfolio: bonds, funds, futures and far more exchanges. XTB wins on everything built around leverage and on automation, with fractional shares and recurring Investment Plans that DEGIRO does not offer at all.

Trading platforms

xStation 5 offers more advanced tools and charting, while DEGIRO’s platform is simpler and aimed at long-term investors who place a handful of orders a year.

Fees and commissions

A couple of worked examples make the difference concrete. A €500 monthly ETF purchase costs €0 at XTB, where you can also buy fractions, against €1 at DEGIRO if the ETF is in the Selection and €3 if it is not, and always in whole units. Buying €5,000 of a German blue chip on Xetra costs €0 at XTB and €4.90 at DEGIRO (€3.90 plus the €1 handling fee). Flip to derivatives and it reverses: ten Euro Stoxx 50 futures contracts cost €7.50 at DEGIRO, and XTB does not offer futures at all. The 0.25% currency conversion is also half what XTB charges, and it does not go up at weekends.

Two costs sit outside the trading commission and deserve a look before you decide. The first is how you fund the account: a bank transfer is free at both, but at XTB a card deposit costs 0.70% in euros, so 5,000 euros paid by card is 35 euros gone before you buy anything. The second is dividends. XTB holds client shares in an omnibus account at its custodian, and because the payer cannot identify each client’s tax residence, the highest local withholding rate can be applied, for example 30% on US shares and 35% on Portuguese ones, with no double-taxation treaty relief. DEGIRO also uses omnibus custody but issues tax vouchers on request, at €25 plus VAT for German ones, which is the document you need to reclaim the excess. If you build a portfolio around dividends, this matters more than the €1 you save on the order.

Customer support

XTB: multilingual support 24 hours a day, five days a week, by live chat, phone and email, with a large library of educational material.

DEGIRO: support by email and phone on trading days, with limited hours and, in several countries, email only.

Which one should you choose?

• You invest a fixed amount every month: XTB, for the zero commission and the fractional shares. DEGIRO has no recurring investing feature and no fractions, so small monthly orders are awkward;
• You want bonds, funds, futures or options: DEGIRO, which is the only one of the two that covers them properly;
• You want interest on cash between trades: XTB. DEGIRO pays nothing on uninvested balances;
• You want the strongest protection on cash: DEGIRO, where the banking licence brings the €100,000 deposit guarantee;
• You convert currencies often: DEGIRO, at 0.25% against 0.50%, provided you leave AutoFX on.

How to invest in the S&P 500 on XTB and DEGIRO

Want to learn how to invest in the S&P 500 on both platforms?

Check our step-by-step videos, where we place the trade on each app. It is a useful way to get a feel for both before deciding. You can also read our article on how to invest in the S&P 500 with XTB.

Bottom line

Choose XTB if you want commission-free investing in real stocks and ETFs, fractional shares, interest on idle cash and a more capable trading platform.

Choose DEGIRO if you want the cheapest mainstream access to European exchanges, bonds and derivatives, and you value having your cash at a licensed bank.

Ultimately, the best platform depends on what you hold, how often you trade and how much of your money sits in cash.

Want to learn more about other brokers? Check our in-depth broker reviews, our comparison table and our BrokerMatch tool. We particularly recommend digging into how XTB performs against Interactive Brokers or our comparison between XTB and eToro.