Best Online Brokers & Trading Apps in Germany (compared in 2026)

One of the leading trading platforms in Germany is eToro – a global online broker with 40+ million users across 140+ countries who trade stocks, forex, commodities, CFDs, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. eToro is publicly listed on NASDAQ (ticker: ETOR since May 2025) and is best known for its social trading feature, which allows users to automatically copy the trades of experienced investors. With thousands of verified traders on the platform, you can filter by past Return on Investment (ROI), risk profile, asset class focus, and other criteria.

The eToro platform gives users access to 3,000+ financial instruments, including real stocks and ETFs. Additionally, users can invest in Smart Portfolios – professionally curated portfolios grouping assets or top traders together around a theme or strategy (such as AI, renewable energy, dividend stocks, or crypto).

eToro offers commission-free real stock and ETF trading in Germany (other fees apply, including a $5 withdrawal fee and currency conversion costs).

The demo account is particularly useful for beginners ($100,000 in virtual money) – providing a real hands-on experience that closely mirrors live trading, so the transition to a funded account feels seamless. On the downside, there is a $5 withdrawal fee, and if you don’t log in to your account for over 12 months, a $10 monthly inactivity fee will apply.

eToro is regulated by multiple tier-1 authorities, including the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and the US SEC and FINRA. For German clients, services are provided via eToro (Europe) Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and passported into Germany under MiFID II.

If you want to learn more, check our full eToro review.

Another exceptional trading platform in Germany is Interactive Brokers. Founded in 1978 and publicly listed on NASDAQ (ticker: IBKR, S&P 500 constituent since 2024), Interactive Brokers is a global online broker that has weathered multiple major financial crises – demonstrating resilience and a rigorous risk management process.

Interactive Brokers offers an advanced investment platform spanning a wide range of products – stocks, options, mutual funds, ETFs, futures, bonds, forex, and crypto – across 170+ markets in 36+ countries. Order execution is anchored by IB SmartRouting, which routes orders to the venue offering the best available price, alongside a comprehensive set of technical and fundamental analysis tools for investment decisions.

Pricing examples for German investors:

• US stocks: from $0.0035 per share on the tiered plan (minimum $0.35, maximum 1% of trade value);
• European ETFs and stocks: from 0.05% of trade value (minimum €1.25, maximum €29 per order);
• Currency conversion: up to 0.0020% (minimum $2) – one of the cheapest FX conversion rates available to retail investors anywhere.

For German clients, services are provided via Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited (regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland) and Interactive Brokers Central Europe Zrt. (regulated by the Hungarian MNB) – both passported into Germany under MiFID II.

Beginners and intermediate investors will find a wealth of educational resources via IBKR Campus, though the learning curve on the flagship Trader Workstation (TWS) platform is genuinely steep. Customer service is responsive and professional, with multilingual support available.

On the downside, IBKR’s fee structure is on the complex side, the account opening process is lengthy (though fully online), and the broker doesn’t offer commission-free trading. However, when factoring in FX fees, narrower spreads, and the Stock Yield Enhancement Program, Interactive Brokers’ clients still achieve meaningful cost savings compared to most brokers over the long term.

For investors who want a simpler experience, Interactive Brokers also offers IBKR GlobalTrader – a modern mobile trading app for stocks, ETFs, and options that’s well-suited to newer investors. Key features include automatic currency conversions, fractional shares, and a built-in demo account.

Want to know more about Interactive Brokers? Check our full Interactive Brokers review.

Founded in 2014, Scalable Capital is a Munich-based German fintech offering two distinct services: a brokerage service for trading shares, ETFs, funds, crypto, and derivatives (plus savings plans for systematic investing), and a Wealth Service (robo-advisor) that provides a personalised portfolio managed by Scalable Capital on your behalf.

On the brokerage side, the product range is genuinely impressive: 7,500+ stocks, 2,400+ ETFs, 3,000+ funds, 70+ crypto ETPs, and 375,000+ derivatives. Scalable offers three pricing tiers:

• Free Broker: €0/month, with €0.99 per trade and free trading on a curated list of “PRIME ETFs”;
• PRIME+ Broker: €4.99/month, with commission-free trading on stocks, ETFs, and crypto;
• PRIME+ Flex: variable monthly pricing for active traders.

Within the Wealth Service, you’re presented with different portfolios and strategies built using ETFs. After completing a short questionnaire that assesses your risk profile, Scalable constructs an appropriate portfolio for you. The annual management fee is 0.75% up to €100,000, with reduced fees for larger balances (down to 0.49% for portfolios above €500,000).

One of Scalable’s most notable features is its cash interest offer: clients earn interest on uninvested EUR cash balances at rates linked to ECB policy (currently competitive across all account tiers), though specific rates and limits vary by plan.

Scalable Capital is authorised by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) to provide securities services, and is supervised by the Deutsche Bundesbank. As a German credit institution, client cash is protected under the German Deposit Guarantee Scheme up to €100,000, while securities (held in custody at Baader Bank) are protected by the investor compensation scheme up to €20,000 (90% of holdings).

Founded in 2010, Pepperstone has positioned itself as one of the largest forex and CFD brokers globally, serving over 400,000 retail trading accounts worldwide. It has earned multiple industry awards for its execution and pricing, including our “Best MT4 and MT5 Broker” award for 2025.

Pepperstone operates under multiple tier-1 regulators – including the FCA (UK), ASIC (Australia), BaFin (Germany), CySEC (Cyprus), CMA (Kenya), and DFSA (Dubai). For German clients, services are provided via the BaFin-regulated entity, reinforcing the broker’s commitment to a secure and trustworthy trading environment.

The platform offers a range of professional trading platforms, including MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, and TradingView integration, with features such as advanced charting, algorithmic trading capabilities, and Expert Advisor (EA) support.

Account types cater to different trader profiles:

• Razor account: favoured by scalpers and EA users – offers spreads starting from zero pips with a small commission per lot;
• Standard account: incorporates commissions into the spread rate – more suitable for those preferring a straightforward all-in pricing approach.

On the downside, Pepperstone focuses on CFD trading and forex – no real stocks, shares, or crypto investing – and it pays no interest on uninvested cash balances, which is a notable feature offered by other brokers in this list.

Pepperstone is best suited for traders focused on CFDs and forex – it is even endorsed by the r/Forex subreddit (the largest forex community online) alongside Interactive Brokers, which further attests to its credibility within the forex and CFD community.

You can check our in-depth Pepperstone review here.

Freedom24, part of Freedom Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: FRHC), has emerged as a standout brokerage platform for retail investors by providing access to a diverse range of global financial products – including stocks, bonds, futures, options, and a strong focus on ETF investing.

With access to 3,600+ ETFs, Freedom24 offers not only the most popular ETFs from global issuers like Vanguard, iShares, and Invesco, but also a broad range of investment strategies, including dividend-focused and short-term bond ETFs, as well as niche and high-yield options such as covered call and swap-based ETFs. If a specific ETF isn’t already listed, clients can request its addition directly – a level of flexibility rarely available on other European brokerage platforms.

Freedom24 also launched Bonds Showcase, allowing investors to start with as little as €/$1,000 per bond. It’s a curated list of investment-grade bonds (rated B+ and above) designed to offer predictable and stable returns. The feature streamlines the process of finding and purchasing bonds, making the asset class more accessible for investors seeking reliable income and long-term portfolio diversification.

The platform’s web and mobile interfaces are intuitive, complemented by market analysis tools (Investideas) and educational resources (Freedom Academy) to support investment decisions. Freedom24 also offers a signup promotion of up to 20 free stocks.

With no minimum deposit, Freedom24 offers two main pricing plans:

• Prime in EUR: includes access to a personal account manager – suitable for higher-volume investors;
• Smart in EUR: more suitable for investors with lower trading volumes and standard service requirements.

On the downside, Freedom24 charges a €7 withdrawal fee and does not offer cryptocurrency trading.

Freedom24’s European operations are conducted by Freedom Finance Europe Ltd, regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and passported into Germany under MiFID II. In the unlikely event that segregated assets cannot be returned to clients, Freedom24 falls under the Cyprus Investor Compensation Fund (ICF), which compensates losses up to €20,000 per investor.

Want to learn more? Check our full Freedom24 review or visit Freedom24 directly.

Founded in 2013, DEGIRO is a low-cost brokerage firm that has become genuinely popular among European retail investors thanks to its competitive pricing. With over 3 million users across 18+ European countries, the platform is known for its “do-it-yourself” philosophy – giving investors the tools to manage their own portfolios without intermediaries. DEGIRO offers a broad range of financial assets, including stocks, ETFs, bonds, options, futures, warrants, investment funds, and some leveraged products (which are not quite the same as CFDs – more info here).

One of DEGIRO’s most attractive features is its Core Selection of ETFs, which can be traded commission-free (a €1.00 flat handling fee still applies on external costs) with no minimum trade amount required. The web platform is intentionally minimalist – efficient and straightforward to learn, with the same applying to the mobile app. On the downside, DEGIRO doesn’t provide in-depth fundamental research tools, charges €1.00 commission per US stock trade, applies an annual €2.50 connectivity fee per exchange, and lacks built-in price alerts that other brokers offer.

On the regulatory and safety side, DEGIRO is the Dutch branch of flatexDEGIRO Bank AG – a German-regulated bank supervised by BaFin and the Deutsche Bundesbank. In the unlikely event that segregated client assets cannot be returned, DEGIRO falls under the German Investor Compensation Scheme (EdW), which compensates losses up to 90% (maximum €20,000 per investor) – worth keeping in mind for those planning to invest substantial sums. Cash held in a DEGIRO Cash Account with flatexDEGIRO Bank AG is additionally protected under the German Deposit Guarantee Scheme up to €100,000.

Still have doubts? Read our full DEGIRO review.

Launched in 1992, Saxo (formerly Saxo Bank, now part of J. Safra Sarasin since March 2025) is one of the most established financial entities in the brokerage industry, with a strong long-term track record and an A- credit rating from S&P. The platform lets you trade over 71,000 financial instruments through its proprietary platforms: SaxoTraderPRO (advanced desktop) and SaxoTraderGO (web and mobile).

The product range covers cash and margin trading across global markets – including stocks, ETFs, bonds, mutual funds, cryptocurrencies, options, futures, CFDs, and forex. Saxo’s advanced research tools support both buy-and-hold investors and active leveraged traders.

Saxo offers three account tiers (the structure differs slightly by jurisdiction; the values below reflect the European tier structure):

• Classic: €0 minimum deposit required (since 2024), giving access to competitive spreads and 24/5 customer and technical support;
• Platinum: €200,000 minimum portfolio value required. In addition to Classic features, lowers trading prices by up to 30% and prioritises local-language customer support;
• VIP: €1,000,000 minimum portfolio value required. Provides Saxo’s best pricing, direct access to trading experts, and exclusive event invitations.

Pricing varies by account tier. For example, a US stock order is 0.08% of the trade value (min. $1) in the Classic tier – the same trade would be 0.03% (min. $1) in the VIP tier. For accounts holding stocks, ETFs/ETCs, or bond positions, a custody fee of up to 0.15% per year applies (avoidable for investors who opt in to securities lending).

Listed prices are approximate and may differ based on country of residence. For precise pricing, refer to the trade ticket within the platform or to Saxo’s official pricing page.

Saxo Bank A/S is a fully licensed European bank under the supervision of the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (DFSA). Saxo Bank is a member of the Danish Guarantee Fund, which protects client cash deposits up to €100,000 and financial securities (stocks, ETFs, etc.) up to €20,000 per client. For German clients, services are passported into Germany under MiFID II.

Founded in 2004, Trading 212 is a London-based fintech that aims to democratise investing through a simple, mobile-first experience. The platform gives users access to over 10,000 stocks and ETFs, alongside forex, cryptocurrencies, commodities, and CFDs.

Trading 212 offers commission-free stock, ETF, and crypto trading, fractional shares, and an automated investing feature (Pies and AutoInvest) that lets users build self-managed thematic portfolios. Account opening is quick and fully digital. On the downside, the product range has some limitations – notably no bonds or options – and a 0.15% currency conversion fee applies when buying assets in a currency different from your account base currency.

Within the Trading 212 app, you’ll notice two distinct sub-platforms: Trading 212 Invest, for trading real stocks, ETFs, and crypto commission-free, and Trading 212 CFD, for leveraged CFD trading on shares, indices, forex, and commodities.

For German clients, services are provided via Trading 212 Markets Ltd (regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission – CySEC) and Trading 212 UK Ltd (regulated by the FCA), with cash interest paid on uninvested EUR balances at competitive rates linked to ECB policy.

As part of its marketing strategy, Trading 212 is offering new users a free fractional share worth up to €/£100 when they sign up and deposit at least €/£10.

If you want to learn more, check our full Trading 212 review.