In 2014, DEGIRO expanded its online trading platform across several European countries outside the Netherlands, its country of origin. Since then, it has been growing steadily, reaching over 3 million clients in 15 countries in Europe.
Is DEGIRO available in Romania?
Yes, but not directly. Romania is one of DEGIRO’s accepted residency countries, so Romanian residents can open and use an account. However, DEGIRO has no dedicated Romanian website or local entity, and Romania isn’t one of its focus markets — those are the countries with localised sites, such as Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands.
In practice, this means you sign up through one of DEGIRO’s existing entities rather than a “DEGIRO Romania” page. Registration is done via the DEGIRO app: you’ll need to be 18 or over, hold a valid form of identification, have a euro-denominated bank account within the SEPA zone, and be a tax resident in an accepted country (Romania qualifies). It works — it’s just less straightforward than in DEGIRO’s core markets, which is why many Romanian investors prefer brokers with a stronger local presence.
Because the setup is less direct and customer support isn’t tailored to the Romanian market, it’s worth comparing DEGIRO against brokers that actively serve Romanian clients before you decide.
Want to know the available online brokers in Romania? We’ve got you covered!
Best DEGIRO alternatives in Romania
DEGIRO does accept Romanian residents, but if you’d rather use a broker that’s a better fit for the Romanian market — or simply want to weigh your options first — you’re in luck. Growing competition has pushed many top online brokers to eliminate commissions on most stock and ETF trades.
Based on specific criteria such as demo account, free trading, education materials, and security, among others, here are our top picks:
1. eToro
52% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
Founded in 2007, eToro is an international online broker with over 35 million users who can trade over 3,000 financial assets, including stocks, ETFs, cryptos, and CFDs on stocks, ETFs, commodities, Forex, indices, and cryptocurrencies. ETFs are traded commission-free, as a whole, or fractional shares (other fees apply). US, EU and UK stocks have a commission of $1 per trade.
eToro’s investment platform, accessible through both web and mobile platforms, is a social trading hub. Here, investors can engage in discussions about investments, speculations, and market news with fellow investors. eToro also allows users to replicate trading strategies (CopyTrader™) and invest in ready-made investment portfolios (Smart Portfolios) based on thematic investment strategies.
The demo account is particularly useful for a beginner ($100,000 of virtual money). It lets you have real hands-on experience as you would be using real money. So, when switching to a real account, you will notice no difference between your training and real-life investing. On the downside, there is a withdrawal fee of $5, and if you do not log into your account for over one year, a monthly inactivity fee of $10 will be charged.
eToro is fully regulated and supervised by top-tier regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in Australia. The subsidiary in Europe, formerly known as “eToro (Europe) Ltd,” is authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission (CySEC).
For more details, visit our eToro review.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 52% 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.2. Interactive Brokers
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.
3. XTB
69-80% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
Founded in 2002, XTB is a major player in the brokerage industry, boasting extensive worldwide experience and regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as well as other relevant regulatory bodies. The company is also listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
You can invest through xStation 5 and xStation Mobile in different investment products, such as stocks, ETFs, and CFDs on stocks, Forex, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies (this product offering may vary slightly from country to country). It offers 0% commission on stocks and ETFs.
Opening an account and transferring money is a quick and hassle-free process. For beginners, it presents a demo account where you can trade as if it were real money to help you feel the investment platform firsthand, and you get access to educational tools. For intermediate and advanced investors, you will find plenty of technical and fundamental tools to help you better assess your investment decisions.
On the downside, you will face an inactivity fee of €10/month after one year of non-trading, and if you have not deposited in the last 90 days, it charges high commissions on CFDs of cryptocurrencies but low costs for Forex.
Want to know more about XTB? Check our XTB review.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 69-80% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
4. Freedom24
Investing involves risk of loss.
Freedom24, part of Freedom Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: FRHC), has emerged as a standout brokerage platform for Romanian 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.
Providing access to more than 3,600 ETFs, Freedom24 offers not only the most popular ETFs from global issuers like Vanguard, iShares, and Invesco, but also a 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.
With no minimum deposit, ETF and stock trades commissions start from €/$1.2 per order, with no hidden commissions or inactivity fees. Additionally, Freedom24 offers zero-commission trading on stocks and ETFs, applied automatically to eligible clients who open an account between March 1, 2026 and August 31, 2026 (inclusive). The promotion remains valid for 365 days from the date of account opening or until 240 executed trades in shares and ETFs, whichever occurs first. Please note that the zero tariff does not apply to trading orders below €1. In such cases, a €0.012 fee will be charged instead.
Investors can choose from pricing models like “Smart in EUR” for casual traders or “Prime in EUR” for those seeking premium service and direct contact with their account manager. On the downside, it charges a €7 withdrawal fee and does not offer any cryptocurrencies.
Furthermore, it offers a signup promotion of up to 20 gift stocks (valued up to $800 each). Terms and Conditions apply.
Freedom Finance Europe Ltd is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). In the unlikely event that the segregated assets cannot be returned to clients, Freedom24 falls under the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF), which compensates for any losses from non-returned investments up to €20,000. Besides, it fully complies with MiFID II and ESMA investor protection standards.
Want to learn more? Check out our Freedom24 Review or visit Freedom24 directly!
Investments in securities and other financial instruments always involve the risk of loss of your capital. The forecast or past performance is no guarantee of future results. It is essential to do your own analysis before making any investment. Promotion is subject to terms and conditions. Other fees apply. Zero commission offer available only in selected regions.
DEGIRO’s unique advantages
When comparing with eToro, Interactive Brokers, and XTB, DEGIRO sets aside a combination of benefits you do not find in other platforms or, at least, are not displayed in the same simplified manner. As a result, you would find the following distinctive positive characteristics:
- Trading platform: DEGIRO interface is as clean as you can get. It offers the right mixture of being minimalistic and extremely useful at the same time. You can easily find any security through the search engine by entering each product’s name, ticker symbol, or ISIN code.
- Manual conversion: It lets you perform a manual foreign currency conversion from the base currency of your account (EUR, GBP,..) into nine other currencies (including USD, CHF, EUR). For example, if you sell Amazon shares, you will end up with USD on your balance, even though your base currency is in another currency. In other brokers, the USD from the sale of Amazon shares would be automatically converted to your base currency. So, when buying again USD denominated shares, you would need to translate to USD (double currency fee).
- Notifications: In DEGIRO, you do not get “unnecessary” notifications. Every alert is filled with helpful information such as the national holidays (when the stock market is closed), relevant regulatory updates and other material information. Whereas in other online brokers, you may notice notifications that can lead you to take short-term decisions like “X stock is rising 8%”. So, you need to make a greater effort to stick to your long-term goals.
DEGIRO’s unique drawbacks
When DEGIRO entered the European market, it was a significant shift to the investment community. However, the “first market player effect” is not relevant anymore because the main competitors have adapted at the speed of light. Here are some cons you would find in DEGIRO and not in eToro, Interactive Brokers or XTB:
- Connectivity fee: DEGIRO charges €2.50 (max 0.25% of your account value) per year per exchange, meaning that if you are invested in NYSE, NASDAQ and Frankfurt, you will be charged a minimum of €7.50 per year just to have your positions open.
- Trading and external costs: DEGIRO offers its products with an associated external fee. Besides, you will have to pay €1,00 per transaction for the US, CA, and your home country stocks. Also, €3,90 per transaction is applied in EU stocks and a flat handling fee of €1.00 (external cost) in every transaction (including in the ETFs core selection list). In order not to be unfair, DEGIRO usually presents tighter spreads, but since it is hard to quantify it (depending on several factors), we opted to study the “guaranteed” costs.
- Investment protection: As stated earlier, in DEGIRO, you are protected by up to 90% of your investment securities (with a maximum of EUR 20,000). In practice, if the company went bankrupt, you would get €18,000 if you had €20,000 invested in financial instruments. Nonetheless, in the other platforms mentioned, the minimum protection would be the complete €20,000, as guaranteed by the Cyprus Investor Compensation Fund (ICF).
Which platform should you choose?
Whether you decide to invest in stocks through eToro, Interactive Brokers, XTB or any other trading platform, you should take the time to compare platforms before you decide which trading platform you would like to use.
Be sure to compare education resources, pricing information and the products offered before pressing the trigger and open an account. This process will help ensure that you do not need to maintain multiple accounts to access all the tools you need.
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 construed as investment advice and should be considered information only. Investors should do their own research and due diligence about the services and opportunities best suited for their risk, returns, and impact strategy.
If you need further guidance or have questions, feel free to reach out to us. Happy investments!
