Brokers in Germany 2026: 7 Compared

Why choosing a broker in Germany is more than fees

For German investors, choosing a broker is rarely just a question of cents per order. Behind the headline cost figure sit four issues that influence the actual investing outcome more than any order fee ever will:

1. Regulator and deposit protection. A broker licensed in Germany (BaFin, deposit protection up to €100,000) is legally not the same as a provider licensed in Cyprus or the UK (ICF up to €20,000, FSCS up to £85,000). Different protection regimes apply on insolvency — only relevant when something goes wrong, but central at that moment.
2. Tax automation vs self-declaration. Domestic brokers withhold Abgeltungssteuer, Solidaritätszuschlag and, where applicable, Kirchensteuer automatically. A broker domiciled abroad usually does not — all capital gains end up in the Anlage KAP of your tax return. Not a showstopper, but extra work to factor in.
3. Vorabpauschale on foreign accumulating funds. Since the 2018 investment tax reform, German investors pay a notional advance tax on accumulating funds — even without a sale. Domestic brokers typically debit it from the clearing account in January; with foreign brokers the amount has to be calculated and reported through the tax return.
4. PRIIPs restriction on US-domiciled ETFs. Classics like VOO, VTI, or QQQ are not directly purchasable by EU retail clients since 2018 — the required PRIIPs KID is missing. UCITS counterparts (CSPX, VUAA, CNDX) deliver the same index exposure under EU regulation. Details in the PRIIPs guide.

The order fee remains visible; regulator, tax automation, and savings-plan ecosystem are the quieter deciders.

How we compared

This article evaluates seven brokers available to German retail investors as of May 2026. Each broker appears alphabetically in the table and fact sheet, described through the same six-field structure. No "Best for beginners" or "Best for US stocks" titles elevate a single provider.

Numbers come from broker-published fee schedules and from the BaFin, CySEC, FCA, and KNF registers (as of May 2026). BrokerFit lists brokers alphabetically and does not weight placement by affiliate status. Where a broker has a BrokerFit detail page, it is linked; where it doesn't, the entry stays in the comparison without penalty.

We assign no trust score or star rating here — for a quantitative view, follow the linked broker profiles.

Comparison table (alphabetical)

Broker	License	Minimum deposit	Order cost from	Tax automation	Notable for DE investors
Admirals	CySEC, FCA	$1 Invest.MT5 / $100 CFD	$0.02/share, min $1 (US stocks)	No	Real stocks + CFDs on one platform
comdirect	BaFin	€0	€3.90 + exchange fee	Yes	Full bank + brokerage in one account
Interactive Brokers	SEC, FCA, CBI (EU)	$0	$0.005/share, min. $1	No	More than 150 trading venues worldwide
Just2Trade	CySEC	$100	$0.006/share, min $1.50	No	EU + US stocks + CFDs under CySEC
Scalable Capital	BaFin	€0	€0.99 per order (Free Broker)	Yes	Flat-fee plans from €2.99/month
Trade Republic	BaFin	€0	€1 per order	Yes	Savings plans from €1 free, IBAN included
XTB	KNF, FCA, CySEC	€0	€0 on EU stocks/ETFs up to €100,000 volume/month	No	Most aggressive commission tier on EU stocks

All figures are based on broker-published terms as of May 2026. Verify on the broker website before opening an account — price lists change.

Broker fact sheets (alphabetical)

Admirals

• License / deposit protection: CySEC (Cyprus, ICF €20,000), FCA (UK, FSCS £85,000)
• Minimum deposit: $1 on Invest.MT5, the account that holds real stocks and ETFs; $100 on the Trade.MT5 and Zero.MT5 CFD accounts
• Fees: $1–3 per US trade, $1 per EU trade; CFD spreads per instrument
• Tax handling in Germany: no automatic withholding — income declared via Anlage KAP; Vorabpauschale on accumulating funds calculated by the investor
• What works: real stocks/ETFs and CFDs on one platform, multiple entities to choose from
• Watch out for: entity choice determines the protection regime — Cypriot entity ≠ UK entity

Full Admirals profile

comdirect

• License / deposit protection: BaFin (Germany), statutory deposit protection up to €100,000 (plus voluntary BdB scheme)
• Minimum deposit: €0
• Fees: €3.90 base + 0.25% of order value (max €9.90) + exchange fee; selected ETF savings plans free
• Tax handling in Germany: fully automated — Abgeltungssteuer (25%), Solidaritätszuschlag, Kirchensteuer where applicable, and Vorabpauschale deducted directly from the clearing account; Freistellungsauftrag in the banking app
• What works: full bank + brokerage in one account, German tax automation, established German-language support
• Watch out for: order fees above neobroker level; the fixed fee only pays off at larger ticket sizes

Interactive Brokers

• License / deposit protection: SEC + FINRA (USA, SIPC up to $500,000), FCA (UK, FSCS £85,000), Central Bank of Ireland (EU retail, ICS €20,000), CIRO, ASIC
• Minimum deposit: $0
• Fees: $0.005 per share, min $1 per trade — one of the lowest commission structures globally; tiered pricing at higher volumes
• Tax handling in Germany: no automatic withholding — income declared via Anlage KAP; IBKR delivers detailed annual tax statements a German tax advisor can process
• What works: broadest market access (175+ exchanges), low commission floor, robust FX and margin conditions
• Watch out for: TWS platform has a learning curve; KYC/funding 3–7 business days; UCITS requirement on US-domiciled ETFs for EU retail

Full IBKR profile

Just2Trade

• License / deposit protection: CySEC 281/15 (Cyprus, ICF €20,000)
• Minimum deposit: $100
• Fees: $0.006 per share, minimum $1.50 per order on US stocks (MMA account); holding costs $0.02 a day per position
• Tax handling in Germany: no automatic withholding — capital gains declared via Anlage KAP; Vorabpauschale calculated by the investor
• What works: simpler interface than IBKR/EXANTE, multilingual support (DE, EN, RU)
• Watch out for: On small orders the $1.50 minimum per order costs more than IBKR's $1 and XTB's zero commission; verify country acceptance and funding route before opening

Full Just2Trade profile

Scalable Capital

• License / deposit protection: BaFin (Germany), custody via Baader Bank — statutory deposit protection up to €100,000
• Minimum deposit: €0
• Fees: Free Broker: €0.99 per order; Prime/Prime+ flat-fee plans from €2.99/month with unlimited trades on Gettex; 2,500+ ETF savings plans free
• Tax handling in Germany: fully automated — Abgeltungssteuer, Solidaritätszuschlag, Kirchensteuer, and Vorabpauschale withheld directly; Freistellungsauftrag in the app
• What works: flat-fee model is very cheap for active savings-plan investors, German tax automation, broad ETF savings-plan catalog
• Watch out for: Free Broker plan only trades on Gettex/XETRA; surcharges apply on foreign exchanges

Trade Republic

• License / deposit protection: BaFin (Germany), statutory deposit protection up to €100,000
• Minimum deposit: €0
• Fees: €1 "third-party cost flat fee" per order; 2,000+ ETF savings plans free from €1 per savings rate
• Tax handling in Germany: fully automated — Abgeltungssteuer, Solidaritätszuschlag, Kirchensteuer, and Vorabpauschale deducted directly from the clearing account; Freistellungsauftrag in the app; integrated German IBAN
• What works: lowest entry point to the German market, free savings plans, clean mobile-first UX, integrated clearing account with interest
• Watch out for: only one trading venue (LS Exchange) on the retail side; limited product breadth — no US-domiciled ETFs, no direct NYSE/NASDAQ access

XTB

• License / deposit protection: KNF (Poland), FCA (UK, FSCS £85,000), CySEC (ICF €20,000)
• Minimum deposit: €0
• Fees: €0 commission on EU stocks and ETFs up to €100,000 monthly volume (0.2% thereafter); CFDs via spread; fractional shares available
• Tax handling in Germany: no automatic withholding — income declared via Anlage KAP; XTB delivers an annual tax report
• What works: €0 commission tier is the most aggressive in this list on EU stocks and ETFs; xStation platform well rated
• Watch out for: PRIIPs blocks US-domiciled ETFs (VOO, VTI) for EU retail — see the PRIIPs guide for UCITS alternatives

Full XTB profile

Picking by priority

A "best broker" stamp on a single provider is marketing. Pick the broker that fits the requirement dominating your situation — and note that for most priorities, more than one broker is a good fit.

If your priority is low order costs

Look for structures with no fixed fee or a low per-trade floor. Interactive Brokers (from $1 per trade) and Trade Republic (€1 per order on LS Exchange) are the structural cost leaders in this list; XTB joins them for active EU stock traders via the €0 tier up to €100,000 volume/month. Run your specific volume through the fee calculator.

If your priority is tax automation in Germany

BaFin-licensed domestic brokers withhold Abgeltungssteuer, Solidaritätszuschlag, and Vorabpauschale automatically — no Anlage KAP required. Trade Republic, Scalable Capital, and comdirect cover this requirement. Which is optimal depends on pricing model (fixed, per-trade, flat) and desired product breadth.

If your priority is ETF savings plans

Two structurally cheap routes: Trade Republic (more than 2,000 ETF savings plans free starting at €1 per savings rate) and Scalable Capital (more than 2,500 ETF savings plans free, plus a Prime flat fee for active investors). comdirect also offers a savings-plan catalog with promotional offers, but is more expensive on standalone trades. Model long-term returns over multiple decades with the ETF calculator.

If your priority is direct US market access

Direct NYSE/NASDAQ access is available via Interactive Brokers and Just2Trade. For US-domiciled ETFs (VOO, VTI, QQQ), PRIIPs applies to EU retail clients — these are not freely purchasable at IBKR, J2T, or any other EU-regulated broker. UCITS counterparts (CSPX, VUAA, CNDX) deliver the same index exposure; details in the PRIIPs guide. For US dividends, additionally file a W-8BEN to reduce US withholding from 30% to 15%.

If your priority is active CFD trading

Two platforms focused on CFD/FX: XTB (xStation, broad CFD coverage) and Just2Trade (CFDs on stocks, indices, commodities, crypto). On both, the ESMA disclosure applies — 67–85% of retail accounts lose money when trading CFDs. CFD trading is its own risk class, not the same path as buy-and-hold ETF saving.

If your priority is a complete bank account plus brokerage

comdirect offers the classic full-bank setup (checking, savings, brokerage in one login). Trade Republic has an integrated clearing account with a German IBAN and interest — not a checking account in the classic sense, but it covers the banking use case for many users.

Still unsure? The broker wizard walks you through a country-aware filter in three minutes — no broker is pre-weighted.

Taxes and settlement in Germany

Three tax layers are relevant for German investors regardless of broker, with different amounts of work depending on the broker's country of domicile:

1. Abgeltungssteuer (25%) + Solidaritätszuschlag (5.5% on the tax) = 26.375%. Domestic brokers (Trade Republic, Scalable Capital, comdirect) withhold directly from the clearing account. With foreign brokers (Admirals, IBKR, Just2Trade, XTB), income is declared in Anlage KAP; the German tax liability arises regardless.

2. Kirchensteuer (8% in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, 9% in other federal states) on Abgeltungssteuer if you are a member of a tax-collecting religious community. Domestic brokers ask for the status at account opening and withhold automatically.

3. Vorabpauschale on foreign accumulating funds. Since the 2018 investment tax reform, a notional tax arises even without a sale — based on the base rate and the fund's performance. German brokers typically collect it in January; with foreign brokers the amount has to be calculated and reported. More background on the logic (PRIIPs + Vorabpauschale) in the PRIIPs guide.

Freistellungsauftrag (€1,000 per person, €2,000 for jointly assessed couples). Can be set up directly with domestic brokers — up to this limit, capital gains remain tax-free. With foreign brokers it does not apply directly; the Sparerpauschbetrag is taken into account through the tax return.

For US dividends, additionally file a W-8BEN to reduce US withholding tax on dividends from 30% to 15%.

Related comparisons

For two brokers head-to-head with per-instrument fee detail:

• Interactive Brokers vs XTB — market breadth vs commission leader
• Tickmill vs XTB — two CFD specialists, different audiences
• Admirals vs Interactive Brokers — multi-license EU vs global breadth
• EXANTE vs Interactive Brokers — pro-tier multi-asset
• Just2Trade vs XTB — CySEC vs KNF on EU-friendly terms

Country-level entry point: Best brokers for Germany.

Conclusion

No single broker in this list is "the best for Germany". Each fits a specific intersection of (a) your expectation around tax automation, (b) trading frequency, (c) market access needed, and (d) accepted protection regime. The short version by priority — deliberately framed as pairs rather than single winners:

• Lowest order costs: Interactive Brokers, Trade Republic
• Tax automation in Germany: Trade Republic, Scalable Capital, comdirect
• ETF savings plans: Trade Republic, Scalable Capital
• Direct US market access (with the PRIIPs caveat): Interactive Brokers, Just2Trade
• Active CFD trading: XTB, Just2Trade
• Real stocks plus CFDs on one platform: Admirals, XTB
• Full-bank setup plus brokerage: comdirect, Trade Republic

If your situation is "ETF savings plan into an MSCI World UCITS, €200–500/month, 10+ year horizon", Trade Republic, Scalable Capital, and comdirect all work without a meaningful difference in final return — the decade-long spread sits below the risk of "starting today vs starting in a year". Re-run the numbers with the ETF calculator, check the tax burden with the fee calculator, or start the broker wizard directly.

To structure a concrete stock + bond ETF portfolio, the portfolio builder offers country-aware allocation guidance.

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Sources: Fee schedules and onboarding documents from Admirals, comdirect, Interactive Brokers, Just2Trade, Scalable Capital, Trade Republic, XTB, as published on the respective broker websites in May 2026; BaFin company database; CySEC Public Register; FCA Financial Services Register; KNF register of licensed investment firms; ESMA mandatory CFD risk disclosures 2026; German Investment Tax Act (InvStG, as of 2026) for Vorabpauschale and Abgeltungssteuer.

Disclaimer: This article is educational. Broker availability, fees, and country acceptance change without notice. Tax treatment depends on your specific residency and citizenship. Confirm current terms on each broker's site and consult a licensed advisor for personalized guidance. BrokerFit lists brokers in alphabetical order and does not weight placement by affiliate relationship.