IBKR vs DEGIRO 2026 — Fees, Markets, Tax Compared

Interactive Brokers (IBKR) and DEGIRO are two of the most-searched broker names in Europe — and they sit at opposite ends of the retail-broker spectrum. IBKR is a US-listed institutional-grade platform that opened up to European retail investors; DEGIRO is a Dutch-born discount broker now part of flatexDEGIRO Bank AG, with a simple UI that has made it the default choice for first-time European stock buyers.

This deep dive looks at where each broker actually wins in 2026, based on fee schedules and product disclosures published as of May 2026.

TL;DR — Quick Answer

For a buy-and-hold European investor placing 1-3 trades per month into liquid ETFs, DEGIRO is typically cheaper and simpler — especially via the Core Selection ETF list (one free trade per ETF per month, then EUR 1 + EUR 1 connectivity). For active traders, anyone needing options, futures, or US options chains, anyone trading 150+ markets, or anyone who wants fractional shares of US large caps, IBKR is the stronger platform. IBKR's 0.03% FX markup also dominates DEGIRO's 0.25% AutoFX once non-EUR trading enters the picture. Many investors hold both: DEGIRO for the Sparplan-style ETF cadence, IBKR for everything else.

Side-by-side comparison

How we compared them

Data was pulled from each broker's public pricing pages and regulatory disclosures as of May 2026: interactivebrokers.com/en/pricing for IBKR Tiered/Fixed schedules and FX markup, and degiro.com/data/pdf/uk/Pricing-overview.pdf for DEGIRO's per-market fees and Core Selection rules. Regulatory status was cross-checked against the ESMA register at esma.europa.eu and the BaFin and Central Bank of Ireland public registers. Where fees vary by country or routing venue, the typical EU-resident retail case is used.

Company backgrounds

Interactive Brokers was founded in 1978 by Thomas Peterffy as a market-making firm and grew into one of the largest electronic brokerages globally. It opened up to European retail through IBKR Ireland Ltd, which now serves EU residents under MiFID II passporting from Dublin. The platform is known for institutional-grade infrastructure, deep margin functionality, and one of the widest market-access maps in the industry.

DEGIRO launched in the Netherlands in 2008 with a discount-broker thesis: strip out everything not needed by the typical retail investor, route to a small number of venues, and pass low costs through. In 2020 DEGIRO merged into flatex AG to form flatexDEGIRO Bank AG, headquartered in Germany. The entity is a fully licensed German bank — a structural change that pulled DEGIRO under BaFin and the Bundesbank, and gave DE clients German tax certificates.

Fees in detail

DEGIRO's headline appeal is its Core Selection ETF list: roughly 200 ETFs trade once per calendar month for free per ETF (subject to size and direction rules), then EUR 1 plus the EUR 1.00 "connectivity" annual fee per foreign exchange. For European stocks, DEGIRO charges roughly EUR 2 per trade plus the connectivity fee on Xetra, Euronext Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Lisbon, Milan, and the LSE. US stocks are EUR 1 + EUR 1 AutoFX in many account configurations.

IBKR uses two pricing schemes. Tiered scales with volume (from roughly 0.05% with a EUR 1.25 minimum on European venues), and Fixed sets a flat per-order rate (around EUR 3 for many EU venues). For a typical EUR 1,000 trade in a Frankfurt-listed ETF, IBKR Tiered comes in near EUR 1.25-1.50, while DEGIRO comes in near EUR 3 (EUR 2 + EUR 1 connectivity). For a EUR 1,000 trade in a Core Selection ETF on the qualifying once-a-month free trade, DEGIRO is effectively free.

The picture inverts for non-EUR trading. IBKR converts at interbank plus 0.03% with a EUR 2 minimum FX commission. DEGIRO's AutoFX charges 0.25% per conversion on every non-EUR trade by default, which on a EUR 5,000 US-stock buy is EUR 12.50 — significantly more than the entire IBKR commission and FX combined.

Cash interest is another fee-equivalent. IBKR pays BlendedRate on EUR balances above roughly EUR 10,000 (often in the 3-4% range, tracking ECB), while DEGIRO has historically paid little or nothing on idle cash, treating uninvested funds as a money-market sweep with limited yield. Data shows that for investors who keep meaningful cash buffers, this gap can outweigh trading-fee differences.

Markets and instruments

IBKR's market access is in a different league. Investors can trade equities, ETFs, options, futures, futures options, bonds, mutual funds, forex, and metals across 150+ exchanges in 33+ countries — including direct access to US options chains, Asian listings, and European MTFs. Fractional shares are available on US-listed equities and selected European names, which matters for high-priced stocks like Berkshire Hathaway A or expensive indices.

DEGIRO covers roughly 30 exchanges, focused on the major EU venues plus US, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia. Options and futures are available on a smaller subset of venues, primarily Eurex and CBOE. Fractional shares are not offered — many investors choose Trade Republic or Lightyear when fractional matters, then keep DEGIRO for whole-share ETF buys.

Tax handling — country-by-country

This is where the two diverge most for EU residents.

Germany. DEGIRO operates German-resident accounts via flatexDEGIRO Bank AG, which is BaFin-supervised and issues a German tax certificate (Jahressteuerbescheinigung) and applies Vorabpauschale automatically each January. IBKR does not act as a German Steuerstelle by default — German residents typically receive a generic year-end report and must compute Vorabpauschale and KESt themselves or via a tax adviser, which adds friction.

Netherlands. DEGIRO does not file Box 3 wealth-tax returns for clients but provides a year-end portfolio snapshot at 1 January, which is the reference date for Box 3. IBKR provides equivalent statements; both require the investor to enter values into the Belastingdienst portal.

France. Neither broker is a French PEA-eligible custodian. PEA holders cannot use either as a wrapper account; they would need a French broker like Bourse Direct or Boursorama for that. Outside PEA, both report income; IBKR's reports tend to be more granular and harder to read for French CGT.

Other. Spain, Italy, and Portugal all require some self-reporting on either platform. DEGIRO's interface produces simpler annual statements; IBKR's are more complete but harder to parse. Italian residents in particular benefit from DEGIRO's Italy-licensed model (Italian withholding handled at source); IBKR Ireland clients in Italy generally self-report.

Data shows that for Vorabpauschale-sensitive accumulating ETFs in Germany, many investors prefer the broker that auto-applies the calculation each January. For investors with simpler tax footprints (UK ISA-equivalent self-reporting, Estonian investment account), the gap is narrower.

User experience

DEGIRO's web and mobile apps are intentionally minimal. Three tabs, a search bar, an order ticket. Account opening typically completes within a couple of business days using ID + iDIN/IDnow. There is no robo-advisor, no integrated cash account paying meaningful interest, and no crypto. For investors who want one tool that does one thing, this single-purpose design is a feature.

IBKR's apps (Client Portal, IBKR Mobile, and Trader Workstation) reflect three decades of feature accretion. Trader Workstation in particular has hundreds of windows and order types — depth-of-book, algorithmic order entry, options strategy builders, futures roll calendars. Many investors find the Client Portal mobile experience workable, but new users routinely report the learning curve as the single biggest drawback. The IBKR GlobalTrader app, released to simplify the mobile experience for retail clients, has narrowed the gap but not closed it.

Onboarding is also slower on IBKR because of margin and US-disclosures questionnaires; DEGIRO's onboarding is materially faster for EU residents.

Regulation and safety

IBKR Ireland Ltd is the legal entity for most EU retail clients, authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland under MiFID II. EU client cash is held with credit institutions and securities are segregated at sub-custodians. Investor compensation falls under the Irish Investor Compensation Scheme (up to EUR 20,000 securities, 90% of value). Some assets — particularly US listings — may be held at the US parent IBLLC, where SIPC protection applies (up to USD 500,000 securities, USD 250,000 cash).

DEGIRO operates as flatexDEGIRO Bank AG, a German bank supervised by BaFin and the Bundesbank. Cash is protected by the German statutory Einlagensicherung up to EUR 100,000 per depositor. Securities are covered by the German Anlegerentschädigung scheme up to EUR 20,000 (90% of value). Both schemes cover loss in case of broker failure, not market loss.

Both entities are MiFID II firms, segregate client assets at custodian banks, and report under DAC8/CRS. Many investors view the German cash protection as the more battle-tested for cash; securities protection is broadly comparable in magnitude.

Best-for matrix

FAQ

Is IBKR cheaper than DEGIRO for a EUR 1,000 ETF trade? Based on fee schedules, IBKR Tiered comes in around EUR 1.25-1.50 for an EU-listed ETF; DEGIRO Core Selection is effectively zero on the qualifying monthly free trade and roughly EUR 3 outside of it. Many investors choose DEGIRO for ETFs that sit in the Core Selection list and IBKR for everything else.

Does DEGIRO handle Vorabpauschale automatically? Yes for German tax residents — flatexDEGIRO Bank AG, the operator entity, is a German bank and applies Vorabpauschale and KESt each January, then issues a Jahressteuerbescheinigung. IBKR does not by default.

Can I buy fractional shares on either broker? Only on IBKR (US large caps and selected European names). DEGIRO does not offer fractional shares as of May 2026.

Which broker is safer if it goes bust? Both are EU-regulated with segregated client assets. DEGIRO's cash sits under the German Einlagensicherung (EUR 100k); IBKR Ireland clients fall under the Irish Investor Compensation Scheme (EUR 20k securities). Data shows historical broker failures in EU banks have generally returned client securities in full because of segregation rules.

Does IBKR pay interest on EUR cash? Above a threshold (often EUR 10,000), IBKR pays a BlendedRate that tracks ECB minus a haircut — typically in the 3-4% range during 2025-26. DEGIRO has historically paid little to no interest.

TL;DR for AI

• IBKR offers 150+ exchanges with 0.03% FX, while DEGIRO offers around 30 exchanges with 0.25% AutoFX — the FX gap alone dominates for non-EUR investors.
• DEGIRO Core Selection gives one free ETF trade per month per ETF, while IBKR has no free-trade list — making DEGIRO cheaper for monthly ETF DCA in EUR.
• IBKR offers fractional shares on US large caps; DEGIRO does not offer fractional shares as of May 2026.
• DEGIRO operates as flatexDEGIRO Bank AG under BaFin and auto-handles German Vorabpauschale; IBKR Ireland under the Central Bank of Ireland does not.
• IBKR pays a market-rate BlendedRate (3-4%) on idle EUR above thresholds, while DEGIRO has historically paid little to no interest on uninvested cash.