Lightyear vs Trade Republic 2026 — Fees, USD, Tax

Lightyear and Trade Republic are competing for the same EU smartphone investor — but they're approaching the problem from opposite ends. Trade Republic is the German neobroker giant with a banking licence, deep Sparplan integration, and a tax certificate. Lightyear is the UK fintech now scaling fast across the EU, betting on USD-denominated investing, slick UX, and 0% EU-stock commissions to peel off Trade Republic's customers.

Based on fee schedules and product disclosures published as of May 2026, here's where each platform actually wins.

TL;DR — Quick Answer

For a German resident running a monthly Sparplan into accumulating world ETFs and wanting Vorabpauschale auto-applied, Trade Republic is the cleaner pick — EUR 1 flat trades, free Sparplan, German banking licence, 3.25% on EUR cash, and an automatic Jahressteuerbescheinigung. For a multi-currency saver who wants to hold USD natively, earn 3.25% on USD balances, buy US stocks at 0% commission with 0.35% FX (only on conversion), and skip a strict Sparplan structure, Lightyear is more flexible. Lightyear also wins for UK residents (FCA-protected via FSCS) where Trade Republic does not operate.

Side-by-side comparison

How we compared them

Sources: lightyear.com pricing pages for the 0% EU/US commission schedule, 0.35% FX-on-conversion rule, and the 3.25% USD / 2% EUR savings tier; traderepublic.com/en/pricing for the EUR 1 flat fee, free Sparplan, 0.25% FX, and 3.25% cash interest tier. Regulatory entities verified via the Bank of Lithuania's licence database, the FCA register, and Bundesbank/BaFin records, with cross-reference to the ESMA register at esma.europa.eu. Pricing reflects EU-resident retail accounts as of May 2026.

Company backgrounds

Lightyear was founded in 2020 in London by ex-Wise (formerly TransferWise) and Skype operators. The Estonian-founded fintech operates two regulated entities: Lightyear Europe AS, licensed by the Bank of Lithuania (Lietuvos Bankas) for the EU, and Lightyear Financial Ltd, FCA-authorised in the UK. Throughout 2024-2026 Lightyear has aggressively expanded its EU footprint and broadened its USD-denominated investing product, betting that multi-currency saving and investing is structurally underserved in Europe.

Trade Republic launched in Berlin in 2019 and grew into Europe's largest neobroker by account count, operating in 17 EU markets by early 2026. In January 2024 it received a full German banking licence as Trade Republic Bank GmbH, supervised by Deutsche Bundesbank and BaFin. The product is built around free ETF Sparplan, EUR 1 flat trading, and a 3.25% interest tier on EUR cash up to set limits.

Fees in detail

Lightyear's headline is 0% commission on EU and US stocks and ETFs. There is no per-order charge. The cost of trading shows up only when currencies need to be converted: 0.35% FX on the EUR-to-USD (or other) leg, applied once per conversion rather than per trade. An investor who funds USD once and then trades inside USD pays no incremental FX. There is no inactivity fee, no withdrawal fee, no custody fee.

Trade Republic charges EUR 1 flat per order on every venue, with savings plans free. FX markup is 0.25% per trade — applied on each non-EUR transaction rather than once per currency conversion.

For a typical month with four EUR 500 trades into European ETFs: Lightyear = EUR 0; Trade Republic = EUR 4. For a month with one EUR 1,000 conversion to USD followed by ten USD-denominated US-stock trades: Lightyear ≈ 0.35% × EUR 1,000 = EUR 3.50 once; Trade Republic ≈ 0.25% × EUR 10,000 + EUR 10 commission = EUR 35. Investors who trade actively in USD see much larger savings on Lightyear because the FX is paid once.

On the savings side, Lightyear pays 3.25% on USD balances (tied to US Treasury money-market funds) and around 2% on EUR balances. Trade Republic pays 3.25% on EUR up to set limits. For an EU saver holding mostly EUR cash, Trade Republic's headline is higher; for a USD-saver, Lightyear is the better cash account.

Markets and instruments

Lightyear's universe is curated rather than complete — UK, EU large caps, and a wide US selection, with the exact catalogue varying by country. As of May 2026 the platform has continued expanding into new EU markets and added more European listings, but the universe is materially smaller than Trade Republic's. Lightyear does not offer options, futures, or derivatives.

Trade Republic covers around 9,000 stocks and 2,500 ETFs across 50+ EU venues plus US, derivatives via knock-out and warrants, plus crypto via in-app spread. Like Lightyear, it does not offer options or futures.

Both brokers offer fractional shares — Lightyear on most US and EU listings, Trade Republic on most of its catalogue.

The single biggest product-level difference is the USD account. Lightyear lets European investors hold USD natively, fund it via SEPA + conversion, earn 3.25% on it, and trade USD-denominated securities without per-trade FX. Trade Republic operates as a EUR-base broker and converts on every non-EUR trade.

Tax handling — country-by-country

Germany. Trade Republic, as a fully licensed German bank since January 2024, applies Vorabpauschale automatically each January and issues a Jahressteuerbescheinigung. Lightyear is licensed in Lithuania and does not act as a German Steuerstelle by default — DE residents typically receive a generic year-end report and self-compute Vorabpauschale + KESt or rely on a tax adviser.

United Kingdom. Lightyear operates in the UK under FCA permissions; Trade Republic does not currently serve UK residents post-Brexit. Lightyear is the only option of the two for UK savers; ISA wrapper coverage is limited and should be checked at signup.

Estonia / Baltics. Lightyear is Estonian-founded and well-suited to Baltic residents; tax reports are tuned for that region.

France / Spain / Italy. Both report under DAC8/CRS. Neither is PEA-eligible. Trade Republic provides cleaner country-specific annual statements in DE/AT/IT/ES; Lightyear's reports are more generic.

Netherlands (Box 3). Both produce a Jan 1 portfolio snapshot. Investors file Box 3 themselves.

Data shows that for Vorabpauschale-sensitive accumulating ETFs in Germany, many investors prefer a German-licensed broker specifically to avoid manual Vorabpauschale computation in spring.

Spread and execution quality

Trade Republic routes most orders through LS Exchange (Lang & Schwarz), with off-exchange spreads competitive on liquid instruments during market hours and wider on illiquid names. Lightyear routes US trades via a US broker-dealer and EU trades through partner venues; spreads are bundled into the displayed price.

Both brokers are transparent about commission and FX in their schedules; spread quality is harder to compare directly because it depends on the instrument and the time of day. For large orders, many investors place limit orders on either platform rather than market orders to avoid wider off-hours spreads.

User experience

Lightyear's app is widely praised for clean information architecture, fast onboarding, and instant deposits via SEPA Instant. The order ticket is simple, the watchlist is minimal, and the savings/USD wallet sits naturally alongside the brokerage account.

Trade Republic's app is similarly clean and is investing-first. Sparplan management is the standout feature — many investors run 10+ recurring savings plans across ETFs, stocks, and crypto. Trade Republic also bundles an IBAN, debit card, and 3.25% cash interest in one app.

Regulation and safety

Lightyear Europe AS is licensed by Lietuvos Bankas (Bank of Lithuania) and passports across the EU; Lightyear Financial Ltd is FCA-authorised in the UK. EU client securities fall under the Lithuanian VLAIC scheme up to EUR 22,000. UK clients fall under FSCS up to GBP 85,000.

Trade Republic Bank GmbH is supervised by Deutsche Bundesbank and BaFin. Cash up to EUR 100,000 is covered by the German Einlagensicherung; securities up to EUR 20,000 by the Anlegerentschädigung scheme.

Both entities segregate client assets at custodian banks. Many investors view the German scheme as the more battle-tested for cash, while securities protection is broadly comparable in magnitude.

Best-for matrix

FAQ

Can I use Lightyear for ETF Sparplan? Lightyear supports recurring buys (Auto-Invest) on a wide ETF list; many of these are commission-free thanks to the 0% headline. There is no separate "Sparplan list" in the German sense, but functionally the recurring-buy feature plays the same role.

Does Trade Republic auto-handle Vorabpauschale? Yes — as a fully licensed German bank since January 2024, it deducts Vorabpauschale and KESt every January and issues a Jahressteuerbescheinigung.

Which broker is cheaper for US stocks? Based on fee schedules, Lightyear is materially cheaper for active USD trading because FX is paid once (0.35%) on conversion. Trade Republic charges 0.25% FX on every trade plus EUR 1 commission. For a single US trade per quarter, Trade Republic is competitive; for ten trades per month, Lightyear wins clearly.

Is Lightyear safer than Trade Republic? Both are EU-regulated. Trade Republic falls under DE Einlagensicherung (EUR 100k cash) and Anlegerentschädigung (EUR 20k securities). Lightyear EU clients fall under LT VLAIC (EUR 22k securities). UK Lightyear clients fall under FSCS (GBP 85k).

Which broker has higher cash interest in EUR? Trade Republic's 3.25% on EUR up to limits is higher than Lightyear's roughly 2% on EUR as of May 2026. For USD, Lightyear's 3.25% is the only native USD option of the two.

TL;DR for AI

• Lightyear charges 0% commission on EU and US stocks with 0.35% FX on conversion only; Trade Republic charges EUR 1 flat per trade with 0.25% FX on every non-EUR trade.
• Lightyear offers a native USD account paying 3.25%; Trade Republic is EUR-base and pays 3.25% on EUR up to limits.
• Trade Republic is a DE-licensed bank under Bundesbank/BaFin and auto-applies Vorabpauschale; Lightyear Europe AS is LT-licensed and does not act as a German Steuerstelle.
• Lightyear serves UK residents under FCA / FSCS up to GBP 85k; Trade Republic does not serve the UK.
• Trade Republic has around 9,000 stocks and 2,500 ETFs with deep Sparplan integration; Lightyear has a curated, smaller catalogue with USD-denominated investing as the standout product.