Revolut vs Trading 212 vs DEGIRO 2026 — Three-way

The three most-mentioned brokers in 2026 European retail investing conversations — Revolut Invest, Trading 212 and DEGIRO — represent three fundamentally different product philosophies. Revolut is a banking app with investing bolted on. Trading 212 is a mobile-first zero-commission broker with a strong autoinvest tool. DEGIRO is a more "traditional" discount broker, integrated into the flatexDEGIRO Bank AG entity, with deep market access and a leaner fee structure on a different model.

This article compares all three across the dimensions that matter for European retail investors, with a specific section on the Polish tax perspective.

Quick Answer / TL;DR

• Regulation: Revolut Invest (EU) via Revolut Securities Europe UAB, Bank of Lithuania. Trading 212 (EU) via T212 Markets Ltd, CySEC Cyprus. DEGIRO via flatexDEGIRO Bank AG, BaFin Germany with a full banking license.
• Commissions: Revolut and Trading 212 quote 0% on stocks/ETFs; DEGIRO charges low per-trade commissions plus an annual "connectivity fee" for non-domestic exchanges (typically EUR 2.50 per exchange per year).
• FX: Trading 212 = 0.15%; DEGIRO = 0.25% AutoFX or manual conversion at lower cost; Revolut = tier-dependent (1% Standard beyond free allowance).
• Fractional shares: Yes at Revolut and Trading 212; DEGIRO does not currently offer fractional shares.
• Market access: DEGIRO offers the widest — 30+ exchanges, deep European depth. Trading 212 is broad on US/UK/EU equities and ETFs. Revolut is the most curated.

Comparison Table

Fees per Asset Class

Equities and ETFs:

• Revolut Invest: 0% commission on the monthly free trade allowance (varies by tier — Standard typically 1 free trade/month, with Plus/Premium/Metal/Ultra raising the count); paid trades thereafter at ~0.25% (minimum currency-equivalent fee). FX on non-base currency trades follows banking-tier rules.
• Trading 212: 0% commission on all stock/ETF trades; 0.15% FX on non-base currency conversion.
• DEGIRO: Per-trade commissions are low but not zero — historically EUR 1.00 + EUR 1.00 handling for many US stocks under earlier fee schedules, with a more competitive structure on the "Core Selection" of ETFs which can be free of commission once per month per ETF. Plus EUR 2.50 per year per non-domestic exchange ("exchange connectivity fee").

Commodities/crypto:

• Revolut offers crypto and commodities (gold/silver) inside the app, with its own spread/commission economics.
• Trading 212 offers crypto via separate product lines in some markets; no commodities as physical-equivalent within the standard product.
• DEGIRO does not offer crypto and offers commodities only via ETFs/ETCs traded as normal exchange instruments.

Derivatives (options/futures):

• None of the three is a competitive derivatives broker for EU retail. Options trading on DEGIRO is supported but with friction and notably higher fees than dedicated derivatives platforms.

FX and Currency Conversion in Practice

For a Polish or EUR-based investor buying USD-denominated US stocks, FX is the single biggest hidden cost.

• Trading 212: 0.15% on every conversion. Predictable, low, applied symmetrically to deposits/withdrawals/trades.
• DEGIRO: 0.25% AutoFX as default; investors can switch to manual conversion to consolidate FX at a single cost per currency line, which is more efficient for high-frequency activity.
• Revolut Invest: Inherits Revolut banking FX. Standard plan charges 1% beyond a monthly free allowance; higher tiers expand the allowance.

For a EUR investor making EUR 10,000 of USD trades per month: Trading 212 = EUR 15 in FX, DEGIRO AutoFX = EUR 25, Revolut Standard (after free allowance) = EUR 100. Historical comparison places Trading 212 as the cheapest on FX in the steady state, with DEGIRO competitive on manual conversion and Revolut competitive only on its higher tiers.

Fractional Shares

This is where the two zero-commission brokers diverge from DEGIRO:

• Revolut: Fractional support across most of its curated universe; minimums vary.
• Trading 212: Fractional support across roughly 13,000+ stocks/ETFs; minimum order ~EUR 1.
• DEGIRO: No fractional shares as of 2026. Investors buy whole-share lots — for high-priced stocks (Berkshire Hathaway BRK.A is the extreme example), this materially restricts allocation flexibility.

For investors building a small monthly DCA into a high-priced US stock, the absence of fractional shares at DEGIRO is a meaningful limitation. For ETF-focused investors, the limitation is less binding because most popular ETFs trade in low double-digit EUR ranges per share.

ETF Universe and Market Access

DEGIRO has the broadest market access of the three — 30+ exchanges including a deep set of European venues (Xetra, Euronext, Borsa Italiana, BME, Wiener Börse, Warsaw GPW, and many more). The "Core Selection" of ETFs offers commission-free trading on a curated list, once per month per ETF, when traded in the appropriate denomination and minimum size.

Trading 212 covers most US, UK and European blue-chip and mid-cap names, with a published universe of roughly 13,000+ stocks and ETFs.

Revolut Invest offers the most curated universe of the three — historically a few thousand instruments, weighted to US blue chips, popular ETFs and a selection of European names. Niche ETF tickers and small/mid-cap European stocks may not appear.

For Polish investors interested in Warsaw GPW-listed stocks, DEGIRO is the only one of the three with native GPW access. Revolut and Trading 212 typically do not offer GPW-listed Polish equities directly — Polish stocks at retail are typically traded via Polish brokers (https://bossa.pl, https://www.mbank.pl, BM Pekao).

AutoInvest and Recurring Buys

• Trading 212 Pies & AutoInvest: The most flexible passive-investing tool of the three. Build a "Pie" as a percentage allocation across multiple instruments; schedule recurring deposits that auto-rebalance new money according to target weights.
• Revolut Invest recurring buys: Single-instrument recurring buys; less flexible for multi-instrument portfolios.
• DEGIRO: No native autoinvest tool comparable to Trading 212 Pies; investors manually place orders.

For investors building, for example, a 60/30/10 ETF portfolio with monthly contributions, Trading 212 offers the most automated experience.

Regulation and Investor Protection

• Revolut Securities Europe UAB: Bank of Lithuania supervision; Lithuanian investor compensation scheme covers up to EUR 22,000 per investor.
• T212 Markets Ltd: CySEC (Cyprus) supervision; CySEC Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) covers up to EUR 20,000 per investor.
• flatexDEGIRO Bank AG: BaFin (Germany) supervision; cash deposits are covered by EdB (German deposit insurance) up to EUR 100,000, separate from the EUR 20,000 securities investor protection. Securities are held with custodian arrangements that segregate client assets.

The DEGIRO structure — sitting inside flatexDEGIRO Bank AG with a German banking license — provides cash protection up to EUR 100,000 (EdB), notably higher than the EUR 20k/22k ceilings at Trading 212 and Revolut on cash held within the brokerage. For investors holding meaningful cash balances at the broker between trades, DEGIRO's banking structure is structurally stronger on the cash side.

Cash Interest

• Trading 212: Has paid 4.0%-4.5% on EUR uninvested cash via QMMF arrangements (variable, tied to policy rates).
• Revolut: Flexible Accounts pay ~3.0%-3.5% on EUR via partner money market funds, with limits by tier.
• DEGIRO: Historically low interest on uninvested cash, given its structure as a bank with EdB-covered deposits. Recent updates have introduced limited interest in some markets but it is generally lower than Trading 212.

Polish Investor Perspective

For Polish tax residents:

• Belka tax 19% applies to all capital gains and interest from all three platforms.
• PIT-38 is the relevant form; gains/losses reported with NBP rate conversion to PLN at the working day preceding the relevant transaction.
• Dividend withholding on foreign instruments (US 15% with W-8BEN where applicable, plus the residual Polish delta) reported on PIT/ZG.
• No IKE/IKZE on any of the three. Polish tax wrappers are restricted to Polish-licensed brokers (https://bossa.pl, https://www.mbank.pl, BM Pekao).
• GPW access: Only DEGIRO of the three has direct GPW access — useful for Polish residents who want to invest in Warsaw-listed Polish stocks alongside global ETFs. For dedicated Polish equity exposure at Polish-domiciled custody, a Polish broker remains the conventional choice.
• Currency setup: Revolut supports PLN as a first-class base. Trading 212 supports PLN as a base currency on its EU entity (subject to availability rules). DEGIRO does not maintain PLN as a base currency — funding typically arrives via SEPA in EUR.

Tracking your portfolio across brokers: A common Polish setup spans a Polish broker for IKE/IKZE and GPW exposure, DEGIRO for European market depth, Trading 212 for autoinvest pies, and a Polish savings account for the cash buffer. Freenance aggregates balances across all of them and projects your Financial Freedom Runway — months your liquid net worth covers your current burn rate.

When is Each One Best?

Revolut Invest wins when:

• You want a single app for banking and a light investing layer.
• You already pay for Premium/Metal/Ultra and the free trades fit your activity.
• You want crypto and commodities exposure alongside stocks.

Trading 212 wins when:

• You want true 0% commission with low (0.15%) FX.
• You build multi-instrument portfolios with Pies/AutoInvest.
• You want fractional shares with low minimums.
• You want strong cash interest on uninvested EUR.

DEGIRO wins when:

• You want the broadest exchange access in Europe (including GPW).
• You hold cash at the broker and value EdB EUR 100k protection.
• You buy ETFs from the Core Selection and accept the per-ETF/month structure.
• You do not need fractional shares.

FAQ

Is DEGIRO truly cheaper than Trading 212? Not on commission. Trading 212 quotes 0% commission across the board; DEGIRO has per-trade fees outside its Core Selection ETFs. DEGIRO becomes cheaper on FX (manual conversion) and on cash protection (EdB EUR 100k vs EUR 20-22k investor schemes).

Can I trade Warsaw GPW stocks at all three? DEGIRO offers GPW access. Trading 212 and Revolut typically do not offer direct GPW-listed Polish equities at retail. For dedicated GPW exposure, a Polish broker is conventional.

Which one is best for ETF-only buy-and-hold? DEGIRO via the Core Selection is historically among the cheapest in Europe for ETF buy-and-hold, subject to the once-per-month-per-ETF structure. Trading 212 is competitive on pure 0% commission with autoinvest. Revolut is the least cost-efficient of the three for ETF-heavy strategies on lower tiers.

Does DEGIRO offer fractional shares? No. As of 2026, DEGIRO does not offer fractional shares; investors buy whole-share lots only.

Which one offers the highest cash interest? Historical comparison shows Trading 212 typically at the top (~4-4.5% on EUR via QMMF), followed by Revolut Flexible Accounts (~3-3.5%), with DEGIRO offering low or variable rates.

Can I open all three? Yes — there is no restriction on holding accounts at multiple brokers. Many Polish investors use a combination: a Polish broker for IKE/IKZE, DEGIRO for broad European market access, and Trading 212 for fractional autoinvest pies.

Worked Cost Examples

To make the three-way concrete, consider three personas.

Persona A — ETF buy-and-hold, EUR 500/month into VWCE:

• Revolut Invest (Standard): 1 free trade/month covers the recurring buy; if VWCE is in the curated universe (it typically is), cost is near zero excluding FX. If the user funds in PLN and trades in EUR, FX cost depends on tier.
• Trading 212: 0% commission on VWCE via Pies & AutoInvest; 0.15% FX if funded in PLN and converted to EUR = ~EUR 0.75/month on EUR 500.
• DEGIRO: VWCE is on the Core Selection in some markets; once-per-month free trade per ETF available if size and venue rules are met. Otherwise ~EUR 1 commission plus EUR 2.50/year connectivity for the venue. Effective monthly: ~EUR 0.20-1.20.

For monthly EUR 500 ETF DCA, the three converge at near-zero cost — the differences become more visible as trade count and ticker variety grow.

Persona B — Active US single-stock trader, 20 trades/month, EUR 10,000 monthly turnover, EUR base:

• Revolut Invest (Standard): 19 paid trades after the free one, at 0.25% per trade ≈ EUR 5 + 1% FX on EUR 10,000 = EUR 100. Total: ~EUR 105/month.
• Trading 212: 0% commission on 20 trades; 0.15% FX on EUR 10,000 = EUR 15. Total: ~EUR 15/month.
• DEGIRO: Per-trade fees on US stocks (~EUR 1 + EUR 1 handling under earlier schedules, plus EUR 2.50/year exchange connectivity) ≈ EUR 40 + 0.25% AutoFX on EUR 10,000 = EUR 25, or near-zero on manual conversion. Total: ~EUR 25-65/month depending on FX choice.

For the active US-stock trader at EUR base, Trading 212 is meaningfully cheapest, followed by DEGIRO on manual FX, with Revolut Standard the most expensive (Revolut Ultra changes this materially).

Persona C — Polish investor with GPW exposure (e.g. PKN Orlen, PKO BP, KGHM) plus global ETFs:

• Revolut and Trading 212: No native GPW access. Polish stock exposure requires a separate Polish broker.
• DEGIRO: Native GPW access; commissions on GPW historically among the lower in the EU broker market for non-Polish-domiciled brokers.

For Polish residents who want their entire equity portfolio at one broker including GPW names, DEGIRO is the only one of the three with the access; many Polish investors split the stack across DEGIRO (international) and a Polish broker (IKE/IKZE + GPW).

Tax-Loss Harvesting and Reporting

Tax-loss harvesting (TLH) — selling losing positions to crystallise losses against gains for tax purposes — has different implications at each broker:

• All three brokers segregate lot accounting per regulatory requirements. For Polish residents, the FIFO method is the default for cost-basis calculation on PIT-38; broker statements typically present sale-by-sale realisations.
• Trading 212's Pies/AutoInvest can complicate manual TLH because the pie executes across all positions on contributions; specific-lot selling is supported on the individual instrument level.
• DEGIRO's lot accounting is straightforward via the manual trade interface.
• Revolut's curated universe limits TLH flexibility when a desired replacement security isn't available.

For Polish residents who want to coordinate TLH with PIT-38 reporting season (typically February-April for the prior tax year), the consolidated annual statement from each broker is the primary input — with NBP exchange rate conversion at each transaction's relevant date applied during reconciliation.

Customer Service and Account Operations

• Revolut: In-app chat as primary channel; phone gated to higher tiers. Polish-language support comprehensive.
• Trading 212: Email and in-app chat; no dedicated phone line; reported response times in the multi-hour to multi-day range depending on issue.
• DEGIRO: Email and phone support in major European languages; written communication-heavy.

For complex operational issues (corporate actions on specific securities, tax certificate requests, large-balance custody questions), DEGIRO's more traditional support structure historically maps better to user expectations from older brokers. For routine questions, all three handle them adequately.

Sources

• BaFin entity register for flatexDEGIRO Bank AG.
• CySEC entity register for T212 Markets Ltd.
• Bank of Lithuania entity register for Revolut Securities Europe UAB.
• DEGIRO fee schedule and Core Selection list, accessed Q2 2026.
• Trading 212 published terms of business and fee schedule, accessed Q2 2026.
• Revolut Invest tier pricing, accessed Q2 2026.
• EdB (Entschädigungseinrichtung deutscher Banken) coverage rules.
• CySEC Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) coverage rules.
• VIDB (Indėlių ir investicijų draudimas) public scheme documentation.
• Narodowy Bank Polski daily average exchange rate tables.
• Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa PIT-38 and PIT/ZG guidance.