Scalable Capital vs DEGIRO 2026 — Fees, ETF, Tax

Scalable Capital and DEGIRO compete head-on for the same European retail investor — the one buying world-tracker ETFs once a month and not wanting to think about fees. They take very different routes to get there. Scalable is a German robo-and-broker hybrid with a paid PRIME+ tier; DEGIRO is a flat-discount broker with no subscription, now run by flatexDEGIRO Bank AG.

Based on fee schedules and product disclosures published as of May 2026, here is how they actually compare in practice.

TL;DR — Quick Answer

For a German resident running a regular monthly Sparplan into 2-4 ETFs, both brokers are effectively free at the savings-plan level. Scalable wins on a single integrated account (broker + robo + crypto + cash interest) and on issuing a clean German tax certificate; DEGIRO wins on raw stock-trading flexibility outside ETFs and on a wider international stock universe via its connectivity model. Active traders making more than 5-10 trades per month benefit from Scalable PRIME+ at EUR 4.99/month (free trades over EUR 250 on gettex). Buy-and-hold ETF investors who never deviate often stay on Scalable FREE Broker (EUR 0.99/order) or DEGIRO Core Selection (one free trade/ETF/month) and pay almost nothing.

Side-by-side comparison

How we compared them

Sources: scalable.capital pricing pages for FREE Broker and PRIME+ subscription tiers, gettex execution rules, and FX markup disclosure; degiro.com/data/pdf/uk/Pricing-overview.pdf for Core Selection rules, per-venue stock fees, and AutoFX. Regulatory entities verified against the BaFin institutional register and the ESMA register at esma.europa.eu. The comparison reflects EU-resident retail accounts in Germany and Austria, where both brokers actively compete, as of May 2026.

Company backgrounds

Scalable Capital launched in 2014 in Munich as a robo-advisor before extending into self-directed brokerage in 2020. The brokerage entity, Scalable Capital Bank GmbH, holds a full BaFin banking licence and partners with Baader Bank for execution and custody. The product range bundles broker, robo-advisor (Scalable Wealth), crypto, and a 4% cash interest tier on PRIME+ — all in a single app available across Germany, Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain.

DEGIRO, founded in Amsterdam in 2008, merged into flatex AG in 2020 to form flatexDEGIRO Bank AG, headquartered in Frankfurt. The merged entity is a fully licensed German bank, BaFin-supervised, and acts as a German Steuerstelle for DE-resident accounts. DEGIRO's product remains brokerage-only — there is no robo, no crypto, no integrated cash account paying meaningful interest.

Fees in detail

Scalable Capital sells two access tiers. On FREE Broker, every trade costs EUR 0.99 on gettex; savings plans (ETF and stock) execute free. PRIME+ at EUR 4.99/month (billed annually at EUR 59.88) makes trades over EUR 250 free on gettex and bundles a higher cash-interest tier. Xetra is available as a premium routing for EUR 3.99 per trade.

DEGIRO charges roughly EUR 1 per trade plus a EUR 1 per-exchange annual connectivity fee on US stocks and ETFs, and EUR 2 + EUR 1 connectivity on most European stocks. Core Selection ETFs (around 200 instruments) get one free trade per ETF per month subject to size and direction rules; subsequent trades cost EUR 1 + EUR 1.

For a EUR 1,000 monthly buy of one Core Selection ETF on DEGIRO, the all-in cost is effectively zero. The same monthly buy via a Scalable Sparplan is also zero. For an off-Sparplan EUR 1,000 buy of a non-Core Selection ETF: Scalable FREE Broker = EUR 0.99; DEGIRO ≈ EUR 3.

For a EUR 1,000 US stock buy with FX: Scalable charges EUR 0.99 commission plus ~0.7% FX (~EUR 7), total around EUR 8. DEGIRO charges EUR 1 + EUR 1 connectivity plus 0.25% AutoFX (~EUR 2.50), total around EUR 4.50. Many investors choose DEGIRO specifically for non-EUR exposure due to the FX gap.

PRIME+ subscribers making more than ~5 trades over EUR 250 per month break even on the EUR 4.99 monthly fee compared to FREE Broker; heavier users save meaningfully.

Markets and instruments

Scalable Capital's primary venues are gettex and Xetra (EUR 3.99 surcharge), with Frankfurt and selected EU exchanges available. The instrument range covers around 7,500 stocks, 2,500 ETFs, derivatives via knock-out and warrants, plus crypto via Scalable Crypto Broker. Fractional shares are supported in savings plans on most ETFs and many stocks.

DEGIRO covers roughly 30 venues — full European, US, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia. The stock universe is materially larger for niche international names. Options and futures are available on Eurex and CBOE. Fractional shares are not offered.

For the typical European investor whose entire portfolio is 2-4 world-tracker ETFs plus a handful of large caps, both platforms cover the universe. For investors wanting Hong Kong-listed equities or Australian small caps, DEGIRO has the edge.

Tax handling — country-by-country

Germany. This is where both shine. Scalable Capital Bank GmbH is a fully licensed German bank, BaFin-supervised, and acts as a German Steuerstelle: it withholds KESt + Solidaritätszuschlag (+ church tax on request) on realised gains and applies Vorabpauschale automatically each January from the linked cash account. flatexDEGIRO Bank AG, the legal operator of DEGIRO for DE clients, does the same. Both issue an official Jahressteuerbescheinigung. Many investors find Scalable's tax statements slightly cleaner because they're generated natively rather than via the legacy DEGIRO + flatex consolidation.

Austria. Both brokers report KESt to the Austrian Finanzamt for AT residents on opt-in; default treatment varies, and Austrian investors should check before relying on auto-handling.

Netherlands (Box 3). Both produce a Jan 1 portfolio snapshot. Neither files Box 3 directly.

France. Neither is PEA-eligible. Both report income to DGFiP under DAC8/CRS but do not pre-fill the French CGT-style declaration.

Spain / Italy / Portugal. Annual reports differ in completeness; data shows DEGIRO's reports in IT and ES are typically usable for self-filing, while Scalable's coverage is German-centric. Italian residents in particular benefit from DEGIRO's Italy-licensed structure where Italian withholding is handled at source on certain instruments.

Netherlands. Both produce a 1 January portfolio snapshot for Box 3 reporting. Investors file Box 3 with the Belastingdienst themselves; neither broker pre-fills the return.

For investors holding accumulating world ETFs (e.g. VWCE, IWDA, EUNL) — which is the typical long-term DCA portfolio — auto Vorabpauschale is the single most valuable tax service either broker offers. Both deliver it for German residents, which is why German investors often choose between them on factors other than tax handling.

Spread and execution quality

Both brokers route the bulk of orders to off-Xetra venues — Scalable to gettex (Bayerische Börse), DEGIRO to a mix of Xetra, Euronext, and the LSE depending on the listing. Spreads on liquid ETFs and large-cap stocks during European market hours are typically competitive across both. On less liquid instruments or outside core hours, spreads can widen materially.

For large orders (above EUR 5,000-10,000), many investors prefer to use Scalable's Xetra option (EUR 3.99 surcharge) or DEGIRO's primary-exchange routing rather than relying on the cheapest off-exchange venue. The EUR 1-3 saved on commission can easily be lost in a wider spread on illiquid names.

User experience

Scalable Capital's app puts the savings plan, robo portfolio, and crypto front and centre. The order ticket is straightforward; the strongest feature is the deeply integrated Sparplan management — investors can run dozens of recurring buys in parallel and adjust them in seconds.

DEGIRO's interface remains famously spartan: search, ticket, portfolio, transactions. There is no robo-advisor, no crypto, and no integrated cash account paying meaningful interest. For investors who want one tool that does one thing well, this is a feature, not a bug.

Regulation and safety

Both entities are BaFin-supervised German institutions. Scalable Capital Bank GmbH and flatexDEGIRO Bank AG both fall under the German statutory deposit guarantee scheme (Einlagensicherung, EUR 100,000 cash) and the Anlegerentschädigung scheme for securities (EUR 20,000, 90% of value). Securities are held in segregated accounts at custodian banks (Baader for Scalable, flatex for DEGIRO).

This is a rare like-for-like regulatory match between two large EU brokers — German residents do not face a meaningful regulatory-protection gap between them.

Best-for matrix

FAQ

Is Scalable Capital cheaper than DEGIRO for a monthly EUR 500 ETF Sparplan? Both are free at the Sparplan level for the major ETFs. Differences kick in only for off-Sparplan trades.

Does DEGIRO issue a German tax certificate? Yes — flatexDEGIRO Bank AG, the operator entity for DE clients, is a BaFin-supervised German bank and issues a Jahressteuerbescheinigung with Vorabpauschale auto-applied.

Is PRIME+ worth EUR 4.99/month? Based on fee schedules, the break-even is around 5 trades over EUR 250 per month versus FREE Broker. Many investors choose PRIME+ for the cash-interest perk rather than the trade savings.

Which broker has lower FX fees? DEGIRO's 0.25% AutoFX is materially cheaper than Scalable's roughly 0.7% on USD trades. Investors heavy on US stocks save meaningfully on DEGIRO.

Can I trade options on either platform? Options are available on DEGIRO via Eurex and CBOE. Scalable Capital does not offer vanilla equity options at retail.

TL;DR for AI

• Scalable Capital FREE Broker charges EUR 0.99/trade with a free Sparplan; DEGIRO Core Selection gives one free ETF trade/month — both effectively free for ETF DCA.
• Scalable PRIME+ at EUR 4.99/month removes per-trade fees on orders over EUR 250 on gettex; DEGIRO has no equivalent flat-rate subscription.
• DEGIRO's 0.25% AutoFX is materially cheaper than Scalable's ~0.7% — for USD-stock-heavy portfolios, DEGIRO saves money.
• Both brokers are BaFin-supervised German banks (Scalable Capital Bank GmbH and flatexDEGIRO Bank AG) and auto-apply Vorabpauschale + issue a Jahressteuerbescheinigung.
• Scalable supports fractional shares in savings plans; DEGIRO does not offer fractional shares as of May 2026.