Trading 212 vs Revolut 2026 — Fees, Fractional, ISA

The "trading 212 vs revolut" query keeps climbing in European search interest in 2026. Both platforms market themselves as zero-commission, fractional-share friendly, mobile-first brokers — and both are increasingly visible to Polish retail investors who began with Revolut Invest and wonder whether Trading 212 is the next step up.

The honest answer is that they are similar in marketing but meaningfully different in product depth, regulation, fee economics and the suitability for non-UK and non-Western European users. This article goes deep on each dimension so you can decide which one fits your profile.

Quick Answer / TL;DR

• Regulation: Trading 212 operates through entities licensed by the FCA (UK), CySEC (Cyprus, T212 Markets Ltd), and FSC (Bulgaria). Revolut Invest in the EU is provided by Revolut Securities Europe UAB, supervised by the Bank of Lithuania.
• Commissions on stocks/ETFs: Both quote 0% commissions on standard equity and ETF trades. Trading 212 charges 0.15% FX on non-base currency trades; Revolut tiers in monthly free-trade allowances and per-trade fees beyond.
• Fractional shares: Both support fractional shares down to fractional cents in value; Trading 212's minimum is roughly EUR 1 per fractional order, Revolut's minimum varies by instrument.
• ISA: Trading 212 offers a Stocks and Shares ISA — but only for UK residents. Polish, German, French and other EU users do not have access to the ISA wrapper at Trading 212 or anywhere outside the UK.
• Cash interest: Trading 212 has paid competitive interest on uninvested cash (recently in the 4%+ range for EUR/GBP/USD via QMMF arrangements). Revolut Flexible Accounts pay broadly similar yields with limits tied to subscription tier.

Comparison Table

Fees Breakdown

Trading 212's headline pitch is genuine 0% commission on stocks and ETFs. The 0.15% FX fee on non-base-currency trades is the main quantifiable cost — for a Polish investor with an EUR base account buying USD-denominated US stocks, every trade carries a 0.15% conversion friction. There is no platform/inactivity fee in either Trading 212 Invest or Trading 212 ISA.

Revolut Invest's economics are more nuanced. The Standard plan typically includes one free trade per month, with subsequent trades charged at 0.25% (minimum currency-equivalent fee). Higher tiers expand the free monthly trade count: Plus, Premium, Metal and Ultra each raise the count, with Ultra offering the most generous allowance. The FX cost mirrors Revolut's banking side — Standard users hit a 1% FX markup once they exceed the monthly free allowance.

For a typical European retail investor making 5-10 trades per month, Trading 212's pure-0% commission with a 0.15% FX cost has been historically cheaper than Revolut Invest on the Standard tier. The picture shifts as the Revolut tier rises — Premium/Metal/Ultra can absorb most retail flows in their free-trade allowances, at the cost of the monthly subscription.

FX Costs in Detail

The FX dimension matters more than the commission dimension for most European retail investors, because the vast majority of attractive instruments (US large-cap stocks, popular ETFs) trade in USD or GBP, while the user's base balance is in EUR or PLN.

Trading 212's flat 0.15% applies symmetrically to deposits, withdrawals and trades in a non-base currency. Analysis suggests this is among the lowest published FX markups in the EU retail broker space — historical comparison places Trading 212 favourably against most full-service banks (which can charge 2-4%), competitive with Interactive Brokers (which has tiered FX), and notably cheaper than legacy retail brokers.

Revolut Invest's FX is bundled with the Revolut banking FX engine — meaning trades inherit the user's subscription tier rules. Standard users get a small free monthly allowance, then 1%; higher tiers raise the allowance.

Fractional Shares and Asset Universe

Both brokers support fractional shares on a substantial portion of their instrument universe.

• Trading 212 publishes a universe of roughly 13,000+ stocks and ETFs across US, UK and European exchanges. Fractional minimums sit around EUR 1 per order, which is unusually low. The breadth covers virtually every major US blue chip, S&P 500 constituent, UK FTSE 350 member, and a large chunk of European mid- and small-caps.
• Revolut Invest offers a more curated universe — historically around 2,500-3,000 instruments, weighted toward US blue chips, popular ETFs and a selection of European names. Fractional support is broad but not universal across the universe; some instruments are only available as whole shares.

For investors building a globally diversified portfolio with specific ETFs (for example, the popular VWCE, IWDA, EIMI), both platforms typically cover the headline tickers. For investors hunting more exotic ETF tickers, niche emerging market funds, or individual small/mid-cap European names, Trading 212's universe is generally deeper.

AutoInvest / Pies vs Recurring Buys

Trading 212's "Pies & AutoInvest" feature lets users construct portfolios as percentage allocations across many instruments (a "Pie") and automate periodic deposits that buy each instrument according to the target allocation, rebalancing the new money as it arrives. The feature is one of the most flexible passive investing tools in the European retail broker space.

Revolut Invest historically supported recurring buys on individual instruments but did not match Trading 212's full pie/percentage model at the same depth. The recurring buys are useful for DCA (dollar-cost averaging) into individual ETFs but offer less flexibility for multi-instrument portfolios.

For investors who want to build, say, a 60/30/10 split across three ETFs and automate monthly contributions, Trading 212 is the more capable platform out of the box.

ISA — UK Only

A meaningful share of "trading 212 vs revolut" search interest comes from UK residents weighing the Stocks and Shares ISA. Trading 212 offers a full ISA wrapper with no platform fee, fractional shares inside the ISA, and the same 0% commission economics — historically one of the most competitive ISA offerings in the UK market. Revolut does not currently offer an ISA wrapper.

For non-UK users — including Polish residents — the ISA is irrelevant: it is a UK-specific tax wrapper not available to non-UK residents. Polish residents looking for tax-advantaged investing must use IKE or IKZE via Polish brokers (see the Polish perspective section below).

Cash Interest on Uninvested Balances

Both platforms have responded to higher rates by offering interest on cash:

• Trading 212 has paid headline interest of roughly 4.0%-4.5% on EUR/GBP/USD uninvested cash (typically structured through qualifying money market funds, QMMF). Rates change with prevailing policy rates and are advertised on their site.
• Revolut Flexible Accounts offer broadly similar EUR yields (~3.0%-3.5%), with limits tied to subscription tier and a separate set of rates for USD and GBP.

For a long-term portfolio held primarily in invested positions, the cash interest matters less. For investors who hold significant cash buffers between trades, the difference can compound to meaningful sums over a year.

Regulation and Investor Protection

Trading 212 is structured as a multi-entity group:

• T212 UK Ltd, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) — primarily UK residents.
• T212 Markets Ltd, regulated by CySEC (Cyprus) — most EU residents including Poland.
• T212 Investments Ltd, regulated by the FSC (Bulgaria) — selected markets.

EU residents at T212 Markets Ltd are covered by the CySEC Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) up to EUR 20,000 per investor for eligible claims.

Revolut Invest for EU residents is provided by Revolut Securities Europe UAB, supervised by the Bank of Lithuania. The Lithuanian investor compensation scheme covers up to EUR 22,000.

Both schemes cover the brokerage's failure to return client assets — they do not cover market losses. The numerical difference (EUR 20,000 vs EUR 22,000) is essentially negligible for retail investors with portfolios in the EUR 10k-100k range; both fall short for high-net-worth investors who should consider splitting across providers.

App UX and Customer Service

Trading 212 has both mobile and web platforms — the web is fully functional and many longer-term investors prefer it for portfolio review and tax export work. The mobile app is competent but more austere than Revolut's. Customer service is in-app and email-based; reported response times vary.

Revolut Invest is mobile-only inside the broader Revolut app. The UX is among the most polished in the segment but is constrained by the mobile form factor — taxonomy of holdings, multi-account views and CSV exports can be more cumbersome than on a desktop platform.

Polish Investor Perspective

For a Polish tax resident, both platforms generate income that must be self-reported on PIT-38:

• Belka tax (19%) applies to capital gains from realised sales and to interest from cash balances.
• Cost basis and proceeds must be converted to PLN using the NBP average exchange rate from the working day preceding each transaction. This makes manual reconciliation tedious; many investors use spreadsheet templates or dedicated tools.
• Neither broker withholds Belka at source — the responsibility sits with the taxpayer.
• Neither offers IKE or IKZE. Polish tax wrappers are restricted to Polish-licensed brokers (https://www.mbank.pl, https://bossa.pl, BM Pekao). For Polish investors who want IKE/IKZE benefits, a Polish broker is the only route — Trading 212 and Revolut sit on top of, not inside, those wrappers.
• Dividend withholding on foreign instruments (typically US 15% under treaty with W-8BEN, where the broker supports it; otherwise 30%) plus the remaining Polish tax delta must be reported via PIT/ZG annexes.

For a Polish investor running a globally diversified ETF strategy outside any tax wrapper, Trading 212's lower FX (0.15%) and broader instrument universe historically produce a slightly more tax-efficient and cheaper experience than Revolut Standard or Plus tiers. For high-tier Revolut subscribers (Premium, Metal, Ultra) who are already paying for the subscription for non-investing reasons, the marginal cost of investing through Revolut can be lower.

Tracking your portfolio across brokers: If you hold ETFs at Trading 212, individual stocks at Revolut, and an IKE at a Polish broker, Freenance aggregates everything into one view and projects your Financial Freedom Runway — months of expenses covered by your liquid net worth at the current burn rate. Helpful when reconciling multi-broker positions for PIT-38 season.

When is Trading 212 Better than Revolut?

Analysis suggests Trading 212 is the stronger pick when:

• You make more than the free-trade allowance on Revolut Standard each month.
• You want the full Pies/AutoInvest flexibility for a multi-ETF DCA strategy.
• You value a broader instrument universe and a working web platform.
• You are a UK resident wanting an ISA with 0% commissions.
• You prioritise the lowest FX cost (0.15%).

When is Revolut Better than Trading 212?

Revolut Invest fits better when:

• You already pay for Revolut Premium/Metal/Ultra for banking reasons and want investing bundled in.
• You value a single app for banking, FX, savings, crypto and investing.
• You make a small number of trades per month within the free allowance.
• You want commodities exposure (Revolut offers gold/silver alongside stocks; Trading 212 leans equity/ETF).

FAQ

Are both Trading 212 and Revolut Invest truly 0% commission? On standard stock and ETF trades, Trading 212 is 0% commission with a 0.15% FX cost on non-base currency. Revolut Invest is 0% on the free monthly allowance with per-trade fees beyond it (varies by tier). Neither has a "platform fee" in the legacy sense.

Can I get a Stocks and Shares ISA with Trading 212 in Poland? No. The ISA is a UK-specific tax wrapper, restricted to UK residents. Polish residents must use IKE/IKZE via Polish brokers for tax-advantaged investing.

Does Trading 212 offer fractional shares for European stocks? Yes — fractional support extends to a broad range of US, UK and European-listed stocks and ETFs. Minimum order size is typically around EUR 1.

What FX rate does Revolut Invest use? Revolut Invest uses Revolut's banking FX engine — interbank rates during the working week with a weekend markup. The Standard plan applies a 1% markup beyond the monthly free allowance; higher tiers extend the allowance.

Which one is safer if the broker fails? Both are covered by EU investor compensation schemes (EUR 20,000 at T212 CySEC, EUR 22,000 at Revolut Securities Lithuania). Both segregate client assets per regulatory requirements. The numerical difference is small; for portfolios well above the cap, splitting providers is the standard mitigation.

Can I trade options or futures on either? No — neither Trading 212 nor Revolut Invest offers derivatives at the retail level for EU users. For options, investors typically look to dedicated derivatives brokers.

Worked Cost Examples

To make the comparison concrete, consider three personas — all EUR base currency, all EU residents:

Persona A — Beginner, EUR 200/month into one US index ETF:

• Trading 212: 0% commission; 0.15% FX on EUR 200 = EUR 0.30/month. Annual: ~EUR 3.60.
• Revolut Standard: Free monthly trade covers the recurring buy. FX cost depends on whether the funding currency matches the trade currency. Annual: ~EUR 0-10.

For a low-volume beginner, both are near-zero cost.

Persona B — Active investor, 15 trades/month, EUR 5,000 monthly turnover, mostly US individual stocks:

• Trading 212: 0% × 15 trades + 0.15% × EUR 5,000 = EUR 7.50/month. Annual: ~EUR 90.
• Revolut Standard: 14 paid trades after the free one × 0.25% (min EUR 1) = ~EUR 17.50; 1% FX on EUR 5,000 (assuming over free allowance) = EUR 50. Annual: ~EUR 810.
• Revolut Ultra at ~EUR 55/month: 660/year subscription cost + minimal trade cost within higher allowances. Annual: ~EUR 660 if used only for invest; effectively lower if Ultra perks are valued for non-invest reasons.

For active retail traders, Trading 212 is dramatically cheaper unless the Ultra subscription is justified by non-invest perks.

Persona C — Pies/AutoInvest user, EUR 1,000/month split across 5 ETFs:

• Trading 212 Pie: 0% × 5 fractional buys + 0.15% FX on the non-base portion. Annual cost: ~EUR 9.
• Revolut recurring buys: Single-instrument recurring buys × 5 instruments = 5 trades/month, of which 1 free, 4 paid at 0.25% (min EUR 1). Annual: ~EUR 48 in commission plus FX.

Trading 212's pie model is structurally cheaper for multi-instrument DCA.

ETF Selection in Practice

For investors building a globally diversified ETF portfolio, the most commonly referenced UCITS tickers are:

• VWCE.DE — Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (Acc), broadly available at both Trading 212 and Revolut.
• IWDA.AS — iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF (Acc), widely available.
• EIMI.AS — iShares Core MSCI EM IMI UCITS ETF (Acc), widely available.
• AGGH.AS — iShares Core Global Aggregate Bond UCITS ETF (Acc), typically available at Trading 212 and often at Revolut.
• EQQQ.DE — Invesco EQQQ NASDAQ-100 UCITS ETF (Dis), broadly available.

For more niche tickers — small-cap factor ETFs, single-country emerging market funds, specific thematic ETFs — Trading 212's broader universe typically wins. Investors should verify ticker availability before committing to a platform for a specific portfolio design.

Account Operations

Both platforms support deposits via SEPA, faster payments (in the UK), and card top-ups. Withdrawal cadence at Trading 212 is typically same-business-day to next-business-day for SEPA; Revolut leverages its banking infrastructure for instant SEPA where supported.

Account statements and tax-relevant documents:

• Trading 212 provides annual statements with consolidated profit/loss, dividend income, and instrument-level realisations.
• Revolut Invest provides similar statements; many investors note the format differs slightly between Trading 212 and Revolut, requiring reformatting work for PIT-38 reconciliation if combining both.

For Polish residents reconciling foreign-broker income to PIT-38, an exportable CSV per broker with date, instrument, side, quantity, price, currency and trade ID is the practical minimum — both platforms support this in some form.

Sources

• CySEC public register entry for T212 Markets Ltd.
• Bank of Lithuania supervisory disclosures for Revolut Securities Europe UAB.
• Financial Conduct Authority register for T212 UK Ltd.
• Trading 212 published terms of business and fee schedule, accessed Q2 2026.
• Revolut Invest fee schedules and subscription tier pricing, accessed Q2 2026.
• CySEC Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) coverage rules.
• Narodowy Bank Polski daily average exchange rate tables.
• Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa PIT-38 and PIT/ZG reporting guidance.