DEGIRO ETF Core Selection 2026 — Free List, Real Fees, Tax by Country, DCA Setup, and Where It Loses to Modern Sparplan Brokers

DEGIRO's ETF Core Selection is one of Europe's oldest free-ETF programmes — predating Trade Republic's Sparplan by several years — but in 2026 it shows its age. The free list is ~200 ETFs (small vs TR's 2,500), there is a 1 EUR handling fee even on "free" ETFs, no fractional shares, and the recurring-investment automation is rudimentary compared to Pies or Sparplans. This guide is a no-spin take on the Core Selection: what it costs, which ETFs are eligible, how tax is handled by country, and when DEGIRO still wins over Trade Republic, Scalable, Trading 212 and IBKR.

Informational content, not investment advice. Broker fees change; verify current terms before opening any account.

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TL;DR — DEGIRO Core Selection in 60 Seconds

• Product name: ETF Core Selection — a curated list of ETFs that trade execution-free (subject to conditions)
• Eligible asset count: ~200 Core Selection ETFs + ~6,000 stocks + ~1,000 paid ETFs
• Minimum recurring amount: 1 EUR (but you must buy ≥1 whole share at the live price)
• Frequency options: Monthly, biweekly, weekly (manual — DEGIRO has limited native recurring automation; investors typically set calendar reminders or use the new Investment Plans feature where available)
• Execution fee on Core: 0 EUR commission + 1 EUR handling fee per execution (settlement fee)
• Free-list size: ~200 ETFs once-per-month per ETF; additional buys in the same month incur the standard ETF fee
• Regulator: AFM + DNB (Netherlands); part of flatexDEGIRO Bank AG (BaFin via German parent)
• Best for: Whole-share buyers, DE/AT/CH residents who want tax-administration support, value-conscious one-off ETF buyers

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What DEGIRO Core Selection Is

DEGIRO is a Dutch online broker, originally an institutional execution venue spin-off, now part of flatexDEGIRO Bank AG (Frankfurt-listed, BaFin-regulated through the German banking parent). The Core Selection has existed since 2015 and is the broker's flagship retail product.

The mechanics: a curated list of ~200 ETFs (Vanguard, iShares, SPDR, Amundi, Lyxor, Xtrackers) that you can buy commission-free once per calendar month per ETF in the direction of the ETF's "core" trading currency. Every execution still incurs a 1 EUR external-handling fee (transaction/settlement). Additional buys of the same Core Selection ETF in the same month attract the standard ETF fee (~2 EUR + 0.03%).

DEGIRO does not offer a per-instrument Sparplan with fractional execution like Trade Republic or Scalable. Instead, the Investment Plan feature (rolled out across most DEGIRO European entities by 2025-2026) lets you schedule recurring buys for a basket of ETFs at a chosen frequency, but each execution still buys whole shares only at the live execution price — fractional execution is not supported.

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Eligible Asset Universe

The "no fractional" constraint matters. If a Core Selection ETF trades at 110 EUR per share and you want to invest 100 EUR per month, you cannot — you must wait until you accumulate 110 EUR in cash. For higher-priced ETFs like CSPX (~600 EUR/share), the minimum effective DCA increment is ~600 EUR/month.

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Fee Structure

The 1 EUR handling fee even on "free" Core Selection ETFs is the part many newcomers miss. On a 100 EUR DCA it is 1% — meaningful drag. On a 500 EUR DCA it is 0.2% — closer to industry norms. The 2.50 EUR/year connectivity fee per non-Dutch exchange caps at ~5-10 EUR/year for a typical multi-exchange ETF portfolio.

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Top 15 Popular ETFs on DEGIRO Core Selection

The Core Selection covers the most-popular Vanguard and iShares products but excludes some popular USD-base share classes (CSPX, QDVE) — to buy those execution-free you have to pick the EUR/GBP listing (e.g., SXR8 for the iShares Core S&P 500 EUR-class on Xetra).

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Setup Process (Step-by-Step)

1. Open the account — DEGIRO uses an electronic onboarding via the German DEGIRO entity for most EU residents (since the flatex migration). VideoIdent or iDIN (NL) takes 5-15 minutes.
2. Cash account vs Custody account — Choose Cash (default; cash held as Geldmarktfonds money-market fund position). Custody offers SIPC-equivalent custodial separation; Cash uses a Geldmarktfonds.
3. Fund the account — SEPA in EUR; arrival in 1 business day.
4. Enable AutoFX or manual FX — AutoFX auto-converts at 0.25% per execution; manual FX requires an explicit conversion order at 10 EUR + 0.25%. For monthly DCA on EUR-class ETFs, AutoFX never triggers.
5. Locate the Core Selection list — Inside the platform, filter ETFs by "Core Selection" attribute.
6. First buy — Place a market or limit order for ≥1 whole share. The 1 EUR handling fee applies; ETF commission is waived if you meet Core Selection conditions (first buy of this ETF this calendar month in the listed currency).
7. Investment Plan (where available) — Schedule a recurring buy across multiple ETFs at chosen cadence. Each execution still buys whole shares only at the live price.
8. DRIP — Distributing ETF dividends land as cash; no native DRIP toggle. You can manually buy more shares once the dividend lands.
9. Target weights — Investment Plan supports per-instrument target amounts; no Pie-style target-weight rebalancing.

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Tax Treatment by Country

DE / AT / CH residents get the most tax-administration support thanks to the flatex parent. Others self-report.

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Comparison vs. The Other Four Brokers

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Best For Use Case

• Beginner first 1,000 EUR — Trade Republic or Scalable Free Broker beats DEGIRO on minimum-investment friction (no whole-share constraint).
• Regular 500 EUR/month — DEGIRO works for ~3-4 Core ETFs at sub-150 EUR/share each (3-4 EUR handling = ~0.7% drag). Trade Republic still cheaper.
• High-roller 5,000 EUR/month — DEGIRO becomes competitive: 1 EUR handling on 5,000 EUR = 0.02% drag, alongside DE/AT tax-administration support.
• DE/AT resident wanting tax handling — DEGIRO is one of the few Sparplan-class brokers (alongside Scalable and IBKR for some flows) offering full Steuerbescheinigung and Vorabpauschale handling.
• IBKR Pro power user — IBKR for tightest FX (~0.03%) and global market access.

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Common Gotchas

1. The 1 EUR handling fee is NOT zero — Many investors mis-read "free Core Selection" as truly zero. It is 1 EUR commission-free + 1 EUR external handling = 1 EUR effective per execution.
2. One free buy per ETF per calendar month — The second buy of the same Core ETF in the same month attracts the full ~2 EUR + 0.03% fee.
3. No fractional execution — Whole shares only. DCA budget below the share price means you cannot execute that month.
4. Connectivity fee per exchange — 2.50 EUR/year per non-Dutch exchange (Xetra, LSE, etc.) for ETF holdings, capped at the Dutch market value.
5. AutoFX on cross-currency ETFs — 0.25% per direction. Always prefer EUR-class share-classes (SXR8 instead of CSPX on USD venue) to avoid the conversion drag.
6. Cash account uses Geldmarktfonds — Idle cash sits in a money-market fund, not a bank deposit. Past performance has been positive but is not deposit-insured the same way bank cash would be. Custody account avoids this.
7. Investment Plan availability — Rolled out unevenly across DEGIRO entities (German, French, Italian, Dutch). Check whether your jurisdiction has the feature live.
8. flatexDEGIRO migration — Most EU clients have been migrated to the German DEGIRO entity since 2023. Tax reporting changes accordingly; check your annual statement for the issuing entity.

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Worked Example — 500 EUR/Month into VWCE for 10 Years (DEGIRO Core)

Assumptions: VWCE ~120 EUR/share, 4 whole shares per month = ~480 EUR invested (20 EUR residual rolls over), VWCE TER 0.22%, 7% annualised return.

• Actual invested: ~57,600 EUR over 120 months (residuals re-deployed periodically; some idle cash drag)
• Handling fees: 1 EUR × 120 = 120 EUR cumulative
• TER drag: ~620 EUR cumulative on growing balance
• Final portfolio value (approx.): ~83,000 EUR — i.e., ~25,400 EUR gain on 57,600 EUR invested
• Effective broker drag: 120 EUR handling fees + idle-cash drag (~50-100 EUR) = ~170-220 EUR. About 0.3% of principal — small but non-zero, vs ~0 EUR at Trade Republic for the equivalent scenario.

The TR/Scalable equivalent saves ~120-220 EUR over the decade and removes the whole-share-only friction.

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Polish Reader Angle

DEGIRO has had Polish residents since 2016 and now operates via its German entity. Belka 19% is self-reported on PIT-38 — DEGIRO does not act as płatnik. Annual statement is in EUR; convert to PLN at NBP average rate from the day before each transaction or payout.

Polish-broker comparison: mBank Brokers OneClick (0.39% / 5 PLN min) and BOSSA Inwestor (0.39% / 5 PLN min) both support automated GPW-listed ETF buys with IKE/IKZE tax-wrapper compatibility and Belka reporting at source. The Polish brokers' execution fees (5 PLN ≈ 1.15 EUR) are comparable to DEGIRO's 1 EUR handling fee — for Polish ETFs the wrapper advantage (IKE/IKZE) tilts toward Polish brokers.

When does DEGIRO still win? When you want exposure to the full ~200 Core Selection of foreign-listed ETFs (VWCE, IWDA, EIMI, AGGH, SPYI, SXR8) at competitive per-execution cost. For Polish wrappers and Polish-listed ETFs, Polish brokers win.

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Tracking Multi-Broker DCA, Dividends, and Tax Reports

A typical Polish DCA stack — a DEGIRO position in VWCE + Core Selection ETFs, mBank IKE, and a Trade Republic Sparplan — produces three separate annual statements in three formats. Freenance aggregates broker positions into one dashboard, classifies each cash flow by tax bucket (Belka, Vorabpauschale, source withholding), and projects your Financial Freedom Runway — months your portfolio funds at current spend. Useful for multi-broker DCA reconciliation.

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FAQ

Q: Is DEGIRO truly free for ETF buys? A: No. The Core Selection waives the ETF commission but a 1 EUR external-handling fee applies per execution.

Q: Can I buy fractional shares on DEGIRO? A: No. DEGIRO executes whole shares only. This is the key structural difference vs Trade Republic, Scalable, Trading 212 and IBKR.

Q: Does DEGIRO handle Vorabpauschale for German residents? A: Yes, since the flatex migration. Steuerbescheinigung is issued annually and Vorabpauschale is auto-deducted from the cash balance in January.

Q: Does DEGIRO support recurring buys natively? A: Yes — the Investment Plan feature is live in most EU jurisdictions and lets you schedule a recurring buy. Each execution buys whole shares only at the live price.

Q: What is the connectivity fee? A: 2.50 EUR per calendar year per non-Dutch exchange where you hold a position. Capped so that the effective annual fee is small for most multi-exchange portfolios.

Q: Cash vs Custody account? A: Cash account is the default; idle cash sits in a Geldmarktfonds (money-market fund). Custody account holds securities under traditional custodial separation but does not earn money-market returns on idle cash.

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Sources

• DEGIRO — ETF Core Selection list and price-and-services list, 2026 edition
• Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM) — broker licensing
• De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) — prudential supervision
• Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin) — flatexDEGIRO Bank AG parent supervision
• Investment Funds Act (InvStG) Germany — Vorabpauschale calculation

Informational content, not investment advice. Broker fees change; verify current terms.