Scalable Capital Savings Plan 2026 — Prime vs Free, Sparplan Fees, ETF List, Vorabpauschale and Where It Wins

Scalable Capital is Trade Republic's main German rival and offers two distinct Sparplan tiers: the "Free Broker" (pay-as-you-go) and "Prime / Prime+" (flat-rate subscriptions). Each tier exposes a different free-ETF universe and different one-off trade economics. This deep-dive explains who Scalable Capital is, which Sparplan tier wins at which portfolio size, the exact fees, the eligible ETF universe, the Vorabpauschale handling for German residents, and how it compares to Trade Republic, Trading 212, DEGIRO and Interactive Brokers.

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

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TL;DR — Scalable Capital Sparplan in 60 Seconds

• Product name: Sparplan (savings plan) — recurring ETF, stock, crypto investing
• Eligible asset count: ~2,400 ETFs Prime / ~650 ETFs Free + ~7,000 stocks + 20+ crypto
• Minimum recurring amount: 1 EUR per execution
• Frequency options: Monthly, every two months, quarterly, semi-annually (1st or 15th)
• Execution fee: 0 EUR on Sparplan in both tiers (Free and Prime)
• Free-list size: ~650 ETFs (Free Broker) or ~2,400 ETFs (Prime/Prime+) execution-free Sparplan
• Regulator: BaFin (Germany), securities held with Baader Bank AG
• Best for: Sparplan investors who want a wider ETF universe than Trade Republic plus free one-off trades on a subscription

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What Scalable Capital Sparplan Is

Scalable Capital is a hybrid robo-advisor and execution broker headquartered in Munich. The execution-broker business runs through Scalable Broker GmbH, a BaFin-licensed Wertpapierinstitut; securities are custodied by Baader Bank AG (BaFin-regulated, Unterschleißheim). The Sparplan was launched in 2020 and now spans roughly 2,400 ETFs on the Prime tier and around 650 ETFs on the Free Broker tier.

The broker monetises through three streams: (1) flat subscriptions on Prime/Prime+, (2) external-venue execution fees on the Free tier, and (3) interest spread on cash. Order flow runs primarily through Gettex (Munich) and Xetra; Sparplans execute on Gettex.

Scalable supports both ETF and stock Sparplans (Trade Republic also does). Where Scalable differs: a flat-rate subscription that converts every standard trade into a 0 EUR commission (on Gettex), and a much larger one-off trading universe.

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Eligible Asset Universe

A practical contrast vs. Trade Republic: Scalable's Sparplan-eligible ETF universe overlaps heavily with TR's 2,500 but adds several iShares and Amundi product families not on TR. The trade-off is that on the Free Broker tier you only get ~650 ETFs for free Sparplan; if you specifically want VWCE / IWDA / CSPX / EIMI you are covered either way.

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Fee Structure — All Three Tiers Side by Side

Break-even Prime vs Free: 2.99 EUR/month subscription pays for itself if you place ≥3 non-Sparplan Gettex orders per month at 0.99 EUR each, or any combination that exceeds the subscription. Pure DCA-only investors who never make one-off trades have no reason to pay for Prime; the Sparplan is free on both tiers.

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Top 15 Popular ETFs Available on Scalable Sparplan

Several Amundi and SPDR products that count as Prime-only on the Free Broker are accessible execution-free on Prime — the Prime upgrade can pay for itself if you DCA into 4-5 of those.

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Setup Process (Step-by-Step)

1. Open the account — Web onboarding, BaFin-mandated VideoIdent in ~10 minutes. Tax-ID required for German residents; otherwise standard EU CRS/FATCA self-declarations.
2. Pick a tier — Free, Prime or Prime+. You can switch tiers later; the Sparplan economics do not change.
3. Fund the account — SEPA transfer; instant SEPA supported for most EU banks; arrival in seconds to one business day.
4. Search the ETF by ISIN/ticker.
5. Tap "Sparplan einrichten" ("Set up savings plan").
6. Choose frequency — Monthly, every 2 months, quarterly, semi-annually. Pick execution date (1st or 15th).
7. Set EUR amount from 1 EUR upward. Fractional execution covers the residual.
8. DRIP — Distributing-ETF dividends land as cash; no native DRIP toggle. Most German DCA investors choose accumulating ETFs (VWCE, IWDA, CSPX) to compound inside the fund.
9. Target weights — Scalable does not offer portfolio-target-weight Sparplans; each Sparplan is per-instrument.

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Tax Treatment for EU Residents

Germany, Austria and Italy get the most tax-administration support; other residents handle annual filings themselves using the broker's annual report.

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Comparison vs. The Other Four Brokers

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Best For Use Case

• Beginner first 1,000 EUR — Free Broker. No subscription cost, identical Sparplan economics to Prime for VWCE-class core ETFs.
• Regular 500 EUR/month, ETF-only — Free Broker. Subscription does not improve a pure Sparplan flow.
• High-roller 5,000 EUR/month, mixed ETFs + stocks — Prime. Subscription pays back quickly if you supplement DCA with one-off stock trades on Gettex.
• Active trader doing 20+ trades/month — Prime+. Higher interest on uninvested cash, identical 0 EUR trades on Gettex.

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Common Gotchas

1. Execution timing — Sparplans execute on the 1st or 15th of the month (or the next business day) typically before 13:00 CET on Gettex. You cannot pick "any day".
2. Fractional only on Sparplan — One-off market orders trade in whole shares. If you want to invest exactly 100 EUR into CSPX outside a Sparplan, you cannot do it on a single order at the current price.
3. Free Broker non-Sparplan trades — 0.99 EUR per Gettex trade adds up. Five trades a month at 0.99 EUR = 4.95 EUR — a subscription saves money for active traders.
4. Xetra surcharge — Trading on Xetra costs 3.99 EUR + 0.01% + venue fee regardless of tier. Stick to Gettex if you want subscription-bundled 0 EUR trades.
5. Crypto spread — 0.69-0.99% baked into the bid/ask; not a fee per se, but reduces effective return.
6. No native DRIP — Distribute-and-redeploy requires manual setup of a second Sparplan feeding off the cash dividend account.
7. Cancellation of subscription mid-month — Effective at next billing cycle; you cannot get a pro-rata refund.
8. Tax representative scope — IT/AT auto-withholding only applies if you registered with the correct tax-residency and elected the regime; many non-German users mistakenly assume it applies by default.

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Worked Example — 500 EUR/Month Sparplan into IWDA for 10 Years (Prime Broker)

Assumptions: 500 EUR per month, monthly Sparplan, IWDA TER 0.20%, 7% annualized net return, Prime subscription 2.99 EUR/month.

• Total invested: 60,000 EUR over 120 months
• Sparplan execution fees: 0 EUR
• Prime subscription cost: 2.99 × 120 = 358.80 EUR
• TER drag (issuer-side): ~600 EUR cumulative over 10 years on a growing balance
• Final portfolio value (approx.): ~87,000 EUR (~27,000 EUR gain on 60,000 EUR invested)
• Effective broker drag: 358.80 EUR subscription + ~30-60 EUR LS Exchange spread = ~390-420 EUR — about 0.65% one-time cost on the 60,000 EUR principal

If you would otherwise place ≥3 Gettex one-off trades per month, the subscription is net-positive vs. Free Broker; if you are a pure DCA investor, choose Free Broker and save the subscription.

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Polish Reader Angle

Scalable Capital opened to Polish residents in 2022 and now accepts PL tax-residency. Belka 19% is not withheld at source — you self-report on PIT-38 using the annual statement and NBP average rates.

Polish-broker comparison: mBank Brokers' OneClick offers automated buys on GPW-listed ETFs starting from 1 PLN with 0.39% execution (min 5 PLN). BOSSA Inwestor's automatic-investing module similarly charges 0.39% (min 5 PLN). Both report Belka at source for Polish ETFs and integrate with IKE/IKZE wrappers.

When does Scalable still win? On TER + universe breadth (VWCE 0.22% vs Polish-listed alternatives often ≥0.40%) and on absolute execution cost (0 EUR vs 5 PLN). Over 20 years of monthly DCA at 500 PLN, the 5 PLN execution cost compounds to ~1,200 PLN of broker fees — not catastrophic, but tangible.

Polish DCA investors who want IKE/IKZE tax wrappers (annual deposit ~26,000 PLN IKE / ~11,000 PLN IKZE) have to stay on a Polish broker. Foreign-broker DCA wins for ex-wrapper investing in broader ETFs.

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Tracking Multi-Broker DCA, Dividends, and Tax Reports

Running a Scalable Prime Sparplan, a Polish IKE on mBank, plus a few one-off positions on XTB makes year-end Belka reporting tedious. Freenance aggregates positions across brokers, classifies each cash flow by tax bucket (Vorabpauschale, Belka, source withholding), and surfaces your Financial Freedom Runway — how many months your current portfolio funds at your spend rate. Useful when you DCA across several brokers and want one number, not five.

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FAQ

Q: What is the real difference between Free and Prime? A: Sparplan is 0 EUR on both tiers. Prime makes one-off Gettex trades free (above 250 EUR order size) and unlocks ~1,800 additional Prime-tier ETFs. Free Broker charges 0.99 EUR per Gettex one-off order.

Q: Is the Prime subscription billable from my Scalable cash balance? A: Yes — auto-debited monthly from the linked Scalable account.

Q: Can I run a Sparplan on a single stock or only ETFs? A: Both. Single-stock Sparplans across ~7,000 instruments, all execution-free.

Q: Does Scalable Capital handle Vorabpauschale for non-German residents? A: No. Vorabpauschale is a specifically German tax mechanism; non-German residents do not have it deducted (and do not have the equivalent in their jurisdiction unless their country imposes its own anti-deferral regime).

Q: Can I cancel Prime any time? A: Yes, with effect at the end of the current billing month. The Sparplan economics remain identical when you fall back to Free.

Q: What custody insurance applies? A: Securities at Baader Bank are held in segregated custody (not on Baader's balance sheet). Standard EU SIPC-equivalent investor compensation applies up to the local statutory limit (currently 20,000 EUR for securities in Germany).

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Sources

• Scalable Capital — Sparplan price-and-services list and product documentation, 2026 edition
• Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin) — Wertpapierinstitut licensing
• Baader Bank AG — custodian of Scalable Capital securities
• Investment Funds Act (InvStG) Germany — Vorabpauschale calculation
• German Income Tax Act (EStG) §20 — capital-income taxation

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