Trade Republic Savings Plan 2026 — Sparplan Fees, ETF List, Tax (Vorabpauschale) and How It Compares

The Trade Republic Sparplan (savings plan) is one of the most aggressively priced recurring-investment products in Europe in 2026. Zero execution fee, 2,500+ ETFs eligible, 1 EUR minimum per execution, and the broker handles the German Vorabpauschale (advance lump-sum tax) automatically for German residents. This guide explains how the Sparplan works, what it costs, which ETFs are eligible, how it treats EU tax residents, and where it loses to competitors like Scalable Capital, 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 — Trade Republic Sparplan in 60 Seconds

• Product name: Sparplan (savings plan) — recurring auto-investment in ETFs, stocks and crypto
• Eligible asset count: ~2,500 ETFs + ~2,400 individual stocks + 50+ crypto
• Minimum recurring amount: 1 EUR per execution
• Frequency options: weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly (every 1/2/4/13 weeks)
• Execution fee: 0 EUR (genuinely free across the entire savings-plan universe)
• Free-list size: entire Sparplan universe is execution-free — there is no "paid" Sparplan tier
• Regulator: BaFin (Germany) + Deutsche Bundesbank; deposits held by Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan SE and others
• Best for: EU residents who want zero-fee DCA into a broad ETF universe in EUR

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What Trade Republic Sparplan Is

Trade Republic GmbH is a German Wertpapierhandelsbank (securities trading bank) licensed by BaFin and supervised by Deutsche Bundesbank. The Sparplan feature launched in 2019 and now spans approximately 2,500 ETFs and 2,400 individual stocks. Every Sparplan execution is free — the broker monetises through order flow on its single venue (LS Exchange / Lang & Schwarz Exchange) and through interest spread on uninvested cash held in customer omnibus accounts.

The Sparplan automates a recurring buy at fixed intervals. You pick:

1. An eligible asset (ETF, stock or crypto)
2. A frequency (weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly)
3. A fixed EUR amount (minimum 1 EUR for crypto, 1 EUR for ETFs/stocks since the late-2024 update)
4. A start date

The order then executes inside one of three Sparplan windows on the chosen day (see "Common gotchas" below).

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Eligible Asset Universe

Compared to DEGIRO (which has a curated 200-ish Core Selection free list) or Scalable Capital (650+ Prime free ETFs unless you upgrade), the Trade Republic Sparplan is the broadest fully free recurring-investment universe in Europe in 2026.

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Fee Structure (Sparplan and Beyond)

The genuine zero is the Sparplan execution. The hidden cost is the bid/ask spread on Lang & Schwarz, which is generally tight for liquid ETFs (VWCE, IWDA, EUNL) but can widen for thinly traded or USD-base products.

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Top 15 Popular ETFs Available on Trade Republic Sparplan

Every entry above is execution-fee free under the standard Sparplan. The TERs are the issuer's ongoing charge — Trade Republic does not add an extra ETF management surcharge.

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Setup Process (Step-by-Step)

1. Account funding — SEPA bank transfer in EUR or instant SEPA via the mobile app. Funds typically land within one business day; instant SEPA arrives within seconds for many participating banks.
2. Search the ETF — by ISIN or ticker in the in-app search bar.
3. Tap "Sparplan" on the ETF page (the button sits beside "Buy" and "Sell").
4. Choose frequency — Weekly (Monday), Biweekly, Monthly (1st or 15th), or Quarterly.
5. Set the amount — Any integer EUR amount from 1 EUR upward. Fractional shares cover the residual.
6. Pick the execution window — 11:00, 13:00 or 15:00 CET (see gotchas).
7. Dividend reinvestment — Accumulating ETFs (VWCE, IWDA, CSPX) reinvest automatically inside the fund. Distributing ETF payouts land as cash; you can route them into a separate Sparplan but there is no native DRIP toggle.
8. Target weights — Trade Republic does not support portfolio-target weights (unlike Trading 212 Pies). Each Sparplan is per-instrument with a fixed EUR amount.

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Tax Treatment for EU Residents

The German Vorabpauschale auto-deduction is the headline tax convenience for DE residents. For non-DE residents the broker does not withhold local capital-gains tax — you 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. Lowest learning curve, mobile-first, one tap to start a Sparplan.
• Regular 500 EUR/month — Trade Republic or Scalable Prime (tie). TR if you only want ETFs and crypto; Scalable Prime if you also want unlimited free single-stock trades.
• High-roller 5,000 EUR/month — Interactive Brokers Pro for tighter spreads on USD assets and lower FX margin; Trade Republic still fine for EUR-base ETFs.
• IBKR Pro power user — IBKR. TR has no API and no margin trading.

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Common Gotchas

1. Execution windows — Sparplans only execute at 11:00, 13:00 or 15:00 CET on the chosen day. If the day is a non-trading day, the order shifts to the next business day; you cannot specify "buy at market open" or "buy at close".
2. Partial fills — Rare on liquid ETFs but possible. If only part of the order fills, the remaining cash returns to the account and the next Sparplan execution proceeds normally.
3. Weekend orders deferred — Saturday/Sunday-scheduled Sparplans run on Monday at the chosen window.
4. Spread cost on USD-base ETFs — A USD-base ETF (CSPX) traded on LS Exchange in EUR has an effective FX overlay of ~0.25% baked into the spread. Multiple percent points over a decade.
5. Paid-ETF surprise — Not applicable on TR (all Sparplan ETFs are free), but if you do a one-off buy of a non-Sparplan ETF you pay 1 EUR external settlement.
6. Crypto spread — Crypto Sparplan has 0 EUR execution but Trade Republic earns ~1.49% bid/ask spread on each crypto fill. Not a fee per se, but factor it in.
7. No tax-advantaged wrapper outside DE — No PEA, no PIR, no ISA, no IKE/IKZE. EU residents outside Germany get nothing more than a CTO-equivalent.

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Worked Example — 500 EUR/Month Sparplan into VWCE for 10 Years

Assumptions: 500 EUR per month, monthly Sparplan, VWCE TER 0.22%, 7% annualized net return, zero execution fee.

• Total invested: 60,000 EUR over 120 months
• Sparplan execution fees paid: 0 EUR
• TER drag (issuer-side, not broker): ~660 EUR cumulative over 10 years (compounded on growing balance)
• Final portfolio value (approx.): ~87,000 EUR — i.e., ~27,000 EUR gain on 60,000 EUR invested
• Effective fee drag from broker: 0 EUR — the only cost was the bid/ask spread on LS Exchange (~0.05-0.10% per execution on VWCE = ~30-60 EUR cumulative)

vs. a one-off lump-sum of 60,000 EUR at month 0 with the same 7% return: final ~118,000 EUR. The lump-sum wins by ~31,000 EUR in the worked scenario — but DCA is about behavioural risk management, not return maximisation.

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Polish Reader Angle

For Polish residents, Trade Republic is one of the cheapest foreign-broker DCA options. There is no Belka withholding at source — you self-report on PIT-38 using the annual statement, converting EUR figures to PLN by the NBP average rate from the day before each transaction or dividend payout.

If you want an IKE or IKZE wrapper (annual deposit limits in 2026: ~26,000 PLN IKE / ~11,000 PLN IKZE, tax-free withdrawal at 60), you have to use a Polish broker. mBank Brokers' OneClick and BOSSA Inwestor both offer recurring purchases of GPW-listed ETFs (BETW20TR, ETFSP500.PL) — execution fees around 0.39% (min 5 PLN) at mBank and 0.39% (min 5 PLN) at BOSSA. Belka 19% is reported at source on Polish-listed products.

When does Trade Republic still win on TER + universe? When you want to DCA into a broad ex-Poland universe (VWCE, EIMI, AGGH) outside of IKE/IKZE. The execution cost differential (0 EUR vs. 5 PLN per buy at mBank) compounds materially over a 20-year horizon — at 500 PLN/month you would pay ~1,200 PLN in execution fees at mBank vs. 0 EUR at Trade Republic, before any Belka considerations.

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Tracking Multi-Broker DCA, Dividends, and Tax Reports

If you run a Sparplan on Trade Republic while also holding a Polish IKE at mBank and a few legacy positions on XTB, reconciling everything at PIT-38 time is painful. Freenance pulls multi-broker positions into a single view, tags every cash flow with the right tax bucket (Belka, Vorabpauschale, withholding), and projects your Financial Freedom Runway — the number of months your portfolio currently funds at your spend rate. Useful if you DCA across several brokers and want to see one number instead of five.

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FAQ

Q: Is Trade Republic safe? A: BaFin-licensed Wertpapierhandelsbank with Deutsche Bundesbank supervision. Cash deposits up to 100,000 EUR are protected by the German deposit-insurance scheme; securities are held in segregated custody at third-party banks. Standard EU MiFID II protections apply.

Q: Can I run a Sparplan into individual stocks, not just ETFs? A: Yes — about 2,400 individual stocks (EU + US) are Sparplan-eligible, all execution-free.

Q: How does Trade Republic make money if everything is 0 EUR? A: Order-flow rebates from LS Exchange, interest spread on uninvested cash held in the customer omnibus account, and ~1.49% crypto spreads.

Q: Can I pause or cancel a Sparplan? A: Yes — pause or delete in two taps inside the Sparplan settings. No cancellation fee.

Q: Are dividends from distributing ETFs reinvested automatically? A: No native DRIP toggle. Distributions land as cash; you can route them into a Sparplan but they will not auto-reinvest at the next execution unless you manually configure it.

Q: What happens if my account is empty when the Sparplan triggers? A: The execution is skipped. No fee, no penalty. Next scheduled date proceeds normally.

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Sources

• Trade Republic Bank GmbH — Sparplan documentation and price-and-services list, 2026 edition
• Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin) — Wertpapierhandelsbank licensing
• Deutsche Bundesbank — supervisory framework
• 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.