Scalable Capital vs Trade Republic.
Scalable Capital or Trade Republic for a monthly index buy? The same pattern priced through both price sheets, the protection behind each, who does your tax paperwork, and what leaving costs. Side by side, verified, verdict-free.
Every figure verified against the brokers’ own price sheets: July 2026. Fee schedules reprice mid-year. If that date looks old, check the price sheet before acting.
The same buy, both bills
| Measure | Scalable Capital | Trade Republic |
|---|---|---|
| The bill this year | €0 | €0 |
| Twenty years of it | ≈ €0 | ≈ €0 |
The example pattern: €300 a month, no pot, a euro-listed fund. Your pattern is different: run yours through The Broker Bill
Where they differ
| Dimension | Scalable Capital | Trade Republic |
|---|---|---|
| Available in | 6 countries, on its published list | 18 countries, on its published list |
| The cash | Cash sits at Scalable Capital Bank and partner banks: €100,000 statutory deposit guarantee per client per bank; on the free tier it can also sit in money market funds, which are fund units, not a guaranteed deposit. | Cash is distributed among partner banks (Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan, HSBC among them): €100,000 guarantee per bank; amounts beyond that can sit in liquidity funds, where no deposit guarantee applies. |
| Does your taxes in | Germany | Germany, Italy, Spain |
| The exit | Transfer out free (plus any third-party costs); savings-plan fractions can't travel: they're sold and credited. | Outbound in-kind transfers supported (the receiving broker's form starts it); no fee published. Ask before you fund. |
Where they match
- The monthly buy €0 · savings plan
- Recurring €0/yr
- Conversion — · euro funds only
- Savings plan automatic · fractions
- Protection German EdB: 90% up to €20,000 (securities shortfalls; segregation first)
The honest notes
Scalable Capital
Munich's answer, and since late 2025 a full bank with an ECB licence. Savings plans are free from one euro, fractions ride along inside them, and there's no CFD wing anywhere on the platform — rare on this list. The catches are reach and structure: it serves only six countries, it withholds tax for Germans only, and the free tier's economics lean on a subscription upsell and a trading venue it co-owns. One more thing that belongs in the open: the most-cited ETF comparison site in Europe is its subsidiary, worth remembering wherever you see its name recommended.
Scalable Capital: the fine print
Scalable Capital Bank GmbH, Munich: ECB-authorised bank, supervised by BaFin
Savings plan, free, from €1; every ETF, both tiers. Manual orders €0.99 on EIX/gettex under €250 (gettex moves to €1.99 from September 2026).
Free savings plans from €1, every ETF; fractions ride along inside plans only: a manual order buys whole units.
Cash sits at Scalable Capital Bank and partner banks: €100,000 statutory deposit guarantee per client per bank; on the free tier it can also sit in money market funds, which are fund units, not a guaranteed deposit.
Withholds tax for clients taxable in Germany only; everywhere else the paperwork is yours. Its own requirements page says so.
Transfer out free (plus any third-party costs); savings-plan fractions can't travel: they're sold and credited.
Trade Republic
A German bank inside an app, and the smoothest version of this site's pattern where it operates: savings plans execute free, fractions from a euro, and idle cash earns the central bank's rate. In its biggest markets it also does the tax paperwork natively — the rare app where April doesn't arrive with homework. The caveats: euro-only, app-first, and its whole execution model was rebuilt days after the PFOF ban. Manual orders now carry a small settlement fee, and the repricing may not be finished. Available in seventeen-ish countries; the list moves.
Trade Republic: the fine print
Trade Republic Bank GmbH, Berlin: German bank, BaFin + Deutsche Bundesbank
Savings plan: free execution (a €1 settlement fee applies when you sell); manual orders €1 best-price / €2 on a chosen exchange, since July 2026.
The core product: free savings plans from €1, fractional; change, pause or cancel free.
Cash is distributed among partner banks (Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan, HSBC among them): €100,000 guarantee per bank; amounts beyond that can sit in liquidity funds, where no deposit guarantee applies.
Withholds natively in Germany, Italy and Spain; France gets the fee-free PEA; elsewhere you file from its annual report.
Outbound in-kind transfers supported (the receiving broker's form starts it); no fee published. Ask before you fund.
No affiliate links: no broker pays me, and none of them knows it's on this page. The order is arithmetic, not sponsorship.
Education, not advice. Fee schedules change and brokers reprice. Check the current price sheet before you open anything. Which broker suits you also depends on your country and your tax situation; I'm not a licensed adviser, happily.
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