Trade Republic vs Trading 212.
Trade Republic or Trading 212 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 | Trade Republic | Trading 212 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Trade Republic | Trading 212 |
|---|---|---|
| Available in | 18 countries, on its published list | 30 countries, on its published list; the UK too, via its UK entity |
| Conversion | — · euro funds only | 0.15% |
| Protection | German EdB — 90% up to €20,000 (securities shortfalls; segregation first) | Cyprus ICF up to €20,000, or German EdW 90% up to €20,000 — depends on your country's entity |
| The cash | 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. | Client money held at major EU/UK banks; opting into interest sweeps cash into money market funds — “treated as an investment and not as money held with a bank”, its own words. |
| Does your taxes in | Germany, Italy, Spain | Germany |
| The exit | Outbound in-kind transfers supported (the receiving broker's form starts it); no fee published — ask before you fund. | In-kind transfers out are free, whole shares only (fractions are sold) — but not from its German-entity accounts: there, leaving means selling. |
Where they match
- The monthly buy €0 · savings plan
- Recurring €0/yr
- Savings plan automatic · fractions
The honest notes
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.
Trading 212
The widest-available of the free apps — nearly all of the EEA — and the fullest automation: zero commission, a small conversion fee as its main visible charge, and “Pies” that auto-invest and rebalance with fractions. The fine print is where your attention should go. Which entity you contract with depends on your country, and with it the compensation scheme behind you; share lending can be on unless you turn it off (and isn't offered at all under its German entity); interest on cash comes via money-market funds, which are investments, not insured deposits. And the leveraged side of the house lives one tab away. Free, genuinely — checked settings and a closed tab are the price.
Trading 212 — the fine print
Trading 212 Markets Ltd (Cyprus, CySEC) or Trading 212 EU GmbH (Germany, BaFin) — your country decides
Any buy is commission-free — a Pie/AutoInvest or a manual order; the one account fee is the 0.15% currency conversion.
Pies & AutoInvest: scheduled buys on your rhythm that self-rebalance, fractional; each Pie's minimum derives from its smallest slice.
Client money held at major EU/UK banks; opting into interest sweeps cash into money market funds — “treated as an investment and not as money held with a bank”, its own words.
German residents (under its German entity) get capital-gains tax withheld automatically since January 2026; everyone else self-reports with its Capital Income Statement.
In-kind transfers out are free, whole shares only (fractions are sold) — but not from its German-entity accounts: there, leaving means selling.
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.
Bring me a challenge.
The Exit Audit, then ninety minutes: a straight verdict, real alternatives with their pros and cons, and your first move. If you want someone to nod along, I’m the wrong person to pay.
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