Trading 212 vs XTB.
Trading 212 or XTB 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 | Trading 212 | XTB |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Trading 212 | XTB |
|---|---|---|
| Available in | 30 countries, on its published list; the UK too, via its UK entity | 10 countries, on its published list; the UK too, via its UK entity |
| Conversion | 0.15% | 0.5% |
| Protection | Cyprus ICF up to €20,000, or German EdW 90% up to €20,000 — depends on your country's entity | Polish KDPW scheme — 100% to €3,000, then 90%, max €20,100 |
| The cash | 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. | Cash in segregated client bank accounts under KNF rules, outside any insolvency estate; no money-market sweep. |
| Does your taxes in | Germany | Poland |
| The exit | In-kind transfers out are free, whole shares only (fractions are sold) — but not from its German-entity accounts: there, leaving means selling. | In-kind transfer out supported — €25 per ISIN (Spain-listed positions 0.10%, min €100). |
Where they match
- The monthly buy €0 · savings plan
- Recurring €0/yr
- Savings plan automatic · fractions
The honest notes
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.
XTB
A Warsaw-listed broker with real local branches across a stretch of Europe, zero commission on ETF buys up to a generous monthly volume, and savings plans with fractions. Two things to hold next to that: around ninety-five percent of its revenue comes from CFD traders — the leveraged side is the business, and your ETF account is the shop window — and its home regulator fined it heavily this spring over how CFD risks were presented to clients. One more surprise: even at its German branch, the tax paperwork stays yours. Cheap and capable — just know whose shop you're standing in, and skip the aisle you didn't come for.
XTB — the fine print
XTB S.A., Warsaw — KNF; serves the EU through national branches
Investment plan (from €15) or any spot buy — 0% commission up to €100,000 of turnover a month, then 0.2% (min €10).
Investment plans from €15 a rate, auto-executed on your date; fractional shares from €10.
Cash in segregated client bank accounts under KNF rules, outside any insolvency estate; no money-market sweep.
Poland: files the PIT-8C with you and your tax office (it pre-fills e-PIT — reporting, not withholding). Its German branch explicitly does not withhold; elsewhere the paperwork is yours.
In-kind transfer out supported — €25 per ISIN (Spain-listed positions 0.10%, min €100).
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.
Ninety minutes, online, €600 — the Exit Audit included.