Brokerage Transaction Costs Europe 2026

Trade Republic statistics Q3 2025: approximately 8 million customers (up from 1 million in 2020); approximately €80bn+ AUM; BaFin banking licence granted 2023; BlackRock strategic investor. Revenue model: PFOF (Payment for Order Flow) — Trade Republic routes orders to market makers (Lang & Schwarz, GETTEX) who pay Trade Republic for order flow; Trade Republic uses this to fund the €1 flat fee. ESMA PFOF ban: ESMA announced ban on PFOF across all EU member states from 2026 (some exceptions for non-EEA orders). Trade Republic response: exploring alternative revenue streams including banking products (savings account 3.75%, debit card); expanding into credit. The concern: PFOF means retail orders may receive worse execution prices than direct-to-exchange routing — the actual cost to the investor may be embedded in the spread, not the €1 commission. BaFin and ESMA have both noted this conflict of interest. Post-PFOF: Trade Republic will likely move toward a subscription or slightly higher trade fee model.

Hargreaves Lansdown statistics Q3 2025: approximately 1.8 million clients; approximately £145bn AUM; highest customer satisfaction in UK retail brokerage (Which? 2025). Fee structure: shares £11.95/trade (falling to £5.95 for 10+/month); funds 0.45% custody fee (capped at £45/year for shares); ISA wrapper included. Why it survives at £11.95 vs £0-3 competitors: (1) Research depth — HL Wealth 50 fund selection; extensive analyst commentary; (2) ISA/SIPP administration — full pension and ISA tax wrapper management; (3) Customer service — UK call centre; complex queries handled; (4) Drawdown planning — retirement income planning tools; (5) Brand trust — 40-year heritage; FCA authorised; FSCS protected. The market: HL is not trying to attract high-frequency traders (who use IB/Saxo); HL targets long-term investors who value research and tax-wrapper administration over trade costs. Interactive Brokers EU: available across 18+ EU countries; trading costs €1-4/trade (versus HL £11.95); global market access (150+ markets); margin lending; options/futures. IB's complexity (tax reporting, platform learning curve) targets serious investors and professionals.

DEGIRO Core Selection: approximately 200 ETFs across major providers (iShares, Vanguard, Xtrackers, Amundi) available with zero transaction fee — but with a significant caveat: Core Selection ETFs can only be traded once per day (at a fixed daily auction time, not continuously throughout the day). For buy-and-hold long-term investors: the daily execution limitation is immaterial — the exact time of purchase matters little over a 10-year holding period. For investors wanting to deploy cash during a market correction: if markets fall 5% in the morning, you cannot buy the Core Selection ETF until the afternoon auction — by which time it may have partially recovered. DEGIRO regular (non-Core) ETF trade: approximately €2-4 + €1 handling = approximately €3-4 total. For most passive investors using DEGIRO's Core Selection: zero commission eliminates the fee friction entirely. Combined with a 0.07-0.22% TER ETF (iShares Core S&P 500 at 0.07%): total annual cost for a buy-and-hold ETF investor approximately 0.07-0.22% — extraordinarily cheap. DEGIRO is Netherlands-based; FlatexDEGIRO AG parent company; BaFin regulated (German parent).