Trade Republic vs Scalable Capital: A Comparison for Expats in Germany
Both providers offer German tax functions and zero execution fees for eligible ETF savings plans. The meaningful differences are tariff logic, execution route, English-document scope, cash allocation, transfers and what happens when you move.
Data checked 13 October 2026 · Document research, not an account or app test.
Comparison method
Same reader question, comparable brokerage products
This comparison covers the German retail brokerage of Trade Republic Bank GmbH and the current Scalable Capital Bank GmbH Broker FREE and PRIME+ models. It excludes Scalable Wealth because discretionary portfolio management is not equivalent to self-directed brokerage.
The provider pages, price tables, customer documents and help articles linked below were checked immediately before publication. A successful web response was not enough: core price and contract sources were also checked for the claim-bearing terms. The measured search volume includes language-mixed demand and is not presented as exclusively English-speaking expat demand.
Acceptance is never guaranteed. Eligibility rules describe who may apply; identity, compliance and provider checks still determine whether an account is opened.
At a glance
Trade Republic vs Scalable Capital by operating criterion
Read the qualifications beside every number. A zero execution fee does not remove spreads, product costs, FX, taxes or later selling costs.
| Criterion | Trade Republic | Scalable Capital Broker |
|---|---|---|
| Entity / product | Trade Republic Bank GmbH; German retail securities account and brokerage. No portfolio management is compared. | Scalable Capital Bank GmbH; German Broker FREE and PRIME+. Scalable Wealth is a separate portfolio-management service and is excluded. |
| Opening in Germany | Permanent German residence and German tax liability; European mobile number and SEPA account. Identity via ID card or passport; requested address evidence may be required. US persons excluded. | Residence in Germany or another published eligible country; 18+, SEPA current account, EEA phone and no US person. POSTIDENT video, eID or branch routes; document support varies. |
| Plan / custody | No separate public custody subscription confirmed. The current app price list remains decisive. | Custody €0. FREE €0/month. PRIME+ €4.99/month. PRIME exists in the legal price list, but current new availability is not confirmed. |
| Single orders | Standard: €0 commission + €1 settlement charge. Direct Price at a selected exchange: €2. Spreads, product and third-party costs can remain. | EIX: FREE generally €0.99; PRIME+ €0 from €250, otherwise €0.99. Xetra/gettex: current public table €1.99. Other costs can remain. |
| ETF savings plans | Execution €0. Sale uses the €1 charge. Fractions can arise. | Execution €0 from €1; over 2,700 ETFs advertised. Fund costs, spreads and other costs can remain. |
| Venues / order types | Best-price execution against Trade Republic using relevant liquid-exchange prices, or Direct Price from 30 exchanges. Market, limit and stop supported. | EIX, gettex and Xetra are the main published venues. Market, limit, stop and stop-limit plus take-profit/stop-loss functions; no OCO order. |
| FX | Foreign-currency trades and income are converted into EUR. A numeric public FX markup was not confirmed. | Foreign-currency transactions convert to EUR with an unquantified markup/markdown. A general percentage was not confirmed. |
| German tax operations | Withholding, Freistellungsauftrag, stock/other loss pots and annual certificate supported. This does not settle every cross-border case. | The same core German functions are documented for German tax residents. Outside German tax residence, customers remain responsible for tax handling. |
| English layers | English app/business relationship and Germany website confirmed. A complete separate English German contract set and guaranteed English human support are not confirmed. | English website and app/web interface confirmed. Mailbox documents/emails can follow language settings; English contract version exists, but German is legally binding for German residents. Every channel/time is not guaranteed. |
| Cash / protection | Cash can be split between partner-bank trust accounts and qualifying money-market funds. Only bank deposits receive the relevant statutory deposit protection; fund units carry market risk. | FREE can use Scalable/partner banks and qualifying money-market funds; PRIME+ currently describes bank allocation. Bank deposits and fund units have different protection. |
| Transfer / fractions | Transfers are instructed in-app. Fractions and qualifying money-market-fund units cannot transfer; incoming transfers normally target supported instruments. | Transfers are published at €0 plus possible third-party costs. Foreign-origin depots face restrictions; fractions and unsupported assets need separate handling. |
| Moving country | A move out of the relationship country can be an extraordinary-termination ground, even to another served country. | A move within the EEA may continue; outside the EEA the relationship cannot continue. Notify the provider before moving. |
Trade Republic
Germany · checked 13 October 2026
Scalable Capital Broker
Germany · checked 13 October 2026
Tariffs and explicit costs
Price the route you will actually use
Trade Republic
€1 standard settlement charge or €2 Direct Price per trade. ETF savings-plan execution is €0; selling later is charged under the applicable order terms.
Scalable FREE
€0/month. EIX is generally €0.99; qualifying PRIME ETF purchases from €250 are listed at €0. Xetra/gettex are currently €1.99.
Scalable PRIME+
€4.99/month. EIX orders from €250 are €0; below €250 they are €0.99. Xetra/gettex remain €1.99 in the current table.
Scalable PRIME also appears in the September 2026 legal price list, but current new-customer availability was not confirmed. It is therefore not modelled. Neither provider’s low headline fee proves better execution.
Independent calculations
Three usage scenarios with known explicit charges
These are arithmetic examples—not forecasts or total-cost estimates. Spreads, fund/product costs, FX, tax and exceptional or third-party costs are excluded.
1. Monthly ETF plan
12 × €200 eligible ETF savings-plan executions; no separate orders.
- Trade Republic: €0.00
- Scalable FREE: €0.00
- Scalable PRIME+: €59.88 subscription
PRIME+ has no explicit execution-cost advantage in this narrow plan-only case.
2. Occasional orders
Four €500 whole-share/ETF orders per year; Trade Republic standard; Scalable EIX.
- Trade Republic: €4.00
- Scalable FREE: €3.96
- Scalable PRIME+: €59.88 subscription
The €0.04 difference between the first two is too small to decide on price alone.
3. Regular orders
Eight €500 qualifying orders per month, 96 per year; Trade Republic standard; Scalable EIX.
- Trade Republic: €96.00
- Scalable FREE: €95.04
- Scalable PRIME+: €59.88
Only PRIME+’s qualifying EIX condition creates the subscription advantage shown.
PRIME+ break-even under a narrow EIX assumption
Compare FREE at €0.99 per EIX order with PRIME+ at €4.99 per month, assuming every PRIME+ order is at least €250 and therefore has a €0 execution charge. Five orders cost €4.95 in FREE versus €4.99 in PRIME+. Six cost €5.94 in FREE versus €4.99 in PRIME+. PRIME+ is therefore arithmetically lower from the sixth qualifying EIX order in that month.
This is not a universal break-even: Xetra/gettex orders, sub-€250 EIX orders, promotions, other PRIME+ features, spreads and product costs change the comparison.
Access for expats
Residence, tax status and identity come before price
Trade Republic’s checked German product requires permanent residence and German tax liability, plus a European mobile number and SEPA bank account. Identification uses an identity card or passport; requested address evidence may include a current local ID/residence permit, registration certificate or recent tax return. US persons are excluded.
Scalable publishes access for residents of Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, metropolitan France and the Netherlands, subject to age, SEPA account, EEA telephone and non-US-person conditions. POSTIDENT supports video, eID and post-office routes, but the accepted document depends on the route and current POSTIDENT list.
English
Interface, contracts, documents and support are separate
Trade Republic confirms an English-capable app and English business relationship plus an English Germany website. A complete separate English contract set for the German product and guaranteed English human support at all times were not confirmed.
Scalable confirms English website and app/web language. The account language can cover interface, mailbox documents and emails. Its current document package includes English, but the German contract version is legally binding for German residents. English communication is provided, while continuous staffing of every channel is not guaranteed.
Availability and execution
Check the exact instrument, venue and order type
Trade Republic route
The 2026 execution update describes automatic best-price execution against Trade Republic using relevant liquid-exchange prices, plus Direct Price selection from 30 exchanges including Xetra, Euronext and Nasdaq. Market, limit and stop orders are documented.
Scalable route
Scalable publishes EIX, gettex and Xetra, a broad catalogue including shares, funds, ETFs, derivatives, bonds and exchange-traded crypto products, and several order types. OCO is not listed.
Fractions
Fractions can arise through savings plans, but they are not normal transferable securities positions. Confirm sale treatment and timing before a transfer or closure; do not assume fractions move with whole units.
German tax operations
Both can simplify a German resident’s routine tax workflow
Both providers document German capital-income-tax withholding, digital Freistellungsauftrag functions, stock and general loss-offset pots, and annual tax certificates for the relevant German relationship.
That does not determine treaty residence, foreign income, a split-year move, business assets, foreign tax credits or every filing obligation. Use the capital gains tax guide and ETF tax guide for the wider framework.
FX boundary
Neither public source set supports a neat percentage
Trade Republic describes EUR settlement and conversion around execution; Scalable describes an exchange-rate markup or markdown. A reliable general numeric FX percentage was not confirmed for either checked German product.
Use the pre-trade disclosure for the exact instrument and date. A foreign listing can add currency conversion and market-specific costs even when the visible order fee is low.
Cash and custody
Uninvested money is not always one bank deposit
Trade Republic can allocate money between partner-bank omnibus trust accounts and qualifying money-market funds according to the account’s partner amount. Scalable FREE can distribute cash across Scalable, partner banks and qualifying money-market funds; the current PRIME+ table describes Scalable and partner banks.
Statutory deposit protection applies to qualifying bank deposits within the relevant scheme and limits, not to money-market-fund units. Fund units are securities with market and operational risk even when designed for capital preservation. Deposit protection never covers an ETF or share falling in value.
Securities
Custody is separate from cash protection
Both providers describe German collective custody through Clearstream for suitable domestic securities and foreign custody arrangements where applicable. Securities are not bank deposits. Their segregation/custody framework is different from deposit guarantee systems and does not protect market value.
Read the actual cash allocation and custody location shown in your account rather than relying on a generic “protected” label.
Transfers
Whole units, fractions and source country matter
Trade Republic handles transfer instructions in the app and limits incoming positions to instruments it can trade and custody. Fractions and qualifying money-market-fund units do not transfer. The official help page says inbound processing should normally take no more than about three weeks, with exceptions.
Scalable publishes transfers at €0 plus possible third-party costs and offers a digital inbound process. An inbound transfer from a foreign bank is currently restricted to German IBAN/BIC sources, with stated exceptions for Trade Republic and DEGIRO.
International mobility
Do not assume worldwide portability
Trade Republic’s agreement treats moving out of the relationship country as a possible extraordinary-termination ground—even a move to another country it serves. Scalable says an EEA residence move can continue, while a move outside the EEA cannot.
Before moving, confirm the exact destination, tax documents, acquisition data, whole and fractional positions, open orders and cash withdrawal. Use the leaving Germany investment guide as a checklist.
Criteria-based decision help
Use conditional checks—not a winner badge
If simplicity matters
If you expect occasional standard orders, compare Trade Republic’s €1 model with Scalable FREE’s €0.99 EIX model, then inspect execution route, spread and exit rules; one cent is not a quality conclusion.
If you trade regularly
If you expect at least six qualifying €250+ EIX orders in a month, inspect PRIME+ under the exact venue and size rules. Do not apply the break-even to Xetra, gettex or sub-€250 orders.
If you mainly automate ETFs
If you only run an eligible ETF savings plan, both publish €0 execution. Compare the available ETF, execution process, cash setup, later selling cost and portability instead.
If English legal clarity matters
If a complete English document trail is essential, Scalable’s English package is broader, but German remains legally binding for German residents. Verify every document you need before opening.
If you may leave Germany
If relocation is likely, compare the destination explicitly. Trade Republic can terminate after a country move; Scalable distinguishes EEA from non-EEA moves.
If cash protection matters
If you want bank-deposit treatment, inspect the actual allocation for your tariff and account. Do not treat partner-bank cash and qualifying money-market-fund units as identical.
Disclosure
Document research, not a product test
Finanz2Go did not open, fund or test these accounts for this comparison. There are no stars, scores or declared winner. The page provides general information and conditional decision criteria, not personal investment or tax advice.
No provider paid for inclusion. No affiliate relationship is confirmed. All provider links are ordinary official evidence links without tracking parameters.
What can change
Prices, promotions, supported instruments, cash allocation, identification routes and country policies can change. Check the current price list, order preview, contract and account-specific disclosures before acting.
Official sources
Provider documents checked for this comparison
Checked 13 October 2026. Open the current source again before making a decision.
Continue