Top stock and ETF brokers compared

About Top stock and ETF brokers compared

Stock and ETF brokers sit on both sides of a household's money: they hold the cash, they take the orders, and they decide what a trade costs. This shortlist ranks 348 of them, from accounts aimed at beginners to platforms aimed at expats and business users, so costs, safety of the money and the way the account works can be weighed side by side. The main trade-off is cost against care. The median trading fee in this ranking is €0, the median account fee is €0, and the median opening balance is €2.51. Against that, most firms here hold a licence from a named regulator and keep client money under a compensation scheme, which is what separates a bank-backed broker from a trading platform. Reported losses matter just as much as fees. The median retail loss figure across the ranking is 72.03%. Support is the other practical test: a help centre is the most common channel here, at 83.3%, while phone and chat decide how fast a stuck order gets sorted. Every entry below is compared on the same basis: what a share costs to buy, what the account costs to hold, where the money rests, who supervises the firm, and which platforms the order is placed on.

How we picked

Every broker in this list carries a weighted score, and the weights are fixed before any ranking is cut: trust counts for 40%, cost for 35% and the offer for 25%. Trust covers the licence and the legal entity behind the brand, the headquarters country, the investor protection arrangement, the published retail loss figure and the spread of support channels. Cost covers the stock trade fee, the account fee, any inactivity charge, the minimum deposit, deposit and withdrawal costs, and the charge on currency conversion. Offer covers the markets on the platform, fractional shares, the trading platforms available, and the tools around the account such as a demo account or copy trading. Figures are taken from each provider's own pricing, product and corporate pages, from the official regulator and compensation scheme registers, and from the site's own data, where a range is given for the whole set rather than for a single brand. Regulators, licences and protection schemes are named only where a brand publishes them, and every figure on the page is filled in from the record it came from, so the same field always reads the same way across the list. Partner brands are listed ahead of the rest, and the remaining brands follow on score alone. A label appears only where the calculation produced one, so no extra claim is attached to a name.

Our top picks

1. 2. XTB

   XTB holds a place in the middle of this ranking with a licence list that names CySEC, the FCA and the KNF, XTB Limited as the legal entity, and client money under the EU compensation scheme. Costs sit at the low end. The account fee is €0, share dealing is €0, deposits are free with withdrawals free above a stated threshold, and FX costs of 0.5% apply. A minimum deposit of €0, a demo account and xStation 5 alongside xStation Mobile make starting and mobile trading simple. Two things to weigh: an inactivity charge of €10 on dormant accounts, and reported retail losses of 77%. LiteFinance, next below, names fewer regulators and offers far higher leverage of 1:1000.

   • Minimum deposit: €0
   • Stock trade fee: €0
   • Account fee: €0

   Pros

   • The account fee is €0 and the stock trade fee is €0, which places XTB at 1 of 166 brands on the share dealing charge.
   • The minimum deposit is €0, putting XTB at 1 of 218 brands on the amount needed to start.
   • Deposit protection is FSCS up to GBP 85,000 and investor protection is EU ICS up to EUR 20,000, both stated with figures rather than vague wording.
   • Interest is paid on uninvested funds, calculated daily and settled monthly, with no minimum or maximum balance.
   • Support covers email, chat and phone, so email, chat and phone are all open to you.

   Cons

   • The inactivity fee is €10, and at 39 of 56 brands on that measure XTB sits well outside the free group.
   • A currency conversion fee of 0.5% applies even though the stock trade fee is €0, which bites on any US share held in a euro or sterling account.
   • Retail leverage runs to 1:30 and 77% of retail accounts lose money, so free dealing does not mean free from risk.
   • Fiat deposits run through bank transfer, and the deposit and withdrawal fee terms leave a charge on withdrawals below a set threshold in EUR or USD.

2. 4. eToro

   eToro earns its place in this ranking as the beginner-friendly option, with an account fee of $0 and a stock trade fee of $0 on a commission-free model. beginners is the stated audience, fractional shares and a demo account lower the barrier, and isa investing is there for money that should sit outside a taxable account. eToro (Europe) Ltd is listed with the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission and SIPC, with client money under the EU compensation scheme. Markets reach from stocks and ETFs into forex, CFDs, futures and crypto. The catch is support, which runs on help centre only, and the deposit range of $1 to $10,000. Vantage, next in this ranking, adds copy trading and metals but publishes a retail loss figure of 74% to 89%.

   • Minimum deposit: $1 to $10,000
   • Stock trade fee: $0
   • Account fee: $0

   Pros

   • Interest on the USD cash balance pays 3.8% on a variable basis, calculated daily and paid monthly, and withdrawals are allowed at any time.
   • Regulated by Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and SIPC, with client asset protection of EU ICS up to EUR 20,000 and deposit protection of EU DGS up to EUR 100,000.
   • Minimum deposit $1 to $10,000 and minimum portfolio investment $500 keep the starting point low, and fractional shares are among the listed features.
   • A tax-sheltered ISA is available, listed among the isa on offer, alongside portfolio types covering etf, esg and cash.
   • Markets reach stocks, etfs and forex and derivatives are available, so shares, forex, crypto and futures sit in a single account.

   Cons

   • Withdrawal costs $5 flat fee each time, which makes small, regular transfers expensive next to the $0 stock trade fee.
   • Client asset protection of EU ICS up to EUR 20,000 sits well below deposit protection of EU DGS up to EUR 100,000, so a large share portfolio can outrun the cover.
   • Taker fee 1% sits above the 0.25% median, which matters for anyone trading crypto often rather than holding.
   • Support runs through help centre, so phone and chat are not part of the offering.

3. 7. bunq Spain

   bunq Spain lands in this ranking as a spending account with an investment tab, aimed at a student audience. bunq B.V. is supervised by De Nederlandsche Bank with SIPC listed alongside, and cash sits under the EU compensation scheme. The account carries no monthly fee, offers multi-currency, virtual card and travel features, and still lists stocks, etfs and crypto from a minimum deposit of €10. Support runs on email, chat and help centre, a wider set than the other bunq entries in this ranking. The thing to weigh is currency conversion, where FX fees run 0.5% to 3%, which bites hardest on a multi-currency account. FXTM, at the foot of the list, offers bonds and metals instead, on a retail loss figure of 88%.

   • Headline rate: 3.01%
   • Rate type: Variable
   • Minimum deposit: €10

   Pros

   • A monthly fee of €0 and an annual fee of €0, so an easy-access balance can stay open without a charge.
   • multi currency, crypto and virtual card puts multi-currency, crypto, a virtual card and travel features in the same app as the savings balance.
   • Deposits sit under EU DGS up to EUR 100,000 and the Spanish account is supervised by Banco de España.
   • A variable rate of 3.01% paid weekly, above the 3% median across savings accounts.

   Cons

   • The variable 3.01% sits below Starling Personal Account Debit Card at 4%, so the rate is not the reason to open it.
   • Support runs on email, chat and help centre only, with no phone line, while 74.4% covers a large share of the savings market.
   • The opening deposit of €10 sits above the €0.88 median minimum across savings accounts, which puts a floor under the first transfer.
   • Access terms cap free withdrawals at a monthly allowance that only widens after a year, so heavy movers pay more than the €0 monthly fee suggests.

4. 8. bunq Stocks Spain

   bunq Stocks Spain belongs in this ranking as a stocks and ETFs line from the same Netherlands group, run through the legal entity BUNQ US BD LLC and listed with De Nederlandsche Bank and SIPC, with client money under the EU compensation scheme. It covers stocks, etfs and crypto, offers fractional shares and a mobile app, and asks for a minimum deposit of €10, with beginners named as the audience. Orders are placed in the bunq app. The limitation is help, which runs on email and help centre alone. bunq Spain, ranked directly below, covers the same markets and widens support to email, chat and help centre.

   • Minimum deposit: €10
   • Markets: Stocks, ETFs, Crypto
   • Regulators: De Nederlandsche Bank, SIPC

   Pros

   • Fractional shares let investors start with smaller slices of a company.
   • Stocks, funds that track baskets of assets and digital assets sit in one service.
   • Simple product choices suit first-time investors.

   Cons

   • The product choice is narrow, with no derivatives or currency trading.
   • Investor protection is limited in scope and depends on the type of product held.

5. 9. bunq: best for top-pick

   bunq takes the top slot in this ranking because it pairs a banking licence with share dealing instead of treating saving and investing as separate products. The legal entity is bunq B.V., supervised by De Nederlandsche Bank, and cash held with it sits under the EU compensation scheme, so the cash side is covered as well as the shares. Stocks, ETFs and crypto all sit in stocks, etfs and crypto, fractional shares keep entry amounts small, and the minimum deposit starts at €10. The account runs on a monthly model. The catch is currency conversion, where fees run 0.5% to 3%, and support runs on email and help centre only. CFI, directly below, opens up many more markets and takes no deposit fees.

   • Premium from: €0
   • Monthly payments: Yes
   • Legal entity: bunq B.V.

   Pros

   • Investing sits in the same app, with stocks, etfs and crypto and fractional shares among the plan features.
   • The card runs on mastercard, and conversion costs 0.5% to 3% across 8 currencies.
   • Regulated in the Netherlands by De Nederlandsche Bank, with savings under EU DGS up to EUR 100,000 and investments under EU ICS up to EUR 20,000.
   • Aimed at expats, so a euro account follows you between countries.

   Cons

   • Support runs on email and help centre only.
   • The rate is variable, so the 3.01% headline can move in either direction.
   • Crypto trades cost 0.25% to 1.99%, with maker fees of 0.25% to 1.99%.

What to look for

What a share costs to buy

A commission-free model hides the real charge inside the spread, so the stock trade fee is the first number to read. The median here is €0, with the upper end at €1.40. CFI and Vantage price the deal into the spread instead, which is worth knowing before the order is placed.

What the account costs to hold

An account that looks free can still charge for neglect or for currency. The median account fee is €0 and the median inactivity charge is €0, while the median conversion cost runs 0.4%. A dormant account is where the hidden cost usually appears.

How much you need to start

The minimum deposit decides whether a broker is testable with spare cash. The median is €2.51, and the range climbs to €50,000. XTB and CFI take a free minimum, while Vantage and LiteFinance ask for more before the first order goes in.

Licence and protection of the money

Where the money rests decides what happens if something fails. Each entry names its legal entity and regulator, and most state that client money sits under the EU compensation scheme, while FXTM cites the FSCS. Licensed brands number 198 in the wider set, so the scheme and its cover limit are the details to check before moving a large balance.

Reported retail losses

Leverage is not the only risk measure. The median retail loss figure here is 72.03%, and the top of the range reaches 88%. Read it as the share of retail client accounts that close lower, and weigh it against the fee, because a low charge does not offset a portfolio that tends to shrink.

Support when an order goes wrong

A stuck order is the moment support matters most. A help centre is the most common channel in this ranking, at 83.3%, with email close behind at 59.4%. Vivid Plus, XTB and bunq Spain add phone or chat, which suits anyone trading outside office hours.

Frequently asked questions

Top stock and ETF brokers compared by country

• Australia
• Austria
• Brazil
• Canada
• China
• France
• Germany
• India
• Italy
• Japan
• Mexico
• South Korea
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV