⏱️ 18 min read · 3,435 words · Updated Jun 13, 2026

Understanding DEGIRO fees explained is essential for making informed decisions in today’s market.

If you’ve been looking at DEGIRO as a Broker, you’ve probably noticed something. The marketing makes it sound almost free. “Low-cost investing for everyone.” And sure, compared to a traditional bank Broker, DEGIRO is cheap. But cheap and free are not the same thing.

“If you want DEGIRO fees explained properly, you need to look past the homepage and into the actual pricing structure.”

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That’s what this article does.

DEGIRO is a Dutch-based broker founded in 2013, originally serving professional clients before opening up to retail investors. It’s now one of the most popular brokers in Europe, with millions of users across 16 countries. The company was acquired by flatexDEGIRO AG, a German online broker, in 2020. That acquisition changed some things about how the platform operates, and not always for the better when it comes to fees.

Here’s the thing most comparison articles get wrong. They list the base trading fee and call it a day. But the real cost of using DEGIRO isn’t just what you pay to buy a share. It’s the currency conversion, the connectivity fees, the charges for receiving dividends, and the stuff that quietly adds up over months. When people say DEGIRO is “the cheapest broker,” they’re usually only looking at one line item. The full picture is more complicated.

Throughout this guide, we’ll explore DEGIRO fees explained and how it directly impacts your financial future.

The Basic Trading Fees – DEGIRO fees explained

DEGIRO organizes its trading fees by market and product type. For US stocks, the fee is €1.00 per transaction. That’s flat, regardless of how many shares you buy. European stocks vary. On Euronext Amsterdam or Euronext Paris, you’ll pay €3.90 per trade. German exchanges like Xetra charge €3.90 as well. The UK market, through the London Stock Exchange, costs £4.90 per transaction.

These numbers look small in isolation. But think about what happens if you’re building a portfolio over time. If you invest €500 every month into US stocks, that’s €12 per year just in trading fees. Not terrible. But if you’re trading European stocks monthly, that’s closer to €47 per year. And if you’re splitting your investments across multiple markets, the costs compound faster than you’d expect.

One thing DEGIRO does well is keep options and futures fees straightforward. Options on US markets cost $0.50 per contract. Futures are €1.50 per contract. These are genuinely competitive rates, especially if you’re an active trader dealing with derivatives. For that specific use case, DEGIRO holds up well against competitors like Interactive Brokers or Tastytrade.

“The cheapest broker isn’t the one with the lowest headline fee. It’s the one where you understand every charge before it hits your account.”

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Currency Conversion: The Fee Nobody Talks About – DEGIRO fees explained

This is where DEGIRO fees explained gets uncomfortable for a lot of people. If you’re based in Europe and buying US stocks, your euros need to become dollars. DEGIRO charges a 0.25% currency conversion fee on every transaction. That might sound tiny. On a €1,000 trade, it’s €2.50. But here’s what bothers me. Most brokers either include this in the spread or charge a lower percentage. DEGIRO’s 0.25% is on the higher side.

And it applies every single time. Buy a US stock, pay the conversion. Sell it, pay again. If you’re dollar-cost averaging into US ETFs every month, you’re paying that 0.25% twice per cycle. Over a year of monthly investments, that currency fee alone could cost you more than the actual trading commissions.

There is a workaround, but it requires a specific account type. DEGIRO introduced a “multi-currency” feature that lets you hold foreign currencies in your account. If you convert a larger amount when the rate is favorable and hold it, you can avoid paying the fee on every individual trade. But this adds complexity, and honestly, most retail investors aren’t going to bother with active currency management just to save a few euros.

Interactive Brokers charges around 0.20% for currency conversion, and their spread is typically tighter. Saxo Bank is more expensive overall but gives you better execution on FX. When you stack DEGIRO’s currency fee against the competition, it’s not the bargain people assume.

The Connectivity Fee

DEGIRO charges what it calls a “connectivity fee” for access to certain exchanges. This is separate from the trading fee. For US exchanges like NYSE and NASDAQ, the connectivity fee is €1.00 per transaction. For Euronext, it’s €1.00 as well. Some smaller exchanges charge less, and a few are free.

What this means in practice is that your “€1.00 US stock trade” is actually €2.00 when you add the connectivity fee. It’s a small distinction, but it matters when you’re comparing brokers. DEGIRO doesn’t always make this fee obvious during the checkout process. You see the trading fee upfront, and the connectivity charge appears in the transaction confirmation. It’s not hidden, exactly, but it’s not front and center either.

I think this is a design choice. Show a low base fee, let the ancillary charges do the work. It’s not unique to DEGIRO. Plenty of budget brokers do the same thing. But if you’re trying to calculate your true cost per trade, you need to include this line item.

DEGIRO’s ETF Core Selection

Here’s something that actually is a genuine value. DEGIRO offers a selection of ETFs that you can trade commission-free once per calendar month. They call it the “Core Selection,” and it includes popular funds from iShares, Vanguard, SPDR, and Amundi. Think Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF, iShares Core MSCI World, and similar broad-market index funds.

The catch is the “once per month” rule. If you buy an ETF from the Core Selection and then sell it within the same calendar month, the buy trade is free but the sell trade incurs the normal fee. If you buy the same ETF twice in one month, only the first purchase is free. It’s designed for buy-and-hold investors, which makes sense. If you’re the type of person who buys a world index fund and holds it for years, this is genuinely useful.

The Core Selection includes around 200 ETFs as of 2024. That covers most of the major index funds a passive investor would want. You won’t find niche thematic ETFs or leveraged products in there, but for standard portfolio building, it’s solid. Vanguard FTSE All-World, iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets, SPDR MSCI ACWI — they’re all included.

My take: this is the single best reason to use DEGIRO if you’re a passive investor. The free monthly ETF trade saves you real money over time. But it’s also the thing that makes DEGIRO’s marketing so effective. They can say “commission-free ETF trading” and technically be true, even though most of their other products carry fees.

Inactivity Fee: The One That Caught People Off Guard

In 2023, DEGIRO introduced a small inactivity fee, and it generated more complaints than almost any other change they’ve made. The fee is €2.50 per calendar quarter for accounts that have no trading activity and hold less than €250 in assets. If you have more than €250 in your account, there’s no inactivity fee regardless of whether you trade.

For most active investors, this won’t matter. But for someone who opened an account, bought a few ETFs, and then left it alone for a year, that’s €10 in annual charges just for having an account. It’s not a lot of money in absolute terms, but it feels like a betrayal of the “low-cost” promise. Budget brokers are supposed to be the alternative to banks that nickel-and-dime you. When DEGIRO starts doing the same thing, even in a small way, it changes the relationship.

The fee also applies differently depending on your country of residence. Some regulatory environments require DEGIRO to charge small custody or maintenance fees that vary by jurisdiction. If you’re in Germany, for example, you might see different charges than someone in the Netherlands or Spain. Always check the specific fee schedule for your country on DEGIRO’s website. The general structure is the same, but the details shift.

Dividend Withholding and Other Small Charges

When you receive dividends from US stocks, there’s a 15% withholding tax if you’ve filled out the correct W-8BEN form. DEGIRO handles this automatically, which is good. But there’s a €2.50 fee per dividend payment for processing. If you hold a dividend-paying ETF that distributes quarterly, that’s €10 per year just for receiving your own money.

Some brokers absorb this cost. DEGIRO doesn’t. It’s another one of those small charges that doesn’t look like much on its own but adds up across a diversified portfolio. If you hold five dividend-paying positions, you’re looking at €50 per year in dividend processing fees alone.

There’s also a fee for corporate actions, like if a company you hold does a stock split or a merger. DEGIRO charges €10 per corporate action event. This is rare enough that most people won’t encounter it, but it’s worth knowing about. If you hold smaller companies that might get acquired, it’s a possibility.

How DEGIRO Compares to Other Brokers

Let’s put this in context. How do DEGIRO fees stack up against the main alternatives European investors are considering?

Trade Republic is probably DEGIRO’s closest competitor in the European low-cost space. Both charge €1.00 per trade as a base fee. But Trade Republic doesn’t have a connectivity fee, which makes its effective cost per trade lower for most markets. Trade Republic also doesn’t charge for dividend processing. On the other hand, Trade Republic has a smaller selection of available stocks and ETFs, and its platform is more limited in terms of order types and research tools.

Interactive Brokers is the heavyweight. It’s more expensive for small, simple trades, but it offers better execution, tighter spreads, lower currency conversion fees, and no dividend processing charges. If you’re trading larger amounts or need access to international markets, IBK is the better choice. DEGIRO wins on simplicity and the free ETF trades. IBK wins on everything else once you know what you’re doing.

Saxo Bank is in a different category entirely. It’s a premium broker with premium pricing. You’d only choose Saxo if you need its research tools, its bond market access, or its white-glove service. For a regular investor buying index funds, Saxo is overkill.

“DEGIRO is a good broker for passive investors who buy ETFs once a month and don’t touch anything. The moment you start trading actively, the fees stop being competitive.”

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What DEGIRO Doesn’t Charge For

It’s worth noting what you don’t pay for, because this is part of why DEGIRO built its reputation. There’s no account opening fee. No annual account maintenance fee (as long as you meet the minimum balance or activity threshold). No deposit fee for bank transfers. No fee for holding positions.

Withdrawals are free for your first one per calendar month. After that, each withdrawal costs €1.00. This is actually generous compared to some brokers that charge a flat fee for every withdrawal. But it’s another detail that’s easy to miss if you’re not reading the full fee schedule.

DEGIRO also doesn’t charge for real-time market data on most major exchanges. Some brokers make you pay a monthly subscription for live prices. DEGIRO includes this in the base service, which is a genuine plus. You do get a 15-minute delay on some smaller exchanges, but for the main markets like NYSE, NASDAQ, and Euronext, the data is real-time.

The Real Cost of Using DEGIRO: A Practical Example

Let’s say you’re a 30-year-old in the Netherlands investing €500 per month. You buy one US ETF from the Core Selection and one European stock every month. Here’s what your annual fees look like.

The US ETF is free once per month thanks to the Core Selection. The European stock costs €3.90 plus €1.00 connectivity, so €4.90 per trade. Currency conversion on the US ETF purchase is 0.25% of €250 (assuming you split evenly), which is €0.63 per month. Over 12 months, that’s €58.80 in European stock fees and €7.50 in currency conversion. Total: roughly €66 per year.

Now compare that to Trade Republic, where both trades would cost €1.00 each. That’s €24 per year in trading fees, plus the currency spread. Even with the spread, you’re probably under €40 total. For this specific scenario, Trade Republic is cheaper despite DEGIRO’s “free” ETF trade, because the European stock fee is where DEGIRO gets you.

But change the scenario. What if you only buy Core Selection ETFs and never touch individual stocks? Then DEGIRO’s free monthly trades save you the full €24 per year compared to Trade Republic, and the currency conversion fee is your only cost. In that case, DEGIRO wins. The point is that the “cheaper” broker depends entirely on what you’re buying and how often.

Common Mistakes That Increase Your DEGIRO Fees

The biggest mistake I see is people buying US assets without thinking about currency conversion. They see a stock trading at $150 and think about what that means in euros, but they don’t account for the 0.25% fee on both the buy and the sell. If you’re holding for the long term, this matters less. But if you’re trading in and out of positions, the currency fee is a real drag on returns.

Another mistake is ignoring the connectivity fee when comparing brokers. DEGIRO’s advertised trading fee is not the total cost. When you see “€1.00 per US trade,” the real cost is €2.00. If you’re building a spreadsheet to compare brokers, make sure you’re comparing the full cost, not just the headline number.

Some people also forget about the dividend processing fee. If you build a dividend-focused portfolio with, say, eight positions that pay quarterly, you’re looking at €80 per year in dividend fees alone. That’s not nothing. It’s the equivalent of a full year’s worth of trading fees for a passive investor. Choosing accumulating ETFs instead of distributing ones sidesteps this entirely, which is one reason I tend to recommend them for smaller portfolios.

And then there’s the withdrawal issue. If you’re moving money out of DEGIRO more than once a month, you’re paying extra. Most people don’t need to withdraw monthly, but if you’re using DEGIRO as a trading account rather than a long-term holding account, keep this in mind.

Is DEGIRO Actually Cheap?

Here’s my honest take. DEGIRO is cheap for a specific type of investor: someone who buys a few ETFs per month, holds them for years, and doesn’t trade individual stocks frequently. For that person, the Core Selection free trades and the low base fees make it a solid choice.

For everyone else, the answer is more nuanced. Active traders will find the per-trade fees add up quickly, especially on European markets. Currency-sensitive investors will pay more than they would at Interactive Brokers. Dividend investors will get hit with processing charges that other brokers don’t apply. And anyone holding a small balance might find themselves paying the inactivity fee, which feels like a slap in the face from a budget broker.

The broader point is this. No broker is universally the cheapest. The “best” broker depends on your specific behavior. How often you trade. What you trade. Which markets you access. Whether you reinvest dividends or collect them. DEGIRO fees explained in the abstract are one thing. DEGIRO fees explained in the context of your actual portfolio are something else entirely.

I think DEGIRO knows this. Their marketing targets beginners who see “low-cost” and “commission-free ETFs” and sign up without reading the fee schedule. That’s not a criticism unique to DEGIRO. Every budget broker does it. But it’s worth being aware of. The fee schedule is public. It’s not hidden. You just have to go looking for it, and most people don’t.

FAQ

Does DEGIRO charge an annual fee? – DEGIRO fees explained

No, DEGIRO does not charge an annual account maintenance fee as long as your account holds at least €250 in assets or you make at least one trade per quarter. If your balance falls below €250 and you don’t trade, you’ll be charged €2.50 per quarter as an inactivity fee.

Are US stocks free to trade on DEGIRO? – DEGIRO fees explained

US stocks are not free. The base trading fee is €1.00 per transaction, and there’s an additional €1.00 connectivity fee for US exchanges. You’ll also pay a 0.25% currency conversion fee if you’re buying with euros. The total cost per US stock trade is roughly €2.00 plus the currency fee.

What is the DEGIRO Core Selection?

The Core Selection is a list of around 200 ETFs that DEGIRO allows you to trade commission-free once per calendar month. Popular funds from Vanguard, iShares, SPDR, and Amundi are included. If you sell the same ETF within the same month you bought it, the sell trade incurs the normal fee.

Does DEGIRO charge for dividends?

Yes. DEGIRO charges €2.50 per dividend payment for processing. This applies to both US and European dividend-paying stocks and ETFs. If you hold multiple dividend-paying positions, this fee can add up significantly over the course of a year.

Is DEGIRO safe to use?

DEGIRO is regulated by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) and the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) following its acquisition by flatexDEGIRO. Client assets are held in segregated accounts, and the company participates in the German investor compensation scheme, which covers up to €20,000 per client. It’s a legitimate, regulated broker.

Can I avoid the currency conversion fee on DEGIRO?

You can reduce the impact by using DEGIRO’s multi-currency feature, which lets you hold US dollars in your account. If you convert a larger amount at once and use it for multiple trades, you pay the conversion fee only once instead of on every transaction. You can’t eliminate it entirely if you’re funding in euros and buying US assets.

How does DEGIRO compare to Trade Republic on fees?

Trade Republic charges a flat €1.00 per trade with no connectivity fee, making it cheaper for most individual stock and ETF trades. DEGIRO’s Core Selection free ETF trades can make it cheaper for passive investors who only buy index funds. The better option depends on your specific trading pattern and which markets you access.

Sources

• DEGIRO Fee Schedule
• flatexDEGIRO AG Investor Relations
• European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)

Conclusion

If you’ve read this far, you now know more about DEGIRO’s fee structure than most of its users. That’s not a knock on DEGIRO. It’s just the reality of how budget brokers operate. The headline numbers look great. The details require some digging.

Here’s what I’d suggest. Before you open a DEGIRO account, write down exactly what you plan to invest in, how often you’ll trade, and which markets you need access to. Then go to DEGIRO’s fee schedule page for your specific country and calculate your expected annual cost. Compare that number to at least one alternative, whether it’s Trade Republic, Interactive Brokers, or another platform available in your region.

If you’re a passive investor buying a couple of ETFs per month and holding for the long term, DEGIRO’s Core Selection makes it a strong choice. The free monthly ETF trades are real savings. But if you’re trading individual stocks, dealing with multiple currencies, or building a dividend portfolio, the ancillary fees will eat into your returns more than the marketing suggests.

The best broker is the one whose fee structure matches your actual behavior. Not the one with the lowest headline number. Not the one with the flashiest app. The one where your specific habits result in the lowest total cost. Do the math before you commit. It takes 20 minutes and could save you hundreds over the years.

And one more thing. Fee structures change. DEGIRO has added new fees and modified existing ones multiple times since 2020. What’s true today might not be true in a year. Check the fee schedule periodically, especially if your trading habits change. The broker that was cheapest for you as a beginner might not be the cheapest once your portfolio grows and your strategy evolves.