Trade Republic vs Saxo Bank (2026): Low-Cost App or Full-Service Bank?

The short answer

Trade Republic and Saxo Bank are both licensed European banks, which puts them a step above many app brokers on regulation, but they are designed for very different investors. Trade Republic is a German mobile broker that charges €1 per order, makes monthly savings plans free and pays interest on cash. Saxo Bank is a Danish bank with professional platforms and one of the widest ranges of directly owned investments available to private clients. For someone investing a few hundred euros a month in ETFs, Trade Republic is simpler and usually cheaper. For someone with a large portfolio spread across several markets and currencies, or who wants bonds, options or futures, Saxo offers far more.

Regulation and protection

Trade Republic received a full German banking licence at the end of 2023 and is supervised by BaFin and the Bundesbank. It serves 18 European countries, not including the UK or Switzerland. Uninvested cash sits at partner banks, where deposit protection applies up to €100,000 per bank, except for any part placed in money market funds; securities are held separately from the company’s own assets, and German investor compensation covers 90% of losses up to €20,000 if securities go missing. Saxo Bank holds a Danish banking licence supervised by Finanstilsynet and serves clients across Europe and beyond, including the UK and Switzerland through local companies. Cash at Saxo Bank in Denmark is covered by the Danish deposit guarantee up to €100,000, and securities held in custody are kept apart from the bank’s own assets, with the Danish guarantee scheme also covering up to €20,000 of securities that could not be returned.

Fees compared

• European shares and ETFs: €1 per order at Trade Republic, or €2 to choose the exchange. Saxo’s Classic tier charges 0.08%, with a minimum of €2 on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam and €3 on Xetra and Borsa Italiana.
• US shares: €1 at Trade Republic, with the currency conversion built into the price at about 0.12%. At Saxo, 0.08% with a $1 minimum, plus up to 0.25% either side of the mid-market rate to convert currency.
• Monthly ETF plans: free at both, through Trade Republic’s savings plans and Saxo’s AutoInvest.
• Larger accounts: Saxo’s Platinum tier, from about €200,000, cuts commissions by roughly 30%, and VIP from €1 million cuts them further. Trade Republic has no tiers: €1 is €1.
• Account fees: none at Trade Republic. Saxo charges no inactivity fee and has removed custody fees in several countries, including Switzerland in February 2025, so check the price list for your own country.

The flat fee and the percentage fee cross at different points. A €500 purchase on Xetra costs €1 at Trade Republic and €3 at Saxo. A €10,000 purchase costs €1 against €8. A €10,000 purchase of a US share costs about €13 at Trade Republic, including the built-in conversion, and around €33 at Saxo once its 0.25% conversion is added, although Saxo clients who hold dollars in the account can avoid converting each time. Saxo becomes competitive mainly for large orders held in the same currency, or for clients on its Platinum and VIP tiers.

Interest on cash

Trade Republic pays interest on the whole uninvested euro balance, linked to the European Central Bank’s deposit rate: 2.50% a year after the ECB’s September 2026 increase, with 3% offered to newer customers in several countries on balances up to €50,000. Saxo’s interest on cash depends on the currency, the amount and the account tier, and smaller balances often earn little, so investors who keep large cash buffers should compare the rates for their own country and account before choosing.

Trade Republic charges the same euro for a small order as for a large one; Saxo charges for breadth. The cheaper one depends on the size of your orders and the markets you use.

Products and platforms

Saxo gives direct access to more than 19,000 stocks and 6,500 ETFs on dozens of exchanges, government and corporate bonds, listed options, futures and forex, through two platforms: SaxoInvestor for simple investing and SaxoTrader for active trading, with research and analytics that few retail brokers match. Accounts can hold several currencies. Trade Republic offers thousands of shares and ETFs, more than 500 bonds, crypto, warrants and private-market funds through its app and a free web terminal, with the euro as the only base currency and no listed options or futures. On tax, Trade Republic handles German taxes automatically for German customers and offers local tax features in countries including Austria, Italy and Portugal; with Saxo, what is reported and withheld depends on the company that holds your account and your country of residence.

Which one suits whom

Trade Republic tends to suit euro-area investors who invest regularly in ETFs and shares, want their cash to earn interest in the same app and value simplicity over choice. Saxo tends to suit investors with larger portfolios, people investing across several markets and currencies, and anyone who needs bonds, listed options or futures, research tools or a multi-currency account, including residents of the UK and Switzerland, where Trade Republic is not available. Some investors use both: a cheap app for monthly saving and a full-service platform for everything else. Fees and rates were checked against both brokers’ published information in October 2026 and vary by country and account type; this is general education, not a recommendation of either broker.

This article is educational and general in nature. It isn’t personalized investment, tax, or legal advice — always weigh your own circumstances, or talk to a licensed professional, before making financial decisions.

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