Safest & cheapest online brokers : The Netherlands 
Latest Test Results – 8th August 2025 15:58pm
☆ Stress tested against 14 selection categories with 250+ data points per broker
☆ All brokers ranked above 80% and above (Exceptional to Good results)
☆ Selection suitable for novice and experienced investors
Read more on how we evaluate the brokers based on 14 categories
DEGIRO
✔ Start investing from EUR 1,-
✔ Dutch founded in 2008, with >3 million investors
✔ Active AFM (Dutch) supervision, incl. DBN and BaFin
✔ Large selection from 45+ exchanges, and 5,000+ ETFs
✔ Transparent fees: EUR 1 to 3 per trade
Exceptional
Visit degiro.com
Explore more details
Trading Fees (per trade)
ETF Core: EUR 1,-
Worldwide EFTs: EUR 3,-
US shares: EUR 2,-
EU shares: EUR 3,-
Subscription Fees
No subscription Fees
Currency conversion fees
0.25% of value
ZERO fees on..
Deposits
Withdrawal
Account Inactivity
Wide selection of global stocks, from large conglomerates to small and local public companies.
Access to 45+ trading venues, with 5,000+ Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) from all main global industries. Degiro does not offer fractional investment in securities.
Additional products include: Bonds, Futures, Options, and Commodities.
High Safety profile. Degiro is licensed and monitored by Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM), De Nederlandse Bank (DNB), and the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). In 2020, the Dutch Degiro B.V. was acquired by the German Flatex A.G.
Client cash held on Degiro accounts is protected by the German Deposit Guarantee Scheme up to EUR 100,000. In addition, Degiro is covered by the German Investor Compensation Scheme, meaning in case of losses of assets, the government covers up to 90% value of investments, up to EUR 20,000.
DEGIRO uses a separate custodian entity to hold your assets, which means they are segregated from the assets of DEGIRO.
Degiro promotes healthy and long-term investment behavior. The app interface is highly versatile without triggering investors to gamify the investment experience for short-term gains.
Degiro conducts mandatory testing of investor knowledge before allowing investments in more complex investment products.
SCALABLE CAPITAL
✔ Start investing from EUR 1,-
✔ Founded in Germany in 2014, with 1m+ EU investors
✔ Active BaFin (Germany) supervision and Deutsche Bundesbank
✔ Large selection from 8,000+ stocks, and 2,300+ ETFs
✔ Simple pricing: EUR 0.99 fee per trade
✔ Make 2.0% p.a. return on cash held up to EUR 500k
Exceptional
Explore more details
Trading Fees (per trade)
Free Broker: EUR 0.99 per trade
Prime Broker: FREE on orders > EUR 250
Purchase of Prime ETFs (iShares, Amundi, Xtrackers): FREE on both plans
Subscription Fees
Free Broker: FREE
Prime+ Broker: EUR 4.99 per month
Crypto fees
Free Broker: 0.99%
Prime+ Broker: 0.69%
ZERO fees on..
Saving plans
Deposit (bank transfer)
Witdrawal (bank transfer)
Inactivity fees
Initial fees
Build your investment strategy from a global selection of over 8,000 stocks and 2,300+ ETFs.
Scalable Capital offers investors savings plans with automated cash withdrawal and order execution. Fractional shares are allowed.
Additional products include: Bonds, Crypto, and Commodities. No leveraged trading allowed on the platform.
High Safety profile. Scalable Capital is actively monitored by Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and Deutsche Bundesbank. The company has raised more than EUR 470m from notable international investors who monitor for illicit activities.
Scalable Capital is not directly supervised by the AFM, however it holds an European Passport for EER Beleggingsonderneming. Deposits are protected up to EUR 100,000 per customer per bank under the statutory deposit protection scheme.
Scalable Capital provides a mobile-first investment experience with a simplistic and clean design. With savings plans, investors can automate their investment journeys, thereby eliminating emotional responses from the investment process.
The app’s notifications provide a balanced service to keep investors informed while not actively triggering them to trade more.
TRADE REPUBLIC
Start investing from EUR 1,-
Founded in Germany in 2015, with 8m+ investors
BaFin supervised (incl. Crypto), full banking license by the ECB
Large selection from 7,500+ stocks, and 2,000+ ETFs
Simple pricing: EUR 1,- fee per trade
Make 2.0% p.a. return on cash paid montly
Earn 1% Save back on card spending into your Savings Plan
Exceptional
Explore more details
Trading Fees (per trade)
EUR 1,- flat fee to trade any shares, ETFs and crypto
Subscription Fees
No Fees
ATM Withdrawal
Below EUR 100: EUR 1,-
Above EUR 100: FREE
ZERO fees on..
Saving plans
Deposit (bank transfer)
Witdrawal (bank transfer)
Inactivity fees
Trade Republic Card monthly fee
Build your investment strategy from a global selection of over 7,500 stocks and 2,000+ ETFs.
Trade Republic offers investors savings plans with automated cash withdrawal and order execution. Fractional shares are allowed. With the Trade Republic Card you can earn 1% on card spending, and invest spare change on automatically and periodically.
Additional products include: Bonds, Crypto, and Options. No leveraged trading allowed on the platform.
High Safety profile. Trade Republic is regulated by Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and obtained a full Banking license from the European Central Bank.
The Company operates under MiFID II regulations, including asset segregation and important restrictions on use of client assets.
Trade Republic has raised more than EUR 1.3 billion from notable international investors who monitor for illicit activities.
Cash balances at Trade Republic’s trusted partner banks accounts are protected by the deposit protection guarantee up to EUR 100,000.
Trade Republic provides a lean investment experience with a simplistic and clean design. With savings plans, investors can automate their investment journeys, there by eliminating emotional responses from the investment process.
The app’s notifications provide a balanced service to keep investors informed while not triggering them to trade more.
The app’s explore functionality allows investors to find the right securities for their investment needs, without promoting excessive risk taking.
ETORO
Start investing from USD 50,-
Israel founded in 2007, with >40 million investors
Supervised by CySEC (Cyprus), with EU license passporting to NL
Over 6,000 stocks from 20 exchanges, and 300+ ETFs
USD 1 – 2 trading for shares ; Zero fees on ETFs
Very Good
Visit etoro.com
Explore more details
Trading Fees (per trade)
Shares: USD 1 – 2 (depending on region)
EFTs: Zero Fees
Other Fees
Withdrawal: USD 5 for USD accounts; Zero for GBP and EUR accounts
Inactivity: USD 10 per month aftet 12 consecutive months of inactivity
Currency conversion: 1.5% to 3% (0.75% with an investment plan)
Subscription Fees
No subscription Fees
ZERO fees on..
Deposits
Custody fees
Spread fees
Access to 20+ trading venues, with 6,000+ stocks from all main global industries. Limited offer of ETFs since platform is more geared towards stock selection strategies. eToro offers fractional investment of products.
With CopyTrader you can replicate the investment moves of other traders in real time, automatically.
Additional products include: Bonds, Futures, Options, Futures, Commodities, and (Leveraged) CFD products.
Medium/High safety profile. eToro is actively monitored by CySec and holds a passport for providing an investment platform in the EU.
eToro is prohibited by law to from using client funds, and must keep assets segregated.
eToro is one of the few investment platform with a fully integrated social trading community. While this helps educate and engage novice investors, it might promote a shorter investment horizon and FOMO-like behavior.
However, with the eToro Academy investors are offered high quality courses on how to get started and avoid the most common pitfalls when building wealth.
BUX - BY ABN AMRO
Start investing from EUR 10,-
Dutch founded in 2013, with >1 million investors
Active AFM (Dutch) license and supervision
Chose from over 3,000 stocks, EFTs and ETCs
Transparent fees: EUR 0.99 to 1.99 per trade
Earn up to 1.75% interest on cash held in your account
Very Good
Visit bux.com
Explore more details
Trading Fees (per trade)
Shares EU: EUR 1.99
Shares US: EUR 0.99
ETFs (US/EU): EUR: 1.99
Zero (No!) Fees on Investment Plan Order & Zero Orders
Subscription Fees
EUR 2.99 monthly subscription
Currency conversion fees
0.25% FX mark-up for US shares
ZERO fees on..
Deposits
Withdrawal
Custody
Account Innactivity !
BUX offers a large selection of thousands of securities from shares to ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) and ETCs (Exchange Traded Commodities). BUX offers fractional investment in securities.
With automated investing in Plans you invest based on global trends, such as Artificial Intelligence, or create your own Plan from scratch.
Additional product offers include Bonds.
High Safety profile. BUX is actively monitored by Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM).
Through its history of growth, BUX raised over EUR 110 million from reputable investors, and ultimately was acquired by a leading Dutch Bank, Abn AMRO in 2024.
Your deposit is protected up to EUR 100,000 under the conditions of the DGS (Dutch Deposit Guarantee scheme).
100% of your financial instruments and money are held in BUX Custody so that they are separated from the capital of BUX and safeguarded even in the event that BUX goes bankrupt.
BUX promotes long-term investment behavior. Their knowledge center helps investors to better understand the investment basics, such as financial planning and diversifying risk across the global market.
The app design provides a simple yet efficient investment experience for novice and experienced investors.
FREEDOM 24
Start investing from EUR 1,-
Cyprus founded in 2008, with >500 thousand investors
Active CySEC (Cyprus) license & supervision
Largest selection: 40,000+ stocks; 3,600 ETFs; 53,000 bonds
Fair fees: EUR 1.2 – 2.0 on shares and ETFs
Very Good
Explore more details
Trading Fees (per trade)
All Inclusive Plan Shares & ETFs: EUR 1.2
Smart Plan Shares & ETFs: EUR 2,-
Bonds: EUR/USD 5,- plus 0.5% (all incl.) or 0.15% (smart) of value
Subscription Fees
All Inclusive Plan: Zero Fees
Smart Plan: Zero Fees
Over-the-Counter (OTC) Trading
Brokerage fee – 0.12% of trade volume
Depository fee – $30 per calculated trade
Other Fees
Withdrawal: EUR 7,- per execution
Margin loan per day –
0.041% (all incl.) and 0.049% (smart)
ZERO fees on..
Deposits (bank transfer)
Inactivity fees
Custody fees
One of the widest selection, with over 40,000 companies, including from EU, US, and Asian markets.
Invest in 3,600+ ETFs from iShares, Vanguard, BlackRock, and other top fund managers. Another unique offer from Freedom24 is their bonds selection: 53,000 corporate bonds; 90,000 local government bonds and 4,000 government bonds.
Freedom24 does not offer fractional investment of products. Additional products include: Bonds, Futures, Options, and (Leveraged) CFDs.
Medium/High Safety profile. Freedom24 holds a CySec (Cyprus) license, allowing them to operate across the EU, including the Netherlands.
Freedom24 is publicly traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange, and as a result also reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Freedom24 guarantees the customer’s right to compensation of up to EUR 20,000 from the Investor Compensation Fund in the unlikely event of force majeure.
Client assets are held in segregated accounts with their prime partner’s custodians. All client funds are stored within EU based banks.
Freedom24 is more geared towards short-term trading and leverage investment strategies.
The App looks more similar to what you would observe on the trading floor of a major exchange.
More experienced investors should consider joining the platform.
PLUS 500
Start investing from EUR 1,-
Istrael founded in 2008, with >30 million investors worldwide
Active FCA (UK) license & supervision
Large selection from 2,800 instruments, depending on jurisdiction
Trading fees are based on proprietary spread fixing by Plus500
Good
Explore more details
Trading Fees (per trade)
Realised by Plus500 via fixing the spread on a bough /sold security
Subscription Fees
No subscription Fees
Currency conversion fees
0.7% of value
Other fees
Inactivity: USD 10,- p. m. after 3 months
ZERO fees on..
Deposits
Withdrawal
Custody
Plus500 is the market leader in (leveraged) CFD trading. Plus500 also offers Shares, ETFs, Crypto, Forex, Options, and Commodities. No fractional ownership of security is allowed on the platform.
With Plus500 you can make informed decisions with ESG scoring over a variety of CFDs on Equities.
Medium/High Safety profile. Plus500 is regulated by the FCA (UK) and CySec (Cyprus), and acts under strict oversight from these institutions
Plus500 is also a FTSE 250 public company listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market for Listed Companies.
Plus500 is more geared towards short-term trading and leverage investment strategies. More experienced investors have access to versatile and more complex tools to analyse investments on the go.
With the Trading Academy you can learn the essentials of the Plus500 platform with how-to videos and free trading webinars and market analysis.
BRAND NEW DAY
Start investing from EUR 1,-
Dutch founded in 2009, with 300 thousand investors
Active AFM (Dutch) license and supervision, incl. De Nederlandse Bank
Invest in a limited number of carefully curated funds, from Safe to Agressive expected returns
Fees proportional to investment: 0.49% to 0.70% of value per year
Earn up to 1.30% p.a. on cash, paid monthly
Good
Explore more details
Service Costs (charged per year on portfolio value)
Model portfolios: 0.34%
Green model portfolios: 0.34%
Free Investing: 0.44%
Fund Costs (charged per year on portfolio value)
Model portfolios: 0.15% – 0.17%%
Green model portfolios: 0.25%
Free Investing: 0.15% – 0.26%
ZERO fees on..
Deposits
Withdrawal
Account inactivity
Brand New Day offers exclusively Index Investing opportunities. You can choose two tracks: Model Investing and Free Investing.
With Model Investing you can choose from five (5) model portfolios which are wide indexes, often containing up to 20,000 individual stocks. They range from Very Defensive to Very Offensive. The historical results of these models since 2010 are published by Brand New Day.
With Free Investing you choose which funds you invest in , from 9 equity and 7 bond funds. You can configure Automatic Risk Reduction (gradually transition to less risky investments as you age), and Automatic Rebalancing (to prevent you from taking less risk than you wish to accept).
High Safety profile. Brand New Day has a Dutch banking license and is supervised by the Dutch AFM. Any cash in your investment account is protected up to EUR 100,000 via the Dutch Deposit Guarantee scheme.
Investments are legally separated from their assets. This means you’ll get all your investments back in the event of bankruptcy, regardless of the amount.
Brand New Day is the largest pension provider in the Netherlands. By design this organisation is targeted to invest safely and long-term. They advocate that investing should be a boring activity, and excitement should be left out. Their funds diversify across as many individual stocks as possible, because they believe that nobody can predict the market.
PEAKS
Start investing from EUR 1,-
Dutch founded in 2016, with >100+ thousand investors
Active AFM (Dutch) license and supervision
Invest in a limited number of carefully curated funds, Cautious to Adventurous
Transparent fees: monthly subscriptions and yearly fund costs
Good
Visit peaks.com
Explore more details
Start (up to EUR 12k portfolio)
Service costs: EUR 1.99 per month
Fund costs: +0.5% per year on value
Complete (EUR 12k – 16k portfolio)
Service costs: EUR 2.99 per month
Fund costs: +0.4% per year on value
Premium (above EUR 12k portfolio)
Service costs: EUR 4.99 per month
Fund costs: +0.25% per year on value
ZERO fees on..
Deposits
Withdrawal
Account Inactivity !
At Peaks you invest only in ETFs. No access to individual stocks is allowed. You can choose from 4 portfolios:
Careful – 4.5% expected return for 2-5 years
Balanced – 5.3% expected return for 5-10 years
Entrepreneurial – 6.1% expected return for 10-15 years
Adventurous – 6.9% expected return for 15+ years
Automate your deposits on a daily or monthly basis, or set your app to deposit a percentage of your income.
High Safety Profile. As an investment firm, Peaks needs to separate their customers’ assets from their own money.
They keep your deposits and returns in a separate foundation: Stichting Beheer Derdengelden Peaks.
Should Peaks ever go bankrupt, this structure ensures that your money will not be involved in that bankruptcy.
Peaks promotes long-term investment behavior. They diversify across thousands of companies, all industries and geographies to provide a global calculated risk exposure.
Since no individual share investing is allowed, Peaks is by definition promoting a healthy, long-term investment behavior. Through their educational content, Peaks advocates responsible and ethical investing.
LIGHTYEAR
Start investing from EUR 1,-
UK / Estonia founded in 2020, with >240 thousand investors
Active FCA (UK) license and supervision, incl. EFSA (Estonia)
Large selection from 5,000+ stocks, and 250+ curated ETFs
Zero Fee ETFs, stock ftrading up to EUR 1,-
Up to 3.00% interest on cash held (depending on currency)
Good
Explore more details
Stock Trading Fees (per trade)
US: 0.1% per trade, with a maximum of USD 1,- and min of USD 0.1
UK: GBP 1,- per trade
EU: EUR 1,- per trade
EU stocks, bonds, ETNs and ETCs: EUR 1,- per trade
ETF Trading Fees (per trade)
Commission-free, in home currency (EUR)
Currency Conversion Fee
Flat fee of 0.35% per conversion
ZERO fees on..
Deposits
Withdrawal
Account Inactivity !
Wide selection of global stocks, from main investment markets: USA and the European Union. Over 5,000 listed companies and 250+ popular ETFs offered at Zero trading fees. Lightyear allows for fractional ownership of securities.
Other products available are bonds and gold ETNs.
Medium Safety profile. Lightyear is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. Furthermore, Lightyear is also regulated by the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority (EFSA) , and authorised to operate across the EU.
Lightyear customers have their assets covered up to the amount of 20,000 EUR by the Estonian Investor Protection Sectoral Fund. Your US securities are held with other partner Alpaca, who is FINRA regulated and a registered member of the SIPC. This means your US securities are protected up to the value of USD 500,000 should Alpaca fail.
Although Lightyear seems to be well protected on paper, they have a relatively small track record, having been active for only 5 years.
Lightyear offers a modern and slick app that feels like investing in the 21st century. It is highly intuitive for novice investors.
Lightyear built a Learning Library, where investors get access to educational resources, tools, and practical guides to get started.
Want to compare brokers
side-by-side?
Choose up to 5 providers and compare them across our 14 ranking categories
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why choosing the right online broker is key to success?
The right broker impacts your investment safety, costs, market access, and experience. A trustworthy broker protects your assets, keeps fees clear, and supports smart investing. The wrong choice can mean higher costs, fewer options, or security risks.
2. How does Private Investor Alliance evaluate online brokers?
We use a scientific method based on 14 categories and 92 criteria, gathering over 250 data points per broker. Our approach relies on academic research, regulations, and best practices to provide transparent, independent assessments.
3. How does Private Investor Alliance we finance itself?
We earn through affiliate partnerships with recommended brokers, a common industry practice. This allows us to offer free, independent research while ensuring our recommendations put investors’ interests first.
4. How can I use the broker rankings to choose the right broker for me?
Rankings show scores across safety, cost, and user experience. Use them to compare brokers based on what matters most to your investment goals, helping you find the best fit.
5. How often are broker rankings updated?
We update rankings monthly to keep information current, reflecting market changes and platform updates for accurate decisions.