Key Takeaways
Over the past few years, Scalable Capital has established itself as one of Europe's largest digital investment platforms, managing more than €30 billion in client assets across over one million customers. Following the EU-wide ban on Payment for Order Flow (PFOF), the broker responded by launching their own European Investor Exchange (EIX). While this allows Scalable to maintain low visible trading costs, it also concentrates a significant portion of client order flow within an ecosystem where execution quality and spreads deserve as much attention as headline commissions. There is also a clear conflict of interesting in this setup.
Although it is a fully licensed German bank backed by investors including BlackRock and Tencent, Scalable operates as a low-cost, Tier 2 neobroker rather than a large established brokerage. Investors benefit from low 'visible' commissions and savings plans, but must accept limited exchange access, no multi-currency accounts. The FX fees are also high for a neobroker at 0.99%.
Scalable is also heavily involved in developing or marketing specific products. While we view their launch of Scalable MSCI AC World Xtrackers UCITS ETF positively, we have a more reserved view on their heavy marketing of private asset classes in the current market environment.
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Why Scalable Capital is A Tier 2 Broker?
Scalable Capital is a Tier 2 broker, characterised by its low-cost positioning and an average customer balance of approximately €30k. It manages €30 billion in assets across 1,000,000 customers, encompassing both its DIY and Robo-Advisor services. It’s main competitors are neobrokers rather than Tier 1 players like IBKR.
Growing, Bank-Licensed and Unrated
Operating for over 10 years, Scalable Capital has shown consistent growth, though its profitability remains undisclosed. The company has a strong presence in Germany and is expanding into other European markets. It is not publicly listed or rated, but it is a licensed bank.
Concentrated Venue Access and High FX Costs
Scalable Capital provides discounted fees for trading on Gettex and the European Investor Exchange (EIX), making it potentially heavily reliant on internal market-making spreads. The only major legacy alternative is Xetra, with no other exchanges supported. Multicurrency accounts are not offered. FX fees are high.
We rate the company 3.8 out of 5 based on the following aspects. Scalable Capital, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Munich, Germany, is a modern digital investment platform with a strong presence in multiple EU markets. But, it is not a publicly listed company, so its financial details are less transparent compared to other brokers reviewed. It is a fully licensed German bank regulated by BaFin and the Deutsche Bundesbank. Shareholders include Tencent and BlackRock. Its revenue streams include management fees, performance fees, subscription fees, referral fees, and interest income, though the specific contribution of each is not publicly disclosed. In order for the company to have higher score it would need to be listed, rated or more transparent with its financials.
The company is not public, nor rated. It is not possible to proxy its default risk. As the firm is private, they have not explicitly stated whether they are profitable. Following a €60 million Series E extension in late 2023, they raised a €155 million growth funding round in June 2025, bringing their total capital raised to over €470 million. The company has a banking licence, but this is non-core to their brokerage business, and is not part of a systemic banking group.
Scalable Capital is regulated by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and provides investors with a securities (incl. ETFs) protection amount up to €20,000. Specifically, the scheme covers up to 90% of an investor’s claims, with a maximum limit of €20,000 per investor. This level of protection – while standard among most EU brokers – is considered low. Cash held at Scalable Capital is protected by the German Compensation Scheme up to €100,000, though it is pooled unless held in your name. Scalable Capital GmbH is assigned to the German Compensatory Fund of Securities Trading Companies which can can pay compensation if an institution is no longer able to fulfil its “liabilities from securities transactions” towards its clients for reasons directly related to its financial situation (and the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority BaFin has determined the case for compensation).
Scalable Capital has faced reputational challenges, including a 2021 data breach exposing client information, withdrawal from the UK market in early 2021, and technical issues during market volatility in August 2024, causing account access disruptions. These incidents have raised concerns among some clients despite its regulatory standing.
We rate the fee structure a 3.5 out of 5.0, primarily because the highly advertised "free" trading is strictly restricted to Single Market Maker (SMM) Exchanges. At first glance, Scalable Capital appears to be one of the cheapest brokers in Europe, offering commission-free savings plans, free ETF purchases on selected products, and low-cost trading through EIX and Gettex. However, visible commissions are only one component of total trading costs. Following the EU ban on Payment for Order Flow (PFOF), Scalable shifted much of its order flow to the European Investor Exchange (EIX), a venue it co-founded and helps operate. While this allows the broker to maintain very low explicit fees, investors may face higher implicit costs through execution spreads in a closed Single Market Maker environment. Combined with limited exchange choice and a very high for Neobrokers 0.99% FX fee, we believe Scalable's fee structure is decent, but clearly not as compelling as headline pricing suggests.
0.99% for non-EUR transactions (trading only done in EUR)
Most of our readers have simple index portfolios. Using our Broker Total Cost Calculator, you can estimate the total cost of holding ETFs over your investment horizon. In our simulated scenarios, Scalable Capital appears more expensive when trades are executed on Xetra rather than through its proprietary execution venues. We compare it against other Tier 2 brokers with strong financial records and broad international offerings. Specifically, we have chosen Trade Republic, which has a similar target market and history, and DEGIRO, which is active in many of the same European markets. We assume investors purchase ETFs in the ETF share class currency (therefore no FX fees are included in the calculator below).
Fee Simulation For General AccountsThe simulation below is done on Xetra except for Trade Republic, which doesn't give access to a traditional exchange. Its implicit fees may be higher.
We rate the platform capabilities a 3.5 out of 5.0. While the desktop and mobile applications for Android and iOS offer a modern and highly intuitive interface for executing automated savings plans and regular trading, significant structural limitations restrict its overall score. Most notably, the platform completely lacks multi-currency accounts exposing all international trades to a (very) steep for a Neobroker 0.99% FX markup. Furthermore, assets and particularly exchange choices are heavily restricted; investors are confined to just one classic exchange (Xetra) which is not the default option as it shows a higher commission and two Single Market Maker (SMM) venues, where conflicts of interest arise. On a positive note, the platform's cash interest feature is decent, offering a competitive, variable 2.50% p.a. yield with monthly payouts. However, this feature requires manual activation via a separate Scalable Overnight Account.
Scalable Capital offers customers margin loans, which is rare for a neobroker.
As of May 2026, variable interest rate of 2.50% p.a. on unlimited cash balances. However, clients must manually activate a separate sub-account wrapper in the app called the "Scalable Overnight Account" (Tagesgeldkonto), which generates its own dedicated IBAN.
Scalable Capital receives generally positive feedback from users, particularly praised for its user-friendly interface, competitive fees, and excellent tax handling for German investors. While some users note concerns about transaction speed, the platform being relatively new, and recurring seasonal delays in receiving annual international tax reports, the majority appreciate its comprehensive features and reliability.
⚠️ This sentiment analysis is based on our proprietary algorithm relying on sentiment from public user reviews and discussions. This section does not represent the view of Banker on Wheels.
Outside of Germany, Scalable Capital withholds 0% local tax at the source, operating as a purely declarative broker. To handle this, they partner with KPMG to generate a free, localized annual tax report (Steuerbericht) tailored to the specific tax rules of Austria, Italy, Spain, France, and the Netherlands. This KPMG PDF breaks down exactly what figures users must manually copy-paste into their domestic annual tax returns.
For Italy, Scalable Capital is actively establishing a local physical branch office to transition from a self-declaration framework to a native, automated Regime Amministrato (withholding tax agent) with Italian IBANs by the end of 2026. Because Scalable Capital relies on a centralized German infrastructure, compiling localized transaction data for international tax authorities requires cross-border auditing pipelines.
This process routinely causes notable seasonal delays, with the annual KPMG tax report frequently being delivered close to regional tax declaration deadlines.
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