Key Takeaways
Over the past few years, Trade Republic has become one of Europe's largest neobrokers, serving more than 10 million customers and managing over €150 billion in client assets. However, following the EU ban on Payment for Order Flow (PFOF), the broker has been forced to redesign its execution model and increasingly relies on its own trading infrastructure, raising questions about transparency and execution quality. This is also a clear conflict of interest.
Trade Republic is best viewed as a low-cost, Tier 2 neobroker rather than a full-service international brokerage. While it benefits from a German banking licence and strong growth, investors must accept significant trade-offs, including limited exchange access, no multi-currency functionality and relatively few advanced investing features compared to larger international brokers.
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Why Trade Republic is A Tier 2 Broker?
Trade Republic is a Tier 2 neobroker known for its low-cost trading model. It serves over 10 million customers and holds more than €150 billion in client assets with an estimated average client balance of around €15,000. Its main competitors are neobrokers like Scalable Capital, rather than Tier 1 players like IBKR.
Profitable but Privately Held
The company is privately held but profitable, reporting net income of approximately €34.8 million for the 2024 financial year.
Low Visible Fees, Limited Execution Transparency
The platform operates charges a flat €1 fee per trade. It also offers free trade for regular saving investments. Trade Republic primarily focuses on stocks, ETFs, bonds and derivatives. Historically, orders have been routed predominantly through Lang & Schwarz Exchange under a payment-for-order-flow (PFOF) model, although the EU-wide PFOF ban is leading to changes in execution arrangements across the industry. Multicurrency accounts are not offered. FX fees are averaged.
We rate the company 3.5 out of 5 based on the following aspects. Trade Republic, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Berlin, Germany, is one of Europe's largest neo-brokers. It operates through Trade Republic Bank GmbH, a fully licensed German bank regulated by BaFin and the Deutsche Bundesbank. Shareholders include Sequoia Capital, Accel, TCV and Founders Fund. The company generates revenue from a variety of sources, including banking services, interest income, trading activity and other products, although it does not publicly disclose the percentage contribution of each revenue stream. While Trade Republic reported net income of approximately €34.8 million for the 2024 financial year, it remains privately held, unrated and less transparent than publicly listed brokers. To achieve a higher score, the company would need to be publicly listed, rated by a major credit rating agency, or provide more detailed financial disclosures.
We rate the fee structure a 2.8 out of 5. At first glance, Trade Republic appears to be one of the cheapest brokers in Europe, offering free ETF savings plans and a simple €1 fee for manual trades. However, visible commissions are only one component of total trading costs. Historically, Trade Republic routed retail orders through the Lang & Schwarz Exchange, a venue that relies on a single market maker. While this model enabled the broker to offer very low explicit fees, investors may face higher implicit costs through execution spreads and limited price competition. Following the EU-wide ban on Payment for Order Flow (PFOF) in 2026, Trade Republic began transitioning away from its historical execution model and is developing its own trading infrastructure after receiving authorization to operate a multilateral trading facility (MTF). Although the final structure of this model is still evolving, investors continue to have limited venue choice compared to traditional brokers. Combined with non-disclosed FX conversion costs embedded in the spread and a lack of exchange selection, we believe Trade Republic's fee structure remains competitive, but is not as compelling as the headline pricing alone may suggest.
Currency conversion costs are not separately disclosed and are typically reflected through spreads and execution pricing.
No explicit trading commissions are charged by this broker — the broker’s revenue model relies on spreads on opaque single market maker exchanges or similar setup. Undisclosed spread data cannot be assessed independently. For smaller trades, this may be acceptable but it is very problematic for larger transactions and serious investors.
For our above fee scoring we use the broker’s explicit fees (no commissions) but notch down due to the opaque nature of execution. Read our methodology to understand how it works.
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Deposits and withdrawals are generally free of charge. Trade Republic states that securities account transfers are processed without fees from the broker itself, although third-party charges may apply depending on the receiving institution and the securities involved.
Trade Republic offers a digital-first account opening process that can typically be completed within a few minutes through its mobile app. New clients must provide standard personal information, proof of identity and tax residency details. Identity verification is conducted digitally through external verification providers and requires a valid government-issued identification document and a smartphone camera. While the onboarding process is generally straightforward, some users have reported occasional delays during periods of high demand or when additional documentation is required. In many cases, accounts are activated within 24 hours.
The platform’s feature set focuses on essential functions rather than advanced capabilities. While this suits most retail investors, it may disappoint those seeking sophisticated trading tools.
Trade Republic offers country- and currency-specific interest rates. Euro-denominated balances typically earn around 2–3%, while some local-currency offerings, such as in Poland, may advertise higher rates that are not directly comparable due to currency differences.
Trade Republic receives praise for its user-friendly interface, low fees, and solid investment features like ETF savings plans and competitive interest rates. However, users consistently criticize poor customer support experiences and platform limitations for more advanced trading needs.
⚠️ 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.
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