How Does DEGIRO Approach Fees and Transparency?

Updated

DEGIRO positions itself as a low-cost online broker whose main selling point is extremely low trading commissions, paired with a stated commitment to clear fees and straightforward terms. The company says it avoids "fine print" and presents its fees openly, and it treats low cost as one of several reasons to choose the platform alongside global market access, platform features, and account security. The specific fee schedule is not listed on the page reviewed here, so anyone comparing costs should confirm current rates on DEGIRO's official fee overview before trading.

What DEGIRO says about its fees

DEGIRO's homepage leads with the promise of investing "at incredibly low fees" and describes itself as distinguishing itself from competitors through extremely low trading commissions. The transparency claim is explicit: the site states that "our fees are clear, and the terms and conditions are straightforward," and it frames this as "no fine print."

That is a positioning statement rather than a price list. The page does not publish commission tiers, per-exchange fees, currency conversion costs, or inactivity charges. Treat the marketing language as a claim to verify, not as a complete cost picture.

Low fees are presented as one advantage among several

DEGIRO does not ask investors to choose it on price alone. The page groups low fees with:

  • Global access — more than 50 exchanges across 30 countries, which the site presents as a basis for diversification.
  • Platform features — ESG ratings and Analyst Views from LSEG Data & Analytics, real-time quotes, interactive charts, financials and ratios, a 10-layer order book on Euronext, economic calendars, and market news.
  • Security — two-factor authentication with a choice of methods, described as protection against third-party access.
  • Product range — over 2 million products.

The site also cites more than 100 international broker awards and 3 million investors. These are credibility signals, not cost information.

How to check the real cost before opening an account

Because the reviewed page gives no figures, build your own comparison from the official fee documents:

  1. Find the fee schedule. Look for DEGIRO's fee overview or pricing page for your country, since the site serves multiple local markets (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Greece, Spain, Switzerland, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, and the Czech Republic are listed).
  2. List every cost you would actually incur. At minimum: commission per trade on your main exchange, any handling fee, currency conversion when buying assets in another currency, and any account or platform charges.
  3. Match the list to your trading style. An investor making a few trades a year and one trading weekly will weight commissions very differently; a buy-and-hold investor in foreign stocks may care more about conversion costs than trade fees.
  4. Read the terms and conditions. The site says they are straightforward; confirm that statement against the actual document, particularly on custody, dividend handling, and any conditions attached to low-cost trading.
  5. Compare like with like. Put DEGIRO's total cost for your expected activity next to one or two other brokers using the same trade sizes and frequencies.

Expected result: a single estimated annual cost figure per broker, rather than a comparison of headline commissions.

Common pitfalls

  • Assuming "low fees" means no fees. The page promises low commissions, not zero cost; other charges may still apply.
  • Ignoring currency conversion. Global access to 30 countries implies multi-currency trading, and conversion costs can outweigh trade commissions for some portfolios.
  • Relying on the homepage for pricing. Marketing pages describe the approach to fees; only the official fee schedule states the amounts.
  • Overlooking local variation. DEGIRO operates across many European markets, so the applicable fee table may depend on your country of residence.

Bottom line

DEGIRO's approach is to compete on very low trading commissions while asserting that its fees and terms are clear and free of hidden clauses, and it asks investors to weigh that against its market access, tools, and security features. Whether the costs are genuinely low for you depends on your trade frequency, exchanges, and currencies — so verify the current official fee schedule and terms before committing, and compare the total cost for your own activity rather than the headline commission alone.