Baraka vs comdirect — which broker is better?

Pros

• Licensed by the DFSA in the DIFC since 2 June 2021 (F006586), with retail-client, client-assets and Islamic Window endorsements on the public register
• One free US stock or ETF trade a month on the free Standard plan, then USD 1 per order; Premium includes 12 and Premium+ 25 free trades
• US options at USD 1 per contract on 500+ US stocks, with Baraka saying it absorbs regulatory and exchange fees
• UAE shares on ADX and DFM and physical gold in the same app for UAE residents, with silver listed on Baraka's metals page
• Fractional US shares from USD 1, Auto-Invest, a free dividend reinvestment plan and no custody or account maintenance fee
• Arabic website and app, plus a Sharia Screener based on Musaffa data
• An Islamic Window that, according to a certificate of 7 August 2026 (valid until 6 August 2027), Baraka's own Shariah Supervisory Board certified; the board was constituted by Amanah Advisors

Cons

• Only for residents of the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait; Saudi Arabia is not on Baraka's list, and US residents are excluded
• Funding from a UAE bank costs 0.75% on the Standard plan (0.65% on Premium, 0.60% on Premium+), and non-UAE cards attract a third-party fee
• Cash earns no interest: the terms forfeit it and Baraka and DriveWealth share it evenly; Baraka may also receive payment for order flow
• Conflicting withdrawal information: USD 0 per the fee schedule, a flat USD 25 from the broker's bank per the terms
• We found no web or desktop trading platform, only the app, and Premium+ is available on iOS only
• US execution and custody sit with DriveWealth, whose systems an unauthorised party accessed on 4 and 5 September 2026, according to Baraka

Pros

• The broadest product range of the three German incumbents: shares, ETFs, funds, bonds, certificates, warrants, CFDs and direct Eurex options and futures in one depot
• Excellent platform stack — ProTrader for real-time multi-monitor trading, O&F-Trader with a margin simulator, CFD Trader with a free demo, plus a documented REST API and stock3, TraderFox and Quant4you integrations
• Cash sits behind Commerzbank AG: statutory EdB cover of EUR 100,000 plus the voluntary BdB Einlagensicherungsfonds protecting private individuals up to EUR 3 million, with direct ECB supervision as a significant institution
• Custody is now free for depots opened from 15 July 2026, and the second depot has always been free
• Cheap Eurex derivatives pricing: EUR 1.50 per single-stock option contract and EUR 1.50 for the MicroDAX future, each with a EUR 9.90 execution minimum
• Fully tax-simple for German residents — automatic Abgeltungsteuer withholding, Freistellungsauftrag, loss-offset pots and free annual tax certificates
• A EUR 1.00 Pure Depot exists for investors who only need gettex and savings plans, and a 15% Viel-Trader discount rewards 125+ trades per half-year

Cons

• Standard commissions are among the highest in the market: EUR 4.90 plus 0.25% of order value, minimum EUR 9.90 and maximum EUR 59.90, plus a EUR 2.50 venue fee — roughly four times what flatex charges on a EUR 10,000 order
• Savings plans cost 1.50% of the amount invested per execution. On a EUR 500 monthly ETF plan that is EUR 7.50 a month, or EUR 90 a year, where Consorsbank and flatex both charge zero
• Customer service is the standout failure: 1.4 out of 5 on Trustpilot across 4,117 reviews, dominated by complaints about extremely long telephone hold times and unhelpful responses, despite the advertised 24/7 desk
• The advertised EUR 3.90 per trade applies only to new depot customers for 36 months, after which the full tariff returns — the headline number is not the price you end up paying
• The cheap Pure Depot is heavily restricted: gettex only, no off-exchange trading, no derivatives, no IPOs, no ProTrader, no securities credit, no joint or second depot
• No spot cryptocurrency and no wallet — exposure is limited to crypto certificates and ETNs, and foreign trades settle at Commerzbank reference rates rather than a published percentage markup; comdirect's own cost disclosure estimates the conversion at 1%