comdirect vs Freedom24 — which broker is better?

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%

Pros

• Smart tariff of EUR 2 per order plus EUR 0.02 per share works out at about 0.06% on a EUR 5,000 order of 50 shares
• US options at USD 0.65 per contract undercuts most European brokers and matches US discount pricing
• Roughly one million tradable instruments across 15 venues, including 145,000 bonds and Hong Kong listings
• No custody fee, no account-maintenance fee and no inactivity fee on either retail tariff
• D-account accrues daily interest on idle cash, benchmarked to EURIBOR in euros and SOFR in dollars
• Nasdaq-listed parent (FRHC) files audited accounts with the SEC — more disclosure than most private EU brokers offer
• Free demo terminal before funding, no minimum deposit, and account opening in under 15 minutes

Cons

• EUR 7 per bank withdrawal plus 0.65% (minimum EUR/USD 2) on card withdrawals — 1.4% of a EUR 500 payout
• No fractional shares, which rules out small monthly contributions into high-priced stocks
• Moving out is charged at EUR/USD 100 per outgoing securities transfer, and at 5% of the transferred value (minimum EUR/USD 100) where the holdings were delivered by MT599 within the previous six months — the single most expensive line in the schedule
• Client-facing regulation is CySEC (tier 2) with EUR 20,000 investor compensation, not a top-tier licence
• Settled a EUR 50,000 AML case with CySEC in July 2023, and the parent carries a speculative-grade S&P rating
• Per-share pricing turns expensive on big share counts: a 1,000-share order costs EUR 22 on the Smart plan