comdirect vs Thndr — 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

• Transparent brokerage on Egyptian shares and ETFs: EGP 2 plus 0.1% of the executed value, with every third-party fee listed and passed through at cost
• No Thndr fee or commission on mutual fund orders according to the English fee article (18 August 2026) and the introduction of its Arabic version (18 October 2026); one section of the Arabic article still lists EGP 2 plus 0.1%, and Thndr Gold charges 1.5% on buys
• According to Thndr, EGX shares are registered at MCDR under the client's national ID and client cash sits in trust accounts at Egyptian banks
• Three markets in one app: the EGX, US stocks and ETFs with fractional shares on market orders, and ADX-listed shares in Abu Dhabi
• No minimum deposit advertised, plus an investing simulator with 100,000 units of virtual currency
• Local funding rails: InstaPay, Vodafone Cash and other e-wallets, Egyptian bank transfers and cash deposits at CIB branches
• Tools for Muslim investors in Thndr's own words: a Sharia tab in Thndr Lists, the EGX33 Shariah Index, a zakat calculator, and gold and savings products Thndr says are overseen by Sharia committees

Cons

• Supervision rests on Egypt's FRA (tier 3 in our scale) and the FSRA in ADGM (tier 2); there is no listed parent and no banking licence, and we could not confirm the current limit of Egypt's Investor Protection Fund
• US and UAE trading runs through Thndr Financial Ltd, whose FSRA permission does not allow it to hold or control client investments; US orders are executed, and US shares held, by a third party, Alpaca Securities LLC
• Narrow range: we found no options, bonds, crypto, margin lending or CFDs, and the advanced ThndrX platform with real-time EGX data needs the Thndr Trader subscription at EGP 245 a month
• Support runs mainly through in-app chat, plus support@thndr.app, with no published hours; a phone line is reserved for Thndr Fortune clients with EGP 500,000 or more and for Thndr Trader UAE subscribers
• Thndr's help centre states two different US per-share fees (USD 0.0015 and USD 0.005), and US prices in the app update only about every 15 minutes
• Egyptian withdrawals cost EGP 2.5 each and can only go to an EGP account in Egypt or to the e-wallet linked to the registered phone number