Fortuneo vs Scalable Capital — which broker is better?

Pros

• Starter makes the first Euronext order of up to EUR 500 each month free and charges 0.35% on every other order (the price list sets no minimum); Progress charges EUR 4.90 up to EUR 3,000 and Trader Pro EUR 9.50 up to EUR 10,000
• No opening, account-keeping or custody fee on the PEA, PEA-PME-ETI or compte-titres
• Arkéa Direct Bank holds a French banking licence from the ACPR, and the ECB lists it among the entities of the significant Crédit Mutuel group
• FGDR protection of EUR 100,000 on cash and EUR 70,000 on securities per investor and institution
• PEA and PEA-PME-ETI with IFU tax reporting; inside the plans the legal cap of 0.5% per online order limits brokerage on small orders
• Broad range: about 30,000 shares, more than 12,000 ETFs, 49,000 funds and 7,500 bonds, plus about 42,800 turbos, warrants and certificates
• Currency conversion at the next-day rate plus 0.12%, and a free Live Trader desktop platform with real-time Euronext prices
• Phone support six days a week (Monday to Friday 08:00–20:00, Saturday 09:00–18:00), plus chat and e-mail in the app and client area

Cons

• Effectively for residents of France: the PEA needs French tax residence, and from abroad only French nationals can open the compte-titres
• Expensive outside Euronext and the US: German, UK and Swiss orders cost 0.20% with a EUR 20 minimum plus EUR 30 of foreign-broker fees on every tariff
• One tariff per account and EUR 60 to switch; on Starter a US order also costs at least EUR 50
• We found no options, futures, CFDs, crypto, fractional shares or automatic ETF savings plan in the published offer
• Live Trader needs Java 8 or later and does not run on phones or tablets; site, app and support are in French only
• Closing a PEA or PEA-PME costs EUR 85, and moving securities out costs EUR 15 per line (capped at EUR 150 for a PEA)

Pros

• Free savings-plan executions from EUR 1 with fractional amounts, across more than 2,700 ETFs, 4,500 shares and 3,800 funds - the deepest catalogue in Europe.
• PRIME+ at EUR 4.99 a month makes trading a fixed cost rather than a variable one; commission-free orders from EUR 250 on EIX break even at roughly five trades a month. Purchases of PRIME ETFs (Amundi, iShares, Vanguard, Xtrackers) from EUR 250 on EIX are free on the FREE Broker as well, so they do not count towards that.
• Holds its own full ECB banking licence since September 2025 and custodies client securities itself, with cash covered to EUR 100,000 and PRIME+ balances spread across partner banks for wider statutory coverage.
• 2.60% p.a. on the Scalable Overnight cash account, paid monthly - on unlimited cash, with or without PRIME+.
• More than 3,800 mutual funds tradable without the front-end load, which is unusual at a flat-fee broker and useful for anyone holding legacy fund positions.
• German residents get Abgeltungsteuer, solidarity surcharge and church tax withheld and remitted automatically, with annual tax certificates issued.
• Broker, cash account, robo-advisor (Scalable Wealth) and a securities-backed credit line all sit behind one login, which is a genuine consolidation argument.

Cons

• Since 1 September 2026 gettex orders cost up to EUR 1.99 on every plan, up from EUR 0.99, which wiped out the PRIME+ commission-free advantage that made the subscription compelling on that venue.
• Only three trading venues - EIX, gettex and Xetra - with no direct access to US or other foreign exchanges, so you buy foreign shares through a German quote rather than on their home market.
• On EIX, Scalable is the single market maker on the venue it routes you to by default, which is the same broker-as-counterparty conflict the post-PFOF industry inherited.
• Euro-only accounts with no multi-currency balances and no itemised FX charge, so the true cost of a foreign share purchase is not visible on the contract note.
• No telephone support: chat and email only, with slow replies and delayed tax documents the most common complaint in user reviews.
• Fractional trading works in savings plans but not in ordinary lump-sum orders, and there is no demo account.