Freetrade vs Scalable Capital — which broker is better?

Pros

• GBP 0 dealing commission on every UK and US stock, ETF and investment trust, on all three plans including free Basic
• Stocks and shares ISA, Junior ISA and SIPP are included on the free plan — most UK app brokers charge for at least one wrapper
• FCA authorised under firm reference 783189 with FSCS cover up to GBP 85,000, and since 2025 part of FTSE 100-listed IG Group
• FX markup falls to 0.39% on the Plus plan, which is competitive for a UK app broker buying US shares
• US fractional shares let small amounts be invested in high-priced names without rounding down to zero
• Around 720,000 customers and GBP 3.3 billion under administration as reported by its listed owner IG Group — real scale rather than a startup pilot
• Account opening is genuinely a few minutes, with no minimum deposit and free deposits and withdrawals
• No inactivity fee, no custody fee and no platform fee on the free tier

Cons

• The 0.99% FX markup on the free plan is the real cost of the account: a GBP 2,000 US order costs GBP 19.80 to convert, which is worse than a flat-commission broker
• UK residents only — there is no route in from Germany, Austria, Switzerland or Ireland, and Freetrade withdrew from its earlier European markets
• No options, futures, forex, CFDs, spot crypto or corporate bonds; the asset range is UK and US equities, ETFs, investment trusts, funds, gilts and T-bills
• No telephone support at all — everything goes through in-app chat and email, with priority routing reserved for Plus subscribers
• Research, screening and charting are minimal; you will need an external tool for anything beyond a price chart and a fundamentals summary
• Monthly billing costs 20% more than annual (GBP 5.99 versus an effective GBP 4.99), so the advertised plan prices require a twelve-month commitment

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.