Futubull vs comdirect — which broker is better?

Pros

• SFC-licensed for seven regulated activities (CE AZT137, types 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9) under a Nasdaq-listed parent, Futu Holdings (FUTU)
• No commission on Hong Kong shares under Futu's commission-free offer; on the default fixed plan each order costs an HKD 15 platform fee
• One universal account for Hong Kong, US, China Connect and Japanese shares, plus Singapore and Korean stocks, options, futures and leveraged FX; funds, bonds and spot crypto (in a separate crypto account) in the same app
• Free Level 1 quotes for Hong Kong shares and free Level 2 quotes for US shares, analyst ratings, an institutional tracker and a screener with 100+ indicators
• Fast, free HKD funding: eDDA and Bank-Securities Transfer usually credit within 5 minutes, FPS within 2 hours
• Hotline and live chat 24 hours on trading days, plus 13 physical service locations in Hong Kong
• Paper trading, fractional shares and regular savings plans from USD 10 (US) or HKD 1,000 (Hong Kong)

Cons

• Aimed at Hong Kong residents: online opening needs a Hong Kong bank account and at least HKD 10,000 (or USD 1,500); residents elsewhere are referred to customer service
• US shares are not commission-free: USD 0.0049 per share commission plus USD 0.005 per share platform fee, with USD 0.99 and USD 1.00 minimums and a USD 0.003 settlement fee per share
• Expensive exits: HKD 500 per Hong Kong stock and USD 150 per US stock to transfer out, and HKD 500 to close an account within 180 days
• A dormant-account fee of HKD 10 a month after two years without activity, and a 0.2% collection fee on Hong Kong cash dividends (minimum HKD 30 where the dividend net of the registration fee exceeds HKD 60)
• Investor compensation is capped at HKD 500,000 per person for securities, and Futu's SIPC statement for US shares does not name the SIPC member that holds them
• In 2022 China's CSRC issued an announcement on Futu's cross-border operations in mainland China; citing the CSRC's rectification requirements, Futu removed the Futubull app from mainland app stores in 2023

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%