ETF savings plans: costs compared
What one ETF savings plan execution costs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland – according to the providers' own price lists, dated – and what such a comparison does not show.
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An ETF savings plan buys units of an ETF for a fixed amount every month (or at another interval) without you placing an order each time. With small instalments the fee per execution decides how much of the instalment is actually invested: 1.50% on an instalment of 100 is exactly 1.50 per purchase.
Every statement about a provider in this guide comes from that provider's own price list or product page. We read them on 25 October 2026; the sources are listed at the end. The same figures, ordered by market, are in the list ETF savings plans: costs by market.
The short answer
- Free per execution according to the provider, in Germany: flatex for plans in ETFs, funds, ETCs and crypto ETNs (price list valid from 24 August 2026), Consorsbank for all ETF plans, Trade Republic, Scalable Capital in every broker model, finanzen.net zero (effective price EUR 0, via gettex only), justTRADE for ETFs, ETCs and other ETPs (only the trading venue's spread), Smartbroker+ "currently", Revolut for its Investment Plans and XTB up to a monthly turnover of EUR 100,000.
- Free according to EU entities that also serve Austria: Lightyear for ETFs, BUX on every plan, Freedom24 (executed over the counter at the previous day's closing price) and Bitpanda for many, not all, securities under a promotion with no end date.
- Free in Switzerland: Saxo for AutoInvest, Revolut for its Investment Plans and Yuh for 31 selected ETFs and ETPs, if the plan is executed at least twice in a row.
- A percentage: comdirect charges 1.50% of the instalment per execution in the comdirect Depot, while more than 500 so-called ETF-Specials carry no order fee there; PostFinance charges 1% per execution in e-trading, minimum CHF 1.
- A fixed amount: Swissquote states "from CHF 3" per execution for ETF Leaders and US, Swiss and UK shares; on top come 0.85 per execution in the trading currency, third-party fees and, where due, stamp duty.
- No savings plan: DEGIRO states on its help pages for Germany, Switzerland and the UK that it does not offer automatic investing.
What an execution of 100 costs
| Provider | Market | Cost per ETF execution according to the source | On an instalment of 100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| flatex | Germany | free | EUR 0.00 |
| Consorsbank | Germany | all ETF plans without a plan fee | EUR 0.00 |
| Trade Republic | Germany | no fee for plan executions | EUR 0.00 |
| Scalable Capital | Germany | EUR 0 per execution in every broker model | EUR 0.00 |
| finanzen.net zero | Germany | effective price EUR 0 | EUR 0.00 |
| justTRADE | Germany | no order commission, spread only | EUR 0.00 |
| Smartbroker+ | Germany | currently free, otherwise 0.2%, minimum EUR 1.00 | EUR 0.00 |
| Revolut | Germany, Austria | no commission in an Investment Plan | EUR 0.00 |
| XTB | Germany | commission-free up to EUR 100,000 monthly turnover, then 0.2%, minimum EUR 10 | EUR 0.00 |
| comdirect | Germany | 1.50% of the instalment; ETF-Specials without an order fee | EUR 1.50 or EUR 0.00 |
| Lightyear, BUX, Freedom24 | EEA, Austria included | no execution fee or commission for ETFs | EUR 0.00 |
| Bitpanda | EEA, Austria included | free for many securities (promotion) | EUR 0.00 |
| flatex | Austria | more than 700 selected plans from EUR 0.00, other plans EUR 1.50 | EUR 0.00 or EUR 1.50 |
| Saxo | Switzerland | no buy commission | CHF 0.00 |
| Revolut | Switzerland | no commission in an Investment Plan | CHF 0.00 |
| Yuh | Switzerland | 31 selected ETFs and ETPs without a trading fee, otherwise 0.50%, minimum CHF 1 | CHF 0.00 or CHF 1.00 |
| PostFinance | Switzerland | 1% per execution, minimum CHF 1 | CHF 1.00 |
| Swissquote | Switzerland | from CHF 3 (ETF Leaders below CHF 500) plus a 0.85 real-time charge | at least CHF 3.85 when trading in CHF |
The last column is our arithmetic with the source's figures. For Swissquote it is a lower bound: third-party fees and stamp duty come on top, and their size depends on the security.
What a fee of zero does not mean
Spreads, inducements and product costs remain. flatex and comdirect state explicitly next to their free plans that market spreads, inducements and product costs apply. You pay the ETF's own running costs (TER) with every provider.
"Free for a selection" does not mean your ETF is in it. At comdirect the exemption covers the ETF-Specials, at flatex in Austria the selected plans, at Yuh the 31 securities in the appendix of the promotion terms, at Bitpanda "many" securities. Check before setting up a plan whether the ETF you want is on the list.
Promotions can end. Bitpanda calls its free plan a promotion with no end date, Smartbroker+ writes "currently free", and Yuh may end its promotion with at least one month's notice. The list by market ranks these prices as the providers state them today.
Conditions. At XTB a plan is commission-free as long as the monthly turnover of all stock and ETF purchases does not exceed EUR 100,000; above that it costs 0.2%, minimum EUR 10. Saxo names FX fees, selling fees and stamp duty as possible costs for AutoInvest.
Currency. Saxo runs AutoInvest in CHF only. If an ETF trades in another currency a conversion may apply; its rate is not part of this comparison.
Stamp duty in Switzerland. Where a Swiss securities dealer is involved, each purchase carries 0.075% on domestic and 0.15% on foreign securities – including a plan execution without a trading fee. More in the guide Swiss stamp duty on securities trades.
Minimum amount and interval
- flatex (Germany): from EUR 1 per execution; monthly, quarterly, every six months or yearly. Share plans cost 1.00% of the instalment.
- comdirect: from EUR 1 a month; monthly, every 2, 3 or 6 months or yearly, executed on the 1st, 7th, 15th or 23rd.
- XTB (Germany): from EUR 15 per plan, up to 10 plans at once; the page names no interval.
- Saxo (Switzerland): no minimum and no maximum, monthly on the 5th, up to 10 instruments per AutoInvest sub-account.
- Swissquote: daily, weekly, twice a month or monthly; Fractional Trading must be enabled. None of the pages read states a minimum amount.
- Consorsbank: from EUR 10; monthly, every two months, quarterly or every six months, executed on the 1st, 7th, 15th or 23rd.
- Scalable Capital: from EUR 1; monthly, every two months, quarterly, every six months or yearly on nine execution days, about 2,700 ETFs.
- Smartbroker+: EUR 1 to 5,000 per execution; monthly, every two months, quarterly, every six months or yearly.
- justTRADE: EUR 25 to 5,000 per ISIN and execution, monthly on the first trading day; 177 ETFs.
- finanzen.net zero: weekly, every two weeks, monthly or quarterly, executed on the 6th, 14th, 21st and 29th of the month.
- Trade Republic: we found neither the minimum nor the intervals in a current source of the provider.
- Yuh: from CHF 10, weekly or monthly. PostFinance: from CHF 1 per payment, over 100 ETFs.
Limits of this comparison
- As of 25 October 2026. Prices change. We did not open accounts or test executions; we report what the providers write.
- All 72 providers checked, not every market documented. Where a provider's sources contain neither a yes nor a no for a market, the list by market shows it as "nothing documented". For Trade Republic, Scalable Capital, Consorsbank and Smartbroker+, for example, we read only the German pages; that says nothing about Austria. A provider missing here tells you nothing about its offer.
- Austria: for flatex we read the price page on flatex.at, not the Austrian price list.
- Interactive Brokers offers "Recurring Investments". That ETFs are included and standard commissions apply is stated only in IBKR staff replies on IBKR Campus from September 2023; there is no plan price of its own. IBKR is therefore listed without a comparable figure.
- CapTrader arranges fund and ETF plans through the partner FNZ in a separate custody account; the cost per execution is in FNZ's price list, which we have not read.
Sources (retrieved 25 October 2026)
- flatex, price list (valid from 24 August 2026) and savings plans; flatex Austria, prices
- comdirect, ETF savings plan and price list, as of July 2026
- XTB, savings plans and account and fees
- Saxo Bank (Switzerland), AutoInvest
- Swissquote, Saving Plan, ETF pricing and stock pricing
- DEGIRO, help page Germany and help page Switzerland
- Interactive Brokers, Recurring Investments (Ireland) and IBKR Campus
- CapTrader, savings plans
- Consorsbank, plan costs and ETF savings plan; Trade Republic, page data; Scalable Capital, Trading costs and ETF savings plan
- finanzen.net zero, fee model; justTRADE, savings plan; Smartbroker+, price list and savings plans
- Revolut, cost information Investment Plans (Germany) and (Switzerland, Austria)
- Lightyear, Plans; BUX, Fees; Freedom24, Fee Schedule; Bitpanda, cost information
- Yuh, Pricing and ETF savings plan; PostFinance, saving plan and e-trading fees
This article is for information only and does not constitute investment, legal or tax advice.
Frequently asked questions
According to the sources of 25 October 2026 it ranges from nothing (in Germany flatex, Consorsbank, Trade Republic and Scalable Capital, for example, in Switzerland Saxo, XTB up to EUR 100,000 monthly turnover) through 1% (PostFinance, minimum CHF 1) and 1.50% of the instalment (comdirect, except for the ETF-Specials) to a fixed amount from CHF 3 plus a 0.85 real-time charge (Swissquote). Spreads, product costs and currency conversion come on top everywhere.
The execution is free, not the investment. flatex and comdirect explicitly name market spreads, inducements and product costs; you always pay the ETF's running costs, and in Switzerland stamp duty where it is due.
No. DEGIRO states on its help pages for Germany, Switzerland and the UK that it does not offer automatic investing; orders have to be entered manually. Only a standing transfer from your own bank to the account is possible.
Matching brokers
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Risk warning: investing in securities involves risk. You may lose some or all of the capital you invest.
Risk warning: investing in securities involves risk. You may lose some or all of the capital you invest.
Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Content on Brokaro is for information purposes only and is not investment, legal or tax advice. All information is provided without guarantee; only the provider's own statements are authoritative.