DEGIRO

On cost, absolutely. A trade on SIX costs CHF 6 in total (CHF 5 plus CHF 1 handling), with no custody fee and no inactivity fee. Our ETF investor pays about CHF 26 a year, only CHF 6 more than Interactive Brokers and CHF 20 less than Saxo. Starter investors pay about CHF 74, because twelve small trades still cost CHF 6 each.

Foreign stocks stay cheap too: USD 2 per US trade and EUR 4 on European exchanges. Currency conversion runs through AutoFX at 0.25%. Our active profile adds up to about CHF 406 a year, a fraction of Saxo's CHF 1,013 or Swissquote's CHF 2,227. A single CHF 100,000 ETF purchase costs about CHF 6.

Flat, predictable pricing is DEGIRO's whole pitch, and it delivers. Unlike percentage brokers, a CHF 50,000 order on SIX costs the same CHF 6 as a CHF 1,000 one. You get 29 markets, plus bonds, funds, options and futures. There's a CHF IBAN for deposits, so funding from your Swiss bank account is straightforward.

No Swiss stamp duty is a real saving on large purchases. Swiss brokers charge 0.15% on foreign securities, so a CHF 100,000 foreign ETF purchase saves you CHF 150 here. The Federal Tax Administration explains the tax (in German). It's a nice bonus, but it shouldn't be your only reason to pick a foreign broker.

There's no Swiss eTax statement. Every year you list your positions, look up their tax values and claim withholding taxes yourself. With a handful of ETFs that's manageable; with dozens of stocks it's real work. DEGIRO also has no savings plan, so monthly investing means placing every order by hand.

Safety is decent but not Swiss. flatexDEGIRO Bank is supervised by BaFin in Germany and AFM in the Netherlands. Cash falls under the German deposit guarantee up to EUR 100,000, securities under investor compensation up to EUR 20,000. That's fine for most people, but if you want FINMA and esisuisse, you'll pay more at Saxo.

DEGIRO is a strong pick for cost-conscious ETF investors who buy a few times a year and handle their own tax return. If you want savings plans, Swiss tax paperwork or Swiss protection, the cost advantage shrinks fast. Put it head to head with IBKR and Saxo in our broker comparison tool.

Verdict: Very cheap and very basic; great for DIY investors, wrong for anyone who wants automation or Swiss paperwork.