An independent look at Scalable Capital's fees, features, and who it tends to suit - not a recommendation.
Scalable Capital is a German broker and bank focused heavily on ETF savings plans, alongside individual stock and ETF trading. Its free ETF savings plans across all account tiers are a core part of its positioning for long-term, automated investors.
| ETF savings plans | €0 on all plans |
|---|---|
| PRIME ETF purchases ≥€250 on EIX (FREE and PRIME+) | €0 |
| Other orders on EIX (FREE plan) | €0.99 per order |
| Orders on EIX ≥€250 (PRIME+) | €0 |
| Orders on Xetra or gettex (FREE and PRIME+) | €1.99 per order |
| Account fee | €0 (FREE) / €4.99/month (PRIME+) |
| FX fee | Not published as a flat %; card top-up spreads apply (~0.69-0.99%) |
| Inactivity fee | €0 |
Scalable Capital lets you choose the exchange for each order: the European Investor Exchange (EIX), gettex or Xetra. The cost depends on the exchange as well as your plan:
ETF savings plans are free on every plan.
Scalable Capital's fractional share support was not clearly confirmed from official sources at the time of writing for individual trades - savings plans generally allow investing a fixed euro amount regardless.
Free ETF (and stock) savings plans are available from €1, on every account tier, including the free plan - this is one of Scalable Capital's central features.
Scalable Capital has a FREE plan and a paid PRIME+ plan (about €4.99 a month at our last check). Savings plans are free on both. Both plans also offer commission-free purchases of PRIME ETFs of €250 or more on EIX. The difference is in other orders on EIX: on FREE they cost €0.99, while on PRIME+ orders of €250 or more cost €0. On Xetra and gettex, both plans pay the same €1.99 per order, so PRIME+ doesn't lower those costs.
So if you buy PRIME ETFs on EIX in orders of €250 or more, or invest through savings plans, the FREE plan may already cover your trading costs. For trading costs alone, PRIME+ only pays for itself if you regularly place other EIX orders of €250 or more that would otherwise cost €0.99 each. That's more than five a month at €4.99. PRIME+ includes other features too, so compare it against the way you actually invest.
Scalable Capital did not publish its FX cost as a simple flat percentage in the sources we checked. The card top-up spreads mentioned on its pricing pages (around 0.69–0.99%) are a different cost from converting currency to buy shares. A UCITS ETF bought in euros on a European exchange needs no conversion at the broker, even if the fund holds global companies. The fund's value still moves with exchange rates.
Scalable Capital is not available in every EU country, and we could not confirm availability for residents of Greece from the official sources we checked. If you live outside its core markets, check the country list on Scalable Capital's site first. If it isn't available to you, the alternatives below may be.
Scalable Capital operates through Scalable Capital Bank GmbH, a licensed bank regulated by Germany's BaFin.
Two different EU safety nets apply to two different things. Cash held as a deposit at an EU bank is covered by a deposit guarantee scheme up to €100,000 per depositor per bank (Directive 2014/49/EU). Securities such as ETFs are held for you and kept separate from the firm's own assets. Investor compensation schemes (Directive 97/9/EC, minimum €20,000) cover certain cases where a firm fails and can't return client assets. Neither protects you from investments falling in value. Check Scalable Capital's own terms for where uninvested cash is actually held.
Scalable Capital tends to suit investors whose main goal is regular, automated ETF savings plans, particularly those who want €0-fee recurring investing without needing to trade individual stocks frequently.
If Scalable Capital isn't available in your country, or its plan structure doesn't fit, these profiles cover similar needs:
€0 on all plans, including the FREE plan, according to the official sources we checked on August 11, 2026.
Yes, for eligible purchases. On the FREE plan, buying PRIME ETFs (from Scalable Capital's PRIME partner issuers) costs €0 for orders of €250 or more placed on the European Investor Exchange (EIX). The exemption covers purchases, not necessarily sales. Other EIX orders cost €0.99, and orders on Xetra or gettex cost €1.99.
€1.99 per order on both the FREE and PRIME+ plans, including for PRIME ETFs.
PRIME+ is Scalable Capital's paid plan (around €4.99 a month at our last check). It includes €0 commission on EIX orders of €250 or more, among other benefits. Orders on Xetra and gettex still cost €1.99.
It depends on how you invest. PRIME ETF purchases of €250 or more on EIX and savings plans are already free on the FREE plan, and Xetra or gettex cost the same on both plans. For trading costs alone, PRIME+ only makes sense if you place enough other EIX orders of €250 or more to save more than the monthly fee.
We could not confirm it from the official sources we checked. Check Scalable Capital's site for the current list of supported countries before applying.
Yes. Scalable Capital operates through Scalable Capital Bank GmbH, regulated by Germany's BaFin.
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A free savings plan is only as good as the ETF inside it
Before you automate anything, make sure you understand what you're buying and how it can behave in a crash. SteadFolio's ETF Evaluator explains well-known ETFs in plain language, and Paper Trading lets you practice with virtual money. Both are in the free plan, and Sofia, the AI coach, never tells you what to buy.
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