Both DEGIRO and Trading 212 are low cost share dealing platforms. They let you purchase stocks, shares, investment trusts, bonds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
People tend to choose share dealing platforms to buy stocks and shares. If you’re just starting out with investing you might not have used your individual savings account (ISA) allowance for this tax year, therefore you might want to choose a provider that lets you invest in a stocks and shares ISA. We’ve compared DEGIRO and Trading 212 below.
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| Finder Score | 10Excellent | |
| Customer satisfaction survey | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Stocks and shares ISA available? | ||
| FSCS protected? | ||
| Fees score | 9.8Excellent | |
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk | Capital at risk. 77% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
| Go to Site |
Customers in our customer satisfaction survey liked that Trading 212 is easy to use and that it has a good layout. Many customers mentioned its low fees.
DEGIRO isn’t FSCS protected as it’s not a UK company. It is regulated and supervised by The Netherlands Authority for Financial Markets (AFM), the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK.
Trading 212 has FSCS protection, which means that if it were to go bust, your deposits would be covered up to £120,000. FSCS doesn’t cover your investments losing value, your capital is at risk when you invest.
You can trade on almost the same stock exchanges with DEGIRO as you can with Trading 212. Trading 212 lets you trade on the Deutsche Börse, a German stock exchange.
Winner: Trading 212
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| Investment choice score | 9.8Excellent | |
| Shares | ||
| ETFs | ||
| Bonds | ||
| Funds | ||
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk | Capital at risk. 77% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
| Go to Site |
Financial instruments are types of investment. Both platforms let you invest in shares and exchange traded funds (ETFs). DEGIRO also lets you invest in bonds, but neither one lets you invest in funds.
Winner: DEGIRO
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| Fees score | 9.8Excellent | |
| Min. initial deposit | £0 | |
| Price per trade | £0 | |
| Frequent trader rate | £0 | |
| Foreign exchange fee | 0.25% | 0.15% |
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk | Capital at risk. 77% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
| Go to Site |
While DEGIRO’s fees are really low, it’s hard to compete with Trading 212 which is zero commission. Both providers have low minimum deposits.
Winner: Trading 212
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| Features score | 10Excellent | |
| iPhone app | ||
| Android app | ||
| Desktop/web app | ||
| Notifications | ||
| Watch lists | ||
| Community or forums | ||
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk | Capital at risk. 77% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
| Go to Site |
Both DEGIRO and Trading 212 have iPhone apps, Android apps, desktop access and the ability to create watch lists. Trading 212 also has share price notifications and forums where its users can discuss investments and ideas to improve the platform.
Winner: Trading 212
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| Resources rating | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Guides | ||
| Videos and walkthroughs | ||
| Demo account | ||
| In-depth learning tools | ||
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk | Capital at risk. 77% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
| Go to Site |
Both providers have guides and videos to help their users learn about share dealing. DEGIRO doesn’t have a demo account, which is a huge win for Trading 212.
A demo account means that you can practice trading without using real money. Once you’ve got the hang of it, you can try it out for real! It lets you have a go without even giving up an email address. Of course, if you want to keep an eye on your imaginary stocks for days, weeks or months, you’ll have to sign up.
Winner: Trading 212
Reddit users like the low costs of using Trading 212, while DEGIRO charges fees, but tend to be a little hesitant as it’s newer to the game than DEGIRO. As Trading 212 only makes money from its CFD account, it is possible for the regular investment account and ISA to be free.
A really popular feature of Trading 212 is that you can trade fractional shares. Seemingly, Reddit users who prefer DEGIRO do so because they like that it is more widely established that Trading 212.
These are both great options for low-cost trading, but, overall, Trading 212 probably comes out on top. There are benefits of using each one over the other, such as that you can open a stocks and shares individual savings account (ISA) with Trading 212 and that DEGIRO has been around for longer. DEGIRO isn’t a UK company, so you don’t have protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which would cover you if the company were to become insolvent. Additionally, Trading 212 has a demo account, which means you can give it a go before you commit.
Have a look at our table of other share-dealing platforms to compare them.
All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
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