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The comparison reads the same evidence fields used by broker profiles, so users can scan scores, regulation, costs, platforms, withdrawals, and caveats side by side.
Broker 1
Broker 2
| VS field |  |  |
|---|---|---|
Decision summary | ||
| Overall score | 88 | 91 |
| Trust score | 93 | 100 |
| Cost score | 86 | 92 |
| Platform score | 89 | 92 |
| Withdrawal score | 89 | 89 |
| Best for | U.S. self-directed stock/ETF investors · Options traders · Futures traders needing CME/ICE US/CFE access | European self-directed investors seeking low-cost access to stocks and ETFs · Investors who prefer web/mobile platforms and exchange-traded products |
| Watch out | Needs verification | Needs verification |
Trust & regulation | ||
| Regulators | FINRA/SEC/SIPC for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC; NFA/CFTC for futures; FDIC for Morgan Stanley Private Bank deposits; NYDFS for Zero Hash crypto-related services disclosed by E*TRADE. Source | Primarily supervised by BaFin and Bundesbank in Germany; Dutch branch registered with DNB and supervised by AFM and DNB. Source |
| License numbers | Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC: CRD# 149777; SEC# 801-70103 and 8-68191. E*TRADE Futures LLC: NFA ID 0401545 from NFA BASIC search result. Source | Financial licence number not disclosed in reviewed official sources. Commercial registrations found: flatexDEGIRO Bank SE HRB 141330 on flatexDEGIRO Bank SE imprint; DEGIRO UK footer states HRB 105687; Dutch Branch KvK 82510245. Source |
| Regulated entities | Securities and advisory services: Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC; commodity futures/options on futures: E*TRADE Futures LLC; banking: Morgan Stanley Private Bank, National Association; crypto commission charged by zerohash with Zero Hash NYDFS virtual currency business licenses noted on crypto page. Source | DEGIRO is operated by flatexDEGIRO Bank Dutch Branch, a branch of flatexDEGIRO Bank SE; flatexDEGIRO Bank SE is a licensed German bank headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. Source |
| Negative balance protection | No negative balance protection found; official margin/futures disclosures state customers may lose more than deposited funds and be liable for deficits. Source | No negative balance protection found. Official account-profile page warns losses can exceed deposit and result in a negative Balance for derivatives, margin and short-selling services; margin profiles are legacy-only. Source |
| Investor compensation | SIPC: up to $500,000 including $250,000 cash; excess of SIPC policy: $1B aggregate firmwide, $1.9M per client uninvested cash; FDIC: brokerage sweep up to $500,000 individual/$1,000,000 joint and bank deposits at least $250,000 or $500,000 for Premium Savings where conditions are met. Source | Cash in flatexDEGIRO Bank SE Cash Account protected up to €100,000 per customer under German Deposit Guarantee Scheme; investor compensation covers up to 90% of non-returned assets, max €20,000 per customer; UK FSCS does not apply. Source |
| Restricted countries | Official promotional terms exclude non-U.S. residents and residents of any jurisdiction where an offer is not valid. Full account-opening country availability/restriction list was not located in public pages checked. Source | Available via listed country selector in Europe/UK; US persons are not accepted; UK onboarding for new clients was temporarily unavailable on the reviewed UK page. Source |
Costs & account conditions | ||
| Minimum deposit | Brokerage accounts: no minimum funding requirements; Core Portfolios: $500 minimum; Premium Savings/Bank CD/Checking: $0 minimum opening deposit but must be funded within 90 days to remain open where disclosed. Source | No fixed minimum deposit identified; DEGIRO homepage says users can add any amount of money to the account for free. Bank-account verification search result states minimum EUR 0.01 for linking a new bank account. Source |
| Spread from | Not applicable as a primary pricing metric for this U.S. securities/futures/banking platform; E*TRADE discloses commissions, contract fees, bond markups/markdowns and margin rates rather than forex/CFD-style spreads. Source | Not a quoted-spread CFD/FX broker field. DEGIRO discloses that bid-ask spreads are implicit market costs and not direct broker costs. Source |
| Commission | stock_commission: $0 for online U.S. exchange-listed stock trades; OTC stock trades $6.95 online or $4.95 for 30+ trades/quarter; broker-assisted trades add $25.; etf_commission: $0 online ETF trades.; options_commission: Options: $0 base commission, $0.65 per contract, reduced to $0.50 with 30+ trades per quarter; exercise/assignments $0; regulatory/exchange fees may apply.; futures_commission: Futures and options on futures: $1.50 per contract per side plus exchange, NFA and other fees.; mutual_fund_commission: $0 for no-load, no-transaction-fee funds; load funds per prospectus; E*TRADE states $0 for online U.S.-listed mutual fund trades in FAQs.; bond_commission: Bonds/CDs: $1 per bond for online secondary trades ($10 min/$250 max); U.S. Treasury auction and online Treasury secondary trades $0; broker-assisted online secondary pricing plus $20 commission.; crypto_commission: Cryptocurrency commission: 0.50% on notional trade value, charged by zerohash, of which E*TRADE receives a portion. Source | Examples from UK fee page: US stocks €1 + €1 handling; LSE £1.75 + £1 handling; selected ETFs €0 + €1 handling; global ETFs €2 + €1 handling; options €0.75 commission. Currency, connectivity, external product and spread costs may apply. Source |
| Maximum leverage | Product-dependent. For securities margin, official margin disclosure gives minimum Reg T margin account equity of $2,000 and portfolio margin eligibility at $100,000 equity plus Level 4 options approval, but no single maximum leverage ratio. For futures, overnight margin is 100% of exchange minimum requirements and intraday margin is 50% of initial requirements for all products except Bitcoin; eligible futures IRAs are 200% of initial requirements with $25k minimum equity. Source | DEGIRO currently does not allow new changes to margin-trading profiles; legacy Active/Trader/Day Trader accounts may have Debit Money / derivatives risk but maximum leverage was not disclosed in reviewed sources. Source |
| Deposit fee | ACH Transfer Money is free; incoming wire transfers listed as $0; incoming non-U.S. currency may incur conversion fees from Wells Fargo/MSPBNA note says MSPBNA does not charge fees on incoming USD wires. Source | No deposit fee disclosed on UK fee page and homepage; deposits listed as FEE €0 / no deposit-withdrawal fees. Source |
| Withdrawal fee | Outgoing wire transfers: $25; full outgoing account transfer: $75; check requests: $0; stop payment requests: $25. Source | No withdrawal fee disclosed on UK fee page and homepage; withdrawals listed as FEE €0 / no deposit-withdrawal fees. Source |
| Inactivity fee | No inactivity fee found in checked official Pricing and Rates account activity, special request and brokerage account pages. Source | No inactivity fee; UK fee page lists inactivity fee as €0. Source |
Markets, platforms & payments | ||
| Tradable assets | E*TRADE offers stocks, ETFs, options, futures, mutual funds, bonds/CDs, IPOs, crypto-related securities/futures, cash savings and managed portfolios. Source | Shares, ETFs, bonds and derivatives such as options and futures; DEGIRO product pages also describe investment funds availability. Source |
| Trading platforms | E*TRADE Web/App for investors; Power E*TRADE Web/App/Pro for active and advanced traders. Source | DEGIRO provides a web/desktop trading platform (Webtrader) and mobile apps for iOS and Android. Source |
| Account types | Brokerage, retirement, managed portfolios, small-business retirement, banking and crypto-related account/exposure categories are listed on the official accounts page. Source | DEGIRO account/profile types include Basic, Active, Trader, Day Trader and Custody. Active, Trader and Day Trader are legacy-only and new margin profiles are no longer available. Source |
| Deposit methods | Funding methods include Transfer Money (ACH), wire, external asset/account transfer, mobile or mailed checks, direct deposit and internal transfers. Source | Manual bank transfer from a verified linked/reference bank account; deposits must use the account base currency. Source |
| Withdrawal methods | Withdrawals/money movement supported via Transfer Money, wires, check requests, internal transfers and account transfers; exact outbound methods depend on account type and destination. Source | Withdrawals go back to the primary registered/linked bank account; only uninvested cash in the Cash Account can be withdrawn. Source |
| Withdrawal processing time | ACH outbound to external account: contact receiving external institution; wire transfer: same business day if received before 6 p.m. ET; internal transfers generally immediate; full brokerage transfer electronically typically 10+ business days, paper/mail 3-6 weeks. Source | Withdrawals may take up to 2-4 working days; transfers can take up to 2-3 working days to complete. Source |
BrokerVS provides broker comparison research only. Scores and evidence can vary by country, account type, and legal entity; users should verify source links before opening an account.