Detailed comparison of all fees, features, and suitability — updated for 2026.
Interactive Brokers is the better choice for Professionals, while justTRADE wins for Free Trades. Which one suits you depends on your strategy — the detailed comparison below shows every difference.
| Metric | Interactive Brokers | justTRADE | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order fee per trade | 1.00 € | 0.00 € | 1.00 € cheaper at justTRADE |
| 10y savings plan cost @ €100/month | 120 € | 0 € | 120 € cheaper at justTRADE |
| Interest on €10,000 cash (1 year) | 4.33 % = 433 € | — | +433 € more at Interactive Brokers / year |
| Free ETF savings plans | 0 | 150 | +150 more at justTRADE |
| Available exchanges | 1 | 3 | +2 more at justTRADE |
| BMInsider rating | 4.5/5 | 3.8/5 | +0.7 at Interactive Brokers |
All fees, products, and platform features compared side-by-side. The "Winner" column shows which broker leads in each category.
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | justTRADE | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fees & Costs | |||
| Order Fee | $0.005/Aktie (min $1) or Fixed $1 | 0€ (min 500€ order volume) | justTRADE |
| ETF Savings Plan Fee | - | 0€ | justTRADE |
| Account Fee | 0€/Year | 0€/Year | Tie |
| Minimum Deposit | 0€ | 0€ | Tie |
| Interest on Cash | bis 4.33% (USD) | 0% | Interactive Brokers |
| Product Range | |||
| Stocks | Tie | ||
| ETFs | Tie | ||
| Crypto | Tie | ||
| Options | Interactive Brokers | ||
| CFDs | Tie | ||
| Fractional Shares | Interactive Brokers | ||
| Number of Exchanges | 150+ Börsen in 33 Ländern | LS Exchange, Quotrix, Tradegate | justTRADE |
| Platform & Tools | |||
| Mobile App | Tie | ||
| Desktop Platform | Interactive Brokers | ||
| Demo Account | Interactive Brokers | ||
| Security & Regulation | |||
| Regulated by | SEC / FCA / BaFin | BaFin | Tie |
| Deposit Protection | $500.000 (SIPC) | 100.000€ | Tie |
| Founded | 1978 | 2019 | Tie |
| Overall Rating | |||
| Rating | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | Interactive Brokers |
Depending on your strategy and experience, one broker fits better. Here's how to decide:
Low barriers, simple app, demo account and no hidden costs — perfect to get started.
More about Interactive Brokers →Low per-order fees, many trading venues and derivatives access — important if you trade regularly.
More about justTRADE →Free savings plans, interest on cash and no custody fee — what matters when you buy & hold.
More about Interactive Brokers →Interactive Brokers is the professional's choice with access to 150+ exchanges, all product classes, and the lowest fees for active traders.
Particularly suitable for: Professionals, Active Traders, International Investors, Options Trading.
justTRADE offers completely free trading from €500 order volume. One of the cheapest brokers in Germany.
Particularly suitable for: Free Trades, Crypto + Stocks, Cost-Conscious Investors.
Interactive Brokers (IBKR, founded 1978 in the US, EU subsidiary IBKR Ireland Limited, CBI-regulated) and justTRADE (founded 2019, BaFin) are diametrically opposed answers to the DACH trading question. IBKR is the tool for global professionals — access to roughly 150 markets in 33 countries, FX at approximately 0.002%, options, futures, bonds, margin in 28 currencies. justTRADE is the tool for DACH retail investors who want a simple €1-per-order tariff with free crypto and ETF savings plans.
Honest take: IBKR wins if you trade US options, hold multi-currency cash, or run a six-figure portfolio with high foreign exposure. justTRADE wins if you want the steuereinfache German tax certificate ready to drop into Anlage KAP, build crypto-ETN savings plans, or prefer a fully German interface without ever touching English support.
You need US options, futures or multi-currency margin. IBKR is the only mainstream broker for DACH investors that bundles CBOE options, CME futures, LME metals and bonds from 28 countries into one account. justTRADE has no options, no futures, no bonds — only stocks, ETFs, ETNs and crypto.
You regularly move between EUR, USD, GBP, CHF. IBKR's spot FX spread sits around 0.002% on IDEAL-PRO (for comparison: house bank conversion 0.5%–1.0%). On a $100 000 US stock purchase you save roughly €500–€1 000 versus justTRADE plus Tradegate EUR routing. justTRADE doesn't convert EUR/USD — you must buy in EUR.
You trade US stocks at tier volume. IBKR's Pro tariff starts at $0.0035/share, drops to $0.0005/share above 300k shares/month. justTRADE's €1 flat is cheap on small orders but expensive at high frequency (50 trades × €1 = €50 vs IBKR Tier ~€5).
You want premium market data and Trader Workstation. Level-II NASDAQ, OPRA option chains, native charting engine, FIX API for algos. justTRADE offers a slim app stack without API.
You want the German steuereinfache Jahressteuerbescheinigung. justTRADE withholds 25% KESt + 5.5% Soli directly at source and produces the standard German certificate that drops 1:1 into Anlage KAP. IBKR provides only an English Activity Statement plus a German tax-report Excel — you declare the income yourself in Anlage KAP and pay the 25% later, or buy external tools like KapitalTax, BubbleTax or Alpha Convert (around €50–€150 per year).
You're building a crypto-ETN or crypto savings plan. justTRADE offers roughly 50 tradeable coins via BitGo custody — 0.175%+ spread, 0.125% commission, savings plans free, staking free. IBKR has zero crypto.
You want a €1 flat trade with no order threshold. justTRADE stock/ETF trades cost €1 — whether the order is €100 or €50 000. IBKR's 0.05% model scales with size: a €25 000 Xetra trade costs roughly €12.50 (capped €29), justTRADE €1. For €5 000+ buy-and-hold orders justTRADE is meaningfully cheaper.
You want zero account-complexity overhead. IBKR dropped its inactivity fee in 2021 but account complexity (W-8BEN, MiFID-II reclassification, USD margin settings) remains high. justTRADE onboarding finishes in 10 minutes in German.
Germany — justTRADE steuereinfach, IBKR not. justTRADE withholds 25% KESt + 5.5% Soli automatically and issues a German Jahressteuerbescheinigung that transfers 1:1 into Anlage KAP. Since late 2020 IBKR provides a German tax report (Account Management → Reporting → Tax) but withholds no tax — you declare the full income yourself in Anlage KAP and pay 25% in arrears.
Austria — neither steuereinfach. Both require self-reporting via FinanzOnline Anlage E1kv. IBKR's multi-asset data is significantly more complex than justTRADE's simple stock/ETF report.
Vorabpauschale 2026: justTRADE books it automatically on 2 January. IBKR only flags it in the tax report — you must declare and pay it yourself.
Withholding tax on US dividends: Both use W-8BEN; 15% US tax applies. justTRADE credits it automatically against KESt. With IBKR you enter the creditable amount yourself in Anlage AUS.
Crypto: Only relevant for justTRADE — §23 EStG, 1-year holding period for tax-free. justTRADE tracks holding periods automatically and reports them in the annual statement.
Profile: 1 monthly €200 ETF savings plan (MSCI World), 12 manual stock orders per year at €2 500 (8× DE/EU + 4× US), €10 000 average multi-currency cash buffer.
| Item | Interactive Brokers | justTRADE |
|---|---|---|
| 120× €200 savings-plan executions | €120 (€1 min/trade) | €0 (free) |
| 80× DE stock orders €2 500 | €100 (€1.25 min/order) | €80 (€1 flat) |
| 40× US stock orders ~$2 700 | ≈€14 ($0.35 min) | €40 (€1 flat) |
| FX conversion 40× $2 700 | ~€22 (0.002%) | ~€600 (Tradegate spread ~0.5%) |
| Tax tool cost over 10y | ~€1 000 (BubbleTax/Alpha) | €0 (steuereinfach) |
| Net cost 10y | ≈€1 256 | ≈€720 |
justTRADE wins this profile by roughly €536, driven by free savings plans and zero tax-tool surcharge. Strip out the US FX conversion (pure DE/EU investor) and the spread doesn't matter — justTRADE advantage grows to about €1 100.
Flip the profile: 3 US options trades per month plus FX activity, and IBKR dominates by several thousand euros. The break point: do you have multi-asset / multi-currency needs? If no, justTRADE. If yes, IBKR.
Pick: justTRADE. Free savings plans (177 ETFs — smaller than Trade Republic, but MSCI World, FTSE All-World, S&P 500 all included) plus the German tax certificate. IBKR's €1 minimum savings-plan trade and lack of steuereinfach status make it too complex for beginners.
Pick: justTRADE. €1 flat order plus steuereinfach plus optional crypto in one account. IBKR's lower FX and lower US stock commissions don't outweigh tax complexity for this profile.
Pick: IBKR Pro. The only serious address for DACH investors with global derivative needs. Tax complexity is solvable via BubbleTax or Alpha Convert.
Pick: justTRADE. 50+ coins natively in the broker with free savings plans, free staking and tax tracking included. IBKR has zero crypto.
Pick: IBKR. At this size the FX advantage (0.002% vs 0.5% house bank) beats every steuereinfach convenience — four-figure savings per year. External tax tools are worth it.
Answers to the most common questions about Interactive Brokers vs justTRADE.
For order fees, justTRADE leads at 0€ (min 500€ Ordervolumen), while Interactive Brokers charges $0.005/Aktie (min $1) oder Fixed $1. Note: with CFD brokers, spreads add hidden cost — the lower nominal price isn't always cheaper overall.
Interactive Brokers is regulated by SEC / FCA / BaFin, justTRADE by BaFin. Both fall under EU oversight. Deposit protection: Interactive Brokers $500.000 (SIPC), justTRADE 100.000€.
For German/Austrian customers, language, BaFin regulation and tax-simple status often matter most. Check the 'Regulated by' and 'Languages' rows — DACH-focused brokers usually have the edge.
justTRADE offers free ETF savings plans from 25€. If a savings plan matters to you, that's a clear edge.
Both are covered under their home regulator's deposit protection. Interactive Brokers: $500.000 (SIPC), justTRADE: 100.000€. Securities are held in segregated accounts and protected in case of broker insolvency.
Interactive Brokers leads on cash interest at 4.33%. Watch the conditions — some brokers require a paid plan or cap the amount.
Both offer native mobile apps with good app-store ratings. Which is better depends on your needs — try both with a demo account if available.
A second broker makes sense when one offers features the other lacks (e.g. options, crypto, more exchanges). A full switch is only worth it if the cost difference or missing features are significant.
Sign up with the broker that fits your strategy. Both are regulated and offer a demo account to test risk-free.
