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Head to head
Freetrade or Scalable Capital? Fees, regulation, platform and product range compared side by side — with a verdict drawn from the data.
Commission-free UK investing with the ISA and SIPP thrown in — as long as you read the FX line.
Germany's most complete savings-plan platform, now running on its own banking licence - and quietly repricing itself.
Advertising disclosure: where a partnership is active, we may earn a commission through broker links. The provider’s terms apply. Commissions do not influence our ratings; paid placements are separately labelled as sponsored.
Four decision axes, each derived from the recorded data.
Overall Scalable Capital takes it, 3.9 against 3.7 out of 5. Freetrade is the cheaper of the two: a reference EUR 5,000 stock order costs €0.00 there against €1.99. Scalable Capital scores 88 against 69 out of 100 on the group index. Your account's protection depends on its legal entity. Scalable Capital covers more ground with 8 of 14 asset classes against 4. We rate platform and app at 3.9 out of 5 for both. Which one is right depends on which of these axes matters for your trading profile.
Scalable CapitalScalable CapitalScalable CapitalScalable CapitalScalable CapitalUp to four brokers at once — every row a decision point.
Data as of: 30 Aug 2026
| Criterion | ||
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 3.7 | 3.9 — Better |
| Group index | 69 of 100 | 88 of 100 |
| Best for | UK ISA and SIPP investorsBeginners buying UK shares and ETFsBuy-and-hold investorsFractional US share investorsLow-balance accounts | ETF savings plansFund investors in GermanyHigh-frequency retail traders on a flat rateConsolidating cash and investments |
| Regulation | FCA | BaFinECBBundesbank |
| Top-tier licences | 1 | 3 — Better |
| Investor protection | £85,000 | €100,000 — Better |
| Listed group | No | No |
| Banking licence | No | Yes |
| Segregated client accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Negative balance protection | Yes | Yes |
| Audited financials | Yes | Yes |
| Disclosed regulatory actions | 1 | None |
| Founded | 2015 | 2014 |
| Headquarters | London, GB | Munich, DE |
| Fees | 4.0 | 4.3 — Better |
| Safety & regulation | 4.5 — Better | 4.3 |
| Trading platform | 3.4 | 3.6 — Better |
| Product range | 2.6 | 3.9 — Better |
| Mobile app | 4.4 — Better | 4.2 |
| Research | 2.6 | 3.4 — Better |
| Customer support | 3.2 — Better | 2.8 |
| Deposit & withdrawal | 4.0 — Better | 3.7 |
| Account opening | 4.5 — Better | 4.4 |
| Education | 3.0 | 3.4 — Better |
| Reference order EUR 5,000 | €0.00 — Better | €1.99 |
| Minimum deposit | None | None |
| Stocks (per order) | Free — Better | €1.99 |
| US stocks | Free — Better | €1.99 |
| ETFs | Free — Better | €1.99 |
| Options | Not offered | Not offered |
| Futures | Not offered | Not offered |
| Crypto | n/a | in the spread |
| Bonds (order) | Free | €1.99 |
| Funds (order) | Free | €1.99 |
| EUR/USD spread | n/a | n/a |
| Index CFD spread | n/a | n/a |
| FX conversion | 0.99 % | n/a |
| Inactivity fee | None | None |
| Custody fee | None | None |
| Withdrawal fee | free | free |
| Deposit fee | free | SEPA transfers are free. An instant deposit - buying power for securities purchases credited against a SEPA direct debit that has not yet been value-dated - costs 0.99% of the amount on the FREE Broker and 0.69% on PRIME and PRIME+, charged on the first EUR 5,000 only: every euro above EUR 5,000 is free, so the charge is at most EUR 49.50 (FREE) or EUR 34.50 (PRIME, PRIME+). EUR 5,000 is a ceiling on the charged amount, not a minimum deposit. |
| Overnight financing | n/a | n/a |
| Other fees |
|
|
| Asset classes (of 14) | 4 | 8 — Better |
| Exchanges | n/a | 3 |
| Stocks | Yes | Yes |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Options | No | No |
| Futures | No | No |
| Forex | No | No |
| CFDs | No | No |
| Crypto | No | Yes |
| Bonds | Yes | Yes |
| Funds | Yes | Yes |
| Commodities | No | Yes |
| Indices | No | Yes |
| Warrants | No | Yes |
| Spread betting | No | No |
| Social trading | No | No |
| Platforms | Freetrade mobile appFreetrade web | Scalable Capital web platformScalable Capital app |
| Demo account | No | No |
| Fractional shares | Yes | Yes |
| Maximum leverage | n/a | No CFDs, no margin trading and no short selling. A securities-backed credit line (Scalable Kredit) is offered at a variable 4.75% p.a. |
| Account opening | Fully in-app; most UK applicants are approved in under 10 minutes with a passport or driving licence | Roughly 10-15 minutes online with video or eID identification; the securities account is normally usable within one business day. No minimum deposit - a EUR 1 reference transfer verifies the bank link. |
| Account types | General investment account (GIA)Stocks and shares ISAJunior stocks and shares ISAPersonal pension (SIPP) | FREE BrokerPRIME+ Broker |
| Payment methods | Bank transferDebit cardApple Pay | SEPABank transferSEPA Instant |
| Account currencies | GBP | EUR |
| Deposit time | Bank transfer usually within hours on a business day; debit card and Apple Pay top-ups are near-instant | 1-2 business days by SEPA; an instant deposit raises the balance available for securities purchases before the SEPA direct debit is value-dated, for 0.99% (FREE) or 0.69% (PRIME, PRIME+) of the first EUR 5,000 |
| Withdrawal time | Plus: same day if requested before 2 PM on a working day; after 2 PM, at a weekend or on a bank holiday, by the end of the next working day; may not arrive the same day if the bank is not on Faster Payments. Basic and Standard: typically 2–3 working days, up to 5 in some cases (terms: normally 1–5 working days, up to 7 days) | 1-2 business days to the reference account; internal transfers between the clearing and Overnight accounts are real-time |
| Free withdrawals | n/a | n/a |
| Languages | English | GermanEnglishItalianSpanishFrenchDutch |
| Channels | EmailLive chatTicket system | EmailLive chatTicket system |
| Availability | UK business hours, Monday to Friday; Plus subscribers are routed to a priority queue | Monday to Friday, business hours. No telephone line for broker clients. |
Editorial assessment based on the recorded data.
Freetrade
Commission-free UK investing with the ISA and SIPP thrown in — as long as you read the FX line.
Pros
Cons
Best for
Scalable Capital
Germany's most complete savings-plan platform, now running on its own banking licence - and quietly repricing itself.
Pros
Cons
Best for
Open an account with either
A demo account costs nothing and answers the platform question in ten minutes.
Advertising disclosure: where a partnership is active, we may earn a commission through broker links. The provider’s terms apply. Commissions do not influence our ratings; paid placements are separately labelled as sponsored.
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