Swissquote vs comdirect — which broker is better?

Pros

• FINMA-licensed Swiss bank listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SQN) with published annual results — CHF 88.7 billion in client assets and around 750,000 accounts
• esisuisse depositor protection covers cash up to CHF 100,000, and custodied securities remain client property outside the bank's balance sheet
• Custody fee is capped at CHF 50 per quarter (CHF 200 a year) for private clients, so large portfolios pay a flat rather than percentage cost
• ETF Leaders pricing caps SIX-listed ETF commission at CHF 9 above CHF 1,000, regardless of order size
• Real cryptocurrency custody across 50-plus coins inside a regulated bank, with crypto custody included in the standard fee since 2025
• One login covers trading, Swiss banking, debit cards, payments, savings plans and pillar 3a retirement accounts
• Complimentary eTax statement for Swiss residents, which removes a genuine annual chore
• Four-language Swiss support including German, French, Italian and English, with local offices rather than an offshore call centre

Cons

• Commission is high by international standards — CHF 29 on a CHF 10,000 order and CHF 190 above CHF 50,000, where global discount brokers charge single digits
• Currency conversion costs 0.95% on major currencies, one of the most expensive markups among European brokers and the dominant cost for anyone buying US assets from a CHF or EUR balance
• A custody fee applies from the first franc — CHF 80 a year minimum plus 8.1% VAT — which is proportionally heavy on small portfolios
• Zero interest on cash balances across every currency and tier, at a time when several competitors pay a money-market rate
• Card deposits cost 1.9% in Switzerland and Europe, and SEPA withdrawals cost EUR 2
• The securities platform and the CFD/forex platform (CFXD) sit on separate logins, which fragments the experience for multi-product clients

Pros

• The broadest product range of the three German incumbents: shares, ETFs, funds, bonds, certificates, warrants, CFDs and direct Eurex options and futures in one depot
• Excellent platform stack — ProTrader for real-time multi-monitor trading, O&F-Trader with a margin simulator, CFD Trader with a free demo, plus a documented REST API and stock3, TraderFox and Quant4you integrations
• Cash sits behind Commerzbank AG: statutory EdB cover of EUR 100,000 plus the voluntary BdB Einlagensicherungsfonds protecting private individuals up to EUR 3 million, with direct ECB supervision as a significant institution
• Custody is now free for depots opened from 15 July 2026, and the second depot has always been free
• Cheap Eurex derivatives pricing: EUR 1.50 per single-stock option contract and EUR 1.50 for the MicroDAX future, each with a EUR 9.90 execution minimum
• Fully tax-simple for German residents — automatic Abgeltungsteuer withholding, Freistellungsauftrag, loss-offset pots and free annual tax certificates
• A EUR 1.00 Pure Depot exists for investors who only need gettex and savings plans, and a 15% Viel-Trader discount rewards 125+ trades per half-year

Cons

• Standard commissions are among the highest in the market: EUR 4.90 plus 0.25% of order value, minimum EUR 9.90 and maximum EUR 59.90, plus a EUR 2.50 venue fee — roughly four times what flatex charges on a EUR 10,000 order
• Savings plans cost 1.50% of the amount invested per execution. On a EUR 500 monthly ETF plan that is EUR 7.50 a month, or EUR 90 a year, where Consorsbank and flatex both charge zero
• Customer service is the standout failure: 1.4 out of 5 on Trustpilot across 4,117 reviews, dominated by complaints about extremely long telephone hold times and unhelpful responses, despite the advertised 24/7 desk
• The advertised EUR 3.90 per trade applies only to new depot customers for 36 months, after which the full tariff returns — the headline number is not the price you end up paying
• The cheap Pure Depot is heavily restricted: gettex only, no off-exchange trading, no derivatives, no IPOs, no ProTrader, no securities credit, no joint or second depot
• No spot cryptocurrency and no wallet — exposure is limited to crypto certificates and ETNs, and foreign trades settle at Commerzbank reference rates rather than a published percentage markup; comdirect's own cost disclosure estimates the conversion at 1%