Degiro Fees Are Quietly Eating Your Returns — Here's the Full Breakdown for 2026

If you've been investing with Degiro for a while, you've probably noticed the occasional deduction in your account — a line item here, a currency conversion charge there. Small amounts, sure. But small amounts have a habit of compounding into something that matters.

This article breaks down every fee Degiro charges in 2026, what changed after the flatex acquisition, and — most importantly — how much those fees are actually costing you across different portfolio sizes. We'll also show you how tracking tools like Folia can make these invisible costs visible.

---

A Quick Note on the flatex Acquisition

Degiro was acquired by flatex Bank AG in 2020, with full integration completed by 2021. The acquisition changed Degiro's legal structure significantly: Degiro is no longer an independent broker but operates as part of a German banking group regulated by BaFin.

What this meant for fees:

• Cash handling changed. Degiro no longer holds your uninvested cash in money market funds. Instead, it's held in a flatex Bank account. From 2023 onward, flatex began paying interest on cash balances — a positive change, but the rate has been variable.
• Custody became more explicit. The new structure clarified that shares are held in your name via Degiro's SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle), not pooled — an improvement for investor protection.
• Fee structures were updated post-acquisition. Some fees dropped; others (notably FX handling) became more standardized but not necessarily cheaper.

The core fee structure we cover below reflects the current Degiro model under flatex.

---

Degiro's Fee Structure in 2026: Every Charge Explained

Degiro markets itself as a low-cost broker, and for certain markets and asset types, it genuinely is. But the fee structure has multiple layers.

1. Transaction Fees

These are the most visible fees — charged per trade.

The free ETF list changes periodically. Degiro designates certain ETFs (typically one per category) as fee-free for one trade per month in each direction. After that, standard fees apply.

2. Connectivity Fees (Annual)

This is the fee most investors forget about. Degiro charges an annual connectivity fee to access each exchange. The fee is charged as a deduction from your account, often without a clear notification.

Each exchange you access costs €2.50 per year. If you hold stocks on five exchanges, you're paying €12.50 per year just for the privilege of having access — regardless of trading activity.

3. Foreign Exchange (FX) Fees

Whenever you buy a security denominated in a currency other than your account's base currency, Degiro charges an FX conversion fee.

This applies to every non-EUR purchase if your account is EUR-denominated. For US stocks traded in USD, every buy and sell involves a 0.25% FX charge — in addition to the transaction fee.

Example: You buy €5,000 worth of Apple shares (USD). You pay 0.25% × €5,000 = €12.50 in FX fees alone, plus the €1.00 + 0.50% transaction fee (capped at €10.00), so €11.00 in transaction fees. Total: €23.50 for a single €5,000 trade.

When you sell, you pay FX again. That Apple position costs you at least €25 in FX fees round-trip before accounting for transaction fees.

4. Handling Fees (Corporate Actions)

These fees apply when Degiro processes corporate actions on your behalf.

The €50 handling fee for spin-offs and M&A is significant. If you hold a stock that gets acquired, you pay €50 automatically — there's no opt-out.

5. Real-Time Price Fees

Degiro provides delayed quotes (15 minutes) by default. Real-time data costs extra.

For most long-term investors, delayed quotes are fine. Active traders will want to factor this in.

6. Account-Level Fees

---

What Does This Actually Cost? Real Calculations

Let's apply these fees to three realistic investor profiles.

Profile 1: €20,000 Portfolio — Beginner Investor

Assumptions:

• 70% European stocks (AEX, Xetra) — 5 positions
• 30% US stocks (NYSE/NASDAQ) — 3 positions
• 8 trades per year (buy/sell across the year)
• Accesses 3 exchanges (AEX, Xetra, NYSE)
• No corporate actions

As a percentage of a €20,000 portfolio: 0.34% per year.

That might not sound like much. But remember: this is on top of any ETF expense ratios, and it comes directly out of your returns. At a 7% historical return, you're effectively earning 6.66%.

Profile 2: €50,000 Portfolio — Intermediate Investor

Assumptions:

• 50% European stocks — 8 positions, 4 exchanges
• 30% US stocks — 6 positions
• 20% ETFs (free list) — 2 ETFs, 2 trades per year
• 20 trades per year
• 2 dividend reinvestment events

As a percentage of a €50,000 portfolio: 0.33% per year.

The percentage stays surprisingly consistent as the portfolio grows in number of trades, because both transaction and FX fees scale with trade size.

Profile 3: €100,000 Portfolio — Experienced Investor

Assumptions:

• 40% European stocks — 12 positions, 5 exchanges
• 40% US stocks — 10 positions
• 20% ETFs — mix of free and standard
• 30 trades per year
• 1 spin-off event
• 4 dividend reinvestments

As a percentage of a €100,000 portfolio: 0.36% per year.

Add one more spin-off or M&A event and you're looking at €400+ annually. For a €100k portfolio aiming for 7% annual returns, that's nearly 5% of your expected annual gain going to fees.

---

The Hidden Compounding Effect of Fees

Here's the number most fee calculators skip: the compounding drag.

A 0.35% annual fee drag doesn't just cost you 0.35% per year. It costs you the returns that money would have generated. Over 20 years, on a €50,000 portfolio:

• Without fees: €50,000 at 7% for 20 years = €193,484
• With 0.35% drag (6.65% effective return): €50,000 at 6.65% for 20 years = €180,094

Difference: €13,390 — lost to fees you may not have even noticed.

This is why visibility matters. If you can see your fee drag in real time, you can make decisions that reduce it: consolidating exchanges, batch-trading instead of drip-buying, choosing free ETFs over individual stocks.

---

How to Reduce Your Degiro Fees

1. Use the free ETF list strategically. One free trade per month per ETF on the free list. If you're a passive investor, building a portfolio of 3-5 free-list ETFs is genuinely near-zero cost.

2. Consolidate exchanges. Every additional exchange you access costs €2.50/year. If you can achieve your allocation through ETFs or fewer exchanges, do it.

3. Batch your US trades. The US transaction fee is €1 + 0.50% capped at €10. A €2,000 trade costs €11. A €1,000 trade costs €6. But two separate €1,000 trades cost €12 — more than one €2,000 trade. Batch US purchases when possible.

4. Watch the FX on US sales. Every sell of a USD-denominated asset costs 0.25% in FX. If you're rebalancing or trimming, do it in larger, less frequent chunks.

5. Track spin-offs and M&A. You can't avoid the €50 handling fee if a corporate action happens, but you can factor it into your expectations when holding small-cap or acquisition-target stocks.

---

Track Your Actual Degiro Fees With Folia

The problem with fee awareness is that Degiro's interface doesn't give you a running total. You see individual transaction entries, but there's no "fees paid this year" dashboard. You have to piece it together from your account activity log — which is tedious and error-prone.

Folia was built specifically for Degiro investors who want this kind of visibility. Upload your Degiro transaction CSV export, and Folia automatically:

• Identifies every fee charge in your history
• Calculates your total cost basis including fees
• Shows your true net return after all charges
• Tracks performance across your entire portfolio timeline

You can't optimize what you can't see. If you're serious about your Degiro portfolio, seeing your real fee drag is the first step.

Try Folia free — connect your Degiro data in minutes →

---

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does Degiro charge a custody fee for holding shares?

No. Degiro does not charge an ongoing custody or maintenance fee for holding positions. The connectivity fee (€2.50/exchange/year) is the closest equivalent, but it's a flat fee for exchange access rather than a percentage of assets under management.

---

Q: Are Degiro's US stock fees really competitive?

For small trades, yes. €1 + 0.50% (capped at €10) is cheaper than many traditional brokers. For larger trades (above €2,000), you hit the €10 cap quickly, making the effective rate lower. The FX fee of 0.25% is where Degiro makes back margin on US trades — factor this into your comparison.

---

Q: What happened to Degiro's money market fund for uninvested cash?

After the flatex acquisition, Degiro moved away from placing uninvested cash in money market funds. Cash is now held in a flatex Bank account. In recent years, flatex has been paying interest on cash balances — the rate has been variable, sometimes above ECB rates. Check your account settings to confirm your current cash treatment.

---

Q: Can I avoid the spin-off handling fee?

No. If a company you hold undergoes a spin-off, merger, or acquisition, Degiro automatically processes it and charges the €50 handling fee. There is no opt-out. If you hold a stock you believe is an M&A target, this cost is worth factoring into your position sizing.

---

Q: How does Degiro compare to other European brokers on fees?

Degiro remains competitive, especially for ETF-focused passive investors using the free ETF list. Interactive Brokers generally has lower FX fees (around 0.03% for IBKR Pro) and lower US transaction costs for larger trades, but has a more complex interface. Trading 212 and eToro have zero-commission models but build margin into FX spreads. For a diversified European equity portfolio with modest trading, Degiro's total cost of ownership is still below average — but only if you're aware of and managing connectivity and FX fees.

---

The Bottom Line

Degiro is not a fee-free broker. It's a low-fee broker with a layered cost structure that rewards awareness. The investors who do best with Degiro are the ones who:

• Use the free ETF list for passive exposure
• Trade US equities in batches to minimize FX drag
• Minimize exchange connections to reduce connectivity fees
• Track their real net return — not just their gross gains

The difference between a 0.35% fee drag and near-zero fees on a €50,000 portfolio compounds to over €13,000 over 20 years. That's real money.

Start by knowing what you're actually paying. Export your Degiro activity log, load it into Folia, and see your true net return for the first time.

See your real Degiro returns with Folia →