What Trade Republic is, in 2026
Trade Republic is a fully licensed German credit institution (BaFin, Bundesbank) operating as a combined current-account / brokerage. The 2023 licence upgrade was material: cash balances are now true bank deposits, not broker-held funds.
Feature set: 8,000+ stocks, 3,000+ ETFs, savings plans from €1/mo, €1 per trade, ECB-linked interest on euro cash, and a debit card. There is no business product and no real FX offering — the company has not tried to be Revolut.
Safety and regulation
Euro cash deposits are covered by the German EdB DGS — €100,000 per depositor, same as N26 or any other BaFin-licensed bank. Securities held in your brokerage account are covered by a separate investor-compensation scheme (€20,000 cap) and sit in segregated custody regardless.
The important distinction: cash = insured at €100k; stocks = segregated + €20k compensation for fraud-at-custody failure. Both are robust; they just differ in kind.
Hands-on UX
The app is narrower and more focused than Revolut or N26 — on purpose. Buying a stock is 3 taps. The savings-plan builder is the best in the category. The card product is spartan but works.
What it lacks: depth of sub-accounts, multi-currency features, crypto (there is a small offering but it's not the primary story), travel features. Trade Republic has deliberately not chased the "financial super-app" roadmap.
Who Trade Republic is for
Choose Trade Republic if: you want the highest DGS-protected EUR savings rate, you invest regularly (buy-and-hold ETFs or stocks), and you want a single app for broker + bank without paying brokerage fees.
Look elsewhere if: you want travel/FX features (Revolut or Wise), you want crypto depth (Revolut), or you want a business account (Qonto, N26 Business).