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DEGIRO in Portugal

5 min readReviewed By Thorben Rasmus IdelReviewed by Nahar Geva

DEGIRO advertises €1 commissions, but a share actually costs €2 per trade: a handling fee is always added on top. This page explains the real cost, which protection applies to your cash and your assets, and the Portuguese tax obligations.

Independent: we earn no commission on any product listed on this page. The ranking follows only the criteria below.

Key facts

DEGIRO

flatexDEGIRO Bank SE, Dutch branch

German bank supervised by BaFin · the Dutch branch is supervised by the AFM and the DNB

Stock commission
2 € (1 € + 1 € manuseamento)
ETF commission
1 € a 3 €
FX conversion
0,25 %
Connectivity cost
Máx. 2,50 €/ano por bolsa
Protection
100 000 € dinheiro · 20 000 € ativos (90 %)
Visit official site →Data verified 12 Aug 2026

What DEGIRO is

DEGIRO is the trading name of flatexDEGIRO Bank Dutch Branch, the Dutch branch of flatexDEGIRO Bank SE, a German bank. That is more than a legal detail: because it holds a banking licence, the cash in your account benefits from a deposit guarantee, which is not the case at a broker without one.

The offering is broad (shares, ETFs, bonds, derivatives and crypto) and the cost model is the opposite of the "commission-free" brokers: you pay a flat amount per order, but a lower currency conversion.

What it really costs

A share on Euronext Lisbon or a US exchange costs €1 commission plus €1 handling: €2 per trade. A global ETF costs €2 + €1 = €3, but the Popular ETF Selection is €1, the handling fee alone. Crypto pays 0.5% per trade.

On top of that sits a connectivity cost of 0.25% of account value, capped at €2.50 per calendar year per exchange you trade on: Euronext Lisbon is excluded. Automatic currency conversion is 0.25%; manual conversion costs €10 plus 0.25%.

The practical effect: on a €200 purchase, the €2 order cost is 1% of the amount; on €10,000 it is 0.02%. The model favours larger, less frequent orders.

Is it safe?

There are two distinct protections, and it matters not to confuse them. Uninvested cash sits in a Cash Account in your name at flatexDEGIRO Bank SE and is covered by the German Deposit Guarantee Scheme up to €100,000.

The securities you buy are yours and are segregated from the broker’s own assets. If, in an unlikely scenario, segregated assets could not be returned, the German Investor Compensation Scheme applies, covering 90% of losses up to a maximum of €20,000. Neither is a Portuguese scheme.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

  • Banking licence: uninvested cash is covered by the German deposit guarantee up to €100,000
  • FX conversion at 0.25%, below most competitors
  • Its Popular ETF Selection costs €1 per trade, the handling fee alone
  • No custody, inactivity, deposit or withdrawal fees
  • The connectivity cost does not apply to Euronext Lisbon

Weaknesses

  • The advertised €1 commission is not the cost: a €1 handling fee is always added, so €2 per share trade
  • The flat per-order cost penalises frequent small purchases
  • An annual connectivity cost on each foreign exchange you trade on
  • Investor compensation covers 90% of assets, up to €20,000
  • Not supervised by the CMVM: it operates under the German and Dutch regulators

What changes on your tax return (the part the broker won’t explain)

DEGIRO is a foreign broker. No Portuguese tax is withheld, so you are the one who reports: capital gains go in Anexo J of the IRS return and a foreign account must be flagged.

You must also choose between the flat rate applicable to capital gains and aggregation with your other income: which is better depends on your bracket and the rest of your income. Dividends follow their own rules and may already have been taxed at source.

Full guide: foreign brokers on your Portuguese tax return →

Alternatives

Run the numbers on your own case:

Calculate your capital gains →

Frequently asked questions

Is DEGIRO’s commission really €1?
Not in practice. The advertised €1 commission on a share always has €1 of handling added, so a trade costs €2. On a global ETF it is €2 + €1 = €3. The exception is the Popular ETF Selection, which is €1, the handling fee alone.
What is the connectivity cost?
It is an annual charge for each foreign exchange you have traded on: 0.25% of account value, capped at €2.50 per calendar year per exchange. Euronext Lisbon is excluded, so anyone trading only Portuguese shares does not pay it.
Is my money guaranteed up to €100,000?
Uninvested cash, yes: it sits in a Cash Account at flatexDEGIRO Bank SE, covered by the German deposit guarantee up to €100,000. Securities are different: they are segregated and, if they could not be returned, the German investor compensation scheme covers 90% up to €20,000.
Do I have to declare DEGIRO on my Portuguese tax return?
Yes. As a foreign broker it withholds no Portuguese tax: capital gains go in Anexo J and a foreign account must be flagged, even if you sold nothing that year. Keep the platform’s annual reports.

Sources

  1. 1.DEGIRO: preçário (comissões, manuseamento, conectividade, conversão cambial) · DEGIRO · retrieved 12 Aug 2026
  2. 2.DEGIRO: como protegemos os seus investimentos e o seu dinheiro · DEGIRO · retrieved 12 Aug 2026
  3. 3.Registo de intermediários financeiros autorizados · CMVM (Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários) · retrieved 12 Aug 2026