In short: a fixed order fee weighs much more on a small order than on a large one. €1 is 1% of a €100 buy but 0.1% of a €1,000 buy. On top of that come the spread, a currency fee on stocks outside the euro and, for an ETF only, the yearly TER. Savings plans without an execution fee take the order fee away for monthly buyers.
Every purchase costs something, and small costs add up over the years. Below you see the four kinds of cost when you buy a stock or an ETF, each with a worked example in euros. The fees come from the broker overview on Compare brokers, where every card links to the broker’s own fee page. We last checked them on 10 October 2026. Fees change, so the broker’s own fee page is what counts.
1. Order fees: small buys pay relatively more
Most brokers charge a fixed amount per order, whatever its size. That makes the size of each purchase matter. The table compares putting €100 into an ETF every month for a year with buying €1,000 in one go, using the ETF order fee each broker lists. Brokers are in alphabetical order.
| Broker (ETF order fee) | One €100 order | 12 × €100 in a year | One €1,000 order |
|---|---|---|---|
| BUX, market order (€0.99) | €0.99 (0.99%) | €11.88 | €0.99 (0.10%) |
| BUX, savings plan (€0.00) | €0.00 | €0.00 | not a plan buy |
| DEGIRO, Core Selection ETF (€1) | €1.00 (1.00%) | €12.00 | €1.00 (0.10%) |
| DEGIRO, other ETF (€2 + €1) | €3.00 (3.00%) | €36.00 | €3.00 (0.30%) |
| Interactive Brokers, Tiered (0.05%, min. €1.25) | €1.25 (1.25%) | €15.00 | €1.25 (0.13%) |
| Interactive Brokers, Fixed (min. €3.00) | €3.00 (3.00%) | €36.00 | €3.00 (0.30%) |
| Trade Republic, single trade (€1) | €1.00 (1.00%) | €12.00 | €1.00 (0.10%) |
| Trade Republic, savings plan (no execution fee) | €0.00 | €0.00 | not a plan buy |
| Trading 212 (no commission) | €0.00 | €0.00 | €0.00 |
What the table shows: with a fixed €1 fee, twelve monthly buys of €100 cost €12 a year, which is 1% of the €1,200 you put in. One €1,000 buy at the same broker costs €1, or 0.1%. That does not mean you should wait and buy in one go; a savings plan without an execution fee removes this difference for monthly buyers, and spreading purchases over time has its own reasons. It does mean the fee per order is worth checking before you choose how often to buy.
2. The spread: the gap between buying and selling
On an exchange there is always a price at which you can buy (the ask) and a slightly lower price at which you can sell (the bid). The difference is the spread. You never see it on a bill, but you pay it. Take, as an example, a spread of 0.10%: buying €1,000 and later selling it again at an unchanged price costs about €1.00 through the spread alone. Large, much-traded ETFs and stocks usually have narrow spreads; small companies and quiet trading hours have wider ones. Your broker’s order screen shows the bid and ask before you confirm.
3. Currency costs: stocks outside the euro
An American stock trades in US dollars. If your account is in euros, the broker converts your money and charges for it. For a €1,000 purchase, the fees listed on Compare brokers come to:
- BUX: a markup of 0.75% on Basic (€7.50), 0.25% on Plus (€2.50) or 0.20% on Prime (€2.00), listed for US stocks.
- DEGIRO: 0.25% conversion fee (€2.50).
- Trading 212: 0.15% when the instrument’s currency differs from your account currency (€1.50).
- Interactive Brokers and Trade Republic: not confirmed yet on our cards.
When you sell and the money comes back into euros, the conversion usually happens again, so a round trip costs about twice these amounts. An ETF listed in euros that holds American companies avoids this conversion at your broker; the fund still carries the currency risk of what it owns.
4. Ongoing costs: the TER of an ETF
Everything above applies to stocks and ETFs alike. An ETF adds the fund’s yearly ongoing costs, the TER. It comes out of the fund’s value, without a bill. On €10,000 that is €7 a year at 0.07% (for example Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap), €14 at 0.14% (Vanguard FTSE All-World) and €20 at 0.20% (iShares Core MSCI World), with the TERs taken from the issuers’ documents linked on those pages. An individual stock has no TER, but spreading your money over many separate companies means paying an order fee for each of them.
Because the TER is charged every year over a growing amount, its effect builds up over time. What does an ETF really cost? works this out over the years, and the ETF Calculator shows it for your own amounts.
What does buying and selling one stock cost in total? A worked example
Take a made-up broker with an order fee of €1, a spread of 0.10% and a currency fee of 0.25%. These are example rates, not those of a real broker. You buy an American stock for €1,000 and sell it again later at an unchanged price:
- Order fees: €1 to buy and €1 to sell, €2.00 together.
- Spread: about €1.00 (0.10% of €1,000).
- Currency fee: €2.50 when buying and €2.50 when selling, €5.00 together.
That is €8.00 in total, or 0.80% of the €1,000, before the share price has moved at all. The same €1,000 in an ETF listed in euros has no currency fee, so a round trip costs €3.00 (0.30%). The ETF then adds its yearly TER: at 0.14% that is €1.40 for each year you hold it. Neither comparison says which one fits you; it shows where the costs come from. With actual rates, the cost is different, so check your broker’s own fee page.
Tax: Box 3 in general terms
If you live in the Netherlands, stocks and ETFs you hold privately usually fall under Box 3 (savings and investments) of income tax. Box 3 does not tax each purchase or sale: it looks at your assets on 1 January of the year, above a tax-free allowance. The Belastingdienst works with an assumed return and lets you report your actual return when that is lower. The rules are being reformed, so check the current situation on the Belastingdienst’s Box 3 page (in Dutch, checked 19 October 2026). We do not give tax amounts, because they depend on your own situation.
Frequently asked questions about costs
Do I pay costs when I only hold a stock?
Usually not an order fee, since fees are charged per order. Some brokers charge for custody or inactivity, and an ETF always carries its TER. Check your broker’s fee page.
Do I pay when I sell as well as when I buy?
Yes. Selling is also an order, with its own order fee, spread and, outside the euro, currency conversion.
What is a savings plan, and are the costs lower?
A savings plan buys a fixed amount automatically each month. Some brokers charge no execution fee on plan buys, which helps small monthly amounts. Compare the plan terms on the broker’s fee page.
Why does a small order cost relatively more?
Because the fee is a fixed amount. €1 is 1% of €100 but 0.1% of €1,000.
Does a low-cost broker fit everyone?
Cost is one factor. Others are what you can buy, how the broker protects your assets and how easy it is to use; see brokers explained. This site does not rank brokers.
This is general information, not tax or investment advice. The fees are examples from the date shown and can change. For your own situation, consult a qualified tax adviser, a financial adviser licensed by the AFM (the Dutch financial markets authority) or the Belastingdienst.