Which broker is best for investing in ETFs?

With ETFs, the result you get in twenty years is decided less by which fund you pick than by what you pay to hold it, because costs compound just as silently as returns. That is exactly why Eightcap earns my editor's pick on this page. The standard account charges no commission, and deposits and withdrawals are free, so every dollar you put to work stays invested and compounding instead of leaking out on the way in and out.

The regulation is the part I weigh most heavily before funding anything. Eightcap answers to ASIC and CySEC, and client money sits in segregated accounts kept separate from the firm's own books. For a portfolio you plan to hold for years, that ring-fencing is the reassurance that matters most.

The reach fits an index investor too. The 800+ markets cover the stocks and ETFs most retail investors actually reach for, along with the major global indices, the S&P 500, the Nasdaq and broad international benchmarks, that underpin the whole passive universe. Execution runs off servers in London and New York, so orders fill quickly.

You also get MT4, MT5 and TradingView from day one, so whatever charting setup you track your holdings with is right there, and a 30-day free demo lets you rehearse your allocation before a cent is at stake. For low-cost exposure to the world's big indices alongside a core ETF holding, it is the broker I would fund first, without a single reservation.

When you are building an ETF portfolio for the long haul, two things decide the result: a wide choice of funds and costs that do not quietly eat your returns. eToro nails both. You reach 900+ ETFs and pay zero commission to buy them, so on a fund you hold for ten or fifteen years and top up regularly, none of each purchase is skimmed away before it can compound.

The feature I love most for getting started is fractional shares from just a few dollars. You do not need the price of a whole share to own a slice of a broad global index; you invest the amount you choose, when you choose, which is exactly what dollar-cost averaging into an ETF is meant to look like. It puts a diversified portfolio within reach on a modest budget.

The safety matches the ambition. eToro is regulated by CySEC, the FCA and ASIC, has been NASDAQ-listed since 2025, keeps client funds segregated, and carries Lloyd's insurance up to one million dollars per client. It even pays interest on the cash you have not yet invested, a quiet tailwind between contributions.

Everything sits in one of the most polished apps on the market, and a $100,000 demo account lets you test your allocation before committing a cent. Wide fund choice, free ETF purchases and genuinely accessible fractions: eToro is a partner I recommend without the slightest reservation, right behind my editor's pick.

If keeping costs down is your single biggest priority as an ETF investor, Vantage is the name I keep returning to. Its running costs sit among the lowest I have measured, withdrawals are free, and you can open an account with a $50 minimum deposit. On a portfolio you fund month after month, that combination compounds in your favor: more of your capital works in the market instead of paying for the privilege of being there.

This is no flashy newcomer trading on a slick app alone. Vantage was founded in 2009 and is regulated by ASIC and the FCA, with client funds held in segregated accounts. That track record and that oversight are what let me take the low pricing seriously rather than treat it as a loss-leader.

The 1,000+ markets give an index investor real room to operate, with access to the major global benchmarks, the S&P 500 and broad international indices, that a passive portfolio is built around. I also rate the copy-portfolio feature: if you would rather not build everything from scratch, you can watch how more experienced investors allocate and hold over time.

The demo is unlimited too, so no clock forces you to commit before you are ready. For exposure to the world's big indices alongside a core ETF holding, at the best price-to-quality ratio on this list, this is the broker I would put your money behind without a moment's hesitation.

Getting comfortable with ETFs and the big indices takes a calm, well-guided environment more than anything else, and that is exactly AvaTrade's territory. Authorized by the Central Bank of Ireland and present in more than 150 countries since 2006, it carries one of the strongest Trustpilot scores in its category. When this many clients across this many markets rate the day-to-day experience highly, it tells me the platform holds up long after the marketing stops.

What I value most is how the broker grows with you. The AvaTrade Academy packs in dozens of free tutorials that explain how an index works, what diversification really buys you and why time in the market beats timing it, the core case for passive ETF investing. An unlimited demo lets you rehearse an allocation with no pressure and no clock.

One detail I rate more than most reviewers would: your uninvested cash earns interest here rather than sitting idle. On a portfolio you build gradually, that is a quiet tailwind, money working even between your decisions, and over the years it adds up.

AvaTrade gives access to the major world indices, the S&P 500, European and Asian benchmarks, the same ones the most popular ETFs track, so you can broaden your global exposure alongside a core ETF holding. For a well-rounded, genuinely educational broker that supports you from your first order to your hundredth, it is one I put my name behind without the slightest reservation.

For ETF investing, XTB is my top pick, and the pricing argument is hard to beat: 0% commission on stocks and ETFs up to $100,000 of monthly volume. On a long-term holding where you buy a broad-market ETF like an S&P 500 or a global index tracker month after month, every dollar you do not lose to commission compounds for years. The vast majority of retail investors never come close to that threshold, so in practice you are building your core portfolio for free.

The range backs the promise. XTB carries 11,600+ markets with stocks and ETFs front and center, from the index staples to more focused funds, all through the award-winning xStation platform, one of the clearest on the market. The education library runs deep enough to take a newcomer a long way, and the demo is unlimited.

The framework reassures. XTB answers to respected authorities including the UK's FCA and Poland's KNF, and the company is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. A publicly traded broker has to open its books and meet real transparency obligations, so you are handing your savings to a firm under genuine scrutiny, not a private black box.

One more strength for ETF investors: XTB's automated investment plans let you schedule a regular ETF purchase, the single most effective way to put dollar-cost averaging and compounding to work without having to think about timing. Founded in 2002 and battle-tested, it is the broker I would point most ETF investors to before any other, without reservation.

Accessibility is Capital.com's entire pitch, and for a new ETF investor that counts for more than people realize. A $20 minimum deposit gets you through the door, the mobile app is one of the best I have used, and withdrawals land in under 24 hours. The easier it is to fund, act and get your money back, the more likely you are to actually stick with a long-term investing habit.

Behind the polish sits a credible operation. Founded in 2016 and regulated by CySEC, the FCA and ASIC, it offers 3,000+ markets spanning stocks, ETFs and indices, plenty of breadth for a diversified retail portfolio. Triple regulation means your account is overseen by several serious authorities, not a single light-touch one.

TradingView is built straight in, so you get professional-grade charting to follow your funds and the indices behind them without bolting anything on. The feature I single out, though, is the AI assistant that flags your behavioral biases before they cost you money, exactly the impulse decisions that quietly wreck long-term returns.

A free demo lets you build an index allocation, watch how it behaves and test your approach without risking a cent, which is the ideal way to understand market swings before your real savings are exposed. For anyone who wants to start investing in ETFs and the big indices without a steep learning curve, Capital.com is the broker I hand beginners first, with complete confidence.

One dollar. That is all it takes to buy your first fractional ETF on Bitpanda, with no fixed order fee eating into so small a sum. That single fact reshapes who can invest: a fixed commission would make a one-dollar purchase absurd, but here you can start with pocket change and scale up at your own pace. For building an ETF position gradually, it is the most approachable entry point on this whole list.

The platform pushes the right habit, too. Its automated recurring-investment plans let you schedule a regular ETF purchase and let it run regardless of where the market sits that week. That is not a gimmick: dollar-cost averaging on autopilot is exactly how most people should invest, stripping emotion and timing guesswork out of the equation and letting compounding do the work.

The foundations are solid. Bitpanda is Austrian, founded in 2014, and holds a BaFin broker license, so it answers to Germany's financial regulator rather than operating in a grey zone. It pairs that backing with a genuinely polished app and a catalogue of 2,000+ assets, from stocks and ETFs to precious metals, enough range to build a diversified base without juggling accounts.

The fund selection goes straight to the essentials, the broad index ETFs a passive investor actually wants, which keeps a portfolio readable rather than scattered. If your goal is to invest regular amounts in ETFs without friction or fuss, Bitpanda makes the habit almost effortless, and that habit is what builds real wealth, which is why I recommend it so readily.

If you want the broker that simply does the most for an ETF portfolio, IG is it. With 19,000+ markets and a history stretching back to 1974, this London Stock Exchange-listed firm offers a breadth almost no one else on this page can match, including cash equities on UK, US and EU shares and a deep bench of ETFs: broad index, sector, bond, emerging-market and thematic. For an investor who wants to build a finely diversified allocation rather than a single global fund, choice is rarely the limiting factor here.

It is a heavyweight in every sense that counts. Regulated by the FCA and serving 313,000+ active clients, IG is no niche operator you need to vet nervously. It backs its award-winning platform with ProRealTime and its 100+ indicators, a free demo, and the well-regarded IG Academy, so the tools and the learning resources scale right alongside your ambitions.

The seriousness is what seals it for me. FCA regulation and a London Stock Exchange listing put IG among the most solid firms on the market: you are trusting an established, transparent, enduring operator with your savings. And for long-term investors, volume-based fee tiers mean the more you build, the better your pricing gets.

You can steer an ETF allocation by region and by sector with a precision rare among mainstream brokers, comparing funds and refining exposure with real tools rather than a stripped-back interface. For the widest fund choice and genuinely serious tooling, IG is an excellent choice I recommend without reservation.

For exposure to the big indices that underpin the ETF universe, Libertex brings a quality rarer than it should be: honest, visible pricing. Rather than bury its margin inside the quote, this CySEC-regulated broker charges a fixed, transparent fee per trade. That distinction is not small: you always know exactly what a purchase costs before you place it, which makes budgeting a long-term investing plan far cleaner, because those costs add up over the years.

There is genuine pedigree behind the app. Operating since 1997, Libertex now serves 2.9 million clients across 110 countries. A client base that size, built over nearly three decades, is a meaningful signal of staying power: this is not a broker that appeared last year and might vanish the next, which is real reassurance when you are trusting a firm with your capital.

Libertex gives access to the major world indices and leans hard into education, with dozens of video lessons on how indices work and why diversification matters. The mobile app is modern and well-rated, so you can keep an eye on your exposure on the move, and a free demo lets you try the whole thing before funding.

Fast execution rounds out a coherent, polished package. If transparent pricing and knowing your true cost on every purchase sit near the top of your list, Libertex earns its place here and does that job superbly, and it is one I recommend without reservation.

Pepperstone is the broker I reach for when execution quality and low cost matter most, and for an ETF investor tracking the world's big indices, both feed straight into long-term returns. Its servers sit inside Equinix data centers in London and New York, delivering sub-30ms latency, and running costs are very low, so your capital keeps working instead of leaking away with every purchase.

The fundamentals are sound. Pepperstone is Australian, founded in 2010, and regulated by ASIC and the FCA, respected authorities that hold it to a serious standard. It pairs that with order automation and a full set of platforms, MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView, so whatever setup you use to follow your holdings is catered for rather than forced onto a single proprietary screen.

That breadth of platforms is a real strength for a hands-on investor. Whatever charting and analysis workflow you have built your process around, you will find it supported here, and that freedom is rarer than it should be at this price level.

The offering covers the major global indices, from the big US benchmarks to broad international ones, the same markets a passive ETF portfolio is built around, so you can follow an S&P 500 or a global index and compare it against your own allocation with professional-grade tools. For exposure to the world's big indices alongside a core ETF holding, with first-rate execution and tight costs, Pepperstone is a broker I recommend without reservation.

DEGIRO built its name on price, and for years it was a default for rock-bottom fees on European stocks and ETFs. It is Dutch, founded in 2013, and regulated by the AFM and BaFin after merging with Flatex. It still spans 50+ exchanges and includes one free Core ETF trade a month. I want to be fair: this is a credible, serious broker with real regulatory standing, and I will not pretend otherwise.

The trouble is the everyday experience, and it works against the very ETF investor DEGIRO claims to serve. The platform and app feel dated, and there is no demo account, so a newcomer has no safe space to rehearse an allocation before risking real money. An annual connection fee per exchange ($2.50 plus 0.03% of your portfolio) quietly penalizes exactly the diversified investor who spreads ETFs across markets, which is the behavior a sound passive portfolio is built on. Support, meanwhile, is email-only and slow.

So while I respect what DEGIRO pioneered, for a retail investor building an ETF portfolio today I would steer you toward XTB instead. XTB's pricing is every bit as competitive on ETFs, with 0% commission up to $100,000 of monthly volume, but it adds a modern platform, an unlimited demo and automated investment plans DEGIRO simply does not offer.

And you give up nothing on cost to make that move: with XTB or Capital.com you trade your core ETF holdings at the kind of low rates that made DEGIRO famous, without inheriting the dated interface or the per-exchange charges. For a long-term ETF investor, that is the easier call.