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Swissquote is what you choose when you want your broker to be an actual Swiss bank: FINMA-licensed, SIX-listed, CHF accounts, esisuisse protection to CHF 100’000, and every asset class from Swiss stocks to bonds to crypto in one login. Stock and ETF trades start at CHF 3, and the price of all that Swissness is the custody fee of CHF 20 to 50 per quarter that pure discount brokers skip.
The complete Swiss package, and the only broker here that is a full bank. You pay for it twice: trades cost more than DEGIRO, and the quarterly custody fee never sleeps. In exchange you get CHF accounts with real deposit protection, every product under one roof, and no offshore entity anywhere in the chain. For larger portfolios that value the banking relationship, that trade is fair; pure cost-optimisers should keep reading my DEGIRO review.
⚠ CFDs and leveraged forex are a different product, and I do not rate them.
Swissquote also sells forex and CFD trading. A contract for difference is not a share: you own nothing, the position is leveraged, and a small move against you can wipe it out. The providers publish the outcomes themselves. Pepperstone discloses that 72.9% of its retail investor accounts lose money. IG discloses 69%. eToro 51%. Those are regulated disclosures, not my estimate, and leveraged retail trading loses money at similar rates wherever it is sold.
This review rates Swissquote for one thing: buying and holding real, unleveraged securities in a Swiss bank account. The forex and CFD side of the platform is outside the rating, and my advice is to leave it there.
Why Swissquote, and who it suits
Every other broker in my comparison makes you choose: DEGIRO’s prices come with a Dutch entity and no banking services, eToro’s simplicity comes with a Cypriot entity and no CHF account. Swissquote is the no-compromise answer on jurisdiction: a FINMA-licensed Swiss bank, listed on the SIX since 2000, where your cash carries esisuisse protection to CHF 100’000 and your securities sit as segregated assets in a Swiss custody chain.
It suits three kinds of people: investors with portfolios large enough that jurisdiction and banking integration outweigh fee differences, anyone consolidating trading, savings and currency accounts in one Swiss place, and Swiss-stock investors, where its pricing is actually competitive. Cost-driven index savers with small portfolios still do better at DEGIRO.
Swissquote fees
| Fee | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Stock & ETF trades | From CHF 3 | Tiered by order size and exchange |
| Bonds, funds, structured products | From CHF 9 | Flat-fee products (Themes, Swiss DOTS) also CHF 9 |
| Options & futures | From CHF 1.50 | Per contract |
| Crypto | From 0.08% | Held in the same regulated account |
| Currency exchange | 0.95% | 27 currencies; multi-currency accounts included |
| Custody fee | CHF 20-50 per quarter | Value-dependent; the fee DEGIRO does not charge |
Source: Swissquote’s pricing pages and their published custody FAQ, checked 9 August 2026. The custody fee is the number to watch: CHF 80 to 200 a year regardless of activity, which small portfolios feel and large ones shrug off.
The honest comparison: a CHF 5’000 ETF buy costs single-digit francs at Swissquote or DEGIRO; the real difference is the standing custody fee and what you get for it. At Swissquote that money buys a Swiss bank around your portfolio. If that sentence does nothing for you, you are a DEGIRO customer.
A Swiss bank, in the full sense
Swissquote is not a broker with a banking licence bolted on; it is Switzerland’s leading online bank. Cash accounts in CHF and 26 other currencies, deposit protection through esisuisse, Swiss regulation end to end, and a listed company’s reporting transparency. It also runs the crypto custody behind several Swiss banks and offers 3a products, mortgages and payment accounts, none of which you need for this review, but all of which tell you the counterparty is not going anywhere.
Opening an account with Swissquote
Fully digital and, this being a bank, slightly more thorough than the app-only brokers: identity, tax residency, the works. Budget fifteen minutes. The screens below are from my own opening; the interface has been refreshed since, the flow has not: register, verify, fund, trade.
Halfway through you choose account currencies; take CHF plus whatever you trade in most, the multi-currency setup is one of the platform’s quiet strengths.
First login, and a real test purchase
Login secured by app-based two-factor authentication. To test it properly I bought a position; the ticket shows every fee before you confirm, which is exactly how it should work.
Crypto inside a Swiss bank account
Swissquote lets you hold crypto in the same regulated account as your stocks, from 0.08% per trade. For anyone who wants Bitcoin exposure without managing keys or an offshore exchange, this is the tidy middle path; my Bitcoin comparison weighs it against Relai and Binance.
Funding the account
Bank transfer in any of the account currencies, from any bank. Fund in CHF and convert inside only when needed; the 0.95% currency exchange is where cost discipline pays.
Swissquote pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|
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My rules for using a bank-broker
- Make the custody fee earn itself. Below roughly CHF 25’000 invested, the quarterly fee is a real drag; the value case grows with the portfolio.
- Fund in CHF, convert deliberately. Batch conversions instead of converting per trade, and the 0.95% stays a rounding error.
- Securities only. The forex and CFD tab is a different business with the loss statistics above. Not part of this rating.
- Use the demo first. It is the full platform; learn the order types with play money.
- Declare normally. Swiss broker, Swiss tax statement, dividends as income and holdings in wealth tax. See my Swiss tax guide.
Swissquote runs a proper demo account: the full platform with virtual money, no deposit needed. Learn the order tickets, poke through the currency accounts, and only open the real thing once the custody fee has a portfolio to justify it.
Swissquote FAQ
Is Swissquote safe?
As safe as this category gets: a FINMA-licensed Swiss bank, listed on the SIX since 2000, cash protected by esisuisse up to CHF 100’000 and securities held as segregated assets. There is no offshore entity anywhere in the chain, which is precisely what you pay the custody fee for.
What does Swissquote really cost?
Stock and ETF trades from CHF 3, bonds and funds from CHF 9, crypto from 0.08%, currency exchange at 0.95%, and the standing custody fee of CHF 20 to 50 per quarter. The custody fee is the structural difference to DEGIRO; the per-trade gap has narrowed considerably.
Swissquote or DEGIRO?
DEGIRO for pure cost efficiency, especially with smaller portfolios. Swissquote when you want Swiss regulation, CHF banking, esisuisse protection and every product in one place, and your portfolio is large enough that the custody fee fades. My take: DEGIRO review.
Can I buy crypto at Swissquote?
Yes, from 0.08% per trade, held inside the same regulated Swiss account as your stocks. You give up self-custody; you gain simplicity and a single tax statement. For the self-custody route, see my Relai review.
Does Swissquote have a demo account?
Yes, a full-platform demo with virtual money and no deposit requirement. It is the right first step, and this review’s rating assumes you use it.
What about Swissquote’s forex and CFD offering?
Outside this rating, deliberately. Leveraged retail trading loses money at the rates providers themselves disclose (roughly 51% to 73% of accounts across the industry). Buy real securities and leave that tab closed.
Is there a custody fee and can I avoid it?
CHF 20 to 50 per quarter depending on portfolio value, and no, it applies to all custody clients. Factor CHF 80 to 200 a year into any comparison; it is the honest price of the banking wrapper.
How are Swissquote investments taxed?
Like any Swiss account: dividends are taxable income, holdings count toward wealth tax, and private capital gains are generally tax-free. The Swiss tax statement it produces saves real time. See my Swiss tax guide.
Compare & choose
The other comparisons on Investing Hero, each built the same way: every fee read from the provider’s own pricing page.
How this review is kept current. Every Swissquote figure on this page was read from swissquote.com on 9 August 2026, not from a comparison site, and reconciles with my provider data file.
Sources. All figures were read from Swissquote’s own pages on 9 August 2026: the pricing overview (stocks/ETFs from CHF 3, bonds and funds from CHF 9, options from CHF 1.50, crypto from 0.08%, currency exchange 0.95%) and Swissquote’s published custody-fee FAQ (CHF 20 to 50 per quarter). The CFD loss disclosures quoted in the warning box are the providers’ own regulated statements. Nothing is quoted from a comparison site. Educational content, not financial advice.
