MeDirect offers free ETF trading. Saxo Bank charges €2 per transaction but gives you monthly saving plans. Which one should you pick?
The answer isn't as simple as "go with the free option." Neither broker supports fractional shares, which makes monthly investing awkward. You'll always have cash sitting idle. And both platforms are designed with features you probably don't need as a buy-and-hold investor.
This comparison breaks down what matters: actual costs when you invest monthly, how they handle Belgian taxes, and whether their platforms make investing easier or harder. We'll also show you what we built at Curvo to solve these exact problems.
The overview
The table shows an overview of how MeDirect compares to Saxo for different criteria. Read on to get the full details!
MeDirect
| ✅ Pros of MeDirect | ❌ Cons of MeDirect |
|---|---|
| Handles all taxes for you | No fractional shares |
| No commission on ETFs | Ill-suited for monthly investing |
| High-interest savings accounts | Expensive to move your investments elsewhere |
Story of MeDirect 🇧🇪
MeDirect was originally started back in 2004 and operated under the name "Mediterrean Bank". The current form of MeDirect was created in 2013 and initially offered a new type of savings account specifically for Belgians. They have around 80,000 clients in Belgium and more than 3 billion euros under management. You can do basic investing through ETFs, funds and bonds using their brokerage service.
Fees for ETFs
Since August 2025, MeDirect made all ETFs free of commission. Yes, that's right. Naturally, they make their money elsewhere, like having you trade in individual stocks (which aren't free, resist the temptation!) or their active funds.
Buying €1,000 of the popular IWDA ETF will cost nothing.
Convenience
| Savings plan | ❌ (only through MeManaged) |
| Fractional shares | ❌ No |
| Customer Support | ✅ FAQ, phone, contact form, email
❌ No chat |
| TOB | ✅ MeDirect handles it |
| Dividend tax | ✅ MeDirect handles it |
| Reynders tax | ✅ MeDirect handles it |
| Declare account to the NBB | ✅ No need |
MeDirect, a Belgian-based broker, handles the transaction tax (TOB) and automatically withholds and declares the 30% dividend tax on shares and distributing funds as well as the Reynders tax on ETF profits. They don't offer automated savings plans unless you use MeManaged. MeDirect does not support fractional shares, leading to higher investment costs and potentially necessitating less frequent, larger investment contributions.
Setting up an account
| 🕰️ Time to open an account | ✅ Fast if you use itsme |
| 🙋 itsme | ✅ Yes |
| 📱 Mobile app | ✅ Yes |
| 💻 Web app | ✅ Yes |
| 🙂 Ease of use | ⭐ 3/5 |
| 🧒 Children accounts | ❌ No |
| 💑 Joint accounts | ✅ Yes |
| 💼 Business accounts | ❌ No |
Setting up a new MeDirect account is smooth thanks to itsme, reducing the need for manual form filling and ID verification. MeDirect's recent redesign has improved clarity and user experience, yet the platform still presents complexities and excessive details for average investors, especially those focused on buy-and-hold strategies and ETF investing. While MeDirect allows the creation of joint accounts, it does not offer the option to set up accounts for children, with a possible workaround being the creation of multiple portfolios in the primary account holder's name. You cannot open an account for your business.
Safety
| Regulator | FSMA |
| Past issues with the regulator | ✅ None |
| Protection of financial assets | €20,000 |
| Cash safeguarded by deposit guarantee | €100,000 |
| Securities lending | ✅ No |
| Payment for order flow | ✅ No |
MeDirect, regulated by the FSMA in Belgium, has no known issues with any regulator. MeDirect does not engage in securities lending or payment for order flow (PFOF), practices which can introduce counterparty risks and conflicts of interest.
The full review
Read our review to get all the details about investing through MeDirect.
Saxo Bank
| ✅ Pros of Saxo | ❌ Cons of Saxo |
|---|---|
| Handles all taxes for you | Built for traders |
| Monthly saving plans | No fractional shares |
| Low fees |
Story of Saxo 🇩🇰
The story of Saxo begins with its founding in Copenhagen in 1992. The company was established with a vision to make global financial markets more accessible to a wide audience. By 1998, Saxo Group had launched one of the first online trading platforms in Europe, offering professional-grade tools and easy access to global financial markets for anyone interested in investing. They serve over 1m customers and have over €100bn under management. In 2018, they purchased the popular online broker BinckBank for €428m. All BinckBank customers were automatically switched over to the Saxo platform for trading.
Fees for ETFs
Saxo is one of the cheapest brokers in Europe. To buy €1,000 worth of IWDA, the cost is €2 for the transaction fee.
Convenience
| Savings plan | ❌ No |
| Fractional shares | ❌ No |
| Customer support | ✅ FAQ, email, phone | 🇮🇹 Taxes | ✅ Adminstered regime |
| 🇧🇪 TOB | ✅ Saxo handles it |
| 🇧🇪 Dividend tax | ✅ Saxo handles it |
| 🇧🇪 Reynders tax | ✅ Saxo handles it |
| 🇧🇪 Declare your account to the NBB | ✅ No need |
Saxo Bank, catering to experienced traders, supports a wide array of complex order types. Unfortunately it doesn't handle fractional shares making regular investing less practical although they have recently introduced saving plans. Depending on where you're registered in Europe, Saxo Bank assists investors. For example, in Belgium, it helps with transaction taxes, dividend taxes, and the Reynders tax on ETF profits, and due to its direct presence in Belgium, customers don't need to declare their accounts to the Belgian National Bank.
Curvo's monthly auto-invest may be a better option than Saxo's AutoInvest (saving plans) if you want to fully automate your investments. We support fractional shares, meaning all your money is invested. You don't have to worry about the price of the ETF and you never leave cash on the side doing nothing. Secondly, we work with direct debit, meaning we automatically debit the amount from your bank account every first of the month.
Setting up an account
| 🕰️ Time to open an account | ✅ Within a few days |
| 📱 Mobile app | ✅ Yes |
| 💻 Web app | ✅ Yes |
| 🙂 Ease of use | ⭐ 2/5 |
| 🧒 Children accounts | ❌ No |
| 💑 Joint accounts | ✅ Yes |
| 💼 Business accounts | ✅ Yes |
Setting up an account with Saxo is streamlined though approval may take a few days. While Saxo does not provide children accounts, it does offer the option to set up joint and business accounts.
Safety
| Regulator | DFSA (Denmark) |
| Past issues with the regulator | ❌ Yes |
| Protection of financial assets | €20,000 |
| Cash safeguarded by deposit guarantee | €100,000 |
| Securities lending | ❌ Yes (opt-in) |
| Payment for order flow | ✅ No |
Saxo, with its primary regulator being the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (DFSA), continues to operate under a Dutch banking license after acquiring BinckBank. Saxo participates in securities lending with an opt-in policy for transparency, and does not engage in payment for order flow (PFOF).
The full review
Read our review to get all the details about investing through MeDirect.
Curvo: easier than a broker
Brokers push you to trade and to pick individual companies to invest in. Rather than picking individual stocks such as Amazon or Tesla, index funds are a way to buy the whole market, across all sectors and regions of the world. Essentially, you own a small portion of thousands of companies throughout the world. Instead of betting on a particular company, you are placing a bet on the global economy.
Rather than having to pick the right stocks or ETFs among the thousands available through MeDirect or Saxo, you invest in a portfolio that is tailored to you and your goals. These portfolios are composed of globally diversified index funds, meaning you earn a piece of the growth of the global economy, and they're best suited to make the most of your savings long term. And they're secure as they fall under the supervision of the regulator in the Netherlands (AFM).
We believe that investing is an important tool for our generation to improve our financial well-being and to prepare for our future. We are building Curvo to fulfil that vision, by making good investing easy and accessible to all:
- Diversified portfolio set up for you: The best portfolio for you is built based on your time horizon and financial goals. Simply answer a short questionnaire and you’ll get everything set up for you.
- Automated savings plans: Through Curvo’s app you can set up a monthly contribution from €50. That means that money is automatically invested for you in your portfolio. Put your savings on autopilot!
- Fractional shares: All the money you send towards your portfolio is fully invested. No cash is left on the side.
- No TOB 🇧🇪 : Significant savings as the portfolios aren’t liable for the Belgian transaction tax (or "TOB"). This saves you between 0.12% and 1.32% for every time you buy or sell!
- Sustainable investments: Your investments focus on one guiding principle: don’t invest in companies that are considered destructive to the planet. This means that sectors like non-renewable energy, vice products, weapons and controversial companies are all excluded.
- Project yourself into the future: Through Curvo you can see how much your portfolio is expected to be worth in the future. You can answer questions like “how will increasing my monthly contribution by €50, €100 or €200 affect my long-term savings?” to give a concrete idea for the “future you”.
Learn more on how it compares to investing through a broker.
Summary
In this article we highlighted the key differences between MeDirect and Saxo, two brokers accessible to Belgians. MeDirect is clearly the most cost-effective way of investing your savings as it's free for ETF investing. But cost is not the only factor to take in consideration when you’re putting your savings to work. We built Curvo to make good investing easy and accessible to all Belgians, and we explained its benefits. Feel free to explore Curvo's app if you wish to learn more.