Swissquote vs Saxo: Find the best Swiss online broker

ETFs that fall into the ETF Leader category cost CHF/EUR/USD 9.00 per online trade on the SIX Swiss Exchange flat at Swissquote. Third-party fees such as stamp duties and stock exchange fees are charged additionally. In my view, the ETF leaders should be more prominently labeled in the app and on the online trading platform. For all other ETFs, the same prices apply as for shares. The amount of the fee depends on the size of the transaction and starts at CHF 3. The ETF Leader prices are particularly attractive for larger purchases because they are flat and are not charged as a percentage.

As with ETFs, Swissquote also charges stock exchange and real-time fees for share trading. The fees again depend on the amount of the transaction.

Saxo applies exactly the same prices as the ETFs.

The same can be said for Swissquote as for trading on SIX. However, Swissquote is still significantly more expensive than Saxo on the American stock exchanges.

Saxo’s fees are even more attractive for trading on the two major American stock exchanges, Nyse and Nasdaq. Saxo charges 0.08% per purchase with a minimum fee of CHF 1.

Swissquote offers a wide range of Swiss index funds, and since renowned fund providers such as UBS, BlackRock, Credit Suisse, Zürcher Kantonalbank and Pictet are among the Prime Partners, their funds can be traded from as little as CHF 9 flat. As the funds are not traded on the stock exchange, there are of course no stock exchange or real-time fees. Vanilla funds that are not Prime Partners cost 0.5%, but at least CHF 50.

I did a random search for Swiss index funds at Saxo, but didn’t find any – the fund offering at Saxo is generally smaller. The screener lists just over 30 investment funds in CHF. Investment funds can be purchased from Saxo for an attractive flat fee of CHF 8.

Swissquote also offers a wide range of Swiss bonds. The fees depend on the order volume.

At Saxo, the commission for all issuers and currencies (incl. CHF) is 0.2% of the order value (min. EUR 20). Here, too, the offer is smaller than at Swissquote.

At Swissquote, you can trade 35 real cryptos via the specially developed crypto exchange SQX, which offers competitive bid and ask prices. Swissquote offers staking for certain cryptos. You can store the cryptos with the wallet function. Incoming and outgoing transfers are possible.

At Saxo, crypto trading is only possible via derivatives and crypto ETFs and ETNs.

The custody account fee at Swissquote depends on the custody account volume, which includes all assets except cash, and is charged quarterly. The maximum deposit fee is CHF 50 per quarter. For assets over CHF 1 million, an additional quarterly fee of 0.0075% is charged. Value added tax will be charged additionally.

A custody account fee is charged for equity and ETF positions, which is based on the value of the securities portfolio. No custody account fee is charged for investments in investment funds or bonds. The custody account fee is calculated daily on the basis of the position values at the end of the day and invoiced monthly plus VAT. There is no minimum monthly custody account fee and the inactivity fee has also been abolished. The maximum fee is limited to CHF 10 per month.
When you activate securities lending with Saxo, you pay no custody fees.

Swissquote has a much broader range of products. According to the Swissquote website, there are over 3 million products. There is hardly a product that I have not found in a random sample. ETFs that were only recently launched were also tradable at Swissquote a short time later.

At Saxo, on the other hand, the product range is smaller, although there are 71,000 instruments tradable, but I did not find some ETFs, and if so, then only on foreign exchanges. The range of Swiss funds and Swiss bonds is less extensive for Swiss clients.

If you are a Classic or Platinum customer and want to add a new instrument, a fee of 200 USD will be charged. VIP customers can apply for new instruments at no additional charge.

Swissquote offers the option of setting up savings plans. For example, ETFs are automatically purchased monthly for a fixed amount. If desired, the “Fractional Trading” option can be activated. This allows you to buy fractions of shares or ETFs. For example, if you want to invest exactly CHF 500 per month and an ETF share currently costs CHF 200, Swissquote will buy 2.5 shares. There are around 100 ETFs to choose from.

Since September 2024, Saxo has been offering the free ETF savings plan AutoInvest plan. This allows you to save in a portfolio of up to ten ETFs per month free of charge. There are 100 ETFs to choose from. Only stamp duty is payable and you pay a sales fee when selling. If you activate securities lending, you don’t even pay custody fees. Saxo always buys whole shares, fractional shares are not available.

Swissquote charges an exchange rate fee of a high 0.95% for major currencies. To avoid this fee, I always look for ETFs that are available in the trading currency CHF.

At Saxo, the currency conversion fee is almost four times cheaper at just 0.25%.

Entry in the share register is free of charge at Swissquote and can be done online. This is particularly important for fans of dividends in kind, as the entry is a prerequisite for receiving dividends in kind.

Saxo does not offer registration, as this service is not relevant for the vast majority of its customers. It remains to be seen whether this will remain the case, as Saxo will tap into a different market segment with its new pricing strategy.

Cash deposits of up to CHF 200,000 earn an unattractive 0.10% interest at Swissquote.

With Saxo it is a little more complicated, as the interest rate depends not only on the balance, but also on the account level and currency. For CHF 50,000, for example, there is 0.381% in the “Classic” account level. For CHF 100,000 it is already 1.016%. On Saxo’s website you will find a calculator that you can use to calculate the interest you will receive each month. There is no minimum holding period or upper limit. Interest rates are most attractive for balances of CHF/EUR/USD 100,000 or more

A detailed tax statement can be ordered from Swissquote for CHF 100.

The e-tax statement from Saxo costs CHF 100 and the delivery time is around three weeks, depending on when the order is placed.

Swissquote’s customer service generally responds quickly and can usually be reached by telephone without long waiting times. For simpler questions I like to use the chat. The competent answers usually come very quickly.

I have hardly had any contact with Saxo’s customer service. The increased volume of customers must first be dealt with and so there may be slightly longer waiting times at the moment. I will continue to report on my experiences here.