If you have opened a DEGIRO account, you have probably seen the phrase “Core Selection” and wondered what it actually means for your wallet. The short version: DEGIRO lets you trade a curated list of ETFs without paying the usual commission, provided you follow a few rules. It is one of the genuinely good things about the platform, and it is also one of the most misunderstood.
The honest answer up front is that “free” here comes with fine print. You typically get one free trade per ETF per calendar month, a small external-costs handling fee still applies to most transactions, and the list itself changes over time. None of that makes the Core Selection a bad deal — for a buy-and-hold investor doing one monthly purchase, it can be close to free — but you need to understand the mechanics so you do not accidentally trigger a charge.
I have used DEGIRO for years alongside other brokers. Here is how the Core Selection really works in 2026, which funds tend to be on it, and how to use your free trades without stepping on a fee.
What the DEGIRO Core Selection actually is
The Core Selection is a shortlist of ETFs that DEGIRO has designated as commission-free. The idea is straightforward: DEGIRO wants long-term investors to be able to build a portfolio of broad, sensible index funds cheaply, so it waives its normal transaction commission on this specific list.
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The key thing to understand is that this is a curated list, not the whole DEGIRO ETF universe. You can buy thousands of other ETFs on DEGIRO, but those attract the standard commission. The Core Selection is the free lane, and it is deliberately populated with the kind of low-cost, diversified trackers most people should be holding anyway — global equity funds, broad developed-world and emerging-market funds, and mainstream bond ETFs from the big providers.
DEGIRO reviews and updates this list periodically. A fund that is on it today may be replaced, and new lines get added. That matters because if you are dollar-cost averaging into a specific ETF for years, you want to occasionally check that your chosen fund is still in the free lane. DEGIRO publishes the current list and conditions in its official fee documents, and I would treat that as the single source of truth rather than any third-party summary, including this one.
The one-free-trade-per-month rule
Here is the part that trips people up. The commission-free benefit is usually limited to one transaction per ETF per calendar month. Your first trade in a given Core Selection ETF within a month is free. If you buy the same ETF a second time that month, or trade more than the permitted number of Core Selection ETFs, the standard commission applies to those extra trades.
In practice this suits a monthly investor perfectly. If your plan is to buy one global ETF on, say, the first working day of every month, you will stay inside the free allowance indefinitely. Where it bites is if you like to split a purchase into two buys in the same month, or if you try to time the market with several small trades. Those extra transactions lose the free treatment.
The handling fee that still applies
Commission-free does not mean cost-free. DEGIRO charges a small external-costs handling fee on most ETF transactions, often quoted at around one euro per trade, to cover connectivity and settlement costs it pays to exchanges and clearing houses. This applies even to Core Selection trades. It is small, but if you invest tiny amounts very frequently it adds up as a percentage, which is one reason batching contributions into a single larger monthly buy beats many micro-purchases. Treat the roughly one-euro figure as approximate and confirm the current amount in DEGIRO’s own fee schedule, because these numbers do get revised.
Which ETFs are usually on the Core Selection
While the exact roster changes, the character of the list is consistent. It leans heavily on broad, low-cost trackers from iShares, Vanguard, Amundi and similar providers. You will typically find the workhorse funds a European investor actually wants to hold: developed-world equity, all-world equity including emerging markets, S&P 500 and Euro-area bond exposure.
What you should not assume is that every popular ticker is included, or that both the accumulating and distributing share class of a fund are on the list. Sometimes only one variant qualifies. Before you commit to a fund for the long haul, check that the exact ISIN you want — accumulating versus distributing, EUR-listed versus another line — is the one carrying the free treatment. If you want to sanity-check a fund’s cost and structure against alternatives before you buy, our UCITS ETF comparison tool is a quicker way to line them up than clicking through provider factsheets one by one.
| Feature | Core Selection ETF | Non-Core ETF on DEGIRO |
|---|---|---|
| Commission | Waived on the first trade per ETF per month | Standard commission applies to every trade |
| Handling / external-costs fee | Still applies (approx. €1, verify) | Still applies (approx. €1, verify) |
| Second trade in same month | Loses the free treatment, commission charged | Charged every time regardless |
| Typical funds | Broad iShares / Vanguard / Amundi core trackers | Niche, thematic, leveraged, smaller providers |
| List stability | Reviewed and can change over time | Full universe, broadly stable |
| Best for | Monthly buy-and-hold core building | Occasional satellite or specialist positions |
Whole shares only: no fractional investing
One quirk worth being blunt about is that DEGIRO deals in whole shares. Unlike neobrokers such as Trade Republic or Scalable Capital, it does not offer fractional ETF investing. If a share of your chosen fund costs €95 and you want to invest €100, you will buy one share and €5 stays as cash until you have enough to round up to the next whole share.
Fee figures in this guide are cross-checked against our broker fee data table, reviewed quarterly.
For most core funds this is a minor annoyance rather than a real problem, because the leftover cash simply carries forward. But it does mean your monthly contribution will not be invested to the last cent, and if you specifically want exact euro-amount investing you may prefer a broker built around savings plans. It is a genuine trade-off against DEGIRO’s low headline costs, and it is worth knowing before you set up your routine.
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How to use the free trades efficiently for DCA
The efficient pattern is simple: pick one, or at most two, Core Selection ETFs and buy each of them once a month. That keeps every purchase inside the commission-free allowance and limits the handling fee to a single small charge per fund per month.
Because DEGIRO does not offer a true automated savings plan, you place these trades yourself. I set a recurring calendar reminder for the same date each month, log in, and place the order. It takes two minutes. Batch your whole month’s contribution into that one buy rather than trickling in several small trades — that way the fixed handling fee stays a trivial percentage of the amount invested. If you are comparing DEGIRO’s all-in cost against other platforms for your particular contribution size, our EU broker fee comparator and our roundup of the cheapest ETF brokers in Europe will show you where DEGIRO actually lands versus the neobrokers for your numbers.
My verdict: who the Core Selection suits
For a disciplined monthly investor building a portfolio of broad index funds, the Core Selection is one of the better low-cost setups in Europe. If you buy one global ETF a month and leave it alone, your ongoing costs are tiny — essentially the handling fee plus the fund’s own TER. That is hard to beat.
It suits you less well if you want fractional investing, fully automated savings plans, or the freedom to trade in and out several times a month. Those investors are usually happier on a neobroker. DEGIRO rewards patience and punishes fiddling, which for a long-term investor is arguably a feature, not a bug. For the full picture on the platform’s strengths, custody model and quirks, read our detailed DEGIRO review, and to see how it stacks up against the alternatives, our European ETF broker hub puts the main options side by side. Whatever you decide, confirm the current Core Selection list and fee conditions on DEGIRO’s official fee page before you commit, because both the list and the numbers are revised from time to time.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Is DEGIRO’s Core Selection completely free?
A: Not entirely. The trading commission is waived on your first trade in a given Core Selection ETF each calendar month, but a small external-costs handling fee of roughly one euro still applies to most transactions. A second buy of the same ETF in the same month loses the free treatment. Treat the handling fee as approximate and check the current figure in DEGIRO’s official fee schedule.
Q: How many free trades do I get per month?
A: The standard benefit is one commission-free transaction per Core Selection ETF per calendar month. If you hold two Core Selection funds, you can generally buy each once for free in a month, but buying the same fund twice will incur the normal commission on the second trade. This structure is designed for monthly buy-and-hold investing rather than active trading.
Q: Which ETFs are on the DEGIRO Core Selection?
A: The list is a curated set of broad, low-cost trackers, typically from providers like iShares, Vanguard and Amundi, covering global equity, developed-world, emerging markets, the S&P 500 and mainstream bonds. The exact roster changes over time and not every share class of a fund qualifies, so always confirm the current list and the specific ISIN on DEGIRO’s official page before buying.
Q: Does DEGIRO offer fractional ETF shares?
A: No. DEGIRO trades in whole shares only, so you cannot invest an exact euro amount the way you can on some neobrokers. Any leftover cash after buying whole shares simply stays in your account until you have enough to buy the next share. If exact euro-amount investing matters to you, a savings-plan broker may suit you better.
Q: Can I set up an automatic ETF savings plan on DEGIRO?
A: DEGIRO does not offer a true set-and-forget automated savings plan like Trade Republic or Scalable Capital. You place each monthly trade manually, which many investors handle with a recurring calendar reminder. If hands-off automation is your priority, a neobroker with a Sparplan feature is likely a better fit.
Q: Can the Core Selection list change after I have invested?
A: Yes. DEGIRO reviews the list periodically, and a fund that is commission-free today could be removed or replaced later, while new funds get added. If you are investing in one ETF for years, it is worth checking once in a while that your chosen fund is still in the free lane. You keep any shares you already own regardless; only the cost of future trades in that fund would change.
European UCITS/ETF investor with 11+ years building a global dividend and index portfolio, and founder of Financial Expert Class. I write every guide here from first-hand experience investing across EU brokers and tax regimes — not theory. More about me →