Revolut is a brilliant place to make your first ever trade. The app is already on your phone, you can buy a slice of an ETF in a few taps, and there is no clunky onboarding. That is why so many Europeans start there. But a starter account and a serious long-term portfolio are different things, and at some point the fit stops working.
If you are reading this, you have probably hit that wall. The fund menu feels thin, the per-plan fees nag at you every month, and you want features Revolut simply does not offer. So here is the honest answer up front: moving your investments off Revolut is usually not a clean, tax-free transfer. In most cases you will have to sell your positions on Revolut and rebuy them at a new broker, because Revolut’s investing product has historically offered little or no support for moving your actual shares to another firm. That sell step can trigger a capital-gains event, so the move needs a small amount of planning rather than a panicked Sunday-night click.
None of this is a reason to stay stuck. It just means doing it deliberately. Below I walk through why people outgrow Revolut, how to keep the tax bill as small as legally possible, and which full broker to move to depending on how you invest. For more detail, see our guide: Trading 212 vs Revolut for ETF Investors (UK).
Why investors outgrow Revolut
Revolut Invest is designed for convenience, not for a decades-long ETF plan. The three things that push most people to leave are the same ones every time. For more detail, see our guide: Revolut Robo-Advisor Review.
How we test: broker verdicts on this site follow our published broker testing checklist — real accounts, live orders and documented fee checks.
First, the range of ETFs is limited. You will find the big US names, but the UCITS all-world and accumulating funds that European long-term investors actually want are patchy. If you have ever tried to buy a specific Irish-domiciled accumulating ETF and could not find it, you have met this wall. I keep a running view of what is and is not available in our guide to which ETFs you can buy on Revolut.
Second, the cost structure works against a growing pot. Free trades are capped by your plan, and beyond that you pay a percentage commission plus, on some plans, a small custody or account fee. On a €2,000 portfolio that is noise. On a €40,000 portfolio it is a real drag, and it compounds in the wrong direction.
Third, there is no proper automation or tax reporting of the kind a full broker gives you. No true recurring savings plan into the exact fund you want, no consolidated annual tax statement built for your country, and limited order types. Once you are contributing every month and thinking about rebalancing, you want infrastructure, not a slick demo.
The catch: Revolut and in-specie transfers
When you move between two full brokers, the professional way is an in-specie transfer: your shares move across as-is, without being sold, so you keep your holdings and your original cost basis. No sale, no taxable event. I cover that route in detail for other brokers, but it is worth being blunt here.
Revolut’s retail investing product has not reliably supported outbound in-specie transfers. That means the practical path off Revolut is almost always the same two steps: sell on Revolut, withdraw the cash, then rebuy the equivalent funds at your new broker. It is not elegant, and it is the single biggest reason to plan the move rather than rush it. Always check the current terms in the app before you assume anything, because policies do change, but do not build your plan around a transfer option that may not exist for your account.
The tax problem when you sell to move
Selling to move is a disposal. In most European countries, selling an ETF at a gain is a taxable event, and doing it just to switch brokers can hand you a tax bill you would not otherwise have faced this year. The size of that problem depends entirely on how much unrealised gain you are sitting on and your country’s rules.
There are a few sensible ways to soften it. If you have a large gain, consider splitting the sale across two tax years so you use two annual allowances or exemptions instead of one. If you also hold a position that is underwater, you can realise that loss in the same year to offset the gain, which is ordinary tax-loss harvesting. And if any of your holdings are flat or barely up, sell those first, since they cost you almost nothing to move. Countries differ enormously here, so treat this as direction, not instruction, and confirm the mechanics with your tax authority or a local adviser. UK readers can see how the basics work on HMRC’s capital gains tax pages; other countries publish their own equivalents.
One reassuring point: if your Revolut portfolio is small or recent, the gain is probably modest and the friction trivial. The bigger and older the pot, the more the timing matters.
Choosing your destination broker
Where you land depends on how you invest. There is no single best broker, only the best fit for your pattern. Here is how the three common choices stack up; dig into the full field in our European ETF broker hub.
| Feature | Revolut Invest | Trade Republic / Scalable | Interactive Brokers |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCITS ETF range | Limited | Broad, EU-focused | Very broad, global |
| Ongoing cost | Plan fees + commission | Low, free savings plans | Low commissions, ~0.03% FX |
| Recurring savings plan | Basic | Excellent, free auto-DCA | Available, more manual |
| In-specie transfer out | Limited / not supported | Supported (Depotübertrag) | Supported |
| Multi-currency / survives a move abroad | No | Limited | Yes |
| Best for | First trades | Monthly euro DCA | Large or global portfolios |
If your life is a fixed monthly contribution into one or two euro-denominated funds, a savings-plan neobroker such as Trade Republic or Scalable is the natural home. If you have a larger sum, want the widest choice of funds, trade in more than one currency, or expect to move country, a full-scale broker is the safer long-term base.
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Interactive Brokers as a destination
For many people leaving Revolut with a meaningful balance, Interactive Brokers removes the “I might outgrow this too” worry. It gives you access to essentially every UCITS ETF on the major European exchanges, genuinely cheap currency conversion, multi-currency cash balances, and an account that travels with you if you relocate. It is less hand-holding than Revolut, but that is the point: it is built for the investor you are becoming.
Ready to open an account? You can open a Interactive Brokers account directly.
Whichever broker you pick, use the move as a chance to simplify. If Revolut left you with a scattered collection of half-positions, this is the moment to consolidate into a clean one-to-three-fund core. Our UCITS ETF comparison tool is the fastest way to line up candidate funds on cost and structure before you rebuy.
How to make the move, step by step
Keep it methodical and the whole thing takes an evening plus a few days of settlement waiting.
1. Open and verify the new account first. Never sell on Revolut until the destination is ready to receive cash and place orders. 2. List your holdings with ISINs, quantities and approximate cost basis, so you know your gain before you sell. 3. Plan the tax timing using the ideas above, splitting the sale across tax years if the gain is large. 4. Sell on Revolut and withdraw the cash to your bank or the new broker where supported. 5. Rebuy your target funds, ideally the cleaner accumulating UCITS versions if you were previously stuck with a compromise. 6. Set up automation, a recurring savings plan or a monthly reminder, so the account runs itself.
My verdict: what I’d do
If your Revolut pot is small, do not overthink it. Sell, move, rebuy, and get on with your life; the tax friction on a few thousand euros is negligible. If your pot is large and sitting on real gains, slow down: map the tax first, spread the disposal across two years if it helps, harvest any losses, and only then move. And treat the destination as a decade-long decision, not a this-week one. For most Europeans that means a savings-plan neobroker for pure monthly DCA, or Interactive Brokers if you want one account that can hold anything and follow you anywhere. Revolut got you started, which is worth a lot. Outgrowing it means you are doing this right.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Can I transfer my ETFs out of Revolut without selling?
A: In most cases, no. Revolut’s retail investing product has historically not supported outbound in-specie share transfers, so moving to a full broker usually means selling your positions and rebuying them at the new firm. Always check the current terms in the app, as policies can change, but plan for a sell-and-rebuy rather than a seamless transfer.
Q: Will moving off Revolut cost me tax?
A: It can, because selling your funds is a disposal and any gain may be taxable in your country. The bill depends on your unrealised gain and local rules, so if you are sitting on a large profit, consider splitting the sale across two tax years or offsetting with a realised loss. Confirm the specifics with your national tax authority or a local adviser.
Q: Which broker should I move to after Revolut?
A: It depends on how you invest. For a simple monthly euro contribution into one or two funds, a savings-plan neobroker like Trade Republic or Scalable fits best, while a larger, global or multi-currency portfolio suits Interactive Brokers. Compare the field in our broker hub before committing.
Q: Is it worth leaving Revolut for a small portfolio?
A: If you are only contributing a little for now, the limited fund menu and plan fees may not justify the hassle yet. But if you intend to invest seriously for years, moving early is cheaper than moving later, because the tax cost of selling to switch grows as your gains grow. Many people move once their pot passes a few thousand euros.
Q: What funds should I rebuy at the new broker?
A: Use the move to simplify into a clean one-to-three-fund core, typically a single accumulating all-world UCITS ETF for most people, plus a bond or cash allocation if your timeline needs it. Avoid recreating a scattered collection of half-positions. Our UCITS ETF comparison tool helps you line up candidates on cost and structure.
Q: How long does the whole move take?
A: Opening and verifying a new broker account usually takes a day or two, selling on Revolut settles within a few days, and a bank withdrawal and rebuy adds a little more. Realistically, budget one to two weeks from start to a fully funded and invested new account, longer if you are deliberately spreading the sale across tax years.
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 →