Saxo Bank Review (2026): Best Swiss Broker After the Fee Cuts?

Fees down, features up: after a sweeping overhaul, Saxo has scrapped custody fees and, for the first time, offers all ETF savings plans without purchase commissions. Find out how the platform wins people over with attractive pricing, modern trading solutions and Swiss regulation – and where there is still room for improvement. We also compare the up-and-coming Saxo with the established Swiss market leader Swissquote and show which platform suits whom best.

A short interview with Oliver Buomberger, COO & Deputy CEO of Saxo Bank Switzerland, also gives you exciting insights behind the scenes. You will learn all this and much more in this in-depth review – thorough and based on our own experience with Saxo Bank.

CHF 200 in free trading fees – our Saxo partner offer

If our Saxo Bank review has convinced you, you can now take advantage of this generous offer – and support our blog at the same time:

Click on the ad below to open a free investment account with Saxo Bank and get CHF 200 in trading fees on us!

📋Terms of participation:

• You are a natural person over 18 years of age and resident in Switzerland.
• You make a first deposit within 30 days of opening your account. (After your deposit, your bonus is activated within three business days. Trading fees for ETFs, shares, bonds, futures and options are refunded daily, directly to your account.)
• The offer is valid for 90 days. Unused credits expire after that. Other fees are charged as normal.

🔍 Transparency notice:

We only recommend products that we have tested ourselves and whose quality we are convinced of. If you open an account through our partner link, we receive a commission – at no extra cost to you.

Our focus: passive ETF investing with Saxo

If you know our blog, you know that we follow a passive, low-cost, broadly diversified «buy and hold» investment strategy. We are convinced that the best way to implement such a strategy is with ETFs. That is why, in this Saxo Bank review, we assess the provider primarily from the perspective of a passive ETF investor.

Saxo Bank – a short profile 

Saxo Bank was founded in Copenhagen (Denmark) in 1992 and is now one of Europe’s leading online brokers with an international focus. Worldwide, it serves more than 1.5 million clients with assets under management of over 100 billion CHF in more than 170 countries (as of January 2026).

A special feature: Saxo combines access to global markets with locally regulated infrastructure.

In concrete terms, this means for Swiss investors: Saxo Bank (Schweiz) AG is a legally independent subsidiary based in Zurich and holds a banking licence from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA. In addition, Saxo was classified as a systemically important financial institution (SIFI) in 2023.

Saxo has no branches in Switzerland – the entire service is digital. The offering is aimed primarily at self-directed investors who value low fees and professional trading options.

Saxo has won numerous awards in the past, including for its trading platforms, innovation and customer service.

How safe is Saxo as a broker?

The safety of invested capital is key for investors – especially with purely digital providers. The good news: Saxo meets high security standards, both from a regulatory and a technical point of view.

For Swiss investors, these standards show up in three key areas:

• Deposit insurance at Saxo Bank (Schweiz) AG
  As mentioned, Saxo is a Swiss bank regulated by FINMA. Client money is managed in line with Swiss legal requirements and is protected by the deposit insurance scheme esisuisse up to CHF 100,000 per client and bank – even in the event of bankruptcy.

• Separate custody of securities (segregated assets)
  Securities such as ETFs and shares are legally classed as segregated assets and are held separately from the bank’s own assets. They do not appear on the bank’s balance sheet and remain fully owned by the investors even in the event of insolvency. A transfer to another securities account is possible at any time.

• Technical security and protection against cyber risks
  Access to your Saxo account is only possible via two-factor authentication (2FA). In addition, Saxo relies on modern IT infrastructure with encryption technology, regular security testing and its own Cyber Security Operation Center (CSOC) to monitor possible attacks.

Which account tiers does Saxo offer?

Depending on the assets invested, Saxo Bank clients are automatically assigned to one of three account tiers: «Classic», «Platinum» or «VIP». While «Classic» has no minimum deposit, the minimum is CHF 250,000 for «Platinum» and CHF 1 million for «VIP».

True to the motto «the rich get richer», the two premium tiers give you preferential terms on pricing and services – in simple terms:

• Classic: standard prices and standard services
• Platinum: lower prices and better service
• VIP: lowest prices and best service

But watch out: an upgrade to a higher tier only applies for one year at a time – and depends not only on the size of your deposit but above all on how many points you collect through trades & co.

In concrete terms: the more often you trade and the higher your trading volume, the more points you get.
This also means that committed buy-and-hold investors, who by nature rarely trade, are unlikely to enjoy the privileges of «Platinum» or «VIP».

You can find more about the «Saxo Rewards» points programme here.

Fees redefined – attractive after the fee cuts

In the past, we found Saxo Bank rather unattractive because of its comparatively high prices. With the new fee model – in particular the abolition of custody fees as of 1 February 2025 – this has changed fundamentally: Saxo now offers genuinely competitive terms.

Admittedly, we still see foreign providers without a Swiss banking licence, such as DEGIRO or Interactive Brokers, ahead on price – not least because they are exempt from the Swiss federal stamp duty. Among providers regulated in Switzerland, however, Saxo’s new fee model has definitely positioned it as a potential winner on value for money.

Below, we take a closer look at the most important price tags of the three account tiers.

Custody fees – abolished!

Shelling out up to CHF 100 in custody fees plus VAT year after year, whether you trade or not? That is a thing of the past! Saxo has abolished these fixed costs for all its account tiers, which should make it really interesting for cost-conscious investors for the first time.

Saxo Bank also charges no inactivity fees.

Brokerage fees (transaction fees) – volume-based with minimum costs

Saxo’s trading commissions depend on your account tier – and the tier depends on your invested assets and other factors, in particular trading frequency and trading volume (see the section on account tiers above). The following terms currently apply:

Classic (account up to CHF 250,000)

• Shares/ETFs traded on Swiss exchanges: 0.08% of the trading volume, min. CHF 3 per trade. Price example: CHF 8 commission on a trade worth CHF 10,000
• Shares/ETFs traded on European exchanges: 0.08%, min. EUR 3
• Shares/ETFs traded on US exchanges: 0.08%, min. USD 1

Platinum (minimum deposit CHF 250,000)

Same minimum fees as Classic, but lower brokerage fees of 0.05%. Price example: CHF 5 commission on a trade worth CHF 10,000

VIP (minimum deposit CHF 1 million)

Same minimum fees as Classic, but lower brokerage fees of 0.03%. Price example: CHF 3 commission on a trade worth CHF 10,000

No purchase commissions on savings plans

Good news: for regular investments through an ETF savings plan («AutoInvest»), Saxo charges no brokerage fees, no matter how large your instalment is. We take a detailed look at how Saxo’s savings plans work further below.

Note on other transaction costs

The brokerage fees above refer to the trading commissions Saxo charges for executing trades. In addition, each transaction may incur currency exchange fees (see next section) as well as the Swiss federal stamp duty:

• 0.075% on Swiss securities
• 0.15% on foreign securities

Currency exchange fees

At Saxo, currency exchange fees arise whenever you trade in a currency other than the one you have available in your account – for example, if you trade US shares but only hold CHF in your account. In this case, a currency conversion is triggered automatically, and a conversion fee of 0.25% is charged on the amount that has to be exchanged. This margin is the same for all account tiers (Classic, Platinum, VIP).

To keep these fees as low as possible, it pays to set up foreign currency accounts – we show you how this works further down in the review.

Interest on Lombard loans

If you want to boost your potential returns, you can take out a Lombard loan with Saxo and pledge your existing securities as collateral. The current interest rates are tiered by account tier and updated regularly. By Swiss standards, they look attractive to us. You can find out more about how Lombard loans work and their risks in our article Lombard loans for buying ETFs: a booster for your return on equity or playing with fire?.

Free electronic tax statement

From the 2025 tax year, Saxo provides all clients with their tax statements free of charge, electronically, via the platform’s inbox. This makes your Swiss tax return easier, because the data from the electronic tax statement is read in automatically and no longer has to be typed in by hand. The electronic tax statement is delivered by the end of March of the following year at the latest.

How good are the app & trading platforms?

Saxo offers its clients a modern and versatile trading environment that can be used on a desktop or on mobile, as needed. Since 19 November 2025, SaxoTraderGO and SaxoTraderPRO have formed a single platform called SaxoTrader. Below, we present the two available solutions and what they offer:

• SaxoInvestor
• SaxoTrader

Both platforms are free of charge and available to Swiss clients in the three languages German, French, Italian and English.

SaxoInvestor

The platform for a quick start – usable in a web browser on your desktop or as an app on iOS and Android devices. It is simple and clear to use and is particularly suitable for private investors who want to invest easily in shares, ETFs (with or without a savings plan) and other asset classes.

SaxoTrader

SaxoTrader is aimed particularly at people who want to trade actively. The platform offers a wide range of instruments as well as advanced analysis and order functions. Trading in ETFs, shares, bonds and mutual funds is available as standard.

For more complex products such as forex, CFDs or futures, an additional appropriateness test is required – this can be completed directly online.

SaxoTrader is available both in a web browser and as a mobile app. There is also a desktop download that allows a multi-screen setup and offers additional risk and trading tools.

Our impressions when buying ETFs

Purchases go through smoothly on all three platforms and are displayed consistently. Our first test purchase: 25 units of the iShares Core MSCI EM IMI UCITS ETF (Acc) – straight from our watchlist, where we have collected all the winners of our 2025 ETF comparison. We made the purchase via the SaxoInvestor app (see screenshots above in the fees section); the position is of course also shown in SaxoTrader:

Note on how foreign currency transactions are displayed

A small but practically relevant point of criticism: when you buy securities in foreign currencies, Saxo does not show an approximate equivalent in Swiss francs. Especially with less familiar currencies such as the Japanese yen, this makes it hard to judge whether your available balance is enough for the purchase. Automatically showing the CHF amount would create more transparency here and make the purchase decision much easier.

Our verdict on the trading platforms

With its two platforms, Saxo offers tailor-made solutions – from the smart, rules-based investor to the active heavy trader (or the other way round).

From our perspective as «buy and hold» investors, SaxoInvestor is the most convincing choice, as this platform strikes a good balance between a useful range of features (including ETF savings plans) and user-friendly operation.

If, on the other hand, you want to trade complex products or simply want even more features and analyses, for example for stock picking and market timing, you will definitely be better served by SaxoTrader.

Investment products & services

Saxo Bank’s investment universe

Saxo Bank gives you access to a broad investment universe: more than 7,400 ETFs and around 23,000 individual shares can be traded on more than 50 exchanges worldwide – including the Swiss stock exchange SIX.

Little surprise here: according to our Saxo Bank review, all the winning ETFs we chose in our article Best ETFs in Switzerland and worldwide are also available.

The core offering is complemented by bonds, mutual funds and crypto ETPs.

If you also want to invest in margin products, you will find a large selection at Saxo as well: these include exchange-traded options and futures, forex, FX options and crypto FX, CFDs and commodities.

However, these more complex products are only unlocked after an additional suitability check.

Foreign currency accounts at Saxo

If you regularly trade in foreign currencies, a foreign currency account is worthwhile – it lets you avoid repeated currency conversions and save fees. At Saxo, in addition to the reference currency CHF, you can set up additional currency accounts (so-called sub-accounts with their own IBAN). However, these have to be activated individually for each currency you want.

The catch: as the phone support confirmed when we asked, currency exchange fees can be avoided if purchases in a foreign currency are made specifically through the matching sub-account. This sub-account not only has to be set up manually beforehand, it also has to hold enough cash – because there is no automatic offsetting against the main CHF account.

AutoInvest: Saxo’s ETF savings plan

With AutoInvest, Saxo offers a simple, commission-free way to invest regularly in ETFs. What impressed us in particular is that you can pay into several ETFs at the same time, which allows broad diversification – with no purchase fees at all.

Execution takes place on the 5th of each month, which makes planning easier but limits flexibility. Only whole ETF units are bought, i.e. there is no fractional trading. As a result, with small savings amounts or ETFs with a high unit price, a relatively large remaining amount may stay uninvested. However, this is automatically set aside for the following month.

Important: each savings plan is run through a separate sub-account with its own IBAN. Ideally, deposits should be made by standing order from an external account (e.g. your main bank), as automatic debits from your main account at Saxo are not possible. Saxo Bank’s phone support confirmed this peculiarity when we asked. Individual transfers from the main CHF account to the AutoInvest sub-account, on the other hand, can be made manually at any time, according to the Saxo FAQ.

For Saxo savings plans, you can currently choose from ETFs by iShares and Amundi – two renowned providers, even if the product range still has room to grow. You can find the ETFs currently eligible for savings plans at Saxo Bank here.

Despite the weaknesses mentioned, we consider AutoInvest to be a successful way to get started with regular investing overall – especially since Saxo waives the usual trading commissions.

Passive income through securities lending

Optionally, you can activate lending of your securities directly on the Saxo platform and earn passive income this way.

The deal: you receive 50% of the income, and the bank keeps the other half. It is ensured that high-quality collateral worth at least 102% is held in a separate Swiss securities account.

Important: your freedom to trade remains unrestricted – you can buy or sell your securities at any time as usual.

Our experience with Saxo Bank’s support

Saxo Bank offers you five support channels:

• FAQs with video tutorials
  Especially helpful for newcomers are the quick start FAQs, which also explain basic functions in videos.
  
• Email
  If you prefer classic email, you can send your request to [email protected]. This channel is aimed particularly at potential new clients who, for example, still have questions about opening an account.
  
• Chatbot
  By its nature, this channel is the most efficient – and is promoted heavily as a result. The chatbot answers standard questions quickly and to a satisfactory standard. For more specific questions, however – such as whether deposits into the savings plan must come from an external account – the answers are often vague or incomplete.
  
• Phone support
  Saxo customer service can be reached in German and French during office hours and around the clock in English: +41 58 317 95 00.
  
  We contacted Saxo’s German-language support with a few tricky questions about the platforms, AutoInvest and foreign currency accounts – and each time received competent answers after a short wait in the queue.
  
  While you wait, a recorded message tells you your current position in the queue and points out that you can switch directly to the (even more efficient) English-language support.
  
• Ticket system
  For non-urgent but more complex requests, the ticket system directly on the platform is a good choice. Users are guided through topic categories so that the request reaches the right specialist team.

What other customers say

Our own experience with the support has been good, and many customers also praise the friendly and competent staff on the phone. But there is a downside: on Trustpilot, Saxo Switzerland scores 3.8 out of 5 stars (325 reviews, as of November 2026), and opinions vary widely.

Most of the frustration concerns compliance checks. Several customers report that their account was restricted for weeks without warning and that they repeatedly had to submit documents such as tax returns or custody account statements from other banks. The support was hardly able to help. Readers describe similar experiences in the comments below this article. Slow responses to written enquiries are also criticised several times.

Conclusion

The support offers suitable channels for different concerns – from quick answers via chatbot to personal advice on the phone. We were particularly impressed by the competent German-speaking phone support. The chatbot is still of too little help with more complex questions. And during compliance checks on their accounts, several customers feel left alone, according to their feedback.

How does opening an account work? 

Opening an account with Saxo is completely digital – with a bonus on top.

Important: open your account through our partner link to save up to CHF 200 in trading fees.

For the process, have your smartphone, a valid passport or ID card and a few minutes ready. Then it is step by step:

1. Start via our partner link
   You go straight to Saxo’s registration form and enter your email address and your name.
2. Beneficial owner
   You confirm that you yourself are the beneficial owner of the account.
3. Personal details
   Next come your gender, date of birth and country of birth.
4. Proof of identity
   You upload a scan of your passport or identity card.
5. Occupation & income
   You need to provide details of your employment status, employer, job title, income, assets and the source of funds.
6. Investment experience & intended use
   Saxo asks about your experience with financial instruments and how you intend to use the account.
7. Tax details
   You state your tax residence and confirm that you are not a politically exposed person and not a US person.
8. Contact details
   Next come your home address and your phone number.
9. Legal matters & login details
   You accept the terms and conditions, set your password – and confirm everything with an electronic signature.
10. Selfie & completion
    Finally, you take a quick selfie with your smartphone or webcam – to verify your identity.
11. Review by Saxo
    In our Saxo Bank review, the check only took a short time: just five minutes after completing the application, we received account approval by email – including the new account details and the Saxo user ID.

Saxo vs. Swissquote: a head-to-head comparison

In this overview, we compare the challenger Saxo with the established market leader Swissquote – two Swiss providers with a different focus: Saxo on investing and trading, Swissquote as a comprehensive all-in-one provider with additional banking services such as cards and payments.

	Saxo	Swissquote
Swiss banking licence	Yes	Yes
Deposit insurance	Up to CHF 100,000	Up to CHF 100,000
Product range	Focus on investing and trading	Very broad (everything from a single source: trading, cards, payments, etc.)
Custody fees	None	CHF 80 – 200 per year (tiered by account value)
Trading fees Price examples for ETF trades: CHF 10,000 on a Swiss exchange USD 10,000 on a US exchange	CHF 3 – 8* USD 3 – 8*	CHF 9** USD 30
Currency exchange	0,25%	0,95%
Savings plans	No purchase fees	With purchase fees from CHF 3
Fractional trading (fractional shares)	No	Yes

Conclusion

Overall, Saxo offers significantly lower fees and is aimed at investors who focus on investing and active trading.

Swissquote impresses as an established all-in-one provider with innovative features such as fractional trading and a particularly broad offering – from investing and cards to comprehensive banking services.

Both platforms guarantee a high level of security and reliable regulation. Which one suits you better depends on your individual needs and goals.

Interview with Oliver Buomberger, COO & Deputy CEO Saxo Bank Switzerland 

Oliver Buomberger has been responsible for the operational development of Saxo Bank Switzerland since 2021. In this interview, he reveals how the recent price offensive has gone down with Swiss investors, what makes it special – and which innovations Saxo will come up with in 2026.

Saxo has gone on a real cost-cutting spree in Switzerland: custody fees are gone, and ETF savings plans can now be set up without purchase fees. How have Swiss investors, who are traditionally rather reluctant to switch, reacted to your price offensive?

Oliver Buomberger: Our recent price offensive has met with a very positive response from Swiss investors. The abolition of custody fees and the new ETF savings plans without purchase fees have been received with enthusiasm. These measures have not only attracted many new investors but also strengthened the trust and satisfaction of our existing clients. In fact, we have managed to double the number of users of our platforms two years in a row. Thanks to substantial progress in client satisfaction, as measured by our NPS, we are certainly among the best there – a clear sign of how much our Swiss clients value our offering.

We are proud of this unique offering, which makes it easier to start investing – and at minimal cost. This successful strategy underlines our commitment to offering innovative, client-friendly solutions that have a lasting impact on the Swiss market.

You operate globally. How does the investment behaviour of your Swiss clients differ from other markets?

The investment behaviour of our Swiss clients differs from other markets in several interesting ways. One of the most striking aspects is the high level of financial knowledge that many Swiss investors bring with them. They are often better informed and have strong expertise in financial matters, which is reflected in their well-founded investment decisions. 

Swiss clients are also particularly tech-savvy. They navigate our platform skilfully and use its features effectively, which makes it easier for them to access more complex financial products and enables more diversified portfolios. Another difference is the focus on stability and security, which often leads to more conservative or lower-risk investment decisions.

Looking ahead to 2026: what can we look forward to – new features, further fee cuts or completely different surprises?

We will be presenting further innovative solutions that make investing easier and richer. These include thematic ETPs that let our clients invest in areas such as artificial intelligence, healthcare, defence, crypto & blockchain or cybersecurity with just one click – and at very competitive prices. 

We are also planning to expand our successful AutoInvest product and are working on a solution for Pillar 3a. The Saxo Investor platform will also be improved further to meet our clients’ changing needs and offer an even more intuitive user experience.

Many thanks, Oliver, for these fascinating insights.

(The interview with Oliver Buomberger was conducted in writing on 1 December 2025 and is reproduced here in slightly abridged form.)

Final verdict and recommendations from our Saxo Bank review

With its revised fee model without ongoing costs and a clear focus on digital, self-directed investing, Saxo has established itself as a serious player among Swiss online brokers.

Based on our Saxo Bank review and from our perspective as passive ETF investors, the following points stand out as particularly positive for us:

• No custody fees – a big plus for long-term investors
• Transparent and fair brokerage fees from USD 1 / CHF 3 – especially compared with other Swiss providers
• Moderate currency exchange fees of 0.25% – with no minimum fee
• ETF savings plans without purchase commissions – ideal for regular investing without extra costs
• Modern trading platforms – intuitive and tailored to different needs
• High regulatory security – FINMA licence and deposit insurance up to CHF 100,000
• Broad investment universe – including more than 7,400 ETFs and over 23,000 shares worldwide

Of course, there is also room for improvement – we noticed this mainly in connection with the savings plan (AutoInvest): as commendable as waiving purchase commissions is, the technical implementation still needs some work in the details: no automatic debit from the main account, no fractional trading and no flexible execution intervals. In addition, several customers report accounts being restricted for weeks during compliance checks, with the support hardly able to help them.

Our recommendation

Our Saxo Bank review shows: the platform is very well suited to investors who want to invest in ETFs regularly, for the long term and cost-efficiently – with a provider regulated in Switzerland.

For passive investors with a buy-and-hold strategy in particular, the overall package is convincing: the combination of regulatory security, commission-free ETF savings plans and modern platforms makes for a strong offering.

Active traders are also likely to find Saxo interesting, given the broad product universe and professional tools – however, this area was not part of our test.

To come back to the question asked in the title: after its fee-cutting spree, does Saxo deserve the title «best Swiss broker»? For many long-term ETF investors, the answer is likely to be a clear yes. The new fee model, combined with a broad product range, modern technology and Swiss regulation, currently makes Saxo one of the most attractive brokers on the market.

And the best for last: if you now open a free investment account through our partner link in the ad below, you get CHF 200 in trading fees – an attractive bonus to get you started.

Frequently asked questions about Saxo

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Update

2026-11-09: FAQ with 15 frequently asked questions about Saxo Bank and section «What other customers say» added, assessment of the support adjusted.

2026-09-20: Note on manual deposits to the AutoInvest sub-account added.

2026-03-20: Various minor updates made.

2025-12-03: Interview with Oliver Buomberger, COO Saxo Switzerland, added.

2025-11-20: New SaxoTrader platform, a merger of SaxoTraderGO and SaxoTraderPro, explained.

2025-07-24: Clarified that an upgrade to the «Platinum» and «VIP» account tiers is limited to one year at a time and depends not only on the size of the deposit but also on other factors such as trading frequency and trading volume.

Disclaimer

Disclaimer: Investing involves the risk of loss. You have to decide for yourself whether or not you want to take these risks.

Errors excepted: we have written this Saxo Bank review to the best of our knowledge and belief. Our aim is to give you, as a private investor, information on financial topics that is as objective and meaningful as possible. If we have nevertheless made mistakes, or if important aspects have been forgotten and/or are no longer up to date, we would be grateful if you let us know.

Transparency notice: we are convinced by the offering of this up-and-coming Swiss online bank and have therefore entered into a commission-based partnership with Saxo Bank. Our assessments nevertheless remain independent and are based on our own experience and objective criteria.