Junior Depots in Germany: Compare Accounts for Children

expats.de has explained German finances for international families since 2014. This comparison distinguishes verified product terms from missing information. It doesn't promise admission for every nationality or predict an investment return. Read the opening guide before transferring money and the children's tax guide before setting allowances.

Advertising disclosure: offer links carry an Ad label. We may receive a commission when you open an account through them. The editorial score follows the method explained below; commissions don't enter its calculation. A bank's acceptance decision and full contract terms still apply.

Compare the child's investment account

A free savings-plan execution doesn't remove the fund's running costs or the difference between buying and selling prices. A promotional interest rate normally concerns cash on a separate savings account. It does not describe the return on shares in the depot. Read the qualifying account, eligibility and promotional period together.

Ask the bank whether every guardian needs a personal account and whether your passports and tax residences are supported. If a bank requires both parents to join, confirm both applications before funding a junior account.

What differs between the providers?

Scalable Capital

Scalable separates the FREE Broker from its paid subscription and managed investing service. The table compares the FREE children's broker. All guardians need a Scalable account first. Its eligible-ETF cost reimbursement has special conditions: it isn't a promise to pay the costs of any fund you choose. An optional children's savings account is a separate product. For the prerequisite use the parent account^Ad and check its own conditions.

Traders Place

The provider's current children's-account page lists free custody and savings-plan execution. Its small-order surcharge concerns individual trades, so don't automatically apply that threshold to savings plans. Check the opening sequence with all guardians before using the parent application^Ad. Children's viewing access doesn't give them authority to change investments.

Trade Republic

The child's account belongs to the child, while guardians manage it. Trade Republic's privacy information requires accounts for all guardians; older descriptions mentioning a single managing parent don't settle that requirement. Check consent and access for your family before opening the parent account^Ad. Eligible-ETF cost reinvestment is conditional and doesn't remove market risk. Don't mistake a historical referral campaign for a current junior bonus.

finanzen.net ZERO

ZERO requires a separate depot for every guardian. Its children's account offers funds and ETFs, with a narrower product scope than its adult broker. Read the junior product list rather than assuming that every adult trading feature carries over. The parent depot^Ad is a prerequisite, not the child's account itself. Keep the child's tax ID and birth certificate ready for the separate application.

DKB

DKB links the junior depot to the child's DKB account and requires a DKB current account for at least one parent. That makes the opening sequence relevant alongside fees. Its savings-plan charge is fixed per execution rather than proportional to the contribution. Compare the whole schedule you intend to use. The parent current account^Ad or parents’ joint account^Ad has its own adult pricing conditions; don't treat it as automatically free.

Consorsbank

Consorsbank accepts a new-customer junior application without a pre-existing parental depot. Its published opening process includes documents sent by post. The linked savings-account promotion has a defined period after opening and a previous-customer exclusion. These conditions don't turn its ETF savings-plan offer into a guaranteed investment return. Keep a copy of the terms applying on your application date, especially if temporary cash interest influences your choice.

ING

ING's junior depot process allows guardians who aren't existing customers to identify themselves during opening. The automatically created Extra-Konto Junior is the settlement account, and its introductory interest applies to the qualifying cash product. Check the child's existing ING relationships before assuming eligibility. The depot's product availability, the family's residence and the guardian documents matter more than a headline savings rate that expires after an introductory period.

flatex

flatex now describes a digital children's-account opening process. All guardians need their own flatex depots, and the second guardian confirms the request separately. Its free ETF and fund savings-plan execution doesn't mean individual trades are free. The child's read-only access supports learning without transferring parental trading authority early. Keep the child’s identity and custody records ready for the digital application. All required guardians must complete their own confirmation steps.

comdirect

comdirect distinguishes its normal savings-plan tariff from selected ETF Specials. Check whether the product you actually want remains in the promotional selection; removing it can change future execution charges. We haven't carried an expired opening bonus forward. Our comdirect provider site explains the bank's products; compare its account-specific conditions with the current junior terms.

1822direkt

1822direkt tells new customers to identify the guardians during the child's application; an existing parental depot isn't a prerequisite. Its standard savings-plan tariff has a minimum and maximum charge, while selected promotional ETFs follow separate conditions. Check the qualifying contribution range as well as the ETF list. The linked savings account's introductory interest concerns cash, and the eligibility terms deserve a separate check before moving an existing child's balance.

S Broker

The current Start Invest page describes free execution for all share, ETF and certificate savings plans. That differs from older general S Broker tariffs and from the former junior comparison. Use the specific children's product when checking fees. Product restrictions for minors still apply; a broad adult securities catalogue doesn't promise the same permissions in a children's account.

Current accounts serve a different purpose

A Girokonto lets a child receive pocket money and practise payments. It doesn't replace an investment account. Keep spending money and money intended for long-term investing distinct, even if a bank shows both in the same app. The account table deliberately has no depot score: a good debit-card account and a good securities account answer different questions.

Berliner Volksbank blauorange

The bank publishes free account management for young customers. Adult advertising also discusses membership interest and credit cards. Those features don't establish the terms for a minor. Confirm your child's opening route, regional eligibility and card permissions with the bank. We haven't treated the adult welcome bonus as a children's promotion.

DKB Girokonto u18

At least one parent needs a DKB current account. The child's everyday account also forms part of the junior-depot opening sequence. Review the permissions for the second guardian and distinguish debit-card spending from any separate savings-account interest. Consent to the account doesn't automatically mean the child can carry out securities transactions.

ING Girokonto Junior

An existing ING customer who is a guardian starts the junior current-account application. That differs from the junior depot's new-customer process. Check age eligibility and identity requirements separately for the child. We haven't listed the expired introductory current-account payment as an available reward, and we haven't assumed the investment settlement account has the same functions.

Commerzbank StartKonto

Commerzbank's price list includes free account management for eligible young customers. Use the terms for the child's age, including card availability and charges for services outside the standard package. The offer link uses expats.de's existing StartKonto programme. A different adult current-account promotion doesn't automatically apply to this product.

comdirect JuniorGiro

comdirect describes a dedicated Young app for its junior current account. Read the current product price sheet before applying. An app description alone doesn't establish every cash-withdrawal, card or foreign-currency charge, and we haven't filled those gaps with an adult-account tariff.

How the Junior score works

The editorial scale runs from zero to ten. Costs contribute 40%, product choice 20%, usability 15%, service and security 15%, extras 10%. We multiply each category score by its weight, add the results and round the result to one decimal place. This is an editorial assessment, not a customer-survey average or a safety guarantee.

The opening-process rubric starts higher for fully digital applications than for compulsory branch visits. A required account for one parent reduces usability by one point; accounts for both parents reduce it by two. Extra stages and certified documents can each reduce it further. That explains why a cheap account doesn't automatically lead the comparison.

The category assessments come from the junior-depot method, with changes for verified current conditions. We reset extras to a neutral score rather than awarding points for unverified bonuses. We adjusted Trade Republic's opening burden and S Broker's cost assessment. We didn't run a new customer-service or app experiment. The score therefore supports a shortlist; it cannot decide admission, English support or a future move abroad for you.

Choose the account your family can actually use

Start with ownership and eligibility. A child's depot is unsuitable if you need to keep unrestricted parental control after adulthood. Investments can lose value, including shortly before the money is needed. Money for imminent expenses may need a cash solution instead. US citizenship or another foreign tax connection can change which investments and providers are practical; obtain advice before selecting a fund.

Then check the guardians' documents, tax residences, language needs and the bank's policy if you move. Request those answers before paying into a new account. Save the applicable tariff, offer conditions and confirmation of the account holder. Finally, set the child's allowances separately from yours and record gifts. The practical guide explains these steps; the tax guide distinguishes income, ownership and benefit assessments.