How to choose a broker in Italy in 2026

Opening a brokerage account is the first concrete step towards investing. Faced with dozens of options, plenty of people stall before they start. Here is what actually deserves your attention — and what is noise.

What a broker is, and why you need one

A broker is a platform that gives you access to financial markets so you can buy instruments like ETFs, shares and bonds. In Italy you can open a conto titoli at a bank, which is usually the more expensive route, or use an online broker, which typically means lower fees and a more modern interface.

The Italian question most guides skip

Before fees, before the interface, ask one thing: does this broker act as a sostituto d’imposta in Italy?

A broker that does will calculate and pay your capital gains tax for you, and your annual tax return can stay silent on the subject. A broker that does not — which includes most of the cheap, well-known European platforms — leaves that job to you. You will file under regime dichiarativo, and you will owe a quadro RW declaration for assets held abroad, every year, whether or not you made a gain.

This is not a reason to avoid foreign brokers. It is a reason to know what you are choosing. A platform that saves you €40 a year in fees but costs you €300 at the accountant is not the bargain it looked like — and the reverse can be true too, if your portfolio is large.

The four things worth comparing

Regulation and safety. Check the broker is regulated by a recognised European authority — Consob in Italy, BaFin in Germany, the AFM in the Netherlands, the Central Bank of Ireland. Your assets must be held separately from the broker’s own, and financial instruments are generally protected up to €20,000 if the firm fails.

Fees. On a €100 monthly purchase, a €5 commission per order means paying 5% just to get in. Over a decade, that alone can cost more than the fund itself. Look for low or zero commission on ETFs, and check whether automatic monthly plans are free.

Range of instruments. Confirm the specific ETFs you want are available, by ISIN rather than by name. Most European brokers offer a decent selection, but some catalogues are narrower than they first appear.

Usability. If the interface confuses you, you will make mistakes — buying the wrong share class, or the wrong currency version of the right fund. For a beginner, clarity is worth as much as low fees. Try the app before you transfer money.

What you will need to open the account

For a resident in Italy: an identity document, and your codice fiscale. If you have arrived recently and don’t have one yet, that is the first errand — the Agenzia delle Entrate issues it, and almost nothing financial can happen without it.

Some platforms also ask for proof of Italian address and, if you were not born in the EU, your residence permit. Set aside fifteen minutes and have the documents photographed in advance.

One mistake to avoid

Don’t choose a broker for a promotion. Welcome bonuses and cashback on your first trades are marketing, not value. What decides the outcome over ten years is the ordinary fee schedule, the tax treatment, and whether the platform will still exist and still be usable. Those are dull questions. They are also the only ones that compound.