Robinhood and Trading212 cater primarily to millennial and GenZ traders with a preference for mobile trading. Both offer proprietary, user-friendly mobile apps, maintain commission-free pricing environments, and have experienced explosive growth and controversy since 2020.

Both brokers provide beginners with acceptable quality educational content, but their market commentary and research fail to add value. Robinhood and Trading212 have issues with customer support, but the former also has a controversial history and engages in payment for order flow.

Trading212 offers fractional share dealing from as little as £1.00 plus its AutoInvest feature, creating a higher-quality trading environment. Robinhood pioneered commission-free trading in the US and Trading212 across Europe.

I have conducted an in-depth review of Robinhood and Trading212 to determine which one presents the better overall choice and which traders will benefit the most at either broker.

Headquarters
CyprusUnited States
Regulators
FCA, FSC MauritiusN/A
Tier 1 Regulator(s)?
Owned by Public Company?
Year Established
20062013
Execution Type(s)
Market MakerMarket Maker
Minimum Deposit
$1$0
Trading Platform(s)
MetaTrader 4, Proprietary platformProprietary platform
Average Trading Cost EUR/USD
1.9 pips ($19.00)N/A
Average Trading Cost GBP/USD
2.9 pips ($29.00)N/A
Average Trading Cost WTI Crude Oil
$0.04N/A
Average Trading Cost Gold
$0.68N/A
Islamic Account
Signals
US Persons Accepted?
Managed Accounts
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Features and Platforms

MT4
MT5
cTrader
Proprietary Platform
Automated Trading
DOM?
Guaranteed Stop Loss
Scalping
Hedging
One-Click Trading
OCO Orders
Interest on Margin
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Noteworthy:

Robinhood provides clients with a debit card featuring weekly rewards. Trading212 offers services to traders and investors via distinct units but continues to experience withdrawal issues and stopped onboarding clients months ago.

Available Markets

Currency Pairs
N/A
Cryptocurrencies
N/A
Commodities
Crude Oil
Gold
Metals
Equity Indices
Stocks (non-CFDs)
Bonds
N/A
ETFs
Options
N/A
Futures
Synthetics
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Robinhood offers equity and ETF trading, supplementing its asset list with options, gold, and select cryptocurrencies, which Trading212 does not maintain. Trading212 maintains 10,000+ assets, where global equities account for most of them. It is also a leading Forex broker with 180+ currency pairs, notably absent at Robinhood, where traders get IPO access.

Typical Spreads and Fees

Average Trading Cost EUR/USD
1.9 pips ($19.00)N/A
Average Trading Cost GBP/USD
2.9 pips ($29.00)N/A
Average Trading Cost WTI Crude Oil
$0.04N/A
Average Trading Cost Gold
$0.68N/A
Average Trading Cost Bitcoin
$46.59N/A
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Robinhood pricing transparency remains an issue, which Trading212 recently fixed. It lists 2.50% margin rates, a cheap offer versus US-based competitors. Robinhood also supplements income by selling order flow. Trading212 lists average Forex spreads near 0.2 pips or $2.00 per 1 standard lot, making it one of the cheapest cost structures industry wide.

Security and Trust

Country of the Regulator
Bulgaria, Cyprus, United KingdomUnited Kingdom, United States
Name of the Regulator
FCA, FSC MauritiusN/A
Regulatory License Number
609146, 398/21, RG-03-0237165998, 8-69188, 823590
Regulatory Tier
1, 1, 11, 1
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Trading212 offers negative balance protection, and its UK and Cyprus subsidiaries have investor compensation funds, up to £85,000 in the UK and €20,000, or 90% of the portfolio in Cyprus. Both segregate client deposits from corporate funds.

Robinhood is a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member. Client protection exists via the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) up to $500,000 per net equity or $250,000 for cash claims. Additional Robinhood membership consists of The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the NASDAQ, and the CBOE EDGX Exchange (CBOE EDGX). Traders should consider the controversial history of Robinhood.

Robinhood vs Coinbase – Verdict

Trading212

Pros
Cons
Market-leading currency and commodities selectionLow leverage for retail traders
Fractional share dealing and AutoInvestMT4 trading platform and algorithmic trading not available
YouTube educational channel
Low minimum deposits from as little as $1

Robinhood

Pros
Cons
Fractional share dealing from $1.00 and access to IPO tradingLimited deposit and withdrawal options
Debit card for swift financial transactionsQuestionable business practices and lack of overall transparency
Beginner traders get a wealth of educational content in written formAlgorithmic trading not available
Optimized mobile app

Robinhood and Trading212 offer equity traders with smaller portfolios an excellent service with fractional share dealing. Trading costs are higher at Robinhood, but Trading212 maintains more expensive financing rates and currency conversion fees. The absence of MT4 and algorithmic trading at both brokers are notable. Trading212 trumps Robinhood with its trading conditions and broader asset selection.

You might also be interested in reviewing the below broker comparisons:

FAQs

Is Trading 212 like Robinhood?

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Both brokers maintain similar core trading environments, but Trading212 features higher quality conditions.

Why is Trading 212 not recommended?

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Some industry analysts would not recommend Trading212 due to its high financing costs and withdrawal issues with a suspended onboarding process.

Is Trading 212 a good trading platform?

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Trading212 offers a user-friendly trading platform, fractional share dealing, and AutoInvest. While it fails to support algorithmic trading, it is a good choice for beginners with a preference for mobile trading.