Lightyear Review for Expats 2026

Lightyear is the relative newcomer in the EU broker space. Founded in Estonia in 2020 by former Wise (TransferWise) employees, it targets the gap between DEGIRO (cheap but dated) and Saxo Bank (premium and expensive). After 12 months of use across two accounts, here’s the verdict.

TL;DR

Rating: 3.9/5 — modern UX, fair pricing, narrower product range than IBKR.

Get Lightyear if: You’re EU resident, want clean modern UX, mostly invest in stocks + ETFs, have a smaller portfolio. Cost-conscious but want quality.

Skip Lightyear if: You need bonds, options, futures. You’re a US person (Lightyear doesn’t accept). You’re a very active trader (IBKR cheaper at volume).

What Lightyear is

Lightyear is an investment platform founded in 2020 by former Wise (TransferWise) team members. Headquartered in London with operations in Estonia. Provides EU/UK retail investors access to stocks and ETFs.

The product includes:
– 5,000+ stocks across EU, UK, and US markets
– 700+ UCITS ETFs
– Multi-currency accounts (EUR, USD, GBP)
– Fractional shares from €5
– Auto-invest “pies” feature
– ISA wrapper for UK residents
– Interest paid on uninvested cash
– Mobile-first UX
– EU banking license via Lightyear Europe AS

Pricing (2026)

Action	Cost
EU stocks	€1 per trade
US stocks	€1 per trade
ETFs (UCITS)	€1 per trade
Forex (auto-convert)	0.35%
Account maintenance	Free
Inactive fee	None
Withdrawals	Free up to monthly limit
Custody fee	Free

Lower than Saxo’s per-trade fees (€5-10). Slightly higher than DEGIRO’s free-ETF list. For a buy-and-hold investor making 6-12 trades per year: ~€6-12/year total trading costs.

What’s good

1. Best mobile UX in the category. Built by ex-Wise people. App feels modern and well-designed. Onboarding is fast. The contrast with DEGIRO’s dated UX is dramatic.

2. Fast onboarding. Online application, often approved in 1-2 days. Faster than DEGIRO (1-2 weeks) and much faster than Saxo (1-3 weeks). For users in a hurry: clear advantage.

3. Multi-currency. Hold EUR, USD, GBP balances natively. Convert at ~0.35% spread (cheap by EU broker standards, expensive vs IBKR Pro’s 0.02%).

4. Fractional shares. Buy €5 worth of any stock or ETF. Useful for systematic investing — set up a monthly auto-buy of €100 split across 5 ETFs.

5. Banking license (via Lightyear Europe). EU passporting, EU deposit guarantee scheme up to €20,000. Not as protective as DEGIRO’s €100K via German DGS, but real.

6. Built for European market. UCITS ETF selection prioritized. Clear UCITS focus aligned with EU regulatory framework.

7. Pricing transparency. Fee schedule is short and clear. Easier to understand than Saxo’s tiered structures.

8. Interest on cash. 4-5% annual on EUR/USD cash balances (variable with central bank rates). Competitive with money market funds.

9. UK ISA support. UK residents can open a Stocks & Shares ISA with Lightyear. Tax-advantaged. Less common among EU-focused brokers.

10. Active product development. Lightyear ships features regularly. The product in 2026 is meaningfully better than 2024.

What’s not so good

1. Limited product range. Stocks and ETFs only. No bonds (individual), no options, no futures, no forex. Limited to the basics.

2. Smaller ETF selection than DEGIRO. A few hundred UCITS ETFs vs DEGIRO’s thousands. Most major UCITS available; some niche ones missing.

3. Customer support is email-only. Response times reasonable (24-48 hours) but not premium. No live chat. No phone support.

4. No US ETF access for retail. Like other EU brokers, MiFID II restricts US ETF retail access. UCITS only available.

5. Newer = less track record. Founded 2020. Hasn’t been through major market crashes as a business. Regulatory standing solid; operational standing less proven than 20-year-old brokers.

6. Lower deposit insurance than DEGIRO. EU EIS scheme covers €20K. DEGIRO via German DGS covers €100K. For balances over €20K: less formal protection.

7. No bond market access. For bond-heavy portfolios: Saxo or IBKR significantly better.

8. US persons not accepted. Lightyear doesn’t onboard US citizens or US green card holders due to FATCA complexity.

Lightyear vs DEGIRO

Criterion	Lightyear	DEGIRO
UX	Modern mobile-first	Functional, dated
Per-trade fee	€1	€1-3
Free ETF list	No	Yes (~200)
Bond access	No	Limited
Options/futures	No	Yes
Country availability	EU + UK	EU
Deposit insurance	€20K	€100K (DGS)
Banking license	Yes (Lightyear Europe)	Yes (flatexDEGIRO)
Onboarding speed	1-2 days	1-2 weeks
Active development	High	Low

For monthly ETF purchases of free-list ETFs: DEGIRO cheaper (free vs €1).

For non-free-list ETFs or stocks: Lightyear cheaper (€1 vs €3).

UX strongly favors Lightyear.

For most EU retail investors: Lightyear is now the better choice for buy-and-hold ETF investing. DEGIRO retains advantages for users who specifically value the larger ETF universe or need bonds.

Lightyear vs IBKR Pro

Criterion	Lightyear	IBKR Pro
UX	Excellent	Functional (improving)
Per-trade fee	€1	€1-2
Product range	Stocks + ETFs only	Everything
FX cost	0.35%	0.02%
Country availability	EU + UK	Most countries
US ETF access	No	Yes (Pro classification)
Best for	Small-mid portfolio EU	Active/large portfolios

IBKR Pro better for everything except UX. Lightyear better if UX matters and you only want stocks/ETFs.

For an EU expat with €50K portfolio doing 6 ETF buys per year: either works. Lightyear’s UX makes it the more pleasant choice.

For active traders or anyone needing US ETF access from EU: IBKR Pro.

Lightyear vs Saxo Bank

Criterion	Lightyear	Saxo Bank
UX	Excellent	Polished but premium-feel
Per-trade fee	€1	€5-10
Account minimum	€0	€0
Product range	Stocks + ETFs	Everything including bonds
Customer support	Email-only	Live chat + phone
Research tools	Basic	Strong
Banking license	Yes	Yes
Best for	Small-mid portfolio	€100K+ with bond exposure

Saxo wins on product breadth and customer support. Lightyear wins on cost and modern UX.

For ETF-only buy-and-hold investors: Lightyear is dramatically cheaper.

For diversified portfolios including bonds: Saxo.

Lightyear vs Trading 212

Both modern EU brokers with commission-free positioning:

Criterion	Lightyear	Trading 212
Cost per trade	€1	£0 (most)
Banking license	Yes (Lightyear Europe)	No (investment firm)
Free ETF list	No	Yes (most)
ISA support (UK)	Yes	Yes
Country availability	EU + UK	UK + EU
Deposit insurance	€20K	£85K FSCS (UK) / equivalent EU

Trading 212 wins on free trades. Lightyear wins on banking license positioning.

For UK residents: Trading 212 cheaper, both work for ISA.

For EU residents: coin flip; Lightyear’s banking license is a meaningful structural difference for cautious investors.

Who Lightyear is right for

✅ EU resident wanting modern app experience
✅ Buy-and-hold investor doing mostly ETFs
✅ Investor with €20K-100K portfolio (deposit insurance covers, fees compete)
✅ Fractional investing fans wanting to put €25 into a stock weekly
✅ UK resident wanting clean ISA wrapper
✅ Users who value UX over absolute lowest cost

Who Lightyear is NOT right for

❌ US persons (Lightyear doesn’t accept)
❌ Bond investors (no bond market access)
❌ Options/futures traders (no derivatives)
❌ Very active traders (IBKR Pro cheaper at volume)
❌ Investors with €200K+ (consider Saxo or IBKR with better tier benefits)
❌ Users needing free ETF universe (DEGIRO’s free-list ETF is larger)

The Auto-Invest “Pies” feature

Lightyear’s pies feature lets you:

1. Define a “pie” = mix of stocks/ETFs in your chosen percentages
2. Set monthly auto-buy amount
3. Lightyear automatically rebalances on each buy

Example pie:
– 40% VWCE (global equity)
– 30% VFEM (emerging markets)
– 20% AGGH (global bonds)
– 10% specific stock pick

Set €500/month auto-buy. Lightyear allocates each month accordingly. Over time: dollar-cost averaging into your target portfolio.

For systematic investors: this feature is genuinely useful. Comparable to Trading 212 pies. Better than DEGIRO’s manual approach.

The UK ISA angle

For UK residents, Lightyear offers a Stocks & Shares ISA. £20,000/year tax-free allowance. Wraps around the standard investing platform.

Compared to other UK ISA providers:
– Lightyear ISA: Free, modern UX, €1 per trade
– Trading 212 ISA: Free, modern, no per-trade fee
– Hargreaves Lansdown ISA: £45/year platform fee + per-trade costs
– Vanguard UK ISA: Free but limited to Vanguard funds
– Interactive Investor ISA: ~£11/mo flat fee

For UK retail investors with portfolios under £50K: Trading 212 or Lightyear ISA are the cheap options. Lightyear has a banking license; Trading 212 doesn’t. Some users prefer that.

Onboarding experience

Online application via lightyear.com. Need:
– Government ID (passport recommended)
– Proof of EU/UK residence
– Tax ID (country-specific)
– Bank account for funding

Typical timeline: 1-3 business days approval. Funding via SEPA transfer (free) or card payment.

Compared to DEGIRO (1-2 weeks) and Saxo (1-3 weeks): much faster.

Compared to IBKR Pro (3-5 business days): similar.

Real-world experience over 12 months

What we observed:

Smooth daily use. App is reliable. No major outages in our 12-month window.

Customer support email-only worked OK. We had two questions during the year, both answered in 24 hours.

Auto-invest reliable. Set up a monthly pie buy; it executed correctly each month.

Tax reporting decent. Lightyear provides annual statements suitable for tax filing in most EU countries. Some manual data entry required for non-standard filings.

No surprise fees. What’s advertised is what’s charged. No “inactivity fee” attempted; no “data fee” emerged.

Overall: pleasant experience. The “we just want to invest in ETFs without friction” use case is well-served.

What’s missing that would push us to 4.5/5

For a higher rating, we’d want to see:

• Bond market access (even just government bonds)
• More extensive UCITS ETF selection (matching DEGIRO’s universe)
• Live chat customer support for time-sensitive issues
• Better research tools (current charts are basic)
• Tax loss harvesting automation (some competitors offer this)

Lightyear is actively developing. Some of these may arrive in 2026-2027.

Disclosure

Lightyear has a referral program. We use it. Commission doesn’t affect our recommendations. We rank Lightyear ahead of DEGIRO on UX but behind on free-ETF universe. Rankings reflect actual user experience over 12 months. See our affiliate disclosure.

Not investment advice. Consult a qualified cross-border financial advisor for your specific situation.

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Last updated 2026 Q2. Based on 12 months of personal use across two accounts.

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