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Lightyear vs XTB: fees, markets and protection

Facts for both companies from their official pages; each was checked on the date shown in its review.

Facts verified on October 28, 2026

Key differences

Only Lightyear lists Euronext, London Stock Exchange, and Xetra (Deutsche Börse).
Only Lightyear is licensed by EFSA and FCA.
Only XTB is licensed by KNF, CNMV, ACPR, BaFin, CMVM, CySEC, FSC Belize, DFSA, and CMF (Chile).

Criterion	Lightyear	XTB
Rating	4.6/5 on other platforms 5.5K ratings	4.5/5 on other platforms 186K ratings
Regulators	EFSA, FCA	KNF, CNMV, ACPR, BaFin, CMVM, CySEC, FSC Belize, DFSA, CMF (Chile)
Markets	US exchanges (NYSE, Nasdaq), Euronext, London Stock Exchange, Xetra (Deutsche Börse)	US exchanges (NYSE, Nasdaq)
Products	stocks, ETFs, fractional shares, bonds, funds	stocks, ETFs, fractional shares
US stock or ETF order	0.1% of the order, minimum $0.10, maximum $1	€0 per order
Currency conversion fee	0.35%	0.5%
Investor protection	Estonian Investor Protection Sectoral Fund, SIPC (US securities held with Alpaca)	Protection of uninvested funds
Deposits and withdrawals	Bank transfer, Visa / Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay	Visa / Mastercard, Bank transfer, PayPal
Available only in	Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark +20	Angola, Bermuda, Georgia, North Macedonia, Malaysia, Mauritania +40
Minimum deposit	—	No minimum
	Read review	Read review

Which regulators license Lightyear and XTB?

Lightyear is licensed by EFSA and FCA; XTB by KNF, CNMV, ACPR, BaFin, CMVM, CySEC, FSC Belize, DFSA, and CMF (Chile).