Revolut as a Broker: An Honest Review of Investing Next to Your Card

Revolut is the only “broker” in our comparison that most readers already have installed. Card, salary, transfers — and somewhere next to them, the Invest tab. Hence the question we get asked regularly: if the app is on your phone anyway, can you invest in it seriously — or is it a toy that comes with the card? We go through our usual checklist: where the money sits, what you can buy, what it really costs — and where the traps are hidden in the “all in one”.

The short answer

• Revolut works if you want to start small without setting up separate apps: round-ups, recurring €50–100 ETF purchases right next to your everyday finances.
• Revolut does not work as the main broker for a serious portfolio: plan limits, the weekend markup, securities protection under the junior of the two schemes. Once your portfolio has grown, move on: Lightyear for simplicity, IBKR for everything else.
• The main thing to understand: money in your accounts and the shares you have bought are protected differently, and crypto is not protected at all. Details below.

What Revolut is

Launched in 2015 by Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko, Revolut long ago outgrew its “travel card” status: today it is a fully fledged bank with a Lithuanian licence and tens of millions of customers across Europe. Investing here is a layer on top of the bank: brokerage services in the EEA are provided by a separate company, Revolut Securities Europe UAB, supervised by the Bank of Lithuania. That matters more than it sounds: the bank and the broker have different licences, different balance sheets — and different protection for your money.

Where your money is: three pockets, three levels of protection

Our standing question — “what happens if the broker goes bankrupt?” — splits into three different answers at Revolut, and this is the most important thing to take away from this review. Money in your accounts sits in Revolut Bank UAB and is insured by the Lithuanian deposit insurance system up to €100,000 — just like at a regular bank. The securities you buy are held with the broker, Revolut Securities Europe UAB: they are segregated, and for the bad scenario there is the Lithuanian investor protection scheme — up to €22,000. Crypto is covered by neither the first scheme nor the second: if the provider goes bankrupt, there is nothing to compensate you from.

What you can buy

The line-up for a “pocket” investor is decent: more than 4,000 US and European stocks, UCITS ETFs, and since 2025 — bonds with an entry point from €100, money market funds for idle cash, precious metals and crypto. There are fractional shares and automated recurring purchases — exactly what you should start with. The familiar European rule applies here too: US-domiciled ETFs are unavailable because of the PRIIPs regulation, so take the UCITS equivalents.

What is missing: options, futures, margin trading and access to exchanges outside the US and Europe. For Revolut’s target audience that is no loss — but let’s mark the ceiling right away.

Fees: it all comes down to your plan

The plan grid is the main thing that sets Revolut apart from classic brokers. The numbers themselves are modest: custody is free, trades within the monthly limit are free, above the limit — 0.25% (minimum €1). But both the free-trade limit and the free currency-conversion limit depend on which plan you are on — from the basic Standard to the paid Ultra. An investor on Standard quickly starts to feel the squeeze: one free trade a month does not get you far, and conversion above the limit costs 0.4% — plus a markup of about 1% on weekends, when the exchange rate is “frozen”.

For scale — our iceberg from the broker comparison, the currency-conversion slice: at IBKR it is hundredths of a percent, at Lightyear 0.35%, at Revolut 0.4% above the limit plus the weekend markup. On €10,000 of turnover a year the difference is tens of euros; annoying, but not fatal. What is fatal is something else: deciding “I’ll invest on Saturday because it’s convenient” — a habit you get charged for here.

The “all in one” traps

• Crypto on the same screen as ETFs. The app makes no distinction, but the difference is fundamental: stocks get segregation and a protection scheme, crypto gets nothing. Keep that in mind when your hand reaches out to “diversify”.
• The plan upsell. Half of the investing features run into limits, and the app will politely suggest Premium or Ultra. Do the maths honestly: a paid plan only pays off if you also use its banking perks — for investing alone it is cheaper to move to a specialised broker.
• The weekend markup. Exchanges are closed, the rate is “synthetic”, and a trade with conversion on a Saturday costs you roughly 1% more. Invest on weekdays — a rule that fits on a single sticky note.

Who Revolut investing is not for

• Your main portfolio. A €22,000 securities protection scheme, plan limits and weekend markups: the construction is not designed for “all the family’s savings live here”.
• Active investors. More than a few trades a month and you either pay 0.25% on each one or pay for a plan. At Lightyear the same trades cost from $0.10 with no plans attached.
• Anyone who is serious about derivatives and bond strategies — that is still IBKR territory.

How to start

If you already have Revolut — the Invest tab, three questionnaire questions about your experience, and you can buy: bank verification was completed long ago. If not — registration is like at any neobank: passport or ID card, a selfie, ten minutes. Start with something small and simple: a recurring purchase of one broad UCITS ETF for an amount you would not be afraid to leave untouched for a year. And when the plan limits start to pinch, you will already know what to do: our formula from the broker comparison is not going anywhere.

Conclusions

• The role — “investing next to your card”: the best way in the EU to start with €50 a month without setting up anything new.
• Protection — three-layered, and you need to understand it: deposits up to €100,000, securities up to €22,000, crypto — zero.
• Costs — tolerable within the limits and bitey above them: 0.25% per trade, 0.4% conversion, +1% on weekends.
• The ceiling — arrives quickly: a few trades a month or a portfolio worth a couple of tens of thousands — and it is time for a specialised broker.

The formula has not changed: Revolut — to start without putting it off, Lightyear — to build a system, IBKR — to grow. The worst option of all is to spend a year “choosing a broker” and never start anywhere.

If this was useful — in the Invest Hub club we show our real portfolios and trades on the platforms from this article and help residents go all the way from their first purchase to a systematic portfolio. You can join here.

This material is for information purposes only and is not investment advice. Fees and terms are based on Revolut’s published price lists as of August 2026; limits depend on your plan and country — check the current terms in the app before trading.