Trade Republic has unveiled the biggest overhaul of its trading infrastructure since launch, introducing a Best Price execution algorithm that searches liquidity across 30 global exchanges, a consolidated order book, direct exchange routing and a new web-based trading terminal for active investors. According to the company, the new technology is designed to deliver institutional-grade execution and market transparency while preserving its low-cost retail pricing model.
The announcement marks a strategic shift for one of Europe’s largest retail investment platforms. Rather than competing solely on commission-free investing and mobile simplicity, Trade Republic is expanding into areas traditionally associated with professional trading platforms, including smart order routing, consolidated market data, advanced analytics and multi-venue execution.
The launch also reflects a broader trend across European brokerage markets. As retail investors become more sophisticated and regulation places greater emphasis on best execution, brokers are increasingly investing in technology that was once reserved for banks, exchanges and institutional trading firms.
What Is Changing
| New Feature | Description | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Best Price algorithm | Searches prices across 30 exchanges | Attempts to identify the lowest purchase price and highest selling price |
| Aggregated order book | Combines liquidity from multiple venues | Greater price transparency and visibility |
| Direct Orders | Choose a specific exchange | Greater control over execution venue |
| Web Terminal | Professional browser-based trading platform | Advanced charting and analytics |
| Market data | Live order books across exchanges | Institutional-style market visibility |
Trade Republic said orders executed through the new Best Price algorithm will continue to incur its existing €1 settlement fee, excluding third-party costs and market spreads. Investors who prefer to select a specific execution venue such as Xetra, Euronext, Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange can place Direct Orders for €2 per transaction regardless of order size.
The Bigger Story: Retail Brokers Are Building Smart Order Routers
The most important announcement is not the web terminal. It is the Best Price engine.
Institutional trading has long relied on smart order routing systems that analyse prices across multiple exchanges before deciding where an order should be executed. These systems attempt to minimise trading costs by considering displayed prices, available liquidity, order size and execution probability.
Retail brokers have historically offered much simpler execution models. Many routed orders to a single exchange or relied on one primary liquidity venue for each asset class.
Trade Republic is now moving closer to the institutional model by aggregating liquidity across multiple exchanges and automatically identifying what it describes as the best available executable price.
Christian Hecker, Co-Founder of Trade Republic, said: “What our engineers have built is a major step for our customers. We are connecting customers to 30 global exchanges, processing live market data in real time and turning complex market infrastructure into a simple product experience.”
Education: What Is Smart Order Routing?
Smart order routing, commonly known as SOR, is a technology used by institutional trading systems to determine where an order should be executed.
Rather than sending every order to a single exchange, a smart order router continuously compares prices, available liquidity and execution quality across multiple venues. It then routes the order to the venue expected to deliver the best outcome, or splits the order across several venues if necessary.
The objective is not simply to find the best quoted price. Large orders may receive better execution by combining liquidity from several exchanges, reducing market impact or improving the average execution price.
By introducing an aggregated order book and Best Price algorithm, Trade Republic is bringing elements of this technology to retail investors who previously had limited visibility into how their orders were executed.
Why Consolidated Order Books Matter
One of the most notable additions is the global aggregated order book.
Instead of displaying prices from a single venue, Trade Republic will show bid and ask quotes across multiple exchanges while also providing access to the individual order books for those venues.
This increases transparency by allowing investors to understand whether price differences exist across markets and how available liquidity changes throughout the trading day.
In institutional markets, consolidated market data is considered essential for best execution. Retail investors have often had to rely on delayed quotes or data from only one exchange unless they purchased professional market data subscriptions.
Trade Republic said these market data capabilities will be available without additional subscription charges.
Web Terminal Signals Expansion Beyond Mobile Investing
The launch of Web Terminal represents another strategic shift.
Trade Republic built its reputation around a mobile-first investing experience focused on simplicity. The new browser-based platform targets a different segment: active investors who want larger workspaces, multiple charts and deeper analytical tools.
The platform includes advanced charting, portfolio analytics, customisable layouts, stock and derivatives screeners and live market data.
Rather than replacing the mobile application, the Web Terminal expands Trade Republic’s product range into territory traditionally occupied by desktop trading platforms from Interactive Brokers, Saxo, thinkorswim and institutional execution management systems.
Comparison: Traditional Retail Broker Vs Trade Republic’s New Model
| Traditional Retail Broker | Trade Republic New Infrastructure |
|---|---|
| One primary execution venue | Best Price routing across 30 exchanges |
| Single exchange order book | Aggregated and venue-specific order books |
| Basic mobile interface | Professional web terminal and mobile platform |
| Limited routing control | Optional direct exchange routing |
| Basic charting | Advanced charting, analytics and screening |
Why This Matters For European Brokers
The competitive landscape for European retail brokers has changed significantly over the past five years. Zero-commission trading has compressed margins, while investors increasingly expect professional-grade functionality without paying institutional prices.
At the same time, regulatory initiatives such as MiFID II have placed greater emphasis on best execution, transparency and reporting obligations. Brokers are therefore competing on execution quality and technology as much as on pricing.
Trade Republic’s new infrastructure positions the company to compete not only with app-based retail brokers but also with more established multi-asset trading platforms targeting experienced investors.
The launch also comes as Europe continues debating the creation of a consolidated tape for equities, a project intended to improve market transparency across fragmented trading venues. While the industry-wide consolidated tape is still under development, Trade Republic’s aggregated order book gives its own clients a broker-level consolidated view of available liquidity across supported exchanges.
The Challenges
Delivering institutional-style execution to retail investors is technically demanding. Maintaining real-time connectivity to 30 exchanges requires low-latency infrastructure, resilient market data systems and continuous monitoring of venue availability, pricing and execution quality.
The effectiveness of the Best Price algorithm will also depend on how the broker evaluates competing quotes, available depth, execution certainty and transaction costs. Investors will ultimately judge the technology by whether it consistently produces better execution outcomes than conventional routing methods.
Outlook
Trade Republic’s latest platform update reflects a broader evolution in retail investing. The distinction between institutional and retail trading technology is becoming increasingly blurred as cloud infrastructure, real-time market data and automated execution become more accessible.
Rather than limiting sophisticated trading tools to professional market participants, brokers are increasingly embedding advanced execution technology inside consumer-focused products. By combining smart order routing, aggregated market data, direct exchange access and professional analytics, Trade Republic is betting that the next phase of retail investing will be defined not by lower commissions, but by better market infrastructure.
