What does the Altersvorsorgedepot really cost?

What you really pay, which provider charges how much and what matters in a comparison.

For savers

Small percentages, big effect

Less than many people think. That applies as soon as you choose the standard product. There the legislator caps the effective costs at 1.0 percent a year, and the first providers are undercutting that considerably. quirion relies on Vanguard ETFs for this. Of the twelve providers with prices of their own, neun also name ongoing fund costs : Scalable Capital and Smartbroker+ 0 %, flatex 0,07 %, quirion 0,07 / 0,08 %, DekaBank and Sunrise 0,1 %, Deutsche Bank and Postbank 0,10 %, Fidelity ca. 0,35 %, Sunrise 0,5 bis 0,9 %. Acht of them are tied to conditions or time-limited. The details are in the provider monitor. At sieben providers the securities account itself costs nothing on a lasting basis. The cap only applies to the standard product, though. Other variants are not bound by it and are priced individually.

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Types of cost

TER, account fee, effective costs – three things that are constantly confused

Three items determine what you pay in the end. In forums they are constantly mixed up. The fund costs, shown as the TER, sit inside the ETF itself and are deducted from the fund assets before you notice anything at all. The account fee is what you pay the provider on top, for running your account and administering the subsidies. The effective costs bring both of these plus all further deductions together in a single annual percentage figure, and it is precisely this last figure that the law caps, not the individual building blocks. Anyone who confuses them miscalculates. Scalable’s low fund costs are currently being read as an additional account fee, even though the account itself costs nothing.

TER (fund costs):

ongoing costs of the ETF, charged within the fund. Example: Vanguard ETFs at quirion with 0.07 to 0.08 percent.

Account fee:

price for running the account. Example: Deka 0 percent, Scalable Capital 0 percent, Smartbroker+ 0 percent for three years up to 25,000 euros.

Effective costs:

everything together in one figure. This is the only measure the legislator caps. More on this on our page „Effective costs in the Altersvorsorgedepot.

Cost cap

The 1 percent cap applies only to the standard product

This is the most expensive piece of misinformation in the market. The cap of 1.0 percent applies only to the standard product, that legally prescribed basic account made up of two preselected funds. It does not apply to an individual product. The consumer advice centre reckons on 1.5 to 2.5 percent a year there, and over decades that eats up a large part of your return. On almost every competing site the cap is presented as applying to all accounts. That is simply wrong. You can read up on the rule in the Federal Ministry of Finance’s FAQ on the reform of private retirement provision (bundesfinanzministerium.de).

Calculated over the long term

Why half a percentage point makes such a difference over the years

It sounds like very little, but it is not. The difference between 0.2 and 1.0 percent in costs takes effect afresh every year, and over decades it adds up enormously. An example makes it tangible. Anyone investing 150 euros a month over 40 years at an assumed 6 percent ends up with around 283,000 euros at 0.2 percent in costs, but only about 229,000 euros at 1.0 percent. That is a difference of more than 50,000 euros, from fees alone. This is why we look at the effective costs first for every provider.

Assessment

This is what our expert says

Our expert Rolf Henning Hackel puts the cost question like this: costs are the strongest lever savers have in their own hands, and over thirty or forty years the difference between 0.2 and 1 percent makes an enormous amount of difference. Staring only at the last decimal place, however, falls short.

“Costs are the strongest lever you have in your own hands. In the end, though, what counts is that you start and keep going. Because the best account is only any use if you actually pay into it.”

Rolf Henning Hackel
Account cost calculator

Work out your own cost difference

Figures feel abstract until you see them for yourself. Set your savings rate, the term and the fee, and the account cost calculator shows immediately what the costs do to your account. Apparently small percentage points quickly turn into large sums. Give it a try.

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Monatliche Sparrate iIhr eigener Beitrag pro Monat. 200 €
25 €1.000 €
Laufzeit iÜber wie viele Jahre Sie sparen. Üblich: Zeit bis Renteneintritt. 30 Jahre
10 Jahre40 Jahre
Depotgebühr p. a. iJährliche Kosten Ihres Depots. ETF-Broker: ~0,3 %. Bank: ~1 %. Aktiver Fonds: ~1,5 % und mehr. 1,0 %
0 %2 %
Depot-Wert nach 30 Jahren
–
bei 1,0 % Kosten p. a.
Nur an Kosten verloren
–
Über die gesamte Laufzeit

Annahme: 6,0 % Bruttorendite p. a.

Erweiterte Berechnung Mit Einkommen, Rendite, Kosten, Inflation, Riester-Übertrag, ETF-Vergleich

Unverbindliche Modellrechnung, keine Anlageberatung, keine Garantie künftiger Wertentwicklung. Vergangene Wertentwicklungen sind kein verlässlicher Indikator für künftige Wertentwicklungen.

Comparison tips

What to look out for when comparing costs

The lowest percentage is not automatically the best offer. Look at the effective costs first, not at individual items, and check whether it is a standard product with a cap or a free individual product. Be careful with zero percent advertising. Some terms apply only for a limited period or only up to a certain amount. And it is better to factor in any contribution guarantee, because it costs return.

Costs count double if you run two contracts. A second Altersvorsorgedepot only pays off with low fees, which is why running two accounts at the same time is worthwhile above all for heavy savers with a low-cost provider.

Stand 16.10.2026

The terms at a glance

12 of 76 of the providers checked have published their own prices. All details come from the providers themselves, with the date and source on the respective provider page.
ProductSecurities accountOrderETFs/fundsReduction in yield
Allianz
AltersvorsorgeVertrag InvestFlex80————
AltersvorsorgeDepot InvestFlex————
Altersvorsorge Standarddepot————
BarmeniaGothaer
FörderPlus GarantieRente Invest————
Altersvorsorgedepot Premium————
standard securities account————
DekaBank
standard securities account0 €—0,1 %0,1 %
Individual product0 €—1,0 bis 1,5 %depending on contract term1,0 bis 1,5 %depending on contract term
Deutsche Bank
DWS Standarddepot0,18 %from the third year—0,10 %the whole price for the first two years—
DWS Altersvorsorgedepot0,99 %a year, advice-based———
DWS
DWS Vorsorgedepot ETF———0,42 %excluding transaction costs
DWS Vorsorgedepot Aktive ETFs———0,60 %excluding transaction costs
DWS Vorsorgedepot Fonds———0,65 %excluding transaction costs
DWS Vorsorgedepot Comfort———1,13 %excluding transaction costs
DWS Vorsorgedepot Select———0,83 bis 1,28 %depending on the choice, excluding transaction costs
Fidelity
Fidelity VorsorgeDepot12 €—ca. 0,35 %—
Fidelity VorsorgeDepot Plus24 €—ca. 0,6 %—
flatex
Standarddepot Core0 €0 €savings plans and one-off purchases0,07 %from the sixth year on—
Standarddepot Plus————
Altersvorsorgedepot Flex————
Postbank
DWS Standarddepot0,18 %from the third year—0,10 %the whole price for the first two years—
DWS Altersvorsorgedepot0,99 %a year, advice-based———
quirion
standard securities account contract0 €at launch—0,07 / 0,08 %refunded for at least the first year—
Pro variantThe provider will name the price before launch
Scalable Capital
standard securities account0 €0 €0 %until 31 December 2027—
self-directed securities account0 €0 €with PRIME+, otherwise €0.99ab 0 %—
Smartbroker+
standard securities account0 €0 €0 %three years—
free-choice securities account0 €0 €from €500, otherwise €1——
Sunrise
Standarddepot ETF0 €0 €customary market spreads apply0,1 %effective costs, three years refunded0,1 %the first three years refunded in full
Standarddepot Plus0 €0 €no front-end loads0,5 bis 0,9 %effective costs, first year refunded0,5 bis 0,9 %the first year refunded in full
Trade Republic
All prices0 €0 €savings-plan execution0 %for several dozen ETFs—
Traders Place
standard securities account0 €0 €——
general Altersvorsorgedepot0 €0 €from €500, otherwise €0.95——
to the provider monitor
Our checking promise

How we keep the figures up to date

There is a great deal of movement in the market right now, as the product providers gradually disclose their terms. We check every detail directly at source, with the provider itself, and update it every working day. Every row in the table carries its checking date. That way you can see at a glance how current the position is, and we mark openly whatever is still subject to BaFin approval.

Sources:

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about the costs of the AVD

Does the account fee count towards the effective costs?

Yes. The effective costs bundle all annual deductions into one figure, that is fund costs, account fee and further items. It is precisely this total figure that the legislator caps at 1.0 percent for the standard product. Individual building blocks such as the account fee on its own say little about the real burden.

Does the 1 percent cap apply to every Altersvorsorgedepot?

No. The cap applies only to the standard product, the legally prescribed basic account. There is no upper limit for individual products; the consumer advice centre expects 1.5 to 2.5 percent a year there. So always check whether an offer counts as a standard product.

Which provider is currently the cheapest?

Of the twelve providers with prices of their own, neun also name ongoing fund costs : Scalable Capital and Smartbroker+ 0 %, flatex 0,07 %, quirion 0,07 / 0,08 %, DekaBank and Sunrise 0,1 %, Deutsche Bank and Postbank 0,10 %, Fidelity ca. 0,35 %, Sunrise 0,5 bis 0,9 %. Acht of them are tied to conditions or time-limited. The details are in the provider monitor.