Best investing apps – which platforms are best for investing in stocks?

The best investing apps can make investing easier by making it simpler to manage what you buy and sell as well as monitoring performance. But with so many to choose from, which investing apps are the best to help you get started with stocks and shares?

The right investing app for you will very much depend on whether you’re a beginner investor just getting started or an experienced investor looking to make trades on the go, open a stocks and shares ISA, or expand your portfolio.

You can also choose an app to help you invest ethically, choose the top stocks, funds and investment trusts, pick popular ISA investments, or open a personal pension.

Try 6 free issues of MoneyWeek today

Get unparalleled financial insight, analysis and expert opinion you can profit from.

Start your trial

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up

Now is a great time to consider your options, especially as increased competition is pushing down investing platform fees.

“The most important thing for an investor to consider when choosing between platforms is cost,” said Michael Healy, managing director UK & Ireland at IG Group. “The difference that seemingly small fees can make to lifetime returns can be eye-watering.”

Some investing apps have pension and ISA transfer offers, which pay cashback or a bonus when you switch to the platform, while some are even offering free stocks as a sweetener to tempt you to switch.

The apps we feature below are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and are available to UK-based investors.

Best app for investing in stocks

AJ Bell

AJ Bell offers DIY investors access to thousands of stocks and shares, as well as funds, investment trusts and four ready-made portfolios.

It offers the full suite of products: stocks and shares ISA, lifetime ISA, junior ISA, SIPP and junior SIPP.

For those with less than £250,000 invested, AJ Bell Youinvest charges a competitive 0.25%. Those with larger portfolios are charged less. Investment fund fees and share trading fees are added on top.

The app allows customers to log in with their biometrics, check the value of their portfolio, buy and sell investments, and view live prices of UK, US and Canadian shares.

It scores 4.6 on Google Play and 4.7 on the App Store. It is also rated 4.9 on Trustpilot – the highest rating of any of the investment apps featured here.

Best investing apps for beginners

Moneybox

Moneybox is a good option for beginners, as you can get started with just £1.

The app can also round up your spending to help you invest loose change. So, if you purchase a bottle of wine for £8.25, the app will round it up and put 75p into your investment account. The small change can soon add up and be put to work in the stock market.

There are three ready-made portfolios to choose from, plus a selection of funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) available to purchase.

Investors can also choose from 20 big US stocks like Coca-Cola and Nvidia (including fractional shares) if you want to mix and match your own portfolio.

You can open a stocks and shares ISA, general investment account, lifetime ISA, junior ISA or personal pension.

As well as investing your spare change using the round up function, you can set up a regular weekly deposit, a monthly payday boost or make one-off deposits.

There’s a £1 monthly fee, 0.45% annual charge plus investment costs ranging from 0.07% to 0.77%. The app scores 4.7 on Google Play and 4.8 on the App Store.

InvestEngine

InvestEngine is built entirely around ETF investing, and there are no account fees on self-invested ISAs, GIAs or pensions.

Managed accounts cost just 0.25% and you can start with a £100 lump sum or £10 weekly regular investments. Additional fund fees will apply for the ETFs you buy.

InvestEngine scores 4.6 on Google Play and 4.8 on the App Store.

Wealthify

With Wealthify – which is backed by Aviva – you can open a stocks and shares ISA, general investment account, junior ISA or self-invested personal pension (SIPP). The minimum initial deposit is £500 for a junior ISA, or £1,000 for either a stocks and shares ISA or a GIA.

There’s a range of investment portfolios to choose from, including ethical ones, depending on your risk level and savings goals. However, Wealthify does not allow you to pick your own stocks and funds, but will create a portfolio for you based on your risk tolerance and goals.

Wealthify’s annual fee is 0.6%, with investment costs of 0.15% - rising to 0.58% for ethical plans - on top. For SIPPs, there is an annual fee of 0.6% on balances of up to £100,000, dropping to 0.3% for any portion above that.

The app scores 3.9 on Google Play and 4.5 on the App Store.

Plum

Plum offers up to 26 investment funds (including tech, healthcare and green options) and thousands of brands like Meta and Tesla.

You can invest into an ISA, general investment account (GIA) or pension. You cannot open a stocks and shares ISA on the basic tier, though – these are only available on the three higher-paid tiers. Basic plan members are restricted to a general investment account for investing.

There is also an easy-access savings account paying up to 3.63% interest, depending on the membership you have, plus a cash ISA at 4.60%.

The basic plan is free (the other three cost £3.99, £7.99 or £14.99 a month - for this you’ll potentially get a higher interest rate on cash, lower fees and more investment choice), plus an annual management fee of up to 0.6% (depending on your plan) on investments.

Only the most expensive tier gives you unlimited free trades; the Basic, Plus and Boost plans charge 50p, 15p and 5p respectively on your third trade onwards.

Fund manager fees apply on top.

The app scores 4.6 on Google Play and 4.7 on the App Store.

Best investing apps for experienced investors

Hargreaves Lansdown

The largest investment platform in the UK, Hargreaves Lansdown offers a huge choice of thousands of funds and shares (as well as ready-made portfolios, if you’d prefer an expert to build one for you).

Hargreaves Lansdown announced a major shake-up to its fees in January. The headline annual fee on stocks and shares ISAs, SIPPs and Fund and Share Accounts was reduced from 0.45% to 0.35% (LISAs charge 0.25% junior ISAs are free).

Investment account fees fall to 0.25% for portfolios worth £250,000-£1 million, 0.1% on accounts worth between £1 million and £2 million, and free for portfolios worth more than £2 million.

The minimum investment to open most investing accounts is £100 as a lump sum, or £25 if you invest monthly.

You can see live share prices on the app, trade shares from the UK, Europe and North America, and trade bonds and funds.

It scores 4.2 on Google Play and 4.7 on the App Store.

IG

If you are a more confident investor you might want to use more esoteric instruments such as contracts for difference (CFDs), spread betting and trading foreign exchange (forex).

IG offers many of these options to adventurous investors.

It’s a low-cost option, too, with IG’s stocks and shares ISA being free of account and commission fees, and FX fees of 0.7%.

IG is rated 4.4 on Google Play and 4.6 on the App Store.

Best investing apps for free trading

Trading 212

Trading 212 offers a free trading account and ISA - there is no annual fee, or trading fees - making this a cheap option. However, watch out for fees for depositing money into your Trading 212 account, and a 0.15% currency conversion charge.

There are more than 13,000 shares and ETFs for investors to choose from, and you can invest with just £1.

The app scores 4.6 stars on Google Play and 4.7 on the App Store. Users say it is quick and easy, and a great way to buy and sell shares.

Freetrade

There are no fees with Freetrade's Basic investing account and, as its name suggests, no charges for trading shares.

As of January, its ISAs, Sipps, mutual funds, gilts and ready-made portfolios are all included in the Basic (free) plan making this one of the lowest-cost investing apps available.

There is a wide range of shares (including US fractional shares), ETFs and investment trusts to choose from. There are no ready-made portfolios.

Its app scores 4.4 stars on Google Play and 4.3 on the App Store.

How do investing apps work?

An investing app allows you to pay into your investment account from your phone. Depending on the investment range offered by the app, you could potentially buy or sell all kinds of assets such as shares, funds, investment trusts, bonds, and cryptocurrency in some cases.

Most offer a tax-efficient stocks and shares ISA to allow you to hold your investments and pay no tax on growth, capital gains or dividends; and possibly a personal pension too.

Some offer a standard savings account to allow you to build your wealth in one place.

The app enables you to track the performance of your portfolio and usually a breakdown of what you own by sector, region and asset.

These apps usually won’t offer financial advice but you might get access to performance data, analysis and research to help you with your investment decisions.

Before choosing an app you should make sure you are clear what they offer in terms of the range of investments available, the annual charges as well as access to customer service should you need help at any stage with your account.