UK trading platforms are used by millions of investors to gain access to global stock markets. Now new analysis has ranked the most expensive, best for customer service and most appropriate for high volume traders.
A trading platform allows the new army of DIY investors to buy and sell shares, funds, investment trusts and exchange traded funds (ETFs) directly rather than through a financial adviser or traditional stockbroker.
There are at least 10 main investment platforms in the UK – when it comes to how to invest, the trick is to find one that charges competitive trading and platform fees, offers a broad range of investments and provides good customer service.
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Jo Groves, investment specialist at Kepler Partners, which has analysed and ranked the UK’s main investment platforms, said: “Over ten million DIY accounts have been opened in the UK since the pandemic, fuelling an increase in the number of trading platforms, with app-based challengers now competing with traditional providers.
“Choosing the right platform for your needs is vital but the choice can feel overwhelming. Our rankings help individual investors weigh up what matters most to them, whether that’s cost, range of investments or premium customer service.”
How much do investment platforms charge?
Fees and investment costs are often the most important consideration for investors. While a few percentage points of difference in fees may seem insignificant, they can add up to thousands of pounds over time and significantly erode the value of portfolios.
For example, £50,000 growing at 10% a year would be worth around £336,000 after 20 years with a zero-platform fee provider. But a platform charging 0.45% a year would result in almost £30,000 less, purely due to fees eroding returns over time, according to Kepler’s calculations.
Portfolio value | £1,000 | £10,000 | £20,000 |
Freetrade | £0 | £0 | £0 |
Trading 212 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
IG | £0 | £0 | £0 |
eToro | £0 | £0 | £0 |
CMC Invest | £0 | £0 | £0 |
Bestinvest | £62 | £89 | £119 |
interactive investor | £156 | £156 | £156 |
AJ Bell | £123 | £145 | £162 |
Fidelity | £180 | £180 | £180 |
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) | £287 | £287 | £287 |
Source: Kepler: Indicative fee calculation by provider and portfolio value.
Which UK trading platform is best?
Best trading platform overall: Freetrade
Freetrade is ranked best trading platform, thanks to its commission-free trading, wide range of shares and simple app. Kepler analysts said it offers less in the way of research and range of accounts versus the mainstream providers, but ranked it as a solid choice for cost-conscious investors.
Trading fee on UK shares | Platform fee on shares (up to £250,000) | Indicative portfolio fees |
No charge | No charge | £1,000: £0 £10,000: £0 £20,000: £0 |
The UK fintech, which was acquired by IG in early 2025, has more one million users and offers an investment account, ISA and SIPP.
Investors can access almost 6,000 UK, European and US shares, and 600 ETFs and investment trusts, but actively-managed funds are only available through Freetrade’s Plus plan. Freetrade also offers fractional US shares.
It charges no trading fees but platform fees vary by plan:
Basic plan: no platform fee, lower interest on uninvested cash and 0.99% FX fee
Standard plan: platform fee of £60 per year, includes an ISA, higher interest on uninvested cash and 0.59% FX fee
Plus plan: platform fee of £120 per year, includes SIPP, highest interest on uninvested cash and 0.39% FX fee
Best for high-value portfolios: Interactive Investor
Interactive Investor (ii) is ranked as the best option for high-value investors, according to Kepler. It offers a flat-fee structure – making it cheaper than percentage charging for those with larger portfolios. It is also good for frequent traders looking for a reasonably priced mainstream platform with the widest range of options.
Trading fee on UK shares | Platform fee on shares | Indicative portfolio fees |
£3.99 | Investor Essentials (up to £50,000): £4.99 per month | £1,000: £156 £10,000: £156 £20,000: £156 |
Interactive Investor has more than 450,000 customers and is owned by fund manager Aberdeen (it still offers third-party funds). Customers can open a trading account, SIPP and Junior ISA.
Investors get to choose from more than 40,000 investment options across the UK, Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, plus 3,000 funds, 1,000 ETFs and a selection of investment trusts. It also offers multi-currency accounts, which are a good tool to use given the high foreign exchange fee.
ii charges one of the lowest trading fees amongst the mainstream platforms. Investors pay £3.99 to trade UK & US shares and funds and £9.99 for other international shares. The foreign exchange fee is 1.5% (for sums under £25,000)
Its platform fee is flat, rather than percentage-based, making it a cost-effective option for investors with higher-value portfolios. It offers a number of plans:
Investor Essentials plan (for portfolios up to £50,000): £4.99 per month (includes a trading account and ISA)
Investor plan (for £50,000-plus portfolios): £11.99 per month (as above, plus a Junior ISA) with one free monthly trade
Super Investor plan: £19.99 per month (as above) with four free monthly trades
Best for customer service: AJ Bell
AJ Bell stands out as an excellent all-rounder, Kepler analysts said, combining reasonable fees, a broad choice of investments and high customer satisfaction.
Trading fee on shares | Platform fee on shares | Indicative portfolio fees |
£5.00 | 0.25% (capped at £3.50 per month) | £1,000: £123 £10,000: £145 £20,000: £162 |
AJ Bell is a FTSE 250 company with over 590,000 clients, which it offers dealing accounts, SIPPs, Junior ISAs and Lifetime ISAs.
It provides access to over 16,000 UK and international shares across 24 markets, 4,000 ETFs, 4,600 funds and 370 investment trusts, the second-highest amongst those analysed.
AJ Bell charges a mid-range trading fee on shares of £5.00 where an investor makes zero to nine trades in the previous month and £3.50 on 10+ trades in the previous month. On funds the trading fee is £1.50. The foreign exchange fee is 0.75% (on sums under £10,000).
It also charges a platform fee on both shares and investment trusts – 0.25% (capped at £3.50 per month) and funds – 0.25% on the first £250,000, tapering to 0.25% and 0.10% thereafter.
Best for professional traders: IG
IG is likely to most appeal to experienced investors looking for low-cost trading, advanced trading tools and a broad range of global equities, Kepler analysts said. They added its competitive fees may attract a wider audience but beginners may find the app more challenging to navigate.
Trading fee on UK shares | Platform fee on shares | Indicative portfolio fees |
|---|---|---|
No charge | £96 per year (if fewer than 3 trades per quarter), otherwise no fee | £1,000: £0 £10,000: £0 £20,000: £0 |
IG is a FTSE 250 company with over 300,000 global active clients. It offers an investment account, ISA and SIPP (via a partnership).
Clients can access over 11,000 UK, US, European, Asian and Australian shares and investment trusts and 2,000 ETFs, but not actively-managed funds or fractional shares. There’s also a range of leveraged products for experienced traders, as well as the option to trade on third-party platforms such as MetaTrader4, ProRealTime and API trading options.
IG charges no trading fee on US, UK, European and Australian shares, together with a foreign exchange fee of 0.7%.
A platform fee is only charged for less frequent traders, which is £24 per quarter (£96 per year) if fewer than 3 trades per quarter. But this is waived if you hold £15,000 in an IG Smart Portfolio account.
Best for US shares: Bestinvest
Overall, Bestinvest is a decent all-rounder and is likely to appeal more to traders in US shares due to the free trading fee and lower platform fees, Kepler analysts said.
Trading fee on UK shares | Platform fee on shares | Indicative portfolio fees |
|---|---|---|
£4.95 | 0.4% (UK shares) 0.2% (US shares) | £1,000: £62 £10,000: £89 |
| Row 1 - Cell 0 | (Up to £250,000) | £20,000: £119 |
Bestinvest is owned by wealth manager Evelyn Partners and has over 50,000 clients. It also offers an investment account, SIPP and Junior ISA.
Clients can access over 1,200 UK and US shares, 1,700 funds, 500 ETFs and 230 investment trusts. It does not offer fractional shares.
Bestinvest does not charge a trading fee on funds and charges a competitive fee on shares of £4.95 to trade UK shares and no charge to trade US shares. The foreign exchange fee is 0.95%
The platform fee is also more competitive for investors wanting to hold US shares, at 0.2%, whereas for UK shares & funds it is 0.4% (on the first £250,000), tapering to 0% for higher amounts.
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