Our Pick Of The Best UK Online Brokers (2024)

Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Platform and Trading fees

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Investment choice and location

interactive investor is one of the larger platforms, with 400,000 clients. It was purchased by global investment company abrdn in 2021 but remains a whole-of-market platform.

interactive investor does not offer a fee reduction for frequent traders although clients receive one free trade a month under the Investor plan (£11.99 per month). If you like to buy overseas shares, you’ll pay a £9.99 trading fee for non-US shares plus the highest foreign exchange fee of 1.5% (for transactions under £25,000).

interactive investor’s fixed, rather than proportional, platform fee may appeal to some investors with higher value portfolios. Investors with a portfolio of above £58,000 would still pay a lower platform fee with ii’s Investor plan than they would with a provider charging a 0.25% platform fee.

The Investor Essentials plan costs £4.99 per month and includes a trading account and Stocks and Shares ISA. It does not include a free monthly trade (share trading fee of £3.99 for UK shares and funds, and US shares) nor a Junior Stocks and Shares ISA or SIPP. If you choose the Essentials plan, you’ll be limited to a portfolio of £50,000. Above this value, you’ll be transferred onto the Investor Plan.

interactive investor also offers the largest number of investment options, including access to 17 overseas markets for share traders. Clients are also able to invest on a monthly basis and interest is paid on cash balances.

Although interactive investor doesn’t offer a live chat facility, our call was answered promptly and a good level of detail was provided.

Overall, interactive investor tends to be a good choice for traders looking for a low-cost platform and a wide choice of investments.

Example fees

Here’s what you’d pay each year for three different portfolio values under the Investor Plan:

£25,000: £192
£50,000: £192
£100,000: £192

You can see how we worked this out in our Methodology, below.

Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Platform and Trading fees

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Investment choice and location

Trading 212 is a UK fintech that offers a trading app offering commission-free trading. However, if you buy and sell investments in a currency other than pound sterling, there’s a 0.15% foreign exchange fee to consider.

It offers a wide choice of investments, along with the option to buy fractional shares (more on this below). Bear in mind the platform offers Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), but not Open Ended Investment Company (OEIC) funds.

Trading 212 also charges a low foreign exchange fee at 0.15%. Investors can hold 12 different currencies within the account, including pound sterling, US dollars and euros, and interest is paid on cash balances.

While Trading 212 customers can access support via the app, bear in mind there’s no telephone helpline. However, when we tested the online chat service, we got a quick response, and an excellent level of information, in response to our questions.

Overall, Trading 212 combines low fees with a good choice of investments. It is also the cheapest platform for overseas share trading thanks to the low foreign exchange fee. However, investors will find comparatively little in the way of investment research, so this option could be best for those who feel confident picking their own investments without much of a steer.

Here’s what you’d pay each year for three different portfolio values:

£25,000: No fee
£50,000: No fee
£100,000: No fee

You can see how we worked this out in our Methodology, below.

Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Platform and Trading fees

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Investment choice and location

AJ Bell is a FTSE 250 company with over 490,000 clients. It’s also a good all-rounder with one of the lower platform fees for funds among the mainstream providers, and extensive research on-offer to help inform your investment decisions.

However, the online share trading fee of £9.95 is one of the highest – though this drops to £4.50 if you made 10 or more trades in the previous month. The fee for trading funds is also lower, at £1.50.

While the platform fee of 0.25% is at the lower end of the traditional trading platforms, it’s charged on shares as well as funds (although capped at £42 per year for shares). AJ Bell offers monthly investing, as well as tools including stop loss orders, and pays interest on cash balances.

AJ Bell provides a telephone service six days per week. When we tested it calls were answered within a minute, and the service stood out for the quality of responses to our questions. It’s also one of the few platforms to provide a live chat facility.

Overall, AJ Bell tends to be an excellent all-rounder.

Here’s what you’d pay each year for three different portfolio values:

£25,000: £301
£50,000: £343
£100,000: £406

You can see how we worked this out in our Methodology, below.

Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Platform and Trading fees

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Investment choice and location

Saxo is a Danish bank, but its trading account is available to customers in the UK. With over 20,000 assets on offer across multiple exchanges, the platform offers more invest options than any other provider on our list.

Saxo also provides an excellent level of research and market insights, and offers functionalities including stop loss and limit orders.

Trading fees vary depending on where in the world your chosen shares are listed, and which membership tier you choose. For the entry level Classic account, buying UK shares incurs a commission of 0.08% – but the minimum fee is £3. To trade US shares, the fee is $0.015 US dollars per share, with a minimum price of $1.

Elsewhere, the platform charges a relatively low custody fee of 0.12%, and if you buy and sell shares in a currency other than pound sterling, there’s a foreign exchange fee of 0.25% to consider.

Fees are lower for ‘Platinum’ and ‘VIP’ account holders – but to qualify for these tiers you’ll need a portfolio of at least £200,000 or £1 million, respectively.

All account holders benefit from 24 hour customer service five days per week (via phone or online help centre), and earn interest on their cash deposits.

Overall, the platform could be a good fit for experienced DIY investors who wish to trade a wide array of assets, and benefit from in-depth research.

Here’s what you’d pay each year for three different portfolio values:

£25,000: £102
£50,000: £132
£100,000: £192

You can see how we worked this out in our Methodology, below.

Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Platform and Trading fees

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Investment choice and location

IG is a FTSE 250 company with over 300,000 clients in 17 countries. It offers one of the widest range of investments, together with advanced technical trading tools, making it a good option for experienced DIY investors.

While trading UK shares and funds comes with a fee of £8, this drops to £3 if you made at least three trades the previous month. Trading US shares comes with a higher fee of £8, but is free if you made more than two US share trades in your previous month.

Its flat platform fee may appeal to investors with higher value portfolios. IG also drops this platform fee altogether for users who make at least three trades per quarter (12 per year).

However, the platform fee structure may be expensive for occasional traders with lower-value portfolios.

Investors can buy a wide range of overseas shares, and it charges one of the lowest foreign exchange fees of 0.5%. Further to that, investors can hold foreign currencies in their account, rather than having to convert from pounds sterling for each trade. However, it does not pay interest on cash balances.

IG offers 24 hour a day support Monday to Friday, and from 9am to 5pm on weekends. Our call was answered almost immediately.

Overall, IG is likely to appeal to more confident traders who want a wide range of more complex investments, together with advanced trading tools.

Here’s what you’d pay each year for three different portfolio values:

£25,000: £192
£50,000: £192
£100,000: £192

You can see how we worked this out in our Methodology, below.

Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Platform and Trading fees

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Investment choice and location

eToro was founded in 2007 with a focus on creating a community for social investing. It has 30 million users in more than 100 countries.

eToro charges no trading or platform fees, and offers trading tools such as stop losses, limit orders and leveraged trading. It also has “social” and “copy” trading options to allow beginner investors to interact with more experienced investors.

However, accounts are held in US dollars and UK clients are charged a 0.5% currency conversion fee when funds are deposited. This fee is not charged if customers also open an eToro Money account and convert their funds to dollars before transferring it to their investment account. There is no charge for an eToro Money account.

There’s also a £3.92 ($5) withdrawal fee and an inactivity fee of £7.84 ($10) per month (after 12 months with no log-in activity).

It offers a wide choice of shares and ETFs, together with an extensive range of cryptocurrencies.

It does not offer support by telephone, although clients can use a live chat or messaging facility. We received responses to our message within a few hours. Trading by telephone is provided to customers with a portfolio of £19,605 ($25,000).

Overall, eToro is likely to appeal to confident investors requiring minimal support, or investors wanting to trade in US, rather than UK, shares.

Here’s what you’d pay each year for three different portfolio values:

£25,000: £125
£50,000: £250
£100,000: £500

You can see how we worked this out in our Methodology, below.

These fees are waived for customers who open and fund their investing account with an eToro Money Account.

Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Platform and Trading fees

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Investment choice and location

Bestinvest is owned by wealth management firm Evelyn Partners (previously Tilney Smith & Williamson) and has over 50,000 clients.

It charges one of the lower share trading fees of £4.95 (for UK shares), along with no trading fees on funds or US shares. However, it charges a relatively high foreign exchange fee of 0.95% and one of the higher platform fees of up to 0.4% (for non ready-made portfolios). It charges a lower platform fee on US shares and ready-made portfolios (0.2% for portfolios to up to £250,000).

Customers can trade online, by app or over the phone, with a low telephone dealing fee of £30. It also offers monthly investing, as well as tools such as limit orders, and pays interest on cash balances.

Bestinvest provides a six-day-a week telephone and email service, with our calls answered promptly and a good quality of information provided. It also provides free one-on-one investment coaching sessions with financial planners and offers comprehensive market research although company-specific research is more limited.

As well as these DIY investing services, Bestinvest also offers a range of ready-made portfolios. These charge a 0.2% management fee for portfolios valued up to £500,000, 0.1% for those between £500,000 and £1 million. Any part of your portfolio above £1 million do not incur a platform fee.

Overall, Bestinvest provides a good all-round service for those looking to invest in UK and US shares and funds.

Here’s what you’d pay each year for three different portfolio values:

£25,000: £219
£50,000: £319
£100,000: £519

For DIY investing option. Ready-made portfolios charge a different fee structure.

You can see how we worked this out in our Methodology, below.

Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Platform and Trading fees

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Investment choice and location

Privately-owned US fund giant Fidelity is estimated to have over 80 million clients worldwide. Unlike many of its fund manager peers, clients can trade in whole-of-market investments, rather than only Fidelity investments.

Fidelity is unusual in having a non-tiered platform fee structure. For example, if your portfolio is worth £260,000, you would pay the lower platform fee (0.20%) across the whole value of your portfolio. However, a platform fee is charged on funds and it requires a high minimum initial investment of £1,000 unless clients opt for the monthly investing option of £25 (minimum).

Fidelity offers a decent selection of investments, and a middle-of-the-range share trading fee of £7.50. It has one of the higher foreign exchange fees of 0.75% (falling to 0.25%-0.50% over £10,000) and interest is not paid on cash balances.

Fidelity offers a good level of customer support, with telephone help available six days a week and our call was answered almost immediately.

Fidelity is designated as a good all-rounder and its non-tiered platform fee may appeal to investors with higher-value portfolios.

Here’s what you’d pay each year for three different portfolio values:

£25,000: £224
£50,000: £268
£100,000: £355

You can see how we worked this out in our Methodology, below.