Comparing online share dealing platforms side by side is no small task. For our 2022 review of U.K. brokers, nearly 600 data points were collected over a 10-week period and used to score each broker. Let’s compare AJ Bell and Barclays.
AJ Bell vs Barclays Comparison
For our 2022 Review, we assessed the best trading platforms in the UK for online share dealing. Let's compare AJ Bell vs Barclays.
Is AJ Bell a good broker?
AJ Bell Youinvest offers a mediocre trading platform and decent research tools, including in-house articles and videos. Ultimately, AJ Bell struggles to deliver value in the UK market against brokers that offer a better platform at a lower price point.
Is Barclays a good broker?
Barclays Smart Investor offers average share dealing commissions (£6 per trade) alongside a good selection of research tools and education. However, there is no dedicated mobile app for share dealing, and the trading tools offered are just average.
Which broker is less expensive?
Alongside the cost per trade, most UK online brokers also charge a monthly, quarterly, or annual management fee, which varies based on the account type and balance. Based on our thorough review, AJ Bell offers better pricing than Barclays for share dealing.
Assuming a £30,000 portfolio size, here are the total annual costs for share dealing with both brokers, given different monthly activity scenarios.
5 trades per year - AJ Bell would cost £82.5 per year, while Barclays would cost £60 per year.
12 trades per year - AJ Bell would cost £161.4 per year, while Barclays would cost £102 per year.
36 trades per year - AJ Bell would cost £400.2 per year, while Barclays would cost £246 per year.
120 trades per year - AJ Bell would cost £636 per year, while Barclays would cost £750 per year.
3 fund trades per year - AJ Bell would cost £0.0 per year, while Barclays would cost £0.0 per year.
How do AJ Bell and Barclays compare in terms of minimum deposits required?
AJ Bell requires a minimum deposit of £0.0, while Barclays requires a minimum deposit of £0.0. From our testing we found for accounts between £0 - £250,000 AJ Bell charges annual custody fees of 0.25% (max £3.50/ month for shares), while Barclays charges annual custody fees of 0.2% (minimum £48).
Which broker offers a wider range of investment options?
AJ Bell offers investors access to ISA, SIPP, Share Trading, Funds, ETFs, Bonds - Corporate, Bonds - Government (Gilts) and Investment Trusts, while Barclays offers investors access to ISA, SIPP, Share Trading, Funds, ETFs, Bonds - Corporate, Bonds - Government (Gilts), Investment Trusts and Advisor Services. Neither have CFD Trading, Spread Betting and Crypto Trading. Investing encompasses a wide variety of asset classes, so finding a broker that offers every investment type you are interested in is important.
Do AJ Bell and Barclays offer ISA or SIPP accounts?
Self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) and individual savings accounts (ISAs) are tax-advantaged savings accounts that are an important tool for many individual investors. You can read more about how these accounts operate at Gov.UK: Click here for SIPP information and here for ISA information. Our analysis finds that Both AJ Bell and Barclays offer SIPP and ISA accounts.
Do AJ Bell and Barclays offer cryptocurrency?
In our analysis of top brokers for share dealing in the U.K., we research whether each broker offers the ability to trade cash cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin and ethereum, which is still a somewhat rare offering amongst major U.K. brokers. Our review finds that neither AJ Bell and Barclays offer crypto investing.
Which broker offers better research?
Our testing concluded that AJ Bell is better for research than Barclays. AJ Bell offers more research options, including research reports, articles, and analyst ratings.
Which trading platform is better?
To compare the trading platforms of both AJ Bell and Barclays, we tested each broker's website, trading platform, trading tools and stock trading app. All features compared, our analysis finds that AJ Bell offers a better share dealing platform and AJ Bell offers a better stock app for mobile trading.
Do AJ Bell and Barclays offer educational resources?
Educational offerings are of particular importance to those who are newer to investing, and we examine the availability of several different types of educational materials in our analysis. Our research finds that AJ Bell offers traders access to Client Webinars (Archived), Education (Share Trading), Education (Funds) and Education (Retirement), while Barclays offers access to Client Webinars, Client Webinars (Archived), Education (Share Trading), Education (Funds) and Education (Retirement).
Overall winner: AJ Bell
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