AJ Bell vs Bestinvest 2024

You can invest in an extensive range of investments through AJ Bell. Charges are on the high side for those with large portfolios in mutual funds and those looking to execute one-off share deals; but its new app, called Dodl, offers much lower fees and also offers a more slim-lined and user-friendly service. Educational and research materials are strong, too.

Bestinvest is a very good broker that should appeal to a wide range of investors. Fees are competitive, particularly if you invest in funds or US shares, and the investment options are extensive. The Bestinvest platform is relatively easy to use and the offer of a free 45 minute session with a financial coach can be a useful starting point for newer investors. Bestinvest is also a great option for a Junior SIPP, as it is one of very few UK brokers offering children’s pensions and with a low entry point.

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 Bestinvest 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 £100 per year, while Bestinvest would cost £144.75 per year.

12 trades per year - AJ Bell would cost £135 per year, while Bestinvest would cost £119.40 - £179.40 per year.

36 trades per year - AJ Bell would cost £255 per year, while Bestinvest would cost £238.20 - £357.60 per year.

120 trades per year - AJ Bell would cost £495 per year, while Bestinvest would cost £654 - £714 per year.

3 fund trades per year - AJ Bell would cost £0 per year, while Bestinvest would cost £50 per year.

AJ Bell requires a minimum deposit of £0, while Bestinvest requires a minimum deposit of £50. From our testing we found for accounts between £0 - £250,000 AJ Bell charges annual custody fees of £0 - £625, while Bestinvest charges annual custody fees of Up to £500 or £1,000.

AJ Bell offers investors access to ISA, SIPP, Share Trading, Funds, ETFs, Bonds - Corporate, Bonds - Government (Gilts) and Investment Trusts, while Bestinvest offers investors access to ISA, SIPP, Share Trading, Funds, ETFs, 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.

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 Bestinvest offer SIPP and ISA accounts.

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 nor Bestinvest offer crypto investing.

Our testing concluded that the website of AJ Bell is better than the website of Bestinvest. AJ Bell offers more functionality, is cleanly designed, and is, overall, easier to use for beginners and casual investors.

To compare the trading platforms of both AJ Bell and Bestinvest, we tested each broker's stock trading app. All features compared, our analysis finds that AJ Bell offers a better mobile app. Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps UK.

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 both AJ Bell and Bestinvest offer Client Webinars, Client Webinars (Archived), Education (Share Trading), Education (Funds) and Education (Retirement).