Written by StockBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs AJ Bell, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, investment options, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
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, Interactive Brokers offers better pricing than AJ Bell 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 - Interactive Brokers would cost £15 per year, while AJ Bell would cost £100 per year.
12 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £36 per year, while AJ Bell would cost £135 per year.
36 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £108 per year, while AJ Bell would cost £255 per year.
120 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £360 per year, while AJ Bell would cost £495 per year.
3 fund trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £0 per year, while AJ Bell would cost £0 per year.
What type of trader are you?
New to the world of investing? See our picks for the Best UK Trading Platforms for Beginners. More experienced traders should read our guide to the Best UK Trading Platforms for Active Traders.
When comparing Interactive Brokers and AJ Bell for investment choices in the UK, both platforms offer a wide spectrum of options, including share trading, trading of ETFs, funds, corporate and government bonds, as well as investment trusts. However, Interactive Brokers stands out by providing crypto and CFD trading, which AJ Bell does not offer. Neither platform offers spread betting or advisory services, catering instead to investors looking to take control of their portfolios.
Despite the differences in their offerings, both Interactive Brokers and AJ Bell have earned a solid 5-star rating for investment choices from UK.StockBrokers.com. Interactive Brokers holds a higher ranking, securing the 2nd position out of 21 brokers, thanks to its comprehensive array of trading opportunities, while AJ Bell ranks 5th. For UK investors seeking diverse investment avenues, either platform presents a reliable choice, with Interactive Brokers offering a slightly broader range of options.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
AJ Bell
|
|---|---|---|
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes |
| CFD Trading | Yes | No |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Funds | Yes | Yes |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes | Yes |
| Investment Trusts | Yes | Yes |
| Spread Betting | No | No |
| Crypto Trading | Yes | No |
| Advisor Services | No | No |
| Investment Choices |
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Low-cost US and UK shares.
Professional’s Gateway to the World’s Markets.
For UK investors evaluating trading tools, both Interactive Brokers (IB) and AJ Bell seem to offer certain key features like the ability to display corporate events such as earnings, splits, and dividends on their charts, and allow adding both index and stock overlays. However, there are notable differences in the depth of their charting capabilities. Interactive Brokers stands out with 80 drawing tools compared to AJ Bell's 8, and offers 96 technical indicators whereas AJ Bell provides 31. Furthermore, IB provides the capability to add notes directly onto charts, a feature absent in AJ Bell's offerings.
When it comes to staying updated with market changes, both platforms enable users to create alerts for price updates and offer browser-based trading platforms for ease of access. However, if real-time market data is crucial, AJ Bell has an edge over Interactive Brokers by offering this service. These distinctions can be pivotal for traders who rely heavily on in-depth chart analysis and real-time information.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
AJ Bell
|
|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 96 | 31 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 80 | 8 |
| Charting - Notes | Yes | No |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | Yes |
For UK investors comparing retirement account options, Interactive Brokers and AJ Bell both provide Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) and Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs). Both platforms give you flexibility in planning your future, offering ISAs to help you save tax-efficiently and SIPPs for more control over your pension investments. Interactive Brokers and AJ Bell cater to diverse investor needs, allowing you to select either one for managing your long-term financial goals through these popular retirement accounts.
Dive deeper: Best SIPP Providers, Best Stocks and Shares ISA Providers.
For UK investors seeking reliable mobile trading platforms, both Interactive Brokers and AJ Bell offer apps for iPhone and Android users, ensuring accessibility on the go. While both brokers provide these essential tools, there are notable differences in user experience. Rated five stars for its mobile app by UK.StockBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers showcases superior performance, ranking fourth out of 21 brokers. Meanwhile, AJ Bell, with a respectable rating of 4.5 stars, holds the ninth position in the same ranking. As such, Interactive Brokers edges ahead in mobile app quality according to this evaluation.
Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps UK.
When comparing beginner investor educational resources, both Interactive Brokers and AJ Bell offer comprehensive support for UK investors. Each platform provides educational webinars that can be accessed live or on demand, covering essential topics like share trading, funds, and retirement planning. While both brokers offer similar content, AJ Bell slightly edges out with a higher rating of 5 stars for beginner education from UK.StockBrokers.com, compared to Interactive Brokers' 4.5 stars. Additionally, AJ Bell ranks 5th among 21 brokers for beginner education, whereas Interactive Brokers holds the 8th spot. This indicates that although both platforms are strong contenders, AJ Bell may offer a slightly more advantageous starting point for novice investors.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
AJ Bell
|
|---|---|---|
| Client Webinars | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | Yes |
| Education |
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Dive deeper: Best UK Trading Platforms for Beginners.
For UK investors focused on market research features, Interactive Brokers and AJ Bell both deliver well-rounded offerings. Both brokers provide access to research reports for individual shares, funds, ETFs, and bonds, ensuring that you have comprehensive insights into various investment options. They also enable users to view portfolio allocation by asset class, helping you understand the distribution of your investments. However, a key difference lies in the research for CFDs; Interactive Brokers includes this feature, while AJ Bell does not. Thus, if CFD analysis is important to you, Interactive Brokers may have the edge.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
AJ Bell
|
|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes |
| Research - CFDs | Yes | No |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Research - Bonds | Yes | Yes |
| Research - Funds | Yes | Yes |
| Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | Yes |
| Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | Yes |
Which broker is better overall, Interactive Brokers or AJ Bell? After collecting more than 900 data points over a 10-week period, we found Interactive Brokers to be a better trading platform overall.
Interactive Brokers is a sophisticated trading platform aimed at confident and institutional-grade investors. For newer investors, Interactive Brokers is more intimidating, though it's worth exploring the platform to see if you could save money or access more investments compared to other brokers.
| Feature |
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AJ Bell
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When comparing online brokers, Interactive Brokers stands out by offering crypto trading, unlike AJ Bell, which does not provide access to cryptocurrency markets.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | Interactive Brokers | AJ Bell | |
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| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | AJ Bell Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
| Investments | Interactive Brokers | AJ Bell | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISA | Yes | Yes | |
| SIPP | Yes | Yes | |
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| CFD Trading | Yes | No | |
| Funds | Yes | Yes | |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
| Bonds - Corporate | Yes | Yes | |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes | Yes | |
| Investment Trusts | Yes | Yes | |
| Spread Betting | No | No | |
| Crypto Trading | Yes | No | |
| Advisor Services | No | No |
| Trading Fees | Interactive Brokers | AJ Bell | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £0 | £0 | |
| Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month | £3 | £5 | |
| Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month | £3 | £3.50 | |
| Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month | £3 | £3.50 | |
| 5 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £15 | £100 | |
| 12 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £36 | £135 | |
| 36 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £108 | £255 | |
| 120 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £360 | £495 | |
| 3 fund trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £0 / £14.85 | £79.50 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 | £0 | £0 - £625 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K | £0 | £625 - £875 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m | £0 | £875 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over | £0 | £875 | |
| Bonds - Corporate - Fee | 0.1% (for <10,000 EUR) 0.025% (for >10,000 EUR) | £5 | |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee | 0.1% (for <10,000 EUR) 0.025% (for >10,000 EUR) | £5 | |
| ETFs - Fee | £3 | £5 | |
| Investment Trusts - Fee | N/A | £5 | |
| Telephone Dealing Fee | £25 | £25 |
| Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | AJ Bell | |
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| Platforms & Tools | Interactive Brokers | AJ Bell | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| iPhone App | Yes | Yes | |
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 96 | 31 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 80 | 8 | |
| Charting - Notes | Yes | No | |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Interactive Brokers | AJ Bell | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - CFDs | Yes | No | |
| Research - Funds | Yes | Yes | |
| Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - Bonds | Yes | Yes | |
| Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Interactive Brokers | AJ Bell | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | Yes | |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | Yes | |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes |
| Overall Summary | Interactive Brokers | AJ Bell | |
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| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | AJ Bell Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
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