Written by StockBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Fidelity International vs Barclays, 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, Barclays offers better pricing than Fidelity International 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 - Fidelity International would cost £127.50 per year, while Barclays would cost £105 per year.
12 trades per year - Fidelity International would cost £108 or £180 per year, while Barclays would cost £75 or £147 per year.
36 trades per year - Fidelity International would cost £144 or £360 per year, while Barclays would cost £75 or £291 per year.
120 trades per year - Fidelity International would cost £270 or £990 per year, while Barclays would cost £75 or £795 per year.
3 fund trades per year - Fidelity International would cost £1000 per year, while Barclays 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 investment options between Fidelity International and Barclays, both offer robust choices for investors. Fidelity International enables share trading, ETF trading, and funds trading, alongside the option to invest in investment trusts. Advisor services are also available, providing personal guidance to investors. However, Fidelity International does not support crypto trading, spread betting, CFD trading, or the trading of corporate and government bonds.
Barclays matches Fidelity International by also providing share trading, ETF trading, funds trading, and investment trusts, while exceeding it with options for trading corporate and government bonds. In terms of ratings, Barclays scores higher with a perfect 5-star rating from UK.StockBrokers.com for investment choices, compared to Fidelity International's 4.5 stars. Overall, in a ranking of 18 brokers for investment choices, Barclays holds a superior position at #6, while Fidelity International is ranked at #12. These differences highlight Barclays as a more diversified choice for investors seeking a broader range of investment options.
| Feature |
Fidelity International
|
Barclays
|
|---|---|---|
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes |
| CFD Trading | No | No |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Funds | Yes | Yes |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | No | Yes |
| Investment Trusts | Yes | Yes |
| Spread Betting | No | No |
| Crypto Trading | No | No |
| Advisor Services | Yes | Yes |
| Investment Choices |
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Professional’s Gateway to the World’s Markets.
Low-cost US and UK shares.
When it comes to trading tools, Fidelity International provides a more robust offering compared to Barclays. Fidelity International allows users to display corporate events like earnings, splits, and dividends directly on charts, a feature missing from Barclays' platform. Fidelity also offers 5 drawing tools and 21 technical indicators for charting, compared to Barclays, which provides neither. While both platforms lack the ability to add notes to charts, Fidelity International permits users to add index and stock overlays, options that are not available with Barclays' tools.
Both Fidelity International and Barclays provide browser-based trading platforms and the ability to create alerts for stock price updates. However, neither platform offers real-time market data. For traders looking for comprehensive charting features and a variety of tools to enhance their analysis, Fidelity International presents a more advantageous choice over Barclays.
| Feature |
Fidelity International
|
Barclays
|
|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 21 | 0 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 5 | 0 |
| Charting - Notes | No | No |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes | No |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | No |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | No |
When comparing retirement account offerings from Fidelity International and Barclays, both brokers provide a wide range of options to cater to your investment needs. Fidelity International offers Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) and Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs), making it a versatile choice for those looking to manage their retirement savings effectively. Similarly, Barclays also provides ISAs and SIPPs, ensuring that you have the flexibility to choose how you want to save for the future. Both institutions give you access to a broad selection of account types, allowing you to tailor your investment approach to align with your retirement goals.
Dive deeper: Best SIPP Providers, Best Stocks and Shares ISA Providers.
Both Fidelity International and Barclays offer mobile apps for iPhone and Android users, providing convenient access to online trading services for a wide range of users. However, Fidelity International's app receives a higher rating of 4 stars from UK.StockBrokers.com, compared to Barclays’ app, which holds a rating of 2.5 stars. This difference is reflected in their rankings, with Fidelity International ranked #13 out of 18 brokers for mobile apps, whereas Barclays falls lower at #16. These rankings indicate Fidelity International may offer a more user-friendly and feature-rich experience for mobile trading compared to Barclays.
Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps UK.
When comparing the beginner investor educational resources of Fidelity International and Barclays, there are several key differences to note. Fidelity International excels in offering educational client webinars that are also archived for on-demand viewing, while Barclays does not provide such webinars. Both platforms offer resources covering share trading, funds, and retirement education. However, UK.StockBrokers.com rates Fidelity International slightly higher in beginner education with a perfect 5-star rating, compared to Barclays' 4.5 stars. Despite this, Barclays ranks slightly better overall at 5th place out of 18 brokers, with Fidelity International following closely at 6th place. These factors make Fidelity International particularly appealing for those seeking interactive and flexible learning through webinars, while both brokers offer strong educational content across general investment topics.
| Feature |
Fidelity International
|
Barclays
|
|---|---|---|
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | Yes |
| Education |
|
|
Dive deeper: Best UK Trading Platforms for Beginners.
Both Fidelity International and Barclays offer extensive market research features that cater to diverse investment needs, making them strong choices for online trading platforms. Investors with Fidelity International or Barclays benefit from comprehensive research reports for funds, empowering informed decision-making. Both platforms allow users to view portfolio allocations by asset class, helping investors maintain balanced portfolios. Share, ETF, and bond research services are also available on both platforms, providing thorough insights into these investment types. However, if you're looking for CFDs research, neither Fidelity International nor Barclays offers this feature, which might be a consideration for CFD investors.
| Feature |
Fidelity International
|
Barclays
|
|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes |
| Research - CFDs | No | 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, Fidelity International or Barclays? After collecting more than 900 data points over a 10-week period, we found Fidelity International to be a better trading platform overall.
Fidelity offers thousands of investments to choose from and also offers financial advice for those wanting more direction. It's best suited to traditional investors who hold a range of accounts through the platform, enjoy the great research material available and who may also use Fidelity for financial advice. The platform can be expensive for those with portfolios of less than £20,000 and those with portfolios above £40,000.
| Feature |
Fidelity International
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Barclays
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|---|---|---|
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Neither Fidelity International nor Barclays offer crypto trading, providing investors with traditional investment options without cryptocurrency exposure.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | Fidelity International | Barclays | |
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| Review | Fidelity International Review | Barclays Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
| Investments | Fidelity International | Barclays | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISA | Yes | Yes | |
| SIPP | Yes | Yes | |
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| CFD Trading | No | No | |
| Funds | Yes | Yes | |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
| Bonds - Corporate | No | Yes | |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | No | Yes | |
| Investment Trusts | Yes | Yes | |
| Spread Betting | No | No | |
| Crypto Trading | No | No | |
| Advisor Services | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Fees | Fidelity International | Barclays | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £1000 | £0 | |
| Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month | £1.50 or £7.50 | £6 | |
| Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month | £1.50 or £7.50 | £6 | |
| Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month | £1.50 or £7.50 | £6 | |
| 5 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £127.50 | £105 | |
| 12 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £108 or £180 | £75 or £147 | |
| 36 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £144 or £360 | £75 or £291 | |
| 120 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £270 or £990 | £75 or £795 | |
| 3 fund trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £105 | £75 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 | £90 - £875 | £0 - £525 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K | £500 - £1,000 | £525 - £650 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m | £1,000 - £2,000 | £650 - £850 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over | £2,000 | £850 and up | |
| Bonds - Corporate - Fee | N/A | £6 | |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee | N/A | £6 | |
| ETFs - Fee | £7.50 | £6 | |
| Investment Trusts - Fee | £7.50 | £6 | |
| Telephone Dealing Fee | £30 | £25 |
| Broker Screenshots | Fidelity International | Barclays | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website Gallery (click to expand) |
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| Mobile Trading Apps Gallery (click to expand) |
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| Education Gallery (click to expand) |
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| Platforms & Tools | Fidelity International | Barclays | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| iPhone App | Yes | Yes | |
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 21 | 0 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 5 | 0 | |
| Charting - Notes | No | No | |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes | No | |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | No | |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | No |
| Research | Fidelity International | Barclays | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - CFDs | No | 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 | Fidelity International | Barclays | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | Yes | |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | Yes | |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Overall Summary | Fidelity International | Barclays | |
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| Review | Fidelity International Review | Barclays Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
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