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Freetrade vs Barclays 2023

StockBrokers.com

Written by StockBrokers.com

August 03, 2023

Is Freetrade better than Barclays? After scoring the best share dealing accounts across 46 different variables, our analysis finds that Freetrade is better than Barclays. Freetrade's commission-free model allows trading of fractional shares with a user-friendly mobile trading app, and the educational offering is of good quality. Research and range of investments are limited, however, and its online trading platform is still in beta and not available to all customers.

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Compare

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Overall Rating Freetrade Barclays
Overall Rating info 4.5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Commissions & Fees 5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Offering of Investments 2.5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Mobile Trading 4/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Platforms & Tools 1/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Research 2/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Ease of Use 4.5/5 Stars N/A
Education 3/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Review Freetrade Review
Winner check_circle
Investments Freetrade Barclays
ISA info Yes Yes
SIPP info Yes Yes
Share Trading info Yes Yes
CFD Trading info No No
Funds info No Yes
ETFs info Yes Yes
Bonds - Corporate info No Yes
Bonds - Government (Gilts) info No Yes
Investment Trusts info Yes Yes
Spread Betting info No No
Crypto Trading info No No
Advisor Services info No Yes
Trading Fees Freetrade Barclays
Minimum Deposit info £0.0 £0.0
Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month info £0 £6
Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month info £0 £6
Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month info £0 £6
5 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £0 £60
12 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £0 £102
36 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £0 £246
120 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £0 £750
3 fund trades per year (£30k portfolio) info N/A £59
Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 info £0 0.2% (minimum £48)
Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K info £0 0.2%
Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m info £0 0.2%
Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over info £0 0.2%
Bonds - Corporate - Fee info N/A £6
Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee info N/A £6
ETFs - Fee info £0 £6
Investment Trusts - Fee info £0 £3
Telephone Dealing Fee info N/A £25
Platforms & Tools Freetrade Barclays
Web Platform info No Yes
iPhone App info Yes Yes
Android App info Yes Yes
Stock Alerts info No Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies info 0 68
Charting - Drawing Tools info 1 16
Charting - Notes info No Yes
Charting - Display Corporate Events info No No
Charting - Stock Overlays info No No
Charting - Index Overlays info No No
Research Freetrade Barclays
Research - Shares info Yes Yes
Research - CFDs info No No
Research - Funds info No Yes
Fund Research - Research Reports info No Yes
Research - ETFs info Yes Yes
Research - Bonds info No Yes
Portfolio Allocation Breakdown info No Yes
Education Freetrade Barclays
Education (Share Trading) info Yes Yes
Education (Funds) info No Yes
Education (Retirement) info Yes Yes
Client Webinars info No Yes
Client Webinars (Archived) info No Yes
Overall Summary Freetrade Barclays
Overall Rating info 4.5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Commissions & Fees 5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Offering of Investments 2.5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Mobile Trading 4/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Platforms & Tools 1/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Research 2/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Ease of Use 4.5/5 Stars N/A
Education 3/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Review Freetrade Review
Winner check_circle
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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 Freetrade and Barclays.

Freetrade vs Barclays Comparison

For our 2022 Review, we assessed the best trading platforms in the UK for online share dealing. Let's compare Freetrade vs Barclays.

Is Freetrade a good broker?

Freetrade's commission-free model allows trading of fractional shares with a user-friendly mobile trading app, and the educational offering is of good quality. Research and range of investments are limited, however, and its online trading platform is still in beta and not available to all customers.

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, Freetrade 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 - Freetrade would cost £0 per year, while Barclays would cost £60 per year.

12 trades per year - Freetrade would cost £0 per year, while Barclays would cost £102 per year.

36 trades per year - Freetrade would cost £0 per year, while Barclays would cost £246 per year.

120 trades per year - Freetrade would cost £0 per year, while Barclays would cost £750 per year.

3 fund trades per year - Freetrade would cost £0.0 per year, while Barclays would cost £0.0 per year.

How do Freetrade and Barclays compare in terms of minimum deposits required?

Freetrade 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 Freetrade charges annual custody fees of £0, while Barclays charges annual custody fees of 0.2% (minimum £48).

Which broker offers a wider range of investment options?

Freetrade offers investors access to ISA, SIPP, Share Trading, ETFs 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 Freetrade 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 Freetrade and Barclays offer SIPP and ISA accounts.

Do Freetrade 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 Freetrade and Barclays offer crypto investing.

Which broker offers better research?

Our testing concluded that Freetrade is better for research than Barclays. Freetrade offers more research options, including research reports, articles, and analyst ratings.

Which trading platform is better?

To compare the trading platforms of both Freetrade and Barclays, we tested each broker's website, trading platform, trading tools and stock trading app. All features compared, our analysis finds that Freetrade offers a better share dealing platform and Freetrade offers a better stock app for mobile trading.

Do Freetrade 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 Freetrade offers traders access to Education (Share Trading) and Education (Retirement), while Barclays offers access to Client Webinars, Client Webinars (Archived), Education (Share Trading), Education (Funds) and Education (Retirement).

Overall winner: Freetrade

Read Next: Best UK Trading Platforms 2022


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