Written by StockBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Barclays vs Halifax, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, investment options, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
Your capital is at risk.
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 Halifax for share dealing.
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.
Barclays and Halifax both support share dealing and a broad set of investment choices, including ETFs, funds, investment trusts, corporate bonds, and UK government bonds (gilts). Each also offers access to adviser services. If you’re looking for leveraged products or digital coins, note that neither provides CFD trading or cryptocurrency.
UK.StockBrokers.com rates Barclays at 5 stars for investment choices and Halifax at 4.5 stars, yet Halifax ranks 7th out of 21 brokers while Barclays ranks 9th. For most UK investors focused on shares, funds, ETFs, and bonds, either platform will cover the basics; your pick may come down to fees, platform experience, and service rather than product range.
| Feature |
Barclays
|
Halifax
|
|---|---|---|
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes |
| CFD Trading | No | No |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Mutual Funds | Yes | Yes |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes | Yes |
| Investment Trusts | Yes | Yes |
| Spread Betting | No | No |
| Crypto Trading | No | No |
| Advisor Services | Yes | Yes |
| Investment Choices |
|
|
Low-cost US and UK shares.
Professional’s Gateway to the World’s Markets.
Barclays vs Halifax trading tools: Halifax clearly offers more for charting. Halifax provides 8 drawing tools, 95 technical indicators, and lets you add notes to charts. Barclays has none of these charting extras. Both providers lack corporate events on charts and don’t support index or stock overlays.
For platform basics, both Barclays and Halifax have browser-based trading and let you set price alerts. Neither offers real-time market data. If you want deeper chart analysis, Halifax is the better fit; if you only need simple charts and alerts, either service will do.
| Feature |
Barclays
|
Halifax
|
|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 0 | 95 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 0 | 8 |
| Charting - Notes | No | Yes |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | No | No |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | No | No |
| Charting - Index Overlays | No | No |
When comparing Barclays and Halifax for retirement accounts, both financial institutions offer options for Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) and Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs), catering to UK investors looking to plan for their future. Barclays provides investors with a user-friendly platform to manage both ISAs and SIPPs, while Halifax also delivers comprehensive options for those interested in ISAs and SIPPs, making it easy to tailor retirement savings. Both brokers enable account holders to invest and save, accommodating various preferences and financial goals. Whether you choose Barclays or Halifax, you can expect to find straightforward investment solutions to help you secure your retirement.
Dive deeper: Best SIPP Providers, Best Stocks and Shares ISA Providers.
For UK investors seeking a user-friendly mobile trading experience, both Barclays and Halifax offer mobile apps compatible with iPhone and Android devices. However, when it comes to app quality, Halifax slightly outperforms Barclays. Rated at 3.5 stars by UK.StockBrokers.com, Halifax's mobile app offers a competitive edge over Barclays, which receives a 2.5-star rating. Furthermore, out of 21 online brokers assessed for their mobile app offerings, Halifax ranks 18th, while Barclays trails at the 21st position. Whether prioritizing app functionality or ease of use, these rankings provide valuable insights for prospective users in choosing a preferred online brokerage.
Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps UK.
Comparing beginner education at UK online brokers Barclays vs Halifax: neither offers client webinars or on‑demand webinar archives, but both provide accessible learning on share trading, funds and retirement. UK.StockBrokers.com rates Barclays higher for beginners (4.5/5, 10th of 21) than Halifax (4/5, 18th of 21), making Barclays the slightly better pick if you want stronger learning materials without the need for webinars.
| Feature |
Barclays
|
Halifax
|
|---|---|---|
| Client Webinars | No | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | No | No |
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | Yes |
| Education |
|
|
Dive deeper: Best UK Trading Platforms for Beginners.
Comparing Barclays vs Halifax for market research features in the UK: both online brokers offer fund research reports and cover shares, ETFs, funds, and bonds. Barclays has an edge with a tool to view your portfolio allocation by asset class, helping you see diversification at a glance, which Halifax does not provide. If you want wide research coverage plus insight into how your investments are split, Barclays may suit you; if you just need research across major asset types, Halifax keeps pace.
| Feature |
Barclays
|
Halifax
|
|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Research - Bonds | Yes | Yes |
| Research - Funds | Yes | Yes |
| Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | Yes |
| Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | No |
Which broker is better overall, Barclays or Halifax? After collecting more than 900 data points over a 10-week period, we found Barclays to be a better trading platform overall.
Barclays Smart Investor offers a wide range of investments and accounts and is a good value for those with a midsize portolio who like flat fees. On the downside, it can be complicated to open an account as a non-Barclays bank customer, and you can’t buy or sell investments through the app if you don’t have a Barclays bank account.
| Feature |
Barclays
|
Halifax
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
|
|
| Charges & Fees |
|
|
| Investment Choices |
|
|
| Mobile App |
|
|
| Website |
|
|
| Ease of Use |
|
|
| Education |
|
|
Both Barclays and Halifax online brokers do not offer cryptocurrency trading, providing traditional investment options without access to crypto markets.
Select Brokers
↓×Compare
0 of 5| Overall Rating | Barclays | Halifax | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
|
| |
| Charges & Fees |
|
| |
| Investment Choices |
|
| |
| Mobile App |
|
| |
| Website |
|
| |
| Ease of Use |
|
| |
| Education |
|
| |
| Review | Barclays Review | Halifax Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
| Investments | Barclays | Halifax | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISA | Yes | Yes | |
| SIPP | Yes | Yes | |
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| CFD Trading | No | No | |
| Mutual 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 | |||
| Advisor Services | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Fees | Barclays | Halifax | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £0 | £0 | |
| Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month | £6 | £9.50 | |
| Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month | £6 | £9.50 | |
| Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month | £6 | £9.50 | |
| 5 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | |||
| 12 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | |||
| 36 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | |||
| 120 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | |||
| 3 fund trades per year (£30k portfolio) | |||
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £0 - £250,000 | £0 - £525 | £36 | |
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £250K-£500K | £525 - £650 | £36 | |
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £500,000 - £1m | £650 - £850 | £36 | |
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £1m and over | £850 and up | £36 | |
| Bonds - Corporate - Fee | £6 | £9.50 | |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee | £6 | £9.50 | |
| ETFs - Fee | £6 | £0 / £3.50 / £9.50 | |
| Investment Trusts - Fee | £6 | £0 / £3.50 / £9.50 | |
| Telephone Dealing Fee | £25 | £25 |
| Broker Screenshots | Barclays | Halifax | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website Gallery (click to expand) |
|
| |
| Mobile Trading Apps Gallery (click to expand) |
|
| |
| Education Gallery (click to expand) |
|
|
| Platforms & Tools | Barclays | Halifax | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| iPhone App | Yes | Yes | |
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 0 | 95 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 0 | 8 | |
| Charting - Notes | No | Yes | |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | No | No | |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | No | No | |
| Charting - Index Overlays | No | No |
| Research | Barclays | Halifax | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - CFDs | |||
| Research - Funds | Yes | Yes | |
| Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - Bonds | Yes | Yes | |
| Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | No |
| Education | Barclays | Halifax | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | Yes | |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | Yes | |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | No | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | No | No |
| Overall Summary | Barclays | Halifax | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
|
| |
| Charges & Fees |
|
| |
| Investment Choices |
|
| |
| Mobile App |
|
| |
| Website |
|
| |
| Ease of Use |
|
| |
| Education |
|
| |
| Review | Barclays Review | Halifax Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
Trading 212 Review
Interactive Brokers Review
Hargreaves Lansdown Review
XTB Review
IG Group Review
eToro Review
Saxo Review
CMC Invest Review
Freetrade Review
Halifax Review
Vanguard Review
