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Barclays vs Halifax 2024

StockBrokers.com

Written by StockBrokers.com

August 06, 2024

Is Barclays better than Halifax? After scoring the best share dealing accounts across 46 different variables, our analysis finds that Barclays is better than Halifax. 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.

Select Brokers

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  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxAJ Bell
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxBarclays
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxBestinvest
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxCapital.com
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxCharles Stanley Direct
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxCMC Invest
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxeToro
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxFidelity International
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxFreetrade
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxHalifax
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxHargreaves Lansdown
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxIG
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxInteractive Brokers
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxInteractive Investor
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxLloyds Bank
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxRevolut
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxRobinhood UK
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxSaxo
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxTrading 212
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxVanguard UK Investor
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxWebull
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxXTB

Compare

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Overall Rating Barclays Halifax
Overall Rating 4/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Charges & Fees 4/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Investment Choices 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Mobile App 2.5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Website 4.5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Ease of Use 3.5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Education 5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Review Barclays Review Halifax Review
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Investments Barclays Halifax
ISA info Yes Yes
SIPP info Yes Yes
Share Trading info Yes No
CFD Trading info No No
Funds info Yes Yes
ETFs info Yes Yes
Bonds - Corporate info Yes Yes
Bonds - Government (Gilts) info Yes Yes
Investment Trusts info Yes Yes
Spread Betting info No No
Crypto Trading info No No
Advisor Services info Yes No
Trading Fees Barclays Halifax
Minimum Deposit info £0 £0
Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month info £6 £9.50 - £85.50
Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month info £6 £95 - £180.50
Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month info £6 £190+
5 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £78 £36 - £83.50
12 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £120 £36 - £150
36 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £264 £36 - £450
120 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £768 £36 - £1,176
3 fund trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £69 £36 - £64.50
Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 info £48 - £500 £36
Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K info £500 - £1,000 £36
Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m info £1,000 - £1,500 £36
Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over info £1,500 £36
Bonds - Corporate - Fee info £6 £9.5
Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee info £6 £9.5
ETFs - Fee info £6 £9.5
Investment Trusts - Fee info £6 £9.5
Telephone Dealing Fee info £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 info Yes Yes
iPhone App info Yes Yes
Android App info Yes Yes
Stock Alerts info No No
Charting - Indicators / Studies info 0 0
Charting - Drawing Tools info 0 0
Charting - Notes info No No
Charting - Display Corporate Events info No No
Charting - Stock Overlays info No No
Charting - Index Overlays info Yes No
Research Barclays Halifax
Research - Shares info Yes Yes
Research - CFDs info No No
Research - Funds info Yes Yes
Fund Research - Research Reports info Yes No
Research - ETFs info Yes Yes
Research - Bonds info Yes Yes
Portfolio Allocation Breakdown info Yes No
Education Barclays Halifax
Education (Share Trading) info Yes No
Education (Funds) info Yes No
Education (Retirement) info Yes No
Client Webinars info No No
Client Webinars (Archived) info No No
Overall Summary Barclays Halifax
Overall Rating 4/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Charges & Fees 4/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Investment Choices 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Mobile App 2.5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Website 4.5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Ease of Use 3.5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Education 5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Review Barclays Review Halifax Review
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Comparing online share dealing platforms side by side is no small task. For our 2024 review of U.K. brokers, more than 900 data points were collected over a 10-week period and used to score each broker. Let’s compare Barclays and Halifax.

Barclays vs Halifax Comparison

For our 2024 Review, we assessed the best trading platforms in the UK for online share dealing. Let's compare Barclays vs Halifax.

Is Barclays a good broker?

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.

Is Halifax a good broker?

If you are already a Halifax bank customer, it may be worth signing up to Halifax online share dealing for simplicity. The charges are in line with some other brokers, but more expensive than others. If you have a large investment portfolio you may benefit from the low annual management fee of £36. If you are new to Halifax, there may be a better platform for you that is cheaper and easier to open.

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, Halifax 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 - Barclays would cost £78 per year, while Halifax would cost £36 - £83.50 per year.

12 trades per year - Barclays would cost £120 per year, while Halifax would cost £36 - £150 per year.

36 trades per year - Barclays would cost £264 per year, while Halifax would cost £36 - £450 per year.

120 trades per year - Barclays would cost £768 per year, while Halifax would cost £36 - £1,176 per year.

3 fund trades per year - Barclays would cost £0 per year, while Halifax would cost £0 per year.

query_stats What type of trader are you?

New to the world of investing? See my picks for the best UK trading platforms for beginners. More experienced traders should check out my guide to the best UK Trading Platforms for Active Traders. If you're looking to trade shares on the go, read my guide to the best UK stock trading apps.

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

Barclays requires a minimum deposit of £0, while Halifax requires a minimum deposit of £0. From our testing we found for accounts between £0 - £250,000 Barclays charges annual custody fees of £48 - £500, while Halifax charges annual custody fees of £36.

Which broker offers a wider range of investment options?

Barclays offers investors access to ISA, SIPP, Share Trading, Funds, ETFs, Bonds - Corporate, Bonds - Government (Gilts), Investment Trusts and Advisor Services, while Halifax offers investors access to ISA, SIPP, Funds, ETFs, Bonds - Corporate, Bonds - Government (Gilts) and Investment Trusts. 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 Barclays and Halifax 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 Barclays and Halifax offer SIPP and ISA accounts.

Do Barclays and Halifax 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 Barclays nor Halifax offer crypto investing.

Which broker offers a better website experience?

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

Which stock trading app is better?

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

Do Barclays and Halifax 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 Barclays offers traders access to Education (Share Trading), Education (Funds) and Education (Retirement), while Halifax offers access to neither of these. Neither have Client Webinars and Client Webinars (Archived).

Overall winner: Barclays

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