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 Barclays and Halifax.
Barclays vs Halifax Comparison
For our 2022 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 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.
Is Halifax a good broker?
Halifax offers competitive pricing for reoccurring and infrequent traders, sound charting, and proper research. That said, Halifax provides no dedicated mobile application and, overall, trails industry leaders.
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, Barclays offers better pricing than Halifax 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 £60 per year, while Halifax would cost £83.5 per year.
12 trades per year - Barclays would cost £102 per year, while Halifax would cost £150 per year.
36 trades per year - Barclays would cost £246 per year, while Halifax would cost £450 per year.
120 trades per year - Barclays would cost £750 per year, while Halifax would cost £1500 per year.
3 fund trades per year - Barclays would cost £0.0 per year, while Halifax would cost £0.0 per year.
How do Barclays and Halifax compare in terms of minimum deposits required?
Barclays requires a minimum deposit of £0.0, while Halifax requires a minimum deposit of £0.0. From our testing we found for accounts between £0 - £250,000 Barclays charges annual custody fees of 0.2% (minimum £48), while Halifax charges annual custody fees of £36.
Which broker offers a wider range of investment options?
Both Barclays and Halifax offer 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 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 and Halifax offer crypto investing.
Which broker offers better research?
Our testing concluded that Barclays is better for research than Halifax. Barclays offers more research options, including research reports, articles, and analyst ratings.
Which trading platform is better?
To compare the trading platforms of both Barclays and Halifax, we tested each broker's website, trading platform, trading tools and stock trading app. All features compared, our analysis finds that Barclays offers a better share dealing platform and Barclays offers a better stock app for mobile trading.
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 both Barclays and Halifax offer Client Webinars, Client Webinars (Archived), Education (Share Trading), Education (Funds) and Education (Retirement).
Overall winner: Barclays
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