Written by StockBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Lloyds Bank vs Barclays, 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, Lloyds Bank offers better pricing than Barclays 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.
Lloyds Bank and Barclays both offer UK investors a broad set of account investment choices, including share dealing, ETFs, funds, corporate bonds, government bonds (gilts), and investment trusts. Neither supports crypto or CFD trading, and spread betting isn’t listed by either provider. Both also provide adviser services.
On investment choices, UK.StockBrokers.com rates Lloyds Bank 4.5 out of 5 (ranked 7th of 21) and Barclays 5 out of 5 (no ranking shown). If ratings matter most, Barclays edges it, though the core product line-up is broadly similar across both banks.
| Feature |
Lloyds Bank
|
Barclays
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
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Low-cost US and UK shares.
Professional’s Gateway to the World’s Markets.
Comparing Lloyds Bank vs Barclays for trading tools in the UK: both offer browser-based trading platforms and let you set price alerts, but neither provides real-time market data.
For charting, Lloyds Bank offers 93 technical indicators and lets you add notes to charts, while Barclays has no technical indicators, no drawing tools, and no option to add notes. The number of drawing tools at Lloyds Bank is not disclosed. Neither broker displays corporate events (earnings, splits, dividends) on charts, and neither supports index or stock overlays.
| Feature |
Lloyds Bank
|
Barclays
|
|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 93 | 0 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 0 | |
| Charting - Notes | Yes | No |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | No | No |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | No | No |
| Charting - Index Overlays | No | No |
Lloyds Bank vs Barclays: both online brokers in the UK offer ISA accounts and Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs), giving you tax-efficient ways to save and invest for retirement; since the available account types are the same at each provider, choose based on factors like platform ease of use, research tools, and fees that suit your needs.
Dive deeper: Best SIPP Providers, Best Stocks and Shares ISA Providers.
For UK investors comparing online brokers, both Lloyds Bank and Barclays offer mobile trading apps on iPhone and Android, but Lloyds Bank’s app holds the edge with a 3.5 out of 5 rating from UK.StockBrokers.com versus Barclays at 2.5 out of 5; Lloyds also appears in the site’s Mobile Apps table at 14th out of 21 brokers, while Barclays currently has no ranking listed, making Lloyds the more appealing choice if app quality matters.
Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps UK.
Comparing online brokers for beginner investor education in the UK, Lloyds Bank and Barclays both lack client webinars and on-demand archives, but Barclays offers learning on share trading, funds and retirement, which Lloyds Bank does not. UK.StockBrokers.com rates Barclays higher for beginner education (4.5/5) than Lloyds Bank (4/5). Lloyds Bank ranks 11th out of 21 brokers, while Barclays’ ranking wasn’t listed. If you want guidance across shares, funds and retirement planning, Barclays provides more coverage; if webinars are key, neither broker currently offers them.
| Feature |
Lloyds Bank
|
Barclays
|
|---|---|---|
| Client Webinars | No | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | No | No |
| Education (Share Trading) | No | Yes |
| Education (Funds) | No | Yes |
| Education (Retirement) | No | Yes |
| Education |
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Dive deeper: Best UK Trading Platforms for Beginners.
Comparing online brokers for market research, both Lloyds Bank and Barclays provide investment research across shares, ETFs, funds and bonds, including fund research reports. The key difference is portfolio analytics: Barclays shows your portfolio allocation by asset class, while Lloyds Bank does not. If you want an at‑a‑glance asset class breakdown alongside research, Barclays has the edge; if you only need core research tools, Lloyds Bank serves well.
| Feature |
Lloyds Bank
|
Barclays
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 | No | Yes |
Which broker is better overall, Lloyds Bank or Barclays? After collecting more than 900 data points over a 10-week period, we found Lloyds Bank to be a better trading platform overall.
Lloyds Bank is a U.K. investment platform best known for its simple, low-cost investing options, support for ISAs and SIPPs, and appeal to long-term, hands-off investors.
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Lloyds Bank
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Barclays
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When comparing Lloyds Bank and Barclays as online brokers for crypto trading, neither provider offers cryptocurrency trading.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | Lloyds Bank | Barclays | |
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| Review | Lloyds Bank Review | Barclays Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
| Investments | Lloyds Bank | Barclays | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Lloyds Bank | Barclays | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £1 | £0 | |
| Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month | £9.50 | £6 | |
| Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month | £8 | £6 | |
| Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month | £8 | £6 | |
| 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 | £36 | £0 - £525 | |
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £250K-£500K | £36 | £525 - £650 | |
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £500,000 - £1m | £36 | £650 - £850 | |
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £1m and over | £36 | £850 and up | |
| Bonds - Corporate - Fee | £9.50 | £6 | |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee | £9.50 | £6 | |
| ETFs - Fee | £9.50 | £6 | |
| Investment Trusts - Fee | N/A | £6 | |
| Telephone Dealing Fee | £35 | £25 |
| Broker Screenshots | Lloyds Bank | Barclays | |
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| Platforms & Tools | Lloyds Bank | Barclays | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| iPhone App | Yes | Yes | |
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 93 | 0 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 0 | ||
| Charting - Notes | Yes | No | |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | No | No | |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | No | No | |
| Charting - Index Overlays | No | No |
| Research | Lloyds Bank | Barclays | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | No | Yes |
| Education | Lloyds Bank | Barclays | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Share Trading) | No | Yes | |
| Education (Funds) | No | Yes | |
| Education (Retirement) | No | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | No | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | No | No |
| Overall Summary | Lloyds Bank | Barclays | |
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| Review | Lloyds Bank Review | Barclays Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
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