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Freetrade vs Bestinvest 2024

StockBrokers.com

Written by StockBrokers.com

August 06, 2024

Is Freetrade better than Bestinvest? After scoring the best share dealing accounts across 46 different variables, our analysis finds that Freetrade is better than Bestinvest. Overall Freetrade is a great platform to help you get to grips with investing. Costs are low, and its user-friendly mobile app offers great investment inspiration. Sophisticated investors, however, may find that other platforms offer a wider range of investment options and tools.

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Compare

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Overall Rating Freetrade Bestinvest
Overall Rating 4.5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Charges & Fees 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Investment Choices 4/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Mobile App 4.5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Website 3/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Ease of Use 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Education 4.5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Review Freetrade Review Bestinvest Review
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Investments Freetrade Bestinvest
ISA info Yes Yes
SIPP info Yes Yes
Share Trading info No Yes
CFD Trading info No No
Funds info No Yes
ETFs info Yes Yes
Bonds - Corporate info No No
Bonds - Government (Gilts) info No No
Investment Trusts info Yes Yes
Spread Betting info No No
Crypto Trading info No No
Advisor Services info No Yes
Trading Fees Freetrade Bestinvest
Minimum Deposit info £1 £50
Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month info £0 £0 - £4.95
Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month info £0 £0 - £4.95
Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month info £0 £0 - £4.95
5 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £0 (Basic plan), £71.88 (Standard), £143.88 (Plus) £144.75
12 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £0 (Basic plan), £71.88 (Standard), £143.88 (Plus) £119.40 - £179.40
36 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £0 (Basic plan), £71.88 (Standard), £143.88 (Plus) £238.20 - £357.60
120 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £0 (Basic plan), £71.88 (Standard), £143.88 (Plus) £654 - £714
3 fund trades per year (£30k portfolio) info N/A £60 or £120
Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 info £0 (Basic plan), £71.88 (Standard), £143.88 (Plus) Up to £500 or £1,000
Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K info £0 (Basic plan), £71.88 (Standard), £143.88 (Plus) £500 - £1,000
Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m info £0 (Basic plan), £71.88 (Standard), £143.88 (Plus) £100 - £1,000
Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over info £0 (Basic plan), £71.88 (Standard), £143.88 (Plus) £0
Bonds - Corporate - Fee info N/A £4.95
Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee info N/A £4.95
ETFs - Fee info £0 £4.95
Investment Trusts - Fee info £0 £4.95
Telephone Dealing Fee info N/A £30
Broker Screenshots Freetrade Bestinvest
Website Gallery (click to expand)
Mobile Trading Apps Gallery (click to expand)
Education Gallery (click to expand)
Platforms & Tools Freetrade Bestinvest
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 36
Charting - Drawing Tools info 0 9
Charting - Notes info No Yes
Charting - Display Corporate Events info No No
Charting - Stock Overlays info No Yes
Charting - Index Overlays info No No
Research Freetrade Bestinvest
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 No
Portfolio Allocation Breakdown info Yes Yes
Education Freetrade Bestinvest
Education (Share Trading) info Yes Yes
Education (Funds) info Yes Yes
Education (Retirement) info Yes Yes
Client Webinars info No Yes
Client Webinars (Archived) info No Yes
Overall Summary Freetrade Bestinvest
Overall Rating 4.5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Charges & Fees 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Investment Choices 4/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Mobile App 4.5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Website 3/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Ease of Use 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Education 4.5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Review Freetrade Review Bestinvest 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 Freetrade and Bestinvest.

Freetrade vs Bestinvest Comparison

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

Is Freetrade a good broker?

Overall Freetrade is a great platform to help you get to grips with investing. Costs are low, and its user-friendly mobile app offers great investment inspiration. Sophisticated investors, however, may find that other platforms offer a wider range of investment options and tools.

Is Bestinvest a good broker?

Bestinvest is a very good broker that should appeal to a wide range of investors. Fees are competitive, particularly if you invest in funds or US shares, and the investment options are extensive. The Bestinvest platform is relatively easy to use and the offer of a free 45 minute session with a financial coach can be a useful starting point for newer investors. Bestinvest is also a great option for a Junior SIPP, as it is one of very few UK brokers offering children’s pensions and with a low entry point.

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 Bestinvest 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 (Basic plan), £71.88 (Standard), £143.88 (Plus) per year, while Bestinvest would cost £144.75 per year.

12 trades per year - Freetrade would cost £0 (Basic plan), £71.88 (Standard), £143.88 (Plus) per year, while Bestinvest would cost £119.40 - £179.40 per year.

36 trades per year - Freetrade would cost £0 (Basic plan), £71.88 (Standard), £143.88 (Plus) per year, while Bestinvest would cost £238.20 - £357.60 per year.

120 trades per year - Freetrade would cost £0 (Basic plan), £71.88 (Standard), £143.88 (Plus) per year, while Bestinvest would cost £654 - £714 per year.

3 fund trades per year - Freetrade would cost £1 per year, while Bestinvest would cost £50 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 Freetrade and Bestinvest compare in terms of minimum deposits required?

Freetrade requires a minimum deposit of £1, while Bestinvest requires a minimum deposit of £50. From our testing we found for accounts between £0 - £250,000 Freetrade charges annual custody fees of £0 (Basic plan), £71.88 (Standard), £143.88 (Plus), while Bestinvest charges annual custody fees of Up to £500 or £1,000.

Which broker offers a wider range of investment options?

Freetrade offers investors access to ISA, SIPP, ETFs and Investment Trusts, while Bestinvest offers investors access to ISA, SIPP, Share Trading, Funds, ETFs, Investment Trusts and Advisor Services. Neither have CFD Trading, Bonds - Corporate, Bonds - Government (Gilts), 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 Bestinvest 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 Bestinvest offer SIPP and ISA accounts.

Do Freetrade and Bestinvest 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 nor Bestinvest offer crypto investing.

Which broker offers a better website experience?

Our testing concluded that the website of Freetrade is better than the website of Bestinvest. Freetrade 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 Freetrade and Bestinvest, we tested each broker's stock trading app. All features compared, our analysis finds that Freetrade offers a better mobile app. Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps UK.

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

Overall winner: Freetrade

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