Written by StockBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Investor vs Bestinvest, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, investment options, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
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, Interactive Investor 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 - Interactive Investor would cost £79.83 per year, while Bestinvest would cost £144.75 per year.
12 trades per year - Interactive Investor would cost £59.88 / £107.76 per year, while Bestinvest would cost £119.40 - £179.40 per year.
36 trades per year - Interactive Investor would cost £59.88 / £203.52 per year, while Bestinvest would cost £238.20 - £357.60 per year.
120 trades per year - Interactive Investor would cost £59.88 / £538.68 per year, while Bestinvest would cost £654 - £714 per year.
3 fund trades per year - Interactive Investor would cost £0 per year, while Bestinvest would cost £50 per year.
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.
For UK investors seeking a versatile online broker, Interactive Investor and Bestinvest are two popular choices offering varied investment opportunities. Both platforms provide share trading and ETF trading, catering to mainstream market needs. While crypto and spread betting are unavailable with either, Interactive Investor stands out by allowing the trading of corporate and government bonds, whereas Bestinvest only covers funds and ETFs in this category.
Interactive Investor earns a top spot for investment variety, boasting a 5-star rating from UK.StockBrokers.com and ranking third among 18 brokers. In contrast, Bestinvest, while still highly rated at 4.5 stars, places tenth. Importantly, Bestinvest provides advisor services for those who value guidance, a feature not offered by Interactive Investor. Ultimately, your choice will depend on whether you prioritize a broader range of investment options or prefer access to advisory support.
| Feature |
Interactive Investor
|
Bestinvest
|
|---|---|---|
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes |
| CFD Trading | No | No |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Funds | Yes | Yes |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes | No |
| Investment Trusts | Yes | Yes |
| Spread Betting | No | No |
| Crypto Trading | No | No |
| Advisor Services | No | Yes |
| Investment Choices |
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Professional’s Gateway to the World’s Markets.
Low-cost US and UK shares.
When it comes to selecting an online trading platform, UK investors often weigh the features and tools offered by Interactive Investor (II) and Bestinvest. Interactive Investor stands out with its comprehensive charting tools, allowing users to display corporate events like earnings, splits, and dividends, a feature Bestinvest lacks. II provides a substantial 18 drawing tools and 104 technical indicators, compared to Bestinvest's 9 drawing tools and 36 indicators, giving traders more flexibility for technical analysis. Moreover, while both platforms let you add notes and stock overlays to charts, only Interactive Investor permits adding index overlays.
Both platforms offer browser-based trading systems, and users can create alerts for stock price updates on each. However, when it comes to real-time market data, Interactive Investor again takes the lead as Bestinvest does not offer this feature. These distinctions in trading tools highlight Interactive Investor's more advanced offerings, making it a preferred choice for those seeking in-depth market analysis capabilities alongside ease of use.
| Feature |
Interactive Investor
|
Bestinvest
|
|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 104 | 36 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 18 | 9 |
| Charting - Notes | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes | No |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | No |
For UK investors evaluating retirement account options, both Interactive Investor and Bestinvest present compelling choices. Both platforms provide Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), allowing users to save and invest tax-efficiently. Additionally, they offer Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs), providing flexibility for retirement planning. With each offering comprehensive solutions, investors have strong options to manage and grow their retirement funds through either Interactive Investor or Bestinvest.
Dive deeper: Best SIPP Providers, Best Stocks and Shares ISA Providers.
For UK investors seeking user-friendly mobile trading options, both Interactive Investor and Bestinvest provide apps for iPhone and Android devices. Interactive Investor stands out with a higher UK.StockBrokers.com rating of 4.5 stars for its mobile app, compared to Bestinvest's 3.5 stars. This distinction places Interactive Investor at a commendable 7th rank among 18 brokers for mobile app performance, while Bestinvest trails in 16th place. Whether prioritizing app functionality or ease of access, Interactive Investor offers a more highly regarded mobile experience compared to Bestinvest.
Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps UK.
For UK beginners exploring investment education, both Interactive Investor and Bestinvest present valuable resources, including educational webinars available live and on-demand. They each cover essential topics such as share trading, funds, and retirement planning, addressing key areas for novice investors. Although both platforms offer similar comprehensive education and equally achieve a perfect 5-star rating from UK.StockBrokers.com, their rankings differ. Interactive Investor holds the #2 position out of 18 brokers, while Bestinvest is ranked #6, indicating a slightly higher preference for Interactive Investor in terms of beginner-friendly educational offerings.
| Feature |
Interactive Investor
|
Bestinvest
|
|---|---|---|
| Client Webinars | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | Yes |
| Education |
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|
Dive deeper: Best UK Trading Platforms for Beginners.
When comparing market research features for UK investors, both Interactive Investor and Bestinvest provide research reports for funds and allow users to view portfolio allocation by asset class. Both platforms offer comprehensive research across shares, ETFs, and funds. However, Interactive Investor stands out by also providing research on bonds, a feature not available with Bestinvest. Neither platform includes research on CFDs, ensuring a straightforward choice for investors seeking diverse insights without the complication of contracts for difference.
| Feature |
Interactive Investor
|
Bestinvest
|
|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes |
| Research - CFDs | No | No |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Research - Bonds | Yes | No |
| Research - Funds | Yes | Yes |
| Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | Yes |
| Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | Yes |
Which broker is better overall, Interactive Investor or Bestinvest? After collecting more than 900 data points over a 10-week period, we found Interactive Investor to be a better trading platform overall.
The standout feature at Interactive Investor (ii) is its low flat-rate fees. Other investment platforms typically favour percentage fees for fund investing, although more brokers are now opting for flat fees. Our view is that Interactive Investor is a great platform for any investor, offering a wide range of investments for cheap prices on the whole.
| Feature |
Interactive Investor
|
Bestinvest
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Charges & Fees |
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| Mobile App |
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Neither Interactive Investor nor Bestinvest offer crypto trading, making both online brokers similar in their investment options when it comes to cryptocurrency.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | Interactive Investor | Bestinvest | |
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| Mobile App |
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| Website |
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| Review | Interactive Investor Review | Bestinvest Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
| Investments | Interactive Investor | Bestinvest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISA | Yes | Yes | |
| SIPP | Yes | Yes | |
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| CFD Trading | No | No | |
| Funds | Yes | Yes | |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
| Bonds - Corporate | Yes | No | |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes | No | |
| Investment Trusts | Yes | Yes | |
| Spread Betting | No | No | |
| Crypto Trading | No | No | |
| Advisor Services | No | Yes |
| Trading Fees | Interactive Investor | Bestinvest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £0 | £50 | |
| Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month | £3.99 | £0 - £4.95 | |
| Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month | £3.99 | £0 - £4.95 | |
| Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month | £3.99 | £0 - £4.95 | |
| 5 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £79.83 | £144.75 | |
| 12 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £59.88 / £107.76 | £119.40 - £179.40 | |
| 36 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £59.88 / £203.52 | £238.20 - £357.60 | |
| 120 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £59.88 / £538.68 | £654 - £714 | |
| 3 fund trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £71.85 | £60 or £120 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 | £59.88 - £143.88 | Up to £500 or £1,000 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K | £143.88 | £500 - £1,000 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m | £143.88 | £100 - £1,000 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over | £143.88 | £0 | |
| Bonds - Corporate - Fee | £3.99 | £4.95 | |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee | £3.99 | £4.95 | |
| ETFs - Fee | £3.99 | £4.95 | |
| Investment Trusts - Fee | £3.99 | £4.95 | |
| Telephone Dealing Fee | £49 | £30 |
| Broker Screenshots | Interactive Investor | Bestinvest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website Gallery (click to expand) |
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| Mobile Trading Apps Gallery (click to expand) |
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| Education Gallery (click to expand) |
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| Platforms & Tools | Interactive Investor | Bestinvest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| iPhone App | Yes | Yes | |
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 104 | 36 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 18 | 9 | |
| Charting - Notes | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes | No | |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | No |
| Research | Interactive Investor | Bestinvest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - CFDs | No | No | |
| Research - Funds | Yes | Yes | |
| Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - Bonds | Yes | No | |
| Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Interactive Investor | Bestinvest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | Yes | |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | Yes | |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes |
| Overall Summary | Interactive Investor | Bestinvest | |
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| Review | Interactive Investor Review | Bestinvest Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
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