Written by StockBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Charles Stanley Direct vs Fidelity International, 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, Charles Stanley Direct offers better pricing than Fidelity International 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.
Charles Stanley Direct and Fidelity International both give UK investors a good range of account investment choices, including share trading, ETFs, funds and investment trusts, as well as adviser services. Neither platform offers crypto trading, spread betting or CFD trading, so both are aimed more at long-term investing than higher-risk speculative trading.
Where Charles Stanley Direct stands out is its wider fixed-income range: it offers corporate bonds and UK government bonds (gilts), while Fidelity International does not. On UK.StockBrokers.com, Charles Stanley Direct is rated 5 stars for investment choices, compared with 4.5 stars for Fidelity International, which may help if you want the broadest selection of investments in one place.
| Feature |
Charles Stanley Direct
|
Fidelity International
|
|---|---|---|
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes |
| CFD Trading | No | No |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Mutual Funds | Yes | Yes |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes | No |
| Investment Trusts | Yes | Yes |
| Spread Betting | No | No |
| Crypto Trading | ||
| Advisor Services | Yes | Yes |
| Investment Choices |
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Low-cost US and UK shares.
Professional’s Gateway to the World’s Markets.
For UK investors comparing Charles Stanley Direct and Fidelity International, both brokers offer browser-based trading platforms, price alerts, index overlays and stock overlays, so each gives you a decent basic setup for charting and tracking the market. Neither lets you add notes to charts, but Fidelity International goes further on chart detail, with support for corporate events such as earnings, splits and dividends, plus more drawing tools and technical indicators than Charles Stanley Direct.
In practice, Charles Stanley Direct offers 1 drawing tool and 14 technical indicators, while Fidelity International provides 5 drawing tools and 21 indicators, making Fidelity the stronger choice for anyone who wants more choice when analysing share price movements. Charles Stanley Direct does have an edge for live trading information, as it offers real-time market data, whereas Fidelity International does not.
| Feature |
Charles Stanley Direct
|
Fidelity International
|
|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 14 | 21 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 1 | 5 |
| Charting - Notes | No | No |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | No | Yes |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | Yes |
Charles Stanley Direct and Fidelity International both offer ISA accounts and SIPP accounts, giving UK investors two well-known online broker options for tax-efficient retirement planning. If you want a simple way to invest for the long term, both platforms let you choose between an ISA for flexible saving and a SIPP for building a pension, so the best choice will likely come down to fees, investment choice, and the support features each provider offers.
Dive deeper: Best SIPP Providers, Best Stocks and Shares ISA Providers.
Charles Stanley Direct and Fidelity International both offer mobile apps for iPhone and Android, so UK investors can manage their accounts on the go with either broker. However, UK.StockBrokers.com rates Fidelity International’s mobile app higher at 4 out of 5 stars, compared with 3.5 stars for Charles Stanley Direct, making Fidelity the stronger choice for app quality based on this review.
Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps UK.
For beginner investors in the UK, Charles Stanley Direct and Fidelity International both cover key topics such as share trading, funds and retirement, and both offer webinars you can watch on demand later. The main difference is that Fidelity International also runs live educational webinars, while Charles Stanley Direct does not. As a result, Fidelity International scores slightly higher for beginner education, with a 5-star rating from UK.StockBrokers.com compared with Charles Stanley Direct’s 4.5 stars.
| Feature |
Charles Stanley Direct
|
Fidelity International
|
|---|---|---|
| Client Webinars | No | 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.
Charles Stanley Direct and Fidelity International both provide useful market research tools for UK investors, with fund reports, share research, ETF research and fund research available on each platform, plus the option to view portfolio allocation by asset class. The main difference is that Fidelity International also offers bonds research, while this is not shown for Charles Stanley Direct, so Fidelity has a slight edge if you want wider research coverage.
| Feature |
Charles Stanley Direct
|
Fidelity International
|
|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Research - Bonds | Yes | |
| Research - Funds | Yes | Yes |
| Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | Yes |
| Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | Yes |
Which broker is better overall, Charles Stanley Direct or Fidelity International? After collecting more than 900 data points over a 10-week period, we found Charles Stanley Direct to be a better trading platform overall.
Charles Stanley Direct allows you to invest in a wide range of products, including stocks and ETFs, using various accounts like tax-advantaged ISAs and SIPPs. However, fees are more expensive than similar platforms, although clients receive £50 worth of credit every six months to bring down the overall trading cost.
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Fidelity International
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Charles Stanley Direct does not offer crypto trading, and Fidelity International also does not offer crypto trading, so neither online broker provides access to cryptocurrencies.
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↓×Compare
0 of 5| Overall Rating | Charles Stanley Direct | Fidelity International | |
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| Review | Charles Stanley Direct Review | Fidelity International Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
| Investments | Charles Stanley Direct | Fidelity International | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISA | Yes | Yes | |
| SIPP | Yes | Yes | |
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| CFD Trading | No | No | |
| Mutual 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 | |||
| Advisor Services | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Fees | Charles Stanley Direct | Fidelity International | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £0 | £1000 | |
| Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month | £0 - £10 | £1.50 or £7.50 | |
| Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month | £10 | £1.50 or £7.50 | |
| Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month | £10 | £1.50 or £7.50 | |
| 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 | £60 - £600 | £90 - £875 | |
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £250K-£500K | £600 | £500 - £1,000 | |
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £500,000 - £1m | £600 | £1,000 - £2,000 | |
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £1m and over | £600 | £2,000 | |
| Bonds - Corporate - Fee | £25 | N/A | |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee | £25 | N/A | |
| ETFs - Fee | £10 | £7.50 | |
| Investment Trusts - Fee | £10 | £7.50 | |
| Telephone Dealing Fee | £25 minimum | £30 |
| Broker Screenshots | Charles Stanley Direct | Fidelity International | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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) |
| Platforms & Tools | Charles Stanley Direct | Fidelity International | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| iPhone App | Yes | Yes | |
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 14 | 21 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 1 | 5 | |
| Charting - Notes | No | No | |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | No | Yes | |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Charles Stanley Direct | Fidelity International | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - CFDs | |||
| Research - Funds | Yes | Yes | |
| Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - Bonds | Yes | ||
| Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Charles Stanley Direct | Fidelity International | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | Yes | |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | Yes | |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | No | Yes | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes |
| Overall Summary | Charles Stanley Direct | Fidelity International | |
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| Review | Charles Stanley Direct Review | Fidelity International Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
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