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CMC Invest vs Interactive Investor 2023

StockBrokers.com

Written by StockBrokers.com

April 19, 2023

Is CMC Invest better than Interactive Investor? After scoring the best share dealing accounts across 46 different variables, our analysis finds that CMC Invest is better than Interactive Investor. CMC Invest offers commission-free trading of U.K.-listed shares and U.S. equities via a mobile app only. Though a newer entrant to the U.K. share dealing market and currently somewhat limited, it’s powered by global contender CMC Markets, making it likely that its offerings will expand.

Select Brokers

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  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxAJ Bell
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxBarclays
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxCapital.com
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxCMC Invest
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxDEGIRO
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxeToro
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxFineco Bank
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxFreetrade
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxHalifax
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxHargreaves Lansdown
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxIG
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxInteractive Brokers
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxInteractive Investor
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxLloyds Bank
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxSaxo Markets
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxTrading 212

Compare

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Overall Rating CMC Invest Interactive Investor
Overall Rating info 4/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Commissions & Fees 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Offering of Investments 2.5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Mobile Trading 3.5/5 Stars 3/5 Stars
Platforms & Tools 0.5/5 Stars 3/5 Stars
Research 3/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Ease of Use 4/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Education 3.5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Review CMC Invest Review Interactive Investor Review
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Investments CMC Invest Interactive Investor
ISA info Yes Yes
SIPP info No Yes
Share Trading info Yes Yes
CFD Trading info No No
Funds info Yes Yes
ETFs info Yes Yes
Bonds - Corporate info No Yes
Bonds - Government (Gilts) info No Yes
Investment Trusts info Yes Yes
Spread Betting info No No
Crypto Trading info No No
Advisor Services info No No
Trading Fees CMC Invest Interactive Investor
Minimum Deposit info £0.0 £0.0
Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month info 0 £5.99 (Investor Plan)
Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month info 0 £3.99 (Super Investor Plan)
Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month info 0 £3.99 (Super Investor Plan)
5 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £0 £89.83 (Essentials plan) or £119.88 (Investor, Super Investor plans)
12 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £0 £131.76 (Essentials) or £119.88 (Investor, Super Investor)
36 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £0 £263.64 (Investor) or £287.76 (Super Investor)
120 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £0 £766.8 (Investor) or £622.92 (Super Investor)
3 fund trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £0 £119.88
Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 info 0 info £119.88 (Investor Plan - £9.99 monthly)
Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K info 0 info £119.88
Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m info 0 info £119.88
Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over info 0 info £119.88
Bonds - Corporate - Fee info N/A £40 (when trade value is above £100,000)
Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee info N/A £40 (when trade value is above £100,000)
ETFs - Fee info 0 £5.99 (Investor Plan)
Investment Trusts - Fee info 0 £5.99 (Investor Plan)
Telephone Dealing Fee info 50 £49
Platforms & Tools CMC Invest Interactive Investor
Web Platform info No Yes
iPhone App info Yes Yes
Android App info Yes Yes
Stock Alerts info No Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies info 0 104
Charting - Drawing Tools info 0 16
Charting - Notes info No No
Charting - Display Corporate Events info No Yes
Charting - Stock Overlays info No Yes
Charting - Index Overlays info No Yes
Research CMC Invest Interactive Investor
Research - Shares info No Yes
Research - CFDs info No No
Research - Funds info No Yes
Fund Research - Research Reports info No Yes
Research - ETFs info No Yes
Research - Bonds info No No
Portfolio Allocation Breakdown info No Yes
Education CMC Invest Interactive Investor
Education (Share Trading) info Yes Yes
Education (Funds) info No Yes
Education (Retirement) info No Yes
Client Webinars info No No
Client Webinars (Archived) info No No
Overall Summary CMC Invest Interactive Investor
Overall Rating info 4/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Commissions & Fees 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Offering of Investments 2.5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Mobile Trading 3.5/5 Stars 3/5 Stars
Platforms & Tools 0.5/5 Stars 3/5 Stars
Research 3/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Ease of Use 4/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Education 3.5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Review CMC Invest Review Interactive Investor Review
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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 CMC Invest and Interactive Investor.

CMC Invest vs Interactive Investor Comparison

For our 2022 Review, we assessed the best trading platforms in the UK for online share dealing. Let's compare CMC Invest vs Interactive Investor.

Is CMC Invest a good broker?

CMC Invest offers commission-free trading of U.K.-listed shares and U.S. equities via a mobile app only. Though a newer entrant to the U.K. share dealing market and currently somewhat limited, it’s powered by global contender CMC Markets, making it likely that its offerings will expand.

Is Interactive Investor a good broker?

Interactive Investor is a solid option for investors looking for strong in-house recommendations for funds and well-put-together research reports. Fees, although lowered from last year, are still fairly high, especially considering the less-than-impressive platform, mobile app and tools available. Interactive Investor struggles to remain competitive with the best trading platforms in the U.K.

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, CMC Invest offers better pricing than Interactive Investor 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 - CMC Invest would cost £0 per year, while Interactive Investor would cost £89.83 (Essentials plan) or £119.88 (Investor, Super Investor plans) per year.

12 trades per year - CMC Invest would cost £0 per year, while Interactive Investor would cost £131.76 (Essentials) or £119.88 (Investor, Super Investor) per year.

36 trades per year - CMC Invest would cost £0 per year, while Interactive Investor would cost £263.64 (Investor) or £287.76 (Super Investor) per year.

120 trades per year - CMC Invest would cost £0 per year, while Interactive Investor would cost £766.8 (Investor) or £622.92 (Super Investor) per year.

3 fund trades per year - CMC Invest would cost £0.0 per year, while Interactive Investor would cost £0.0 per year.

How do CMC Invest and Interactive Investor compare in terms of minimum deposits required?

CMC Invest requires a minimum deposit of £0.0, while Interactive Investor requires a minimum deposit of £0.0. From our testing we found for accounts between £0 - £250,000 CMC Invest charges annual custody fees of 0, while Interactive Investor charges annual custody fees of £119.88 (Investor Plan - £9.99 monthly).

Which broker offers a wider range of investment options?

CMC Invest offers investors access to ISA, Share Trading, Funds, ETFs and Investment Trusts, while Interactive Investor offers investors access to ISA, SIPP, Share Trading, Funds, ETFs, Bonds - Corporate, Bonds - Government (Gilts) and Investment Trusts. Neither have CFD Trading, Spread Betting, Crypto Trading and Advisor Services. Investing encompasses a wide variety of asset classes, so finding a broker that offers every investment type you are interested in is important.

Do CMC Invest and Interactive Investor 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 CMC Invest offers traders access to ISA accounts, while Interactive Investor offers traders access to SIPP and ISA accounts.

Do CMC Invest and Interactive Investor 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 CMC Invest and Interactive Investor offer crypto investing.

Which broker offers better research?

Our testing concluded that Interactive Investor is better for research than CMC Invest. Interactive Investor offers more research options, including research reports, articles, and analyst ratings.

Which trading platform is better?

To compare the trading platforms of both CMC Invest and Interactive Investor, we tested each broker's website, trading platform, trading tools and stock trading app. All features compared, our analysis finds that Interactive Investor offers a better share dealing platform and CMC Invest offers a better stock app for mobile trading.

Do CMC Invest and Interactive Investor 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 CMC Invest offers traders access to Education (Share Trading), while Interactive Investor offers access to Education (Share Trading), Education (Funds) and Education (Retirement). Neither have Client Webinars and Client Webinars (Archived).

Overall winner: CMC Invest

Read Next: Best UK Trading Platforms 2022


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