Interactive Brokers vs Freetrade 2025
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs Freetrade, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, investment options, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs Freetrade, 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 Brokers offers better pricing than Freetrade 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 Brokers would cost £15 per year, while Freetrade would cost £0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus) per year.
12 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £36 per year, while Freetrade would cost £0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus) per year.
36 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £108 per year, while Freetrade would cost £0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus) per year.
120 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £360 per year, while Freetrade would cost £0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus) per year.
3 fund trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £0 per year, while Freetrade would cost £1 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.
Interactive Brokers and Freetrade both cater to UK investors, offering avenues for share and ETF trading. Interactive Brokers, however, stands out with a broader range of investment options. Clients can engage in crypto trading, CFD trading, funds trading, and trade both corporate and government bonds. This versatility has garnered Interactive Brokers a top-tier 5-star rating from UK.StockBrokers.com, placing it as the second best among 21 brokers for investment choices. In contrast, Freetrade focuses more narrowly, excluding options like crypto, CFDs, and bonds from its offerings. This narrower scope results in a commendable but less competitive 4-star rating and a rank of 17th place.
Despite Freetrade's more limited selection of investment products, it does match Interactive Brokers in offering trading for investment trusts, providing a straightforward entry-point for novice investors. Although neither broker provides advisor services, Interactive Brokers clearly offers a more comprehensive suite of investment choices, appealing to a wider spectrum of investment strategies and preferences. Users seeking diverse opportunities will likely find Interactive Brokers a compelling option, whereas those preferring a more streamlined, straightforward experience might gravitate towards Freetrade's simpler portfolio.
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Share Trading | Yes | Yes |
CFD Trading | Yes | No |
ETFs | Yes | Yes |
Funds | Yes | No |
Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes | No |
Investment Trusts | Yes | Yes |
Spread Betting | No | No |
Crypto Trading | Yes | No |
Advisor Services | No | No |
Investment Choices |
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When comparing the trading tools of Interactive Brokers and Freetrade, UK traders might find Interactive Brokers offers a more comprehensive suite of features. Interactive Brokers supports advanced chart displays with corporate events like earnings and dividends and provides 80 drawing tools and 96 technical indicators for more detailed analysis. The platform also allows adding notes, index overlays, and stock overlays directly onto charts, delivering a robust interface for strategic trading. In contrast, Freetrade does not include these chart features or drawing and technical tools, potentially limiting the depth of market analysis available to the trader.
Both brokers support a browser-based trading platform and allow users to create alerts for stock price updates. However, Freetrade offers an advantage with real-time market data—a critical feature for those needing current market information on the go. This notable difference could cater to traders looking for immediate updates, whereas Interactive Brokers’ wealth of charting tools may appeal to those who prioritize in-depth analysis over real-time updates.
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Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes |
Charting - Indicators / Studies | 96 | 0 |
Charting - Drawing Tools | 80 | 0 |
Charting - Notes | Yes | No |
Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes | No |
Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | No |
Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | No |
When comparing Interactive Brokers and Freetrade for retirement accounts in the UK, both online brokers present competitive options. They each offer Individual Savings Accounts (ISA), which allow users to invest their money without paying tax on dividends or capital gains. Additionally, both brokers provide Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPP), giving individuals the flexibility to manage their own pension savings with the potential to grow investments over the long term. This makes either Interactive Brokers or Freetrade a viable choice for those looking to maximize their retirement savings potential within tax-efficient accounts.
Dive deeper: Best SIPP Providers, Best Stocks and Shares ISA Providers.
In the UK, both Interactive Brokers and Freetrade cater to users with iOS and Android mobile apps, ensuring accessibility across popular platforms. However, when it comes to user ratings and performance, Interactive Brokers excels with a 5-star mobile app rating from UK.StockBrokers.com, securing the impressive rank of 4th out of 21 brokers. In comparison, Freetrade earns a respectable 4 stars, yet it falls to the 12th position in the same ranking. This suggests that while both apps provide functional mobile trading experiences, Interactive Brokers offers a more highly rated service according to user reviews in the UK.
Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps UK.
For UK beginner investors seeking educational resources from online brokers, Interactive Brokers and Freetrade offer different levels of support. Interactive Brokers provides webinars for clients, both live and archived for on-demand viewing, covering a range of topics like share trading, funds, and retirement planning. In contrast, Freetrade lacks webinar offerings but still provides educational content on share trading, funds, and retirement. This difference is reflected in their reviews; Interactive Brokers receives a 4.5-star rating and ranks 8th among 21 brokers for beginner education, while Freetrade scores 3.5 stars and holds the 16th position. Both platforms have educational resources, but Interactive Brokers offers a more comprehensive webinar experience.
Feature |
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Client Webinars | Yes | No |
Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
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.
For UK investors seeking a strong platform for market research, Interactive Brokers and Freetrade present different offerings. Interactive Brokers provides comprehensive research, including reports for funds, and insights into shares, ETFs, CFDs, and bonds. Both brokers allow users to view their portfolio allocation by asset class and provide research on shares and ETFs. However, Freetrade falls short in several areas, lacking research reports on funds and not offering research on CFDs and bonds. This makes Interactive Brokers a preferable choice for those who prioritize in-depth market research across a wider range of investment types.
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Research - Shares | Yes | Yes |
Research - CFDs | Yes | No |
Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes |
Research - Bonds | Yes | No |
Research - Funds | Yes | No |
Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | No |
Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | Yes |
Which broker is better overall, Interactive Brokers or Freetrade? After collecting more than 900 data points over a 10-week period, we found Interactive Brokers to be a better trading platform overall.
Interactive Brokers is a sophisticated trading platform aimed at confident and institutional-grade investors. For newer investors, Interactive Brokers is more intimidating, though it's worth exploring the platform to see if you could save money or access more investments compared to other brokers.
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Interactive Brokers stands out from Freetrade by offering cryptocurrency trading options, which Freetrade currently does not provide.
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0 of 5Overall Rating | Interactive Brokers | Freetrade | |
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Overall Rating |
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Charges & Fees |
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Investment Choices |
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Mobile App |
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Website |
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Ease of Use |
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Education |
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Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Freetrade Review | |
Winner | check_circle |
Investments | Interactive Brokers | Freetrade | |
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ISA | Yes | Yes | |
SIPP | Yes | Yes | |
Share Trading | Yes | Yes | |
CFD Trading | Yes | No | |
Funds | Yes | No | |
ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
Bonds - Corporate | Yes | No | |
Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes | No | |
Investment Trusts | Yes | Yes | |
Spread Betting | No | No | |
Crypto Trading | Yes | No | |
Advisor Services | No | No |
Trading Fees | Interactive Brokers | Freetrade | |
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Minimum Deposit | £0 | £1 | |
Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month | £3 | £0 | |
Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month | £3 | £0 | |
Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month | £3 | £0 | |
5 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £15 | £0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus) | |
12 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £36 | £0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus) | |
36 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £108 | £0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus) | |
120 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £360 | £0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus) | |
3 fund trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £0 / £14.85 | N/A | |
Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 | £0 | £0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus) | |
Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K | £0 | £0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus) | |
Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m | £0 | £0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus) | |
Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over | £0 | £0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus) | |
Bonds - Corporate - Fee | 0.1% (for <10,000 EUR) 0.025% (for >10,000 EUR) | N/A | |
Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee | 0.1% (for <10,000 EUR) 0.025% (for >10,000 EUR) | N/A | |
ETFs - Fee | £3 | £0 | |
Investment Trusts - Fee | N/A | £0 | |
Telephone Dealing Fee | £25 | N/A |
Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | Freetrade | |
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Website Gallery (click to expand) | |||
Mobile Trading Apps Gallery (click to expand) | |||
Education Gallery (click to expand) |
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Platforms & Tools | Interactive Brokers | Freetrade | |
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Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
iPhone App | Yes | Yes | |
Android App | Yes | Yes | |
Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
Charting - Indicators / Studies | 96 | 0 | |
Charting - Drawing Tools | 80 | 0 | |
Charting - Notes | Yes | No | |
Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes | No | |
Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | No | |
Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | No |
Research | Interactive Brokers | Freetrade | |
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Research - Shares | Yes | Yes | |
Research - CFDs | Yes | No | |
Research - Funds | Yes | No | |
Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | No | |
Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
Research - Bonds | Yes | No | |
Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | Yes |
Education | Interactive Brokers | Freetrade | |
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Education (Share Trading) | Yes | Yes | |
Education (Funds) | Yes | Yes | |
Education (Retirement) | Yes | Yes | |
Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
Overall Summary | Interactive Brokers | Freetrade | |
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Charges & Fees |
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Investment Choices |
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Mobile App |
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Website |
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Ease of Use |
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Education |
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Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Freetrade Review | |
Winner | check_circle |