Written by StockBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs Robinhood UK, 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, Robinhood UK offers better pricing than Interactive Brokers 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.
For UK investors considering their choices, Interactive Brokers and Robinhood UK present two distinct online trading platforms. Interactive Brokers shines with a wide array of investment options including share trading, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, CFDs, funds, and both corporate and government bonds. Its comprehensive range has earned it a 5-star rating from UK.StockBrokers.com, positioning it as the second-best out of 21 brokers for investment choices. In contrast, Robinhood UK's offerings are relatively limited, focusing primarily on share trading without support for cryptocurrency or ETF trading. Rated at 3 stars, Robinhood UK ranks 20th out of 21 in terms of investment variety.
This comparison highlights the diverging paths of the two platforms in meeting investors' needs. Those looking for a versatile trading experience with a wide spectrum of financial instruments might lean towards Interactive Brokers. However, for beginners or those who prefer a simpler, straightforward approach to share investing, Robinhood UK could be an appealing option. Neither platform provides advisor services, catering instead to those who prefer to steer their own investment journey.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Robinhood UK
|
|---|---|---|
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes |
| CFD Trading | Yes | No |
| ETFs | Yes | No |
| Mutual Funds | Yes | No |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes | No |
| Investment Trusts | Yes | No |
| Spread Betting | No | No |
| Crypto Trading | Yes | No |
| Advisor Services | No | No |
| Investment Choices |
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Low-cost US and UK shares.
Professional’s Gateway to the World’s Markets.
When comparing the trading tools of Interactive Brokers and Robinhood UK, Interactive Brokers stands out with a comprehensive selection of features for serious traders. With the ability to display corporate events like earnings, splits, and dividends on charts, Interactive Brokers offers a richer and more insightful trading experience. In contrast, Robinhood UK does not provide this feature. Additionally, Interactive Brokers offers an impressive collection of 80 drawing tools and 96 technical indicators for charting, while Robinhood UK offers no drawing tools and just 3 technical indicators. Interactive Brokers also allows users to add notes, index overlays, and stock overlays to charts—features that Robinhood UK lacks.
Both Interactive Brokers and Robinhood UK offer browser-based trading platforms and the ability to create alerts for stock price updates, catering to users who enjoy monitoring trades through their web browsers. However, for those interested in the timeliness of market data, Robinhood UK delivers real-time market information, whereas Interactive Brokers does not. These differences highlight Interactive Brokers as a feature-rich option for experienced traders seeking comprehensive analytical tools, compared to Robinhood UK's streamlined approach designed to cater to casual investors.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Robinhood UK
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|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 96 | 3 |
| 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 the online brokers Interactive Brokers and Robinhood UK, particularly regarding the availability of retirement accounts for UK investors, Interactive Brokers stands out by offering both Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) and Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs). On the other hand, Robinhood UK does not provide these retirement account options. For UK investors seeking to grow their savings with the added benefits of tax efficiency, Interactive Brokers may be a more suitable choice due to its comprehensive range of account offerings.
Dive deeper: Best SIPP Providers, Best Stocks and Shares ISA Providers.
In the UK, both Interactive Brokers and Robinhood UK offer convenient mobile apps for iPhone and Android users, ensuring access to trading on the go. Interactive Brokers shines with a top-tier 5-star rating for its mobile app from UK.StockBrokers.com, ranking 4th out of 21 brokers. Meanwhile, Robinhood UK's app is rated 4 stars, securing the 13th spot in the same ranking. This indicates that Interactive Brokers' app may provide a more advanced user experience for traders seeking reliable tools and features right at their fingertips.
Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps UK.
When it comes to beginner investor educational resources, Interactive Brokers and Robinhood UK offer different experiences for UK users. Interactive Brokers provides a range of educational resources, including client webinars that are both live and archived for on-demand viewing, covering topics such as share trading, funds, and retirement planning. In contrast, Robinhood UK offers education on share trading but lacks webinars, as well as material on funds and retirement. According to UK.StockBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers scores a commendable 4.5 stars for beginner education, ranking 8th out of 21 brokers, whereas Robinhood UK achieves a 3.5-star rating, placing 20th. Thus, for UK beginners keen on comprehensive online investment education, Interactive Brokers stands out as a stronger choice compared to Robinhood UK.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Robinhood UK
|
|---|---|---|
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | No |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | No |
| Education |
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Dive deeper: Best UK Trading Platforms for Beginners.
For UK investors seeking a comprehensive online brokerage with extensive market research tools, Interactive Brokers stands out compared to Robinhood UK. Interactive Brokers offers research reports for various investment options, including funds, shares, ETFs, and bonds, while also enabling users to view their portfolio allocation by asset class. In contrast, Robinhood UK provides research on shares and ETFs but lacks reports for funds and bonds, and does not offer detailed portfolio allocation insights. Thus, for investors who prioritize in-depth research and asset allocation analysis, Interactive Brokers provides a more thorough toolkit than Robinhood UK.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Robinhood UK
|
|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Research - Bonds | Yes | No |
| Research - Funds | Yes | No |
| Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | No |
| Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | No |
Which broker is better overall, Interactive Brokers or Robinhood UK? 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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Robinhood UK
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Interactive Brokers offers the advantage of crypto trading, unlike Robinhood UK, providing a broader range of investment options for users seeking to diversify their portfolios with cryptocurrencies.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | Interactive Brokers | Robinhood UK | |
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| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Robinhood UK Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
| Investments | Interactive Brokers | Robinhood UK | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISA | Yes | No | |
| SIPP | Yes | No | |
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| CFD Trading | Yes | No | |
| Mutual Funds | Yes | No | |
| ETFs | Yes | No | |
| Bonds - Corporate | Yes | No | |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes | No | |
| Investment Trusts | Yes | No | |
| Spread Betting | No | No | |
| Crypto Trading | Yes | ||
| Advisor Services | No | No |
| Trading Fees | Interactive Brokers | Robinhood UK | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £0 | £0 | |
| 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) | |||
| 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 | £0 | £0 | |
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £250K-£500K | £0 | £0 | |
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £500,000 - £1m | £0 | £0 | |
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £1m and over | £0 | £0 | |
| 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 | N/A | |
| Telephone Dealing Fee | £25 | N/A |
| Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | Robinhood UK | |
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| 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 Brokers | Robinhood UK | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| iPhone App | Yes | Yes | |
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 96 | 3 | |
| 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 | Robinhood UK | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - CFDs | |||
| Research - Funds | Yes | No | |
| Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | No | |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - Bonds | Yes | No | |
| Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | No |
| Education | Interactive Brokers | Robinhood UK | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | Yes | |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | No | |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Overall Summary | Interactive Brokers | Robinhood UK | |
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| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Robinhood UK Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
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