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.
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.
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 Robinhood UK would cost £0 per year.
12 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £36 per year, while Robinhood UK would cost £0 per year.
36 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £108 per year, while Robinhood UK would cost £0 per year.
120 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £360 per year, while Robinhood UK would cost £0 per year.
3 fund trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £0 per year, while Robinhood UK would cost £0 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 variety in their investment options, Interactive Brokers presents a wide array of choices. It provides access to share trading, crypto trading, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), contracts for difference (CFDs), and funds trading. Moreover, investors can delve into corporate and government bonds, as well as investment trusts. UK.StockBrokers.com rates Interactive Brokers with an impressive 5 stars for investment choices, securing it the #2 spot out of 21 brokers.
In contrast, Robinhood UK offers a simpler menu for traders. While you can engage in share trading, the platform does not support crypto, ETFs, CFDs, or funds trading. Additionally, it lacks options for bonds and investment trusts. Rated 3 stars by UK.StockBrokers.com, Robinhood UK is ranked #20 in investment choice, highlighting its more limited range compared to Interactive Brokers. Both platforms do not provide advisor services, aligning with their focus on facilitating direct trading experiences.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Robinhood UK
|
|---|---|---|
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes |
| CFD Trading | Yes | No |
| ETFs | Yes | No |
| 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
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 comparing market research capabilities between Interactive Brokers and Robinhood UK, Interactive Brokers stands out with a wider array of features. It provides comprehensive research reports for funds, which Robinhood UK lacks. Interactive Brokers also allows users to see their portfolio allocation by asset class, a feature not offered by Robinhood UK. Both platforms offer research on shares and ETFs, but only Interactive Brokers includes research for funds, CFDs, and bonds. This robust selection makes Interactive Brokers a more equipped choice for those seeking extensive market research tools.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Robinhood UK
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 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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Interactive 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 | |
| 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 | No | |
| 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) | £15 | £0 | |
| 12 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £36 | £0 | |
| 36 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £108 | £0 | |
| 120 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £360 | £0 | |
| 3 fund trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £0 / £14.85 | N/A | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 | £0 | £0 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K | £0 | £0 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m | £0 | £0 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £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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| 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 | Yes | No | |
| 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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