Written by StockBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs Vanguard UK Investor, 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 Vanguard UK 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 - Interactive Brokers would cost £15 per year, while Vanguard UK Investor would cost N/A per year.
12 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £36 per year, while Vanguard UK Investor would cost N/A per year.
36 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £108 per year, while Vanguard UK Investor would cost N/A per year.
120 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £360 per year, while Vanguard UK Investor would cost N/A per year.
3 fund trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £0 per year, while Vanguard UK Investor would cost £500 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 Vanguard UK Investor provide distinct investment options for UK investors. Interactive Brokers shines with a broader selection, offering share trading, ETF trading, CFD trading, funds trading, corporate bonds, government bonds (gilts), and investment trusts. In contrast, Vanguard UK Investor focuses on ETF and funds trading, limiting choices for those seeking a diversified portfolio. Neither platform offers crypto trading, spread betting, or advisor services, ensuring a straightforward approach to investing.
When it comes to ratings, Interactive Brokers receives a stellar 5-star review from UK.StockBrokers.com for investment choices, ranking second among 18 brokers. Meanwhile, Vanguard UK Investor earns a more modest rating of 3.5 stars, placing it at the bottom of the investment choice rankings. UK investors seeking a wide range of investment opportunities might find Interactive Brokers as a more appealing option, while those content with funds and ETFs might consider Vanguard UK's straightforward approach.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Vanguard UK Investor
|
|---|---|---|
| Share Trading | Yes | No |
| CFD Trading | Yes | No |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Funds | Yes | Yes |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes | No |
| Investment Trusts | Yes | No |
| Spread Betting | No | No |
| Crypto Trading | No | No |
| Advisor Services | No | No |
| Investment Choices |
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Professional’s Gateway to the World’s Markets.
Low-cost US and UK shares.
When comparing Interactive Brokers and Vanguard UK Investor for trading tools, Interactive Brokers clearly stands out with its extensive offerings. It allows traders to display corporate events such as earnings, splits, and dividends directly on charts, while Vanguard UK Investor lacks this feature. Interactive Brokers also provides a comprehensive set of 80 drawing tools and 96 technical indicators for detailed chart analysis, whereas Vanguard UK Investor offers none. Additionally, Interactive Brokers supports adding notes, index overlays, and stock overlays to charts, features that are not available with Vanguard UK Investor.
Both platforms provide a browser-based trading experience, catering to users who prefer online access. However, when it comes to creating alerts for stock price updates, Interactive Brokers takes the lead as Vanguard UK Investor does not offer this functionality. Neither platform provides real-time market data, which may be a consideration for users focused on trading at precise moments. Overall, Interactive Brokers offers a far more feature-rich toolset for traders looking to engage in detailed charting and analysis.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Vanguard UK Investor
|
|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | No |
| 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 online brokers Interactive Brokers and Vanguard UK Investor for UK retirement accounts, both platforms offer Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) and Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs), catering well to needs for tax-efficient savings and retirement planning. Interactive Brokers is known for its wide range of investment choices and competitive pricing, making it suitable for active investors seeking broad market access. In contrast, Vanguard UK Investor emphasizes low-cost funds, simplicity, and long-term investment horizons, appealing to those who favor a straightforward approach with a focus on index and mutual funds. Both brokers ensure comprehensive options for retirement planning through their offerings of ISAs and SIPPs, catering to diverse investor preferences and strategies.
Dive deeper: Best SIPP Providers, Best Stocks and Shares ISA Providers.
Interactive Brokers and Vanguard UK Investor both offer mobile apps available for iPhone and Android users, catering to investors on the go. Interactive Brokers stands out with a top-notch rating of 5 stars from UK.StockBrokers.com, securing the impressive rank of #4 out of 18 brokers for their mobile app offerings. In contrast, Vanguard UK Investor's mobile app receives a modest rating of 3.5 stars, placing it much lower at #19 out of the same group. This makes Interactive Brokers a more attractive option for UK investors prioritizing a high-quality mobile trading experience.
Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps UK.
When comparing the beginner investor educational resources offered by Interactive Brokers and Vanguard UK Investor, there are some key differences to note. Interactive Brokers provides a wide range of educational webinars, including those on share trading, which can be viewed live or on demand, ensuring flexible learning opportunities. In contrast, Vanguard UK Investor does not offer live webinars but does provide archived ones, focusing mainly on funds and retirement topics. While both platforms cover education for funds and retirement, only Interactive Brokers extends its resources to include share trading. Rated 4.5 stars by UK.StockBrokers.com and ranked #8 out of 18 brokers for beginner education, Interactive Brokers stands out as a more comprehensive choice for novices. Vanguard UK Investor, on the other hand, received a rating of 3.5 stars and is positioned at #17, indicating more limited educational offerings for those just starting their investment journey.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Vanguard UK Investor
|
|---|---|---|
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | No |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | Yes |
| Education |
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Dive deeper: Best UK Trading Platforms for Beginners.
When comparing Interactive Brokers to Vanguard UK Investor for market research features, both platforms offer research reports for funds and the ability to view portfolio allocation by asset class. However, Interactive Brokers stands out by providing research on shares, ETFs, funds, CFDs, and bonds—offering a more comprehensive suite of tools. In contrast, Vanguard UK Investor delivers research for funds and ETFs, but lacks insights on shares, CFDs, and bonds, which may leave some investors seeking more detailed information elsewhere.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Vanguard UK Investor
|
|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | No |
| Research - CFDs | Yes | No |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Research - Bonds | Yes | No |
| Research - Funds | Yes | Yes |
| Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | Yes |
| Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | Yes |
Which broker is better overall, Interactive Brokers or Vanguard UK Investor? 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.
| Feature |
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Vanguard UK Investor
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Neither Interactive Brokers nor Vanguard UK Investor offer crypto trading options for investors.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | Interactive Brokers | Vanguard UK Investor | |
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| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Vanguard UK Investor Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
| Investments | Interactive Brokers | Vanguard UK Investor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISA | Yes | Yes | |
| SIPP | Yes | Yes | |
| Share Trading | Yes | No | |
| CFD Trading | Yes | No | |
| Funds | Yes | Yes | |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
| 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 | Vanguard UK Investor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £0 | £500 | |
| Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month | £3 | N/A | |
| Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month | £3 | N/A | |
| Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month | £3 | N/A | |
| 5 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £15 | N/A | |
| 12 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £36 | N/A | |
| 36 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £108 | N/A | |
| 120 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £360 | N/A | |
| 3 fund trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £0 / £14.85 | £108 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 | £0 | Under £32,000: £48 / Over £32,000: 0.15% | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K | £0 | £375 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m | £0 | £375 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over | £0 | £375 | |
| 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 | 0.02% to 0.14% | |
| Investment Trusts - Fee | N/A | N/A | |
| Telephone Dealing Fee | £25 | N/A |
| Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | Vanguard UK Investor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website Gallery (click to expand) |
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| Platforms & Tools | Interactive Brokers | Vanguard UK Investor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| iPhone App | Yes | Yes | |
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | No | |
| 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 | Vanguard UK Investor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | No | |
| Research - CFDs | Yes | No | |
| Research - Funds | Yes | Yes | |
| Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - Bonds | Yes | No | |
| Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Interactive Brokers | Vanguard UK Investor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | No | |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | Yes | |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes |
| Overall Summary | Interactive Brokers | Vanguard UK Investor | |
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| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Vanguard UK Investor Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
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