Written by StockBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Investor vs Trading 212, 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, Trading 212 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 - Interactive Investor would cost £79.83 per year, while Trading 212 would cost £0 per year.
12 trades per year - Interactive Investor would cost £59.88 / £107.76 per year, while Trading 212 would cost £0 per year.
36 trades per year - Interactive Investor would cost £59.88 / £203.52 per year, while Trading 212 would cost £0 per year.
120 trades per year - Interactive Investor would cost £59.88 / £538.68 per year, while Trading 212 would cost £0 per year.
3 fund trades per year - Interactive Investor would cost £0 per year, while Trading 212 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.
When comparing Interactive Investor and Trading 212, both online brokers offer customers the ability to trade shares and ETFs, ensuring a solid foundation for building diverse portfolios. However, when it comes to the range of investment choices, Interactive Investor shines with a broader selection, allowing trading in funds, corporate bonds, government bonds (gilts), and investment trusts, which Trading 212 does not offer. Although both brokers score well, Interactive Investor achieves a full 5-star rating from UK.StockBrokers.com for its investment choices, with a noteworthy fifth-place ranking out of 18 brokers. In contrast, Trading 212, while still highly regarded with a 4.5-star rating, ranks eleventh in the same evaluation.
Moreover, neither Interactive Investor nor Trading 212 provides options for crypto trading, spread betting, or advisor services. Interestingly, Trading 212 offers an opportunity for CFD trading, which is absent from Interactive Investor's offerings. This distinction may appeal to individual traders looking for specific instruments, yet Interactive Investor's extensive array of investment avenues positions it as a comprehensive choice for diverse portfolio management and long-term investment strategies, as reflected in its superior industry ranking and rating.
| Feature |
Interactive Investor
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes |
| CFD Trading | No | Yes |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Funds | Yes | No |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes | No |
| Investment Trusts | Yes | Yes |
| 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 the trading tools of Interactive Investor and Trading 212, both platforms provide robust features for traders, but they display some key differences. Interactive Investor stands out with its ability to show corporate events like earnings, splits, and dividends directly on charts, an option Trading 212 lacks. Both services allow chart annotations and offer a browser-based trading platform. However, Interactive Investor supports adding both index and stock overlays on charts, while Trading 212 does not. This could be a decisive feature for investors who rely on comprehensive chart analysis.
In terms of charting capabilities, Trading 212 offers a slight edge with 27 drawing tools compared to Interactive Investor's 18, along with 106 technical indicators, marginally more than Interactive Investor's 104. Despite these differences, both platforms provide the ability to create price alerts and offer real-time market data, ensuring traders can make timely decisions. Each has strengths that cater to different trading preferences, making the choice between Interactive Investor and Trading 212 a matter of prioritizing specific functionalities.
| Feature |
Interactive Investor
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 104 | 106 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 18 | 27 |
| Charting - Notes | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes | No |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | No |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | No |
When comparing Interactive Investor and Trading 212 for retirement investment options, both platforms offer Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), allowing investors to grow their savings tax-free. However, a key difference lies in the availability of Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) accounts. Interactive Investor provides SIPP accounts, which enable users to manage their pension funds with more flexibility and control, making it an attractive choice for those focused on retirement planning. In contrast, Trading 212 does not offer SIPP accounts, so investors seeking this option might find Interactive Investor to be the more suitable platform for managing both their ISAs and SIPPs effectively.
Dive deeper: Best SIPP Providers, Best Stocks and Shares ISA Providers.
Both Interactive Investor and Trading 212 offer mobile apps for iPhone and Android, making it easy for users to manage their investments on the go. According to UK.StockBrokers.com, Trading 212's mobile app is rated a perfect 5 stars, placing it 9th out of 18 brokers for mobile app performance. Meanwhile, Interactive Investor's app earns a respectable 4.5 stars and ranks 12th. If you're weighing your options based on mobile app ratings and rankings, Trading 212 slightly edges out Interactive Investor with its highly rated user-friendly design.
Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps UK.
When it comes to educational resources for beginner investors, Interactive Investor and Trading 212 each offer their own strengths, but Interactive Investor stands out in several ways. Interactive Investor provides live educational webinars, offers on-demand access to these sessions, and covers a variety of topics, including share trading, funds, and retirement planning. On the other hand, Trading 212 does not offer webinars, lacks archived educational content, and doesn't cover retirement education, though it matches Interactive Investor in providing resources on share trading and funds. With Interactive Investor receiving a top-rating of 5 stars and being ranked number one out of 18 brokers by UK.StockBrokers.com, it is an evident leader for new investors, whereas Trading 212 holds a respectable 4-star rating, ranking eleventh.
| Feature |
Interactive Investor
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | No |
| Education |
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Dive deeper: Best UK Trading Platforms for Beginners.
When comparing market research features between Interactive Investor and Trading 212, distinct differences emerge. Interactive Investor provides comprehensive research reports for various financial instruments, including funds, shares, ETFs, and bonds, but does not cover CFDs. In contrast, Trading 212 delivers research capabilities for shares, ETFs, and CFDs, yet lacks research reports for funds and bonds. Both platforms offer the ability to view portfolio allocation by asset class, making them versatile choices for tracking investments. Overall, Interactive Investor stands out for its depth in fund and bond research, while Trading 212 excels in CFD analysis.
| Feature |
Interactive Investor
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes |
| Research - CFDs | No | Yes |
| 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 Investor or Trading 212? After collecting more than 900 data points over a 10-week period, we found Interactive Investor to be a better trading platform overall.
The standout feature at Interactive Investor (ii) is its low flat-rate fees. Other investment platforms typically favour percentage fees for fund investing, although more brokers are now opting for flat fees. Our view is that Interactive Investor is a great platform for any investor, offering a wide range of investments for cheap prices on the whole.
| Feature |
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Trading 212
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| Charges & Fees |
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Both Interactive Investor and Trading 212 do not offer crypto trading options, providing users with a focus on traditional investment opportunities without cryptocurrency availability.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | Interactive Investor | Trading 212 | |
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| Review | Interactive Investor Review | Trading 212 Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
| Investments | Interactive Investor | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISA | Yes | Yes | |
| SIPP | Yes | No | |
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| CFD Trading | No | Yes | |
| 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 | No | No | |
| Advisor Services | No | No |
| Trading Fees | Interactive Investor | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £0 | £1 | |
| Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month | £3.99 | £0 | |
| Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month | £3.99 | £0 | |
| Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month | £3.99 | £0 | |
| 5 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £79.83 | £0 | |
| 12 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £59.88 / £107.76 | £0 | |
| 36 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £59.88 / £203.52 | £0 | |
| 120 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £59.88 / £538.68 | £0 | |
| 3 fund trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £71.85 | £0 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 | £59.88 - £143.88 | £0 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K | £143.88 | £0 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m | £143.88 | £0 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over | £143.88 | £0 | |
| Bonds - Corporate - Fee | £3.99 | N/A | |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee | £3.99 | N/A | |
| ETFs - Fee | £3.99 | 0 | |
| Investment Trusts - Fee | £3.99 | 0 | |
| Telephone Dealing Fee | £49 | N/A |
| Broker Screenshots | Interactive Investor | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 Investor | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| iPhone App | Yes | Yes | |
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 104 | 106 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 18 | 27 | |
| Charting - Notes | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes | No | |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | No | |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | No |
| Research | Interactive Investor | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - CFDs | No | Yes | |
| 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 Investor | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | Yes | |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | Yes | |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Overall Summary | Interactive Investor | Trading 212 | |
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| Review | Interactive Investor Review | Trading 212 Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
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