Best Investment Platforms in the UK for 2026

Company	Overall Rating	Minimum Deposit	Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £0 - £250,000	ISA
Trading 212		£1	£0	Yes

Trading 212 stands out as the best overall broker for 2026 thanks to its low-cost structure and beginner-friendly design. There are no dealing fees on shares or ETFs, no platform fees, and you can start investing with as little as £1. The only main charge to watch is a 0.15% currency conversion fee when buying overseas stocks. Combined with fractional shares, this makes it easy to invest small amounts without fees eating into returns.

A flexible and competitive ISA offering. Trading 212 offers both a Stocks and Shares ISA and a Cash ISA, with interest paid on uninvested cash. The ISA is flexible, meaning you can withdraw and replace money within the same tax year without affecting your £20,000 allowance. You can also hold multiple currencies and earn interest on cash balances, giving it an edge over many traditional brokers.

Strong mobile app with powerful tools. The app is intuitive enough for beginners but includes more than 50 charting indicators for experienced investors. Practice accounts also allow you to test strategies with virtual money before investing.

Trading 212 offers many ways to customise a chart on its mobile app. You can add notes, compare historical performance and change the layout.

Elizabeth's take:

"I found the app fun to use, particularly the demo account with £5,000 of virtual money, which lets you test ideas without risking cash."

Elizabeth Anderson

Low-cost investing. Trading 212 offers around 14,000 stocks and ETFs, including investment trusts and fractional shares. However, it doesn’t offer mutual funds, bonds, or a SIPP, so retirement-focused investors may need another provider. For straightforward, low-cost share investing, it’s hard to beat.

Company	Overall Rating	Minimum Deposit	Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £0 - £250,000	ISA
Interactive Investor		£1	£71.88 / £179.88	Yes

Interactive Investor (ii) is a strong option for U.K. investors who like cost transparency and don’t want platform fees rising as their portfolio grows. Instead of percentage-based charges, ii uses a monthly subscription model, which can work especially well for long-term ISA and SIPP investors with medium-to-large balances.

One account, lots of investment choice. You can hold a Trading Account, Stocks and Shares ISA, Junior ISA, and SIPP under the same plan and manage everything with one login. Investment choice is one of ii’s biggest strengths too, with access to a broad mix of U.K. and international shares, ETFs, funds, investment trusts, and bonds.

An excellent website for research. ii’s web platform is where it really stands out. It’s packed with tools for exploring investments, building watchlists, and digging into performance. There’s also a strong “guided” layer for decision-making, including curated lists like Super 60 and sustainable options, plus model portfolios if you’d rather not pick everything from scratch.

Interactive Investor's community hub provides a space for investors to discuss markets and compare strategies.

Fees. The Core plan starts at £5.99 per month (covering portfolios up to £100,000), with Plus (£14.99) and Premium (£39.99) offering lower trading and FX fees and extra perks. Regular monthly investing can reduce dealing costs, which helps if you’re building steadily over time. For very small or rarely used accounts, a no-subscription platform may still work out cheaper, but for engaged investors who value research and predictability, ii is a great fit.

Company	Overall Rating	Minimum Deposit	Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £0 - £250,000	ISA
IG		£0	N/A info	Yes

IG works for people who want more than a simple “buy and hold” app. You get a deep investment line-up, strong market tools, and some of the best education of any U.K. broker, so it suits investors who like to research, place trades, and keep an eye on what’s moving.

Ways to invest, plus ready-made options. With IG you can open a general investment account, a Stocks and Shares ISA, or a SIPP. You can trade thousands of U.K. and international shares, ETFs, and investment trusts, and there’s also the option to use IG Smart Portfolios if you’d rather invest in a managed, diversified ETF portfolio based on your risk level. IG doesn’t offer mutual funds, and there’s no demo account for share dealing (though there is one for spread betting and CFDs).

Through the IG Invest app you can invest in crypto, shares and ETFs. You can also specify the investments you want when setting up your account.

Low dealing costs. IG offers £0 commission on U.K. and U.S. share trades, with a 0.7% FX fee when you buy overseas shares. The main catch is the custody fee: if you make fewer than three trades per quarter, you’ll pay £8 per month (charged quarterly). That fee is waived if you trade at least three times per quarter or if you hold £15,000+ in an IG Smart Portfolio, so IG tends to work best when you’re an active trader.

Two apps. The main IG Trading app is packed with watchlists, alerts, screeners, and market news, and it’s a strong choice if you’re making regular decisions. If you want a calmer starting point, IG Invest is the simpler alternative app, with a cleaner interface and bite-sized lessons that explain investing basics for beginner traders.

Company	Overall Rating	Minimum Deposit	Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £0 - £250,000	ISA
InvestEngine		£100	N/A	Yes

InvestEngine is best suited to “buy and hold” investing, where you’re happy to build a diversified ETF portfolio and leave it to grow over time. It’s not designed for active traders, since trades are typically executed once per day rather than instantly.

Company	Overall Rating	Minimum Deposit	Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £0 - £250,000	ISA
Interactive Brokers		£0	£0	Yes

Interactive Brokers (IBKR) works for experienced investors who want institutional-grade tools and access to more than 90 global exchanges. You can invest in shares, ETFs, bonds, investment trusts, and over 14,000 mutual funds with no dealing or platform fees, making it one of the broadest offerings in the U.K.

First, think about what you’re investing for. Are you building long-term wealth, saving for retirement, investing for a child, or trading more actively? If you’re investing for retirement, you’ll want access to a SIPP. For tax-efficient general investing, a Stocks and Shares ISA is essential. If you're a more active trader, you may prioritise advanced charting tools and real-time execution, while long-term investors may prefer simplicity and low costs.

Fees can eat into returns over time, so it’s important to understand exactly what you’ll pay. Look for:

• Platform or custody fees (flat monthly fee or percentage-based)
• Trading commissions
• Foreign exchange (FX) fees for overseas shares
• Fund management charges (if investing in funds)

Flat-fee platforms often work out cheaper for larger portfolios, while percentage-based or commission-free platforms can suit smaller accounts. Always calculate what you’ll pay based on your expected balance and trading frequency.

Not all platforms offer the same assets. Some focus only on ETFs, while others provide access to shares, funds, bonds, investment trusts, and even crypto. If you want to build a diversified portfolio across global markets, make sure the platform offers the exchanges and asset types you need. If you're a beginner trader, you may benefit from ready-made portfolios or managed options.

A platform should feel intuitive and easy to navigate. If you plan to invest on the go, test the mobile app. Look for useful features such as watchlists, price alerts, stock screeners, educational tools, and portfolio analytics. Some platforms cater to advanced traders with complex tools, while others prioritise simplicity.

Make sure the platform is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Check how you can contact customer support whether it's phone, live chat, or email, and read reviews to gauge responsiveness.

Elizabeth Anderson has been a financial journalist for more than a decade. She’s written for major national newspapers, contributed to corporate reports and research, and reviewed dozens of share dealing platforms, SIPP providers, ISAs, and brokerage firms. Elizabeth started her career at Bloomberg and has worked for the BBC, The Telegraph, The Times and the i newspaper. She is passionate about helping people understand finance and investing. A keen investor herself, Elizabeth invests through general dealing accounts, ISAs and several SIPPs.

Steven Hatzakis is a well-known finance writer with 25+ years of experience in the foreign exchange and financial markets. He is the Global Director of Online Broker Research for Reink Media Group, leading research efforts for ForexBrokers.com since 2016. He has served as a registered commodity futures representative for domestic and internationally-regulated brokerages. Steven holds a Series III license in the US as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA).

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At UK.StockBrokers.com, our online broker reviews are based on our collected quantitative data as well as the observations and qualified opinions of our expert researchers. Each year we publish tens of thousands of words of research and collect hundreds of data points while testing brokerage firms, share dealing platforms, SIPP providers, ISA providers, and other financial service providers relevant to U.K. investors.

Mobile testing is conducted on modern devices that run the most up-to-date operating systems available:

• For Apple, we use MacBook Pro laptops running the latest version of and the iPhone 15 running the latest version of iOS.
• For Android, we use the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra devices running Android OS 14.

All websites and web-based platforms are tested using the latest version of the Google Chrome browser.

Our researchers thoroughly test a wide range of key features, such as the availability and quality of trading platforms for web, desktop, and mobile, charting, real-time and streaming quotes, and educational resources – among other important variables. We also evaluate the overall design of the mobile experience, and look for a fluid user experience moving between mobile and desktop platforms.