Best stock trading app in the U.K. – Saxo
| Company |
Overall Rating |
Minimum Deposit |
iPhone App |
Android App |
 Saxo
|
 |
£0 |
Yes |
Yes |
Saxo again wins the crown for the U.K.’s best trading mobile app. The SaxoTraderGO mobile app is highly sophisticated, allowing you to replicate the best of Saxo’s impressive desktop platform through your smartphone. I'm a big fan of how cleanly the watch lists, positions and orders are laid out within the app. You can also view news, trending stocks, views from the trading floor, webinars and educational guides. The app’s chart tools are also impressive, allowing you to overlay different stocks and instruments on a single chart, and to customise charts. Learn more about Saxo's offering my checking out my Saxo review.
Best for usability – Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers' IBKR app is extensive, whether viewing in demo mode or through a real trading account, with great chart tools and research. I like the ‘impact lens’ tab where you can select values you support and can see your portfolio impact score. The only thing that slightly lets IBKR down is its current lack of educational content aimed at U.K. investors. Read my Interactive Brokers review to learn more.
Best for range of accounts – AJ Bell
| Company |
Overall Rating |
Minimum Deposit |
iPhone App |
Android App |
 AJ Bell
|
|
£0 |
Yes |
Yes |
AJ Bell’s mobile app offers everything an everyday investor would need, including the ability to view research and news, create a watch list, set limit orders and search investment ideas. One snag is that you can’t view charts in full-screen mode, unlike Hargreaves Lansdown, in fourth place. But I ranked AJ Bell as the third-best stock trading app in the UK because it also has Dodl, its new low-cost investment app that is easy to use, great for newer investors and one of the cheapest platforms in terms of fees. Learn more by checking out my AJ Bell review.
Best stock app for everyday investors – Hargreaves Lansdown
Hargreaves Lansdown is the U.K.’s biggest DIY investment platform and offers a very detailed mobile app. You can explore 3,000 funds, ready-made investments and thousands of shares through the app, making it a great experience for trading on the go. The educational material offered through the app is great, and includes an in-app pension calculator that helps you see if you’re on track for your retirement income aims. Read my Hargreaves Lansdown review to learn more.
Best for simplicity of design – eToro
| Company |
Overall Rating |
Minimum Deposit |
iPhone App |
Android App |
 eToro
|
|
$50 info |
Yes |
Yes |
EToro offers a fantastic mobile app experience that is likely to appeal to young or newer investors looking for investment tips and inspiration. The news feed on the home page gives investment updates from other users and through the ‘discover’ tab you can see popular and trending stocks, and sort by sector and asset class. The app also appeals to more experienced traders. EToro’s mobile chart tools are impressive, allowing you to view charts of more than 10 companies on a single screen. Check out my eToro review to learn more.
Great overall mobile experience – IG
| Company |
Overall Rating |
Minimum Deposit |
iPhone App |
Android App |
 IG
|
|
£0 |
Yes |
Yes |
IG’s mobile app has many of the tools from its excellent web platform. IG’s trading app is very similar in design and layout to Saxo and we like how you can sort stocks according to sector or those with upcoming earnings. You can view and trade shares, investment trusts and ETFs, set price alerts and see news provided by Thomson Reuters. Two areas where I'd like to see IG improve is its mobile charting tools and general educational material for U.K. tradres (though it does have a separate educational app, the IG Academy). Learn more about IG by checking out my IG review.
Trading apps comparison
| Company |
Mobile App |
Minimum Deposit |
Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month |
Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 |
|
Saxo
|
 |
£0 |
From £3 or 0.08% |
Up to £800 info |
 Interactive Brokers
|
|
£0 |
£3 |
0 |
|
AJ Bell
|
 |
£0 |
£5 |
£0 - £625 |
 Hargreaves Lansdown
|
|
£1 |
£11.95 |
Up to £1,125 |
|
eToro
|
|
$50 info |
£0 |
£0 |
|
IG
|
|
£0 |
£0-£10 info |
£0 / £96 info |
FAQs
What is the best stocks and shares app for beginners in the UK?
Beginners will likely want to prioritise low fees. This means you can invest small amounts without being stung by high trading charges. The U.K. brokers with the lowest stock trading fees are Freetrade, Trading 212, XTB and eToro.
You may also want to consider an app that offers good educational material to help you on your way. All the low-cost apps mentioned above — Freetrade, Trading 212, XTB and eToro — offer some educational content and FAQs, but you will find more in-depth articles on their websites. Other apps offering great learning resources are Dodl (run by AJ Bell) and IG Academy (run by broker IG). IG Academy has articles on how to use and trade investment products, and in-depth courses for those wanting to learn more about trading.
What is the best day trading app in the UK?
Of the 20+ brokers I've reviewed for UK.StockBrokers.com, Saxo, Interactive Brokers, AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown, eToro and IG all stand out for day trading. However, be mindful of trading fees if buying smaller quantities of shares. EToro, Freetrade, XTB and Trading 212 offer the ability to trade stocks commission-free, so these may be a better fit if you are starting out.
Which app is best for stock analysis?
SaxoTraderGO, by Saxo, offers the best research, analysis and educational material of any app we tested. When selecting a stock, you’ll see a chart, analyst recommendations, key financials, news and general company information. You can also compare different stocks on a single chart.
Are trading apps safe?
All 17 trading apps we tested are owned by investment platforms that are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This means they adhere to strict oversight and supervision to protect your money. Two-factor authentication is typically offered by investment platforms, enhancing app security. However, you should do careful research before investing to reduce the chances of losing money — remember that security and regulation cannot protect against market gains and losses.
Other stock apps tested
In addition to our top picks above, we tested and analysed 11 other platforms. Here are our high-level takeaways for each broker.
Barclays: Mobile app does not function fully unless you have a Barclays current account. Read Full Review
Capital.com: Does not offer direct share dealing. Read Full Review
CMC Invest: Great new mobile app with the ability to filter by ESG. Read Full Review
Fidelity International: A basic offering compared to other platforms with more comprehensive mobile apps. Read Full Review
Freetrade: Great mobile app for newer investors. Low charges and easy to use. Read Full Review
Halifax: Limited mobile app. Your share dealing account needs to have been funded before you can use the app. Read Full Review
Interactive Investor (ii): Interactive Investor is our favourite U.K. investment platform overall but its mobile app is not as good as other platforms. Read Full Review
Lloyds: We found the Lloyds share dealing app to be pretty basic. Like with Halifax, you need to have paid money into your investment account before you can get full use of the app. Read Full Review
Trading 212: Great for investment inspiration and offers a demo account funded with £5,000 of virtual money. Read Full Review
Vanguard UK Investor: Vanguard does not yet offer a mobile app in the U.K., so you have to log in through a web browser on your phone. Read Full Review
XTB: The mobile app is nicely laid out and has low charges, making it a good choice for beginner investors. Read Full Review
Our testing
Why you should trust us
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).
All content on UK.StockBrokers.com is handwritten by a writer, fact-checked by a member of our research team, and edited and published by an editor. Our ratings, rankings, and opinions are entirely our own, and the result of our extensive research and decades of collective experience covering the U.K. brokerage industry.
Ultimately, our rigorous data validation process yields an error rate of less than .1% each year, providing site visitors with quality data they can trust. Click here to learn more about how we test.
How we tested
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 macOS 14.5, and the iPhone 15 running iOS 17.6.1
- For Android, we use the Samsung Galaxy S9+ and Samsung Galaxy S20 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.
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About the Editorial Team
Elizabeth Anderson, lead writer and researcher, has been a financial journalist for more than a decade. In addition to her work with UK.StockBrokers.com, she has written extensively for major publications including BBC, The Times and Bloomberg. A keen investor herself, she is passionate about helping people understand finance and investing.
Blain Reinkensmeyer has 20 years of trading experience with over 2,500 trades placed during that time. He heads research for all U.S.-based brokerages on StockBrokers.com and is respected by executives as the leading expert covering the online broker industry. Blain’s insights have been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and the Chicago Tribune, among other media outlets.
Steven Hatzakis is the Global Director of Online Broker Research for UK.StockBrokers.com and ForexBrokers.com. Steven previously served as an Editor for Finance Magnates, where he authored over 1,000 published articles about the online finance industry. Steven is an active fintech and crypto industry researcher and advises blockchain companies at the board level. Over the past 20 years, Steven has held numerous positions within the international forex markets, from writing to consulting to serving as a registered commodity futures representative.
John Bringans is the Managing Editor of UK.StockBrokers.com. An experienced media professional, John has close to a decade of editorial experience with a background that includes key leadership roles at global newsroom outlets. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from San Francisco State University, and conducts research on forex and the financial services industry while assisting in the production of content.
IG Group Review
Saxo Review
eToro Review
Interactive Brokers Review
Trading 212 Review
XTB Review
CMC Invest Review
Vanguard Review
Hargreaves Lansdown Review
Halifax Review
Freetrade Review
