Best trading app in the UK – 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 due to its technical offerings, research, and educational materials. 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.
Mobile features: 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 as well as customise those charts to your preferences.
An app for beginners: If you’re a new investor, or are looking for a more streamlined experience, there’s also the SaxoInvestor app. This is where you can invest in shares, ETFs, and bonds through an easy-to-use app that is less technical than SaxoTrader. You can also find great inspiration for your next investment through themes such as defence, ESG, or payments.
Learn more about Saxo's offering by checking out my Saxo review.
Best mobile app for day traders – IG
| Company |
Overall Rating |
Minimum Deposit |
iPhone App |
Android App |
 IG
|
|
£0 |
Yes |
Yes |
IG is an excellent mobile app for investors who take an active role in the stock market and who trade and make investment decisions fairly frequently.
Mobile features: 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.
Mobile features: 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.
IG Invest: IG also recently launched IG Invest, a separate app designed specifically for beginners. It features simplified tools for investing in shares and ETFs, easy navigation, and a built-in ‘lessons’ section that explains the basics of investing in plain language — perfect for new investors looking to build confidence.
Trading costs: IG now offers commission-free trading on U.K. and U.S. shares, making it far more competitive for frequent traders and bringing it in line with platforms like Trading 212 and XTB. That said, an £8 monthly custody fee still applies if you place fewer than three trades per quarter, so beginners should be careful, as this fee can catch you off guard if you're investing infrequently and holding a small account balance.
Learn more about IG by checking out my IG review.
Best for beginners – Trading 212
| Company |
Overall Rating |
Minimum Deposit |
iPhone App |
Android App |
 Trading 212
|
|
£1 |
Yes |
Yes |
The Trading 212 app is great for investors new to share trading. There are no dealing fees or account management charges. You can invest in fractional shares, which means you don’t have to commit large sums of money if you want to buy an expensive stock.
ISAs: You can also invest through a flexible stocks and shares ISA, meaning you won’t have to worry about paying taxes on any potential investment profit through the ISA.
Mobile features: The app is easy to use, although more basic in design than Saxo or IG. You can sort shares by factors such as most owned or top winners, but investment inspiration and educational material are lacking in general. Ideally, you’d already have researched potential investments elsewhere before using the Trading 212 app.
Low fees and cash interest: But for investors starting out, Trading 212 allows you to invest small sums of money without worrying about your money being swallowed up by trading fees or other charges. You’ll also earn generous interest on uninvested cash.
Check out my complete in-depth review of Trading 212 to discover more about its offering.
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 |
|
IG
|
|
£0 |
£0 info |
£0 / £96 info |
|
Trading 212
|
|
£1 |
£0 |
£0 |
 Interactive Brokers
|
|
£0 |
£3 |
£0 |
 eToro
|
|
$50 info |
£0 |
£0 |
 XTB
|
|
£0 |
£0 |
0 |
FAQs
What are some factors to consider when choosing a trading app?
When choosing a trading app, start by considering fees, usability, and asset coverage. Beginners might prioritise commission-free trading and ease of use, making apps like Trading 212 or Freetrade good options. More experienced traders may want advanced charting tools and in-depth research, as offered by Saxo or IG.
Security is also crucial. Make sure the app is FCA-regulated and supports two-factor authentication. Check out our comprehensive reviews to get a sense of the app’s usability before committing, as the right interface can make managing your investments far easier.
What is the best stock trading app for beginners in the UK?
Beginners will likely want to prioritise low fees, which made Trading 212 my top pick for beginners in this guide. This means you can invest small amounts without being stung by high trading charges. Other U.K. brokers with the lowest stock trading fees are Freetrade, XTB, eToro, and IG, which now offers zero-commission trading on U.K. and U.S. shares (which makes it cheap if you can avoid the custody fee).
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, eToro, and IG — offer some educational content and FAQs. IG Invest, IG’s new app for beginners, also includes simplified investment tools and an in-app ‘lessons’ section. Another app offering great learning resources is Dodl (run by AJ Bell). Dodl is designed with simplicity in mind, featuring an intuitive interface and straightforward investment options, making it well-suited for beginners who want to build confidence without feeling overwhelmed.
What is the best day trading app in the UK?
IG is the best day trading app in the U.K. due to its comprehensive mobile trading features, including detailed chart analysis, the ability to set price alerts, and access to real-time news from Thomson Reuters. The app’s intuitive design makes it easy to track market movements and respond quickly to price changes. Plus, you can sort stocks by sector or upcoming earnings, which is helpful for spotting opportunities.
While IG is my top pick for day trading, other apps worth considering include Saxo and Interactive Brokers for their advanced charting and analytical tools. However, IG’s mobile app stands out for its balance of functionality and ease of use, making it my top recommendation for active traders.
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 21 trading apps we tested are owned by investment platforms that are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This means they must adhere to strict standards for protecting client funds, maintaining transparency, and ensuring operational stability. FCA regulation also requires firms to segregate client money from their own funds, adding an extra layer of security. 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 my top picks above, I tested and analysed 18 other platforms. Here are my high-level takeaways for some of these other brokers.
AJ Bell: AJ Bell’s app offers essential tools for everyday investors, plus its low-cost Dodl platform is perfect for beginners. However, it lacks some common features like full-screen chart views.
Barclays: Mobile app does not function fully unless you have a Barclays current account.
CMC Invest: Great new mobile app with the ability to filter by ESG.
eToro:
eToro’s mobile app can be good for beginners, with investment tips, trending stocks, and a social news feed. Experienced traders will appreciate its advanced chart tools, including multi-company views.
Fidelity International: A basic offering compared to other platforms with more comprehensive mobile apps.
Freetrade: Great mobile app for newer investors. Low charges and easy to use.
Halifax: Limited mobile app. Your share dealing account needs to have been funded before you can use the app.
Hargreaves Lansdown: Hargreaves Lansdown’s app offers access to thousands of investments and great educational tools, including an in-app pension calculator to plan for retirement. It’s a good choice for trading on the go with more than 3,000 funds and ready-made investments.
Interactive Brokers: The IBKR app is extensive, whether viewing in demo mode or through a real trading account, with great chart tools and research. The primary thing that lets IBKR down is its current lack of educational content aimed at U.K. investors.
Interactive Investor (ii): Interactive Investor is our favourite U.K. investment platform overall but its mobile app is not as good as other platforms.
Lloyds: I 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.
Vanguard UK: Vanguard recently launched a new mobile app in the U.K., but its overall investment choices remain limited.
XTB: The mobile app is nicely laid out and has low charges, making it a good choice for beginner investors.
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 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.
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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.
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