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Vanguard ReviewBestinvest Review
Written by Elizabeth Anderson
Edited by John Bringans
Fact-checked by Steven Hatzakis, Joey Shadeck
Your capital is at risk.
Bestinvest is an investment platform aimed at both beginner and experienced investors. Bestinvest is a good choice for those looking to invest small amounts, and I like that investors can speak to an investment coach for free through the platform – an offer unique to Bestinvest. The broker's junior pension is also great and features low minimum funding requirements. Bestinvest can also work out very low in fees and charges if you invest in U.S. shares.
-
Minimum Deposit:
£50 -
ISA:
Yes -
SIPP:
Yes
| Investment Choices | |
| Charges & Fees | |
| Website | |
| Education | |
| Mobile App | |
| Ease of Use |
Check out UK.StockBrokers.com's picks for the best investment platforms in 2025.
| #1 Junior SIPP | Winner |
| 2025 | #13 |
Table of Contents
Pros & cons
Pros
- Low minimum investment for junior SIPP (junior pension).
- Free to buy and sell U.S. shares.
- Pays interest of 3.48% on cash held in any account.
Cons
- 0.2% or 0.4% service charges to hold shares up to £250,000.
- Investment options not as extensive as other platforms.
- Some ready-made ‘expert’ fund fees are high at up to 1.5%.
Bestinvest fees
Bestinvest’s trading fees are middle-of-the-road when compared to other brokers, at £4.95 each time you buy and sell U.K. shares or ETFs. Some brokers, such as eToro and XTB, offer free trading but other platforms are more expensive for share trading. Hargreaves Lansdown, for example, charges £11.95 per deal while Fidelity charges £7.50.
There is no discount if you trade shares frequently on Bestinvest. Because it’s free to buy and sell U.S. shares, investors can buy shares in some of the world’s biggest companies, such as Apple and Alphabet (Google's holding company) with zero trading costs. It's worth noting that you’ll pay foreign exchange fees of 0.95%, but this is in line with what you'd pay at other brokers.
You’ll also pay service charges for holding shares or ETFs. This means costs can mount up if you hold a significant amount. If you hold £30,000 worth of U.S. shares, for example, you’d pay service fees of £60 a year or charges of £120 a year for U.K. shares. Other rival platforms, such as Fidelity or Hargreaves Lansdown, do not charge service fees for holding shares in a general dealing account.
Be aware that Bestinvest SIPPs have a minimum service fee of £10 per month, excluding child SIPPs, which means you could pay more than the above service fees. There is no minimum service fee on ISAs, junior ISAs, or general investment accounts.
For newer investors – or those who don’t want to make active investment decisions – Bestinvest offers 19 ready-made portfolios. Ongoing charges start at a low 0.3% a year for a Smart portfolio that invests in a range of equities, bonds, commodities and property. However, the charges are as high as 1.5% for a sustainable ready-made fund that invests in ethical or ‘green’ assets and funds. These costs are in addition to an annual 0.2% service fee, which is reduced to 0.1% if you invest more than £500,000 and to 0% for amounts above £1 million.
There are no charges for buying or selling funds, so you only have to consider service fees.
Scenario pricing: When calculating annual share dealing costs, trading frequency and account balance are the two most important factors to consider. Assuming a £30,000 portfolio in a traditional, taxable share dealing account, here are five scenarios of how much Bestinvest would cost based on trade frequency:
- 5 trades per year = £144.75
- 12 trades per year = £119.40 - £179.40
- 36 trades per year = £238.20 - £357.60
- 120 trades per year = £654 - £714
- 3 fund trades per year = £60 or £120
| Feature |
 Bestinvest
|
|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £50 |
| Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month | £0 - £4.95 |
| Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month | £0 - £4.95 |
| Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month | £0 - £4.95 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 | Up to £500 or £1,000 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K | £500 - £1,000 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m | £100 - £1,000 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over | £0 |
| Bonds - Corporate - Fee | £4.95 |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee | £4.95 |
| ETFs - Fee | £4.95 |
| Investment Trusts - Fee | £4.95 |
| Telephone Dealing Fee | £30 |
What type of trader are you?
New to the world of investing? See my picks for the best UK trading platforms for beginners. More experienced traders should check out my guide to the best UK Trading Platforms for Active Traders. If you're looking to trade shares on the go, read my guide to the best UK stock trading apps.
Range of investments
There are around 1,680 funds, 1,330 shares, 420 ETFs and 255 investment trusts available through Bestinvest.
This is lower than the likes of rivals Interactive Investor, IG, Fidelity and Barclays. However, all the main asset classes and sectors are covered. If you’re new to investing or plan to hold investments for the long-term, we think there is still plenty for you on the Bestinvest platform. You have many diversified fund options to choose from, along with major U.K. and U.S. shares. The low-cost ready-made smart portfolios mean you can also opt for diversified investment choices, if you like the idea of investing in assets such as property as well as stocks.
One thing to note is that Bestinvest does not offer direct bonds or Gilts, but instead offers funds with allocations towards bonds or Gilts.
Elizabeth's take:
"For investors or savers who’d like a bit of guidance on their investing goals, you can speak to one of Bestinvest’s qualified financial planners for a free 45-minute coaching session. I think this is useful for beginners, or for more experienced investors to discuss managing risk and drawing a regular income from your investments."
Bestinvest also offers a more extensive Portfolio Health Check to existing clients for a one-off fee of £495. An adviser will review your existing investments or make a recommendation for an appropriate portfolio. This is a unique offering to most other brokers, although it is something you could probably do yourself with a bit of research without having to spend any money.
Bestinvest offers general dealing accounts, ISAs and SIPPs meaning you can invest in a tax-efficient way. Bestinvest is also one of just a few U.K. platforms offering junior SIPPs (a pension for children). There are no minimum amounts to open or transfer a junior SIPP, and you can pay in a minimum of £50 ad-hoc or regularly. This makes Bestinvest’s junior SIPP much more accessible than other platforms for those wanting to pay in small amounts. Fidelity, for example, requires a minimum lump sum of £1,000 (inclusive of tax relief) to be paid into a Junior SIPP.
| Feature |
Bestinvest
|
|---|---|
| Share Trading | Yes |
| CFD Trading | No |
| ETFs | Yes |
| Funds | Yes |
| Bonds - Corporate | No |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | No |
| Investment Trusts | Yes |
| Spread Betting | No |
| Crypto Trading | No |
| Advisor Services | Yes |
Mobile trading apps
The Bestinvest mobile app is basic in design, but traders gain access to key functions such as buy and sell, and add cash. You can also link accounts to friends and family through the app, as well as open or transfer an account.
When you log in to the app, you see a summary of your portfolio and the percentage return over the past week to five years. You are navigated away from the app to the mobile website to view key information on stocks or funds. This includes charts to view historical performance and the ability to compare different investments. This is a little clunky; some of the best U.K. stock trading apps integrate these features directly within the app.
Once you’ve decided what you want to invest in, you are redirected back to the app to make a purchase. You can either buy now or via a limit order, where you only buy once the stock hits a specified price set by you.
Trading platforms
The website is not overly simple to navigate compared to the likes of eToro, CMC Invest, or Freetrade, which are very user-friendly for beginner investors.
However, if you are already familiar with investing or know what you want to invest in, then there is plenty of useful information on the Bestinvest website.
It’s easy to get investment inspiration through the website, particularly when it comes to funds. You’ll find a list of Bestinvest’s favourite funds, which it believes have the potential to beat their competitors. There’s also Bestinvest Spot the Dog – its guide to underperforming funds. This list of ‘dog funds’ is not freely available on the website. You have to register your details to access the lists, although you don’t have to be a Bestinvest customer to view them.
A helpful feature on the website is that you can filter investments by yield or ongoing charges, as well as filtering by investment type.
| Feature |
Bestinvest
|
|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes |
| iPhone App | Yes |
| Android App | Yes |
| Stock Alerts | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 36 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 9 |
| Charting - Notes | Yes |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | No |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes |
| Charting - Index Overlays | No |
Education
I found Bestinvest to be one of the best U.K. platforms for educational materials. There are numerous written guides explaining the ins and outs of investing. The Evelyn Partners Investment podcast, available on all major podcast platforms, also discusses current trends in global stock markets.
It’s also easy to book in a coaching session to help you navigate the platform and to learn the basics of the different types of investments available through Bestinvest.
| Feature |
Bestinvest
|
|---|---|
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes |
| Education (Funds) | Yes |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes |
Are you new to investing?
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Final Thoughts
Bestinvest is a very good broker that should appeal to a wide range of investors. Fees are competitive, particularly if you invest in funds or U.S. shares, and the investment options are extensive.
Bear in mind that U.S. shares cost more than U.K. shares. For example, Apple shares are currently more than $200 (£157) and on Bestinvest there is no option to do fractional trades so you have to buy whole shares. If you want to invest small amounts, you may be better looking at a broker that allows fractional share dealing, such as Trading 212, Freetrade, or Revolut.
The Bestinvest platform is relatively easy to use and the offer of a free 45 minute session with a financial coach can be a useful starting point for newer investors.
Bestinvest is also a great option for a Junior SIPP, as it is one of very few U.K. brokers offering children’s pensions and with a low entry point.
Finally, the fact it pays interest of 3.48% on cash sitting in any account makes Bestinvest a competitor to other types of savings accounts.
Bestinvest Star Ratings
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Bestinvest
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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.
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 Bestinvest
Bestinvest was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in London. The platform has been owned by Evelyn Partners (formerly called Tilney Smith & Williamson) since 2019. Evelyn Partners is a leading U.K. wealth management and tax planning firm with around 180,000 clients and £62bn of assets under management.
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.
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.
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.
Joey Shadeck is a Content Strategist and Research Analyst for UK.StockBrokers.com. He holds dual degrees in Finance and Marketing from Oakland University, and has been an active trader and investor for close to ten years. An industry veteran, Joey obtains and verifies data, conducts research, and analyzes and validates our content.