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Freetrade Review

Item: Freetrade
Rating: 4

Written by Elizabeth Anderson
Fact-checked by Steven Hatzakis
Edited by Carolyn Kimball

December 10, 2024

Your capital is at risk.

Freetrade is an investment platform known for its commission-free stock trading. Like other zero-commission platforms, it aims to get more people investing by reducing the cost.

You can invest a few pounds without being stung by trading charges, which means Freetrade is a great platform if you are new to investing and want to learn more about the stock market before committing much money. However, its investment range is more limited than other platforms, and Freetrade charges a monthly fee for its ISA accounts.

Overall

Minimum Deposit: £1
ISA: Yes
SIPP: Yes

Freetrade pros & cons

thumb_up_off_alt Pros

Low fees. There are no trading stock trading fees.
Great value for those investing small amounts.
Offers a stocks and shares ISA and a SIPP (for a monthly fee).
Easy-to-use mobile app that offers great investment inspiration.
Web trading platform launched in 2024.

thumb_down_off_alt Cons

Investment options are more limited than other platforms. Does not offer bonds or mutual funds.
Limited research and educational material.
Monthly £4.99 ISA fee, billed annually at £59.88, which is expensive for those investing small amounts.
No ready-made portfolios.

Overall summary

Feature	Freetrade
Overall Rating
Charges & Fees
Investment Choices
Mobile App
Website
Ease of Use
Education

Charges and fees

For beginner investors, the great thing about Freetrade is that you can invest in fractional shares for U.S. companies – which means you don’t have to purchase one whole stock as U.S. share prices commonly run into the hundreds of pounds.

For example, you could choose to buy £30 worth of Apple shares, meaning you would own about a sixth of a share at today’s value. You would pay no trading fees, although you’ll pay a currency conversion fee of 0.99% on the Freetrade Basic account (this drops to 0.39% for the Plus account). On a £30 trade, it would mean currency conversion charges of £0.30 for the basic account, so costs are very low.

Freetrade offers three account levels:

Basic account: This level carries no cost and allows you to invest in 4,800 stocks and ETFs through a general investment account. It still offers a decent range to choose from, including FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies as well as Vanguard and iShares ETFs.

Standard account: If you want more investment choice, and the option to save through an ISA, Freetrade’s ‘standard’ plan costs £5.99 a month, totalling £71.88 a year, although this is discounted to £59.88 if you pay annually.

You’ll get access to more than 6,200 investments, including more international shares, and you can earn 3% interest on uninvested cash up to a maximum of £2,000. You can also set up recurring orders and limit orders on stocks, meaning you buy or sell when a share reaches a specified price.

The £5.99 a month ISA cost can work out quite expensive if you have less than £10,000 to invest. You’d be better going through a platform that charges a percentage fee, such as Vanguard or AJ Bell.

Plus account: Freetrade’s third option, the Plus account, costs £9.99 a month (totalling £119.88 a year). It is for those who want to save through a SIPP (self-invested personal pension). You’ll also earn 5% interest on up to £3,000 of uninvested cash and access to better customer service.

Freetrade’s flat-rate SIPP fee can work out cost-effective if you have a large amount held in your SIPP as you’d pay a fixed £119.88 a year, unlike other brokers charging percentage fees where charges can rack up the more you hold. Interactive Investor (ii), another flat-fee broker, charges £159 a year for SIPPs with a value above £50,000. This means Freetrade is cheaper, but doesn’t offer the extensive range of investments offered by ii, such as mutual funds, which could be a possible drawback depending on your investing strategy.

Overall, the basic account should do fine for many investors starting out — although the ISA option should be considered if you are looking to save higher amounts long-term so you don’t have to worry about potential capital gains tax or income tax further down the line.

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 four scenarios of how much Freetrade would cost based on trade frequency:

5 trades per year = £0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus)
12 trades per year = £0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus)
36 trades per year = £0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus)
120 trades per year = £0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus)
3 fund trades per year = N/A

Feature	Freetrade
Minimum Deposit info	£1
Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month info	£0
Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month info	£0
Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month info	£0
Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 info	£0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus)
Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K info	£0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus)
Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m info	£0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus)
Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over info	£0 (Basic plan), £59.88 (Standard), £119.88 (Plus)
Bonds - Corporate - Fee info	N/A
Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee info	N/A
ETFs - Fee info	£0
Investment Trusts - Fee info	£0
Telephone Dealing Fee info	N/A

query_stats 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.

Mobile trading apps

I like Freetrade’s mobile app, although it’s not as advanced as other platforms such as eToro, IG, or Interactive Investor, which offer better research and chart tools.

You can search for stocks or ETFs, see newly added funds, and what stocks or ETFs are popular that week. You can also see which companies have recently listed on a stock exchange through an IPO.

Companies are also organised by themes — e.g., gaming stocks or firms with female CEOs. This is uncommon among investment platforms and I found it an interesting way to find new companies around themes of interest to you.

However, I found there to be little research material. There is also no educational material on the app, such as written guides or videos explaining key investing terms or trends. I think this is an area where Freetrade could do better, following other platforms such as Interactive Brokers and eToro.

Tap for a demo of Freetrade's U.K. trading app.

Showing the overall stats of a BP stock on the Freetrade mobile app.

Discover tab for searching symbols on the Freetrade mobile app.

A breakdown of total portfolio allocation on the Freetrade mobile app.

A chart of L'Oréal stock price on the Freetrade mobile app.

The trade ticket for purchasing shares of L'Oréal stock on the Freetrade mobile app.

Website

Freetrade has recently launched a web trading platform for all users, although it’s still officially in beta. Previously, the web platform was only available to people paying for the £11.99 monthly Plus account.

The website is easy to use. I particularly like the ‘discover’ page where you can view newly-added stocks or view companies by sectors such as big tech, dividend income, AI, or companies that are popular with investors that week.

When logged into my account, I can see my recent activity, top up my account, view my watchlist, and view my investments. Currently, there are no chart tools or ways to overlay different stocks or indices to compare recent historical performance. This is an area where I think Freetrade could improve, as rivals such as eToro or Trading 212 offer great chart options.

Feature	Freetrade
Web Platform info	Yes
iPhone App info	Yes
Android App info	Yes
Stock Alerts info	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies info	0
Charting - Drawing Tools info	0
Charting - Notes info	No
Charting - Display Corporate Events info	No
Charting - Stock Overlays info	No
Charting - Index Overlays info	No

Discover tab of the Freetrade web platform.

Discover by sector on the Freetrade web platform.

A chart of Barclays share price on the Freetrade web platform.

Investment choices

Freetrade’s investment options are limited to stocks, ETFs and investment trusts. Having said that, there are more than 6,000 U.K., U.S. and European stocks and ETFs to choose from, so any investor should still find plenty of choice. Unlike some other platforms, though, Freetrade does not offer any ready-made portfolios for those looking for a quick way to diversify their investments.

Like eToro, Robinhood, and XTB, Freetrade also offers the chance to buy fractional shares – a great option for investors not wanting to commit much money when starting out. However, fractional share trading is only available on U.S. stocks, and not on U.K. and EU-listed shares or ETFs, which is a shame, but something Freetrade says it’s working on offering eventually.

Feature	Freetrade
Share Trading info	Yes
CFD Trading info	No
ETFs info	Yes
Funds info	No
Bonds - Corporate info	No
Bonds - Government (Gilts) info	No
Investment Trusts info	Yes
Spread Betting info	No
Crypto Trading info	No
Advisor Services info	No

Education

Freetrade offers a range of useful articles and guides on its website aimed at beginner investors. These include guides on what a stock is and how your investments are taxed. There are no official Freetrade educational videos, but many customers have uploaded user video guides on YouTube.

The educational material is aimed at novice investors. Those with more experience will find better research materials on other platforms such as Fidelity, Interactive Investor, and Interactive Brokers. Another downside is that there is no educational material or resources available on the app.

There is a community forum available through the Freetrade website where you can discuss investing ideas with other users.

Feature	Freetrade
Education (Share Trading) info	Yes
Education (Funds) info	Yes
Education (Retirement) info	Yes
Client Webinars info	No
Client Webinars (Archived) info	No

Final thoughts

Overall Freetrade is a great platform to help you get to grips with investing. You will not lose money to expensive charges, although the price of your chosen investment may go down, of course, as stock markets fluctuate.

Investors should be aware that investing in individual stocks is risky. You are better to diversify and get a better chance of good long-term returns by investing in funds or ETFs that invest in many companies worldwide. Freetrade does not offer mutual funds, commonly used by many investors looking to diversify, but it does offer ETFs that offer the same diversification opportunities.

Sophisticated investors may find other platforms offering a wider range of investment options and tools, such as the best brokers for active trading, more suitable. If you are looking to invest small amounts through an ISA, Trading 212 could be worth considering as it does not charge for its ISA, unlike Freetrade, which charges £5.99 a month.

About Freetrade

Freetrade launched in the U.K. in 2019 and reports that 1.5 million people have used its platform since that time, investing a total of £1.3 billion. Freetrade is growing quickly and is expanding across Europe.

How trustworthy is Freetrade?

Like all U.K. investment platforms, Freetrade is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, meaning your investments are protected up to £85,000 should the company go out of business for any reason. Freetrade is a trustworthy platform that has good reviews from its customers.

Is it worth investing with Freetrade?

It’s definitely worth considering Freetrade if you are new to investing or stock trading. You can get to grips with how it all works without investing a large amount of money or paying fees through the basic free account, although be aware there are monthly charges for ISAs and SIPPs.

Can you make money with Freetrade?

Like with any investing, whether you make money with Freetrade depends on the investments you choose. Do your research thoroughly and aim to diversify if you want the best chances of long-term returns.

Is the Freetrade app really free?

Yes, the Freetrade app is free for many users. You only pay a fee if you are looking to invest through an ISA or SIPP, or if you want access to a wider range of investors. But there is plenty for investors through the free ‘basic’ plan.

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Methodology

For the UK.StockBrokers.com Annual Review, we assessed, rated, and ranked 17 U.K. share dealing platforms over a 10-week time period. Each broker’s platforms and features were exhaustively tested by hand and graded on 53 different variables. In total, over 25,000 words of research were produced.

We thoroughly tested and compared features of prime interest to everyday investors, including but not limited to:

Investment choices, such as whether the broker offers trading of shares, ETFs, funds, bonds, and CFDs; and offers SIPP and ISA accounts.
The broker’s charges and fees for investing.
Functionality and design of mobile apps and website platform, and a fluid experience moving between app and web.
Usability of tools such as charting and watch lists.
Market research, such as screening, news and analysis.
Educational resources including tutorials, online courses, videos, webinars and articles.

Our rigorous data validation process yields an error rate of less than .001% each year, providing site visitors with quality data they can trust. Our lead researcher and writer, Elizabeth Anderson, has more than a decade’s experience as a financial journalist and market researcher. Elizabeth’s expertise is backed by a team of veteran fellow traders, data auditors, editors and project managers who work to ensure that UK.StockBrokers.com reviews and guides are the most unbiased and complete in the industry. Read more about our team.

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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.

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.

Carolyn Kimball is a former managing editor for Reink Media and former lead editor for the StockBrokers.com Annual Review. Carolyn has more than 20 years of writing and editing experience at major media outlets including NerdWallet, the Los Angeles Times and the San Jose Mercury News. She specializes in coverage of personal financial products and services, wielding her editing skills to clarify complex (some might say befuddling) topics to help consumers make informed decisions about their money.