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Vanguard ReviewInteractive Brokers UK Review
Written by Elizabeth Anderson, Blain Reinkensmeyer
Fact-checked by Steven Hatzakis
Edited by Carolyn Kimball, Jeff Anberg
Your capital is at risk.
Interactive Brokers is a sophisticated investment platform aimed at experienced investors, although its low fees also put the broker within reach of those just starting out and looking to invest small amounts. IBKR offers a wide range of investing tools and features, but this does make the platform more complicated to use than other competitors that focus on simplicity for beginner investors. That said, you can open a demo account to explore the full platform before committing any money.
-
Minimum Deposit:
£0 -
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.
| 2025 | #3 |
| 2024 | #6 |
| 2023 | #2 |
| 2022 | #2 |
| 2021 | #2 |
Table of Contents
Pros & cons
Pros
- Trade stocks with low commissions and no minimum deposit.
- Offers shares, ETFs, funds, trusts, bonds, and 14,000 no-fee funds.
- Fractional shares available; ideal for beginners.
- Mobile app and tools suit active traders.
Cons
- Complex platform may overwhelm new investors.
- U.S.-focused education, less tailored for U.K. clients.
- Platform charges and fees can be confusing.
Interactive Brokers fees
Interactive Brokers’ fees can be confusing but, overall, they are low — particularly if you are looking to buy mutual funds, stocks, or options. IBKR is available in many countries and each has its own pricing structure. Fees are mostly charged using a mixture of fixed fees and percentage fees.
Shares and ETFs: There are no custody or platform charges. Shares and ETFs listed in the U.K. are priced at a fixed £3 per trade, up to the value of £6,000, and $1 for U.S. stocks. This means you’d pay a total of £36 annually to Interactive Brokers if you make 12 U.K. trades a year, and for 120 trades a year, you’d pay £360. For trades above £6,000, the cost is 0.05% of trade value. This means that buying £10,000 worth of shares would cost you only £5, which works out to be very low cost.
Mutual funds: The fee for mutual funds is £4.95. However, IBKR offers 14,000 mutual funds with no transaction fee or platform charges. This is very unusual among all the brokers we tested. In fact, Interactive Brokers is the only platform to offer funds with no custody fees or dealing charges.
Bonds: Trading fees for bonds in the UK are 0.1% for the first £10,000 in trade value, falling to 0.025% on amounts above £10,000.
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 Interactive Brokers would cost based on trade frequency:
- 5 trades per year = £15
- 12 trades per year = £36
- 36 trades per year = £108
- 120 trades per year = £360
- 3 fund trades per year = £0 / £14.85
| Feature |
 Interactive Brokers
|
|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £0 |
| Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month | £3 |
| Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month | £3 |
| Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month | £3 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 | £0 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K | £0 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m | £0 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over | £0 |
| Bonds - Corporate - Fee | 0.1% (for <10,000 EUR) 0.025% (for >10,000 EUR) |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee | 0.1% (for <10,000 EUR) 0.025% (for >10,000 EUR) |
| ETFs - Fee | £3 |
| Investment Trusts - Fee | N/A |
| Telephone Dealing Fee | £25 |
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 is a huge range of investments available through Interactive Brokers, and this is one of the broker’s main selling points. The IBKR GlobalTrader platform allows you to trade across 90 stock markets worldwide, including the Nasdaq, London Stock Exchange, and Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Interactive Brokers is rare among U.K. investment platforms in offering access to stock markets in Asia.
Through Interactive Brokers, you can invest in company shares, ETFs, funds, and bonds. Options, futures, forex, and CFDs are also available to traders seeking higher-risk investments.
You can invest from as little as $1 by buying fractional shares, which is a great entry point for new investors looking to invest small amounts of money. You can also make deposits in up to 28 different currencies, which is more than any other U.K. platform offers.
One downside of Interactive Brokers is that it doesn’t offer ready-made diversified portfolios that investors can simply buy into without having to worry about selecting their own investments. This is likely because IBKR is aimed at investors who are experienced in choosing their own assets.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
|---|---|
| Share Trading | Yes |
| CFD Trading | Yes |
| ETFs | Yes |
| Funds | Yes |
| Bonds - Corporate | Yes |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes |
| Investment Trusts | Yes |
| Spread Betting | No |
| Crypto Trading | Yes |
| Advisor Services | No |
Interactive Brokers ISA review
Interactive Brokers’ stocks and shares ISA is a great option for experienced investors comfortable building their own portfolio as the platform can feel complex at first, especially if you’re new to investing.
Platform: Through the IBKR ISA, you can invest in thousands of shares, bonds, and funds across markets in 18 countries. The research resources and materials are excellent, and you can undertake extensive technical analysis on companies and countries through IBKR’s free Global Analyst tool. IBKR does not offer ready-made portfolio funds, so you’ll have to be confident at choosing your own investments.
Pricing: There’s no minimum to open an ISA, but there’s a £3 monthly fee (£1 for junior ISAs). This fee is applied if you don’t pay at least £3 worth of trading commissions each month, which means you need to make at least one stock trade each month to not be penalized. This makes it expensive for small balances. For larger portfolios, the £36 annual fee is competitive and cheaper than Interactive Investor’s £59.88 or £143.88 for ISAs over £50,000.
It costs £3 to buy U.K. shares or ETFs, and $1 to buy U.S. stocks through IBKR. One trade a month covers the ISA fee. Mutual funds are available with no trading fees, though other funds cost £4.95 per trade.
You’re allowed one free withdrawal from your ISA each month. After this, there is a £7 fee for withdrawals from your IBKR ISA.
IBKR’s ISA works well if you’re experienced, want powerful tools, and have a larger portfolio. But beginners may find it harder to navigate and more expensive than platforms like Trading 212, Hargreaves Lansdown, or AJ Bell.
Mobile trading apps
Interactive Brokers offers an excellent mobile app. Everything you would want to know about a company stock or asset is there, including the next dividend date, analyst views, and a chart showing recent historical performance. Further information can be found by selecting the ‘Trading Central’ tab at the bottom of the screen, which takes you to extended research including target price and investor sentiment.
Another great feature is the ability to customise the homepage to make it more tailored to your interests. For example, you can change your default region and select whether you want your watch list and market indices displayed on the homepage.
There are more than 90 order types you can make when buying stock — such as market price, limit price, or if the stock drops by a specified percentage. A new feature allows you to place a trade based on a specified amount of cash, rather than in quantity of shares, making it easier for you to spend exactly the amount you expect.
A more basic app called IBKR GlobalTrader is also available for investors looking to trade small amounts, including fractional shares which I believe makes trading more accessible to all investors. It is a slimmed-down version of the main IBKR mobile app. You can make use of both apps — the same login details are carried over, along with your purchases and watch list.
Tap for a demo of Interactive Brokers' U.K. trading app.
Trading platforms
Interactive Brokers’ Trader Workstation is a desktop platform designed for seasoned, active traders who trade multiple products. Most everyday investors will not need this and will find enough through the general web platform.
Through the web portal, you have access to a huge amount of data, learning materials, and investment options. The PortfolioAnalyst tab gives you detailed information about your historical investment performance, your top portfolio movers, and your ESG score. It’s easy to buy or sell shares or investments. A mutual fund scanner allows you to search for mutual funds according to where it's free to buy, country, provider, or type (such as equities or bonds).
Elizabeth's take:
"Overall the web portal offers very useful material and options for any investor. I found it to be one of the most comprehensive of all the U.K. platforms I tested."
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes |
| iPhone App | Yes |
| Android App | Yes |
| Stock Alerts | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 96 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 80 |
| Charting - Notes | Yes |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes |
Are you new to investing?
We thoroughly tested 17 top U.K. brokerages to find the best choices for beginner investors. Read more in our guide.
Education
I find comprehensive platforms like the one offered by Interactive Brokers initially difficult to navigate. Fortunately, you can open a simulated trading account with up to $1,000,000 in virtual currency to learn about the platform and see if it's right for you before committing any actual money.
The research materials offered by IBKR are excellent. When selecting a stock, you can see upcoming events such as dividend declarations, fundamentals such as analyst ratings, and a ESG rating, along with news such as research reports, press releases and market commentary. The research material is among the most comprehensive of the 20+ investment platforms I test in the U.K. and is available to users in demo mode — so you don’t even need to trade real money to access it.
The educational materials currently available on the Interactive Brokers U.K. site are also excellent, although mostly U.S.-focused. However, IBKR offers a wide range of free webinars, courses, and commentaries that are useful for any investor in any region.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
|---|---|
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes |
| Education (Funds) | Yes |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes |
Final thoughts
I believe Interactive Brokers is a clear winner for professionals and frequent U.K. traders seeking an institutional-grade trading platform. It also offers low charges and extensive investment options worldwide. For newer investors, IBKR is more intimidating but the demo account offers a good way to learn more about the platform and investing in general.
Interactive Brokers Star Ratings
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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 Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers was founded in 1977 by Thomas Peterffy and is headquartered in Connecticut in the U.S. It is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker ‘IBKR.’ Interactive Brokers says it has 2.56 million account holders across 200 countries, with 2.7 million trades executed a day across the whole group.
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.
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.
Jeff Anberg is a Senior Editor at UK.StockBrokers.com. Along with years of experience in media distribution at a global newsroom, Jeff has a versatile knowledge base encompassing the technology and financial markets. He is a long-time active investor and engages in research on emerging markets like cryptocurrency. Jeff holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature with a minor in Philosophy from San Francisco State University.