Trading 212 Review
Interactive Brokers Review
Hargreaves Lansdown Review
XTB Review
IG Group Review
eToro Review
Saxo Review
CMC Invest Review
Freetrade Review
Halifax Review
Vanguard ReviewLloyds Bank Investing Review
Written by Elizabeth Anderson
Fact-checked by Steven Hatzakis
Edited by Carolyn Kimball, Jeff Anberg
Your capital is at risk.
Lloyds has boosted its investing offering this year to appeal more to beginner investors. If you already bank with Lloyds, then it’s worth checking out the investment options. Lloyds offers ready-made portfolios and the option to choose your own investments through an ISA, general share dealing account, or SIPP. Fees can be low and the investment choices are extensive.
However, I can’t see a compelling reason to open a share dealing account with Lloyds if you’re not already a Lloyds Bank customer. There are likely other platforms that are easier, more comprehensive, and cheaper to use for your investments. Lloyds' SIPP, however, is worth checking out if you're saving for a pension or retirement due to its low fees and ready-made portfolio options.
-
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 | #15 |
| 2024 | #14 |
| 2020 | #7 |
Table of Contents
Pros & cons
Pros
Cons
- Difficult and time-consuming to open an account.
- £11 per trade for U.K. stocks is expensive.
- Very limited tools and research.
- No interest paid on uninvested cash.
Lloyds Bank fees
Investing costs money and Lloyds’ fees can work out low overall, particularly if you have a large investment portfolio. There is a flat management fee of £40 a year, alongside any ongoing fund management costs if you hold funds. If you hold Lloyds’ Ready-Made Investments, funds built by Lloyds’ fund managers for instant portfolio diversification, the cost is £3 a month (£36 a year).
Flat fees: These low flat fees are economical for investors with large holdings. By comparison, Hargreaves Lansdown charges a percentage — 0.45% — custody charge for mutual fund investments below £250,000, which works out at £45 a year for those with investments worth £10,000. Therefore investors with a portfolio worth more than £10,000 may be better with a flat fee charging structure such as Lloyds’. Note that there is no £40 platform fee if you’re aged 18 to 25 and have an Invest Wise account.
Regular dealing: If you commit to regular dealing (where you invest in the same asset monthly) then there are no commission charges. It’s common for trading platforms to offer discounted trades for regular investing, but Lloyds is one of a small handful of brokers offering free regular dealing. Rivals AJ Bell and Fidelity, for example, charge £1.50.
Infrequent investors: However, if you trade infrequently and are only investing small amounts, then Lloyds can end up being expensive. Lloyds charges £11 for buying and selling U.K. shares, investment trusts, bonds, and ETFs. This cost is reduced to £10 if you are a Premier or Private Banking customer, and to £8 if you make more than eight trades per quarter (around three a month).
These costs are among the highest in the industry, in line with a few other brokers including AJ Bell, Barclays, and Fidelity. Other platforms, including Interactive Investor, XTB, and Freetrade, are cheaper for share trades. Lloyds also charges £1.50 for mutual fund trades, which most other platforms offer for free if they offer mutual funds at all.
International shares: Another good feature is that Lloyds does not charge anything on international share trades (although a 1% foreign exchange, or FX, fee applies). You can buy shares in companies listed on the NYSE and NASDAQ in the U.S. as well as those listed in Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Amsterdam, or Brussels.
Lloyds’ charges are higher than its sister company Halifax, which has the same owner and is very similar in design. Halifax charges £9.50 per trade and annual custody fees of £36.
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 Lloyds Bank would cost based on trade frequency:
- 5 trades per year = £95
- 12 trades per year = £40 - £172
- 36 trades per year = £40 - £328
- 120 trades per year = £40 / £1,000
- 3 fund trades per year = £44.50
| Feature |
 Lloyds Bank
|
|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £0 |
| Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month | £8 - £11 |
| Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month | £8 |
| Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month | £8 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 | £40 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K | £40 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m | £40 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over | £40 |
| Bonds - Corporate - Fee | £8 - £11 |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee | £8 - £11 |
| ETFs - Fee | £8 - £11 |
| Investment Trusts - Fee | £8 - £11 |
| Telephone Dealing Fee | £35 |
Range of investments
Lloyds offers a great range of investments across seven world markets, including U.K. bonds and gilts, almost 700 ETFs, more than 3,000 funds, and almost 5,000 company shares. That said, other platforms such as eToro, Saxo, and Interactive Brokers offer more extensive overseas investment options covering other parts of the world, especially Asia.
Funds and ready-made investments: With an impressive 3,143 funds available, investors who prefer handpicking their mutual funds have a wealth of options. Lloyds also offers a ready-made investment portfolio, incorporating stocks, bonds, and property, but you must pay in at least £50 a month. If you don’t like the idea of committing this amount, other platforms such as Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell offer ready-made portfolios for those looking to save £25 a month.
ISAs and SIPPs: You can invest through an ISA, Junior ISA, SIPP, or general dealing account. Lloyds does not offer Lifetime ISAs.
For ready-made investment ISAs and investment accounts, Lloyds charges a flat rate of £3 per month, plus ongoing charges of up to 0.24% and transaction costs up to 0.12%. These are relatively low cost fees in return for getting access to a diversified portfolio created on your behalf.
TradePlan: You have the option of several trade types by setting up a TradePlan through the dealing section of the website when logged in. This includes a stop loss or price lock, where an order is triggered when a share price hits a specified target price.
Financial planning: Lloyds has partnered with financial planning firm Schroders Personal Wealth if you would like to pay for advice from their wealth management team. To take advantage of this program, you must earn at least £100,000 a year or have £100,000 in savings and pensions.
| Feature |
Lloyds Bank
|
|---|---|
| Share Trading | Yes |
| CFD Trading | No |
| ETFs | Yes |
| Funds | Yes |
| Bonds - Corporate | Yes |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes |
| Investment Trusts | Yes |
| Spread Betting | No |
| Crypto Trading | No |
| Advisor Services | Yes |
Mobile trading apps
The Lloyds trading app is very basic. Like with Halifax, you need to have registered for online banking before logging into the share dealing mobile app for the first time. You access your share dealing account through the main Lloyds app, where you’ll find your share dealing account on the main home screen. Tap on your share dealing account to open your investments.
It’s not easy to search for funds or investment ideas. Ideally, you’ll already know what you want to invest in, likely by having done research elsewhere. There is a prominent link to Lloyds’ ETF Quicklist for ETF inspiration, but this takes you away from the mobile app and directs you to the website via a browser.
Educational guides and tools for investing have increased in the past year to encourage more of its current account holders to invest. For example, Lloyds now offers a Save & Invest calculator, where you can see projections of how much your investments could be worth in the future. It also offers in-app written guides which aim to teach the basics about investing.
Tap for a demo of Lloyds Bank's U.K. trading app.
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.
Trading platforms
When logged in to your share dealing account through the website, the layout feels quite old-fashioned and is quite similar to the banking home page. It’s difficult to get investment inspiration or guidance, although counter-intuitively there is plenty more material on the main Lloyds’ website when you’re not logged in.
Elizabeth's take:
"There are limited charting options on Lloyd's platform if you like to use charts to analyse historical trends and events. You can't show corporate events on a stock chart such as dividends or earnings dates — a feature offered by many other online investment platforms."
The website also lacks drawing tools or indicators, and you cannot overlay charts over each other to compare different stocks or indices. It would be great if Lloyds could improve the customer experience by adding these features, which newer platforms all offer. Traders who wish to extensively trade using a web app would be better served by a broker like Interactive Brokers or IG.
| Feature |
Lloyds Bank
|
|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes |
| iPhone App | Yes |
| Android App | Yes |
| Stock Alerts | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 0 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 0 |
| Charting - Notes | No |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | No |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | No |
| Charting - Index Overlays | No |
Education
Educational and research material is limited on the Lloyds share dealing platform. There are a few guides on how to get started, such as investing for beginners and how to understand risk, but these do not go into extensive detail.
The investing hub of the main Lloyds website offers more, including news articles, top-searched companies, and insights on the economy or a particular company. This is a section of the Lloyds investing platform that is growing. However, there are no webinars or videos for investors looking for further investment guidance and inspiration.
Lloyds does not offer real-time market data — prices are delayed by 15 minutes.
| Feature |
Lloyds Bank
|
|---|---|
| Education (Share Trading) | No |
| Education (Funds) | No |
| Education (Retirement) | No |
| Client Webinars | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | No |
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.
Final thoughts
Lloyds Share Dealing may be worth it if you are already a Lloyds Bank customer and like the idea of managing your current account, savings, and investments all in one place. If you are a new customer of Lloyds, then consider that there may be other platforms that are easier to open, offer more features, and are likely cheaper.
Lloyds Bank Star Ratings
| Feature |
Lloyds Bank
|
|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
|
| Charges & Fees |
|
| Investment Choices |
|
| Mobile App |
|
| Website |
|
| Ease of Use |
|
| Education |
|
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.
Read next
- Interactive Investor Review
- Interactive Brokers UK Review
- Barclays Smart Investor Review
- Vanguard UK Review
- Saxo Review
- Halifax Share Dealing Review
- CMC Invest Review
- eToro UK Review
- Freetrade Review
- AJ Bell Review
- IG Trading Review 2025
- Capital.com Review
- Fidelity UK Review
- Hargreaves Lansdown Review
- Trading 212 Review
- XTB UK Review
Popular Guides
More Guides
- Best Lifetime ISAs of 2025
- Best Crypto Brokers & Apps for June 2025
- Best Junior SIPPs for 2025
- Best SIPP Providers of 2025
- Best Stocks and Shares ISAs for 2025
- 5 Best Demo Trading Accounts in the UK for 2025
- Best Cash ISA Accounts & Rates for 2025
About Lloyds Bank Share Dealing
Lloyds Share Dealing is operated by Lloyds Banking Group, which traces its roots back to 1765 when Taylors & Lloyds opened as a private bank in Birmingham. Lloyds Banking Group owns Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Bank, Halifax, and Scottish Widows.
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.
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.