UK Stock Broker Reviews
UK.StockBrokers.com reviews the top share dealing brokers currently in operation. Our share dealer reviews assess those brokers that support various investment types including stock trading, options trading, and more.
Our mission is to provide the most extensive U.K. share dealer reviews so traders can identify the best place to buy stocks in the U.K. Every year our team of seasoned traders tests and assesses share dealers on more than 50 variables, which establishes rankings for our online brokers annual review. Our complete U.K. broker roster is available below. Select a share dealer to read its complete review.
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The standout feature at Interactive Investor (ii), a major U.K. investment platform, is its low flat-rate fees. This is in contrast to other investment platforms, which typically favour percentage fees for fund investing, although more brokers are now opting for flat fees.
Trading 212 is an investment platform that offers commission-free share dealing, making it a low-cost alternative to more traditional brokers. Investors looking for more diversification through mutual funds, another broker may be a better option.
EToro has among the lowest fees and best mobile app experiences of brokers we tested in the U.K. We believe eToro offers a great starting point for those new to stock trading, but does appear to be more suited to short-term traders rather than long-term investors.
AJ Bell is one of the U.K.'s largest DIY investment platforms, offering a broad range of instruments. Charges are on the high side for those with large portfolios in mutual funds.
Hargreaves Lansdown provides a thorough selection of investment options, high-quality research, alongside an excellent mobile app. Conversely, pricing is expensive and charting tools are just average.
Interactive Brokers is a sophisticated trading platform aimed at confident investors but also offers great value and resources for newer investors. We believe it’s certainly worth exploring the platform to see if you could save money or access more investments compared to other brokers.
Best UK Trading Platforms for Beginners of 2024
We compared 17 U.K. investment platforms over a 10-week period of firsthand testing and research, using 53 individual variables such as fees, charting tools and access to real-time data to make our final selection of top picks.
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Saxo trading platform is highly sophisticated and is used by private, professional and institutional investors. The global trading platform offers a huge range of international shares and funds across 50 global stock exchanges. The biggest downside is the cost, as its charges are significantly higher than its U.K. competitors.
Interactive Brokers is a sophisticated trading platform aimed at confident investors but also offers great value and resources for newer investors. We believe it’s certainly worth exploring the platform to see if you could save money or access more investments compared to other brokers.
AJ Bell is one of the U.K.'s largest DIY investment platforms, offering a broad range of instruments. Charges are on the high side for those with large portfolios in mutual funds.
Hargreaves Lansdown provides a thorough selection of investment options, high-quality research, alongside an excellent mobile app. Conversely, pricing is expensive and charting tools are just average.
EToro has among the lowest fees and best mobile app experiences of brokers we tested in the U.K. We believe eToro offers a great starting point for those new to stock trading, but does appear to be more suited to short-term traders rather than long-term investors.
IG is an investment platform aimed at experienced investors looking to make frequent trades on the stock market. IG offers thousands of shares, trusts and ETFs to trade, as well as the ability to do spread betting and CFDs. It offers a comprehensive and easy-to-use trading platform that is used by both private and professional investors. See what else our analysis uncovered.
While CMC Invest’s U.K. offering is still evolving, the history and reliability of parent CMC Markets has helped accelerate its offering and bring it closer to market leaders in offering U.K.-listed shares and U.S. equities, despite being a mobile-only app for the time being.
Best Stock Trading Apps UK of 2024
The best UK mobile trading apps appeal to all levels of trading skill — beginner, active trader, and longer-term investor. Check out our top picks here.
Best Brokers for Active Trading
Interactive Brokers is a sophisticated trading platform aimed at confident investors but also offers great value and resources for newer investors. We believe it’s certainly worth exploring the platform to see if you could save money or access more investments compared to other brokers.
Saxo trading platform is highly sophisticated and is used by private, professional and institutional investors. The global trading platform offers a huge range of international shares and funds across 50 global stock exchanges. The biggest downside is the cost, as its charges are significantly higher than its U.K. competitors.
IG is an investment platform aimed at experienced investors looking to make frequent trades on the stock market. IG offers thousands of shares, trusts and ETFs to trade, as well as the ability to do spread betting and CFDs. It offers a comprehensive and easy-to-use trading platform that is used by both private and professional investors. See what else our analysis uncovered.
EToro has among the lowest fees and best mobile app experiences of brokers we tested in the U.K. We believe eToro offers a great starting point for those new to stock trading, but does appear to be more suited to short-term traders rather than long-term investors.
Trading 212 is an investment platform that offers commission-free share dealing, making it a low-cost alternative to more traditional brokers. Investors looking for more diversification through mutual funds, another broker may be a better option.
XTB's low fees and solid educational content will make it particularly attractive to newer investors. On the downside, it does not currently offer an ISA or SIPP, so you’re limited to trading through a general dealing account.
Best UK Trading Platforms for Active Traders of 2024
Choosing the best broker can be crucial to your success as an active trader, as the needs of active traders can be drastically different from those of passive investors. See our top picks, based on hands-on testing and analysis.
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Fidelity offers thousands of investments and also offers financial advice for those wanting direction. My view is that Fidelity is most suited to traditional investors who hold a range of accounts through the platform.
Saxo trading platform is highly sophisticated and is used by private, professional and institutional investors. The global trading platform offers a huge range of international shares and funds across 50 global stock exchanges. The biggest downside is the cost, as its charges are significantly higher than its U.K. competitors.
Barclays Smart Investor Review
Barclays Smart Investor is an investment platform offered by Barclays Bank that offers a wide range of investments and accounts. Non-Barclays customers may find it complicated to open an account. Barclays is good value whether you are a beginner investor or have a large portfolio as its fees are, overall, very low.
A Lloyds Bank Share Dealing account may be an easy solution for current banking customers who want to invest. However, it trails the leading platforms in some key areas.
Vanguard is basic in functionality and choice, but offers a very good service for less experienced investors and those looking for simple long-term investments – perhaps looking ahead to retirement.
XTB's low fees and solid educational content will make it particularly attractive to newer investors. On the downside, it does not currently offer an ISA or SIPP, so you’re limited to trading through a general dealing account.
Freetrade's low-cost, commission-free model allows trading of fractional shares with a user-friendly mobile trading app, and good-quality educational offerings. However, there is no online platform.
Interactive Brokers is a sophisticated trading platform aimed at confident investors but also offers great value and resources for newer investors. We believe it’s certainly worth exploring the platform to see if you could save money or access more investments compared to other brokers.
AJ Bell is one of the U.K.'s largest DIY investment platforms, offering a broad range of instruments. Charges are on the high side for those with large portfolios in mutual funds.
IG is an investment platform aimed at experienced investors looking to make frequent trades on the stock market. IG offers thousands of shares, trusts and ETFs to trade, as well as the ability to do spread betting and CFDs. It offers a comprehensive and easy-to-use trading platform that is used by both private and professional investors. See what else our analysis uncovered.
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All Reviews
- AJ Bell review
- Barclays Smart Investor review
- Bestinvest review
- Capital.com review
- Charles Stanley Direct review
- CMC Invest review
- DEGIRO review
- eToro review
- Fidelity International review
- FinecoBank review
- Freetrade review
- Halifax review
- Hargreaves Lansdown review
- IG review
- Interactive Brokers review
- Interactive Investor review
- Lloyds Bank review
- Revolut review
- Robinhood review
- Saxo review
- Trading 212 review
- Vanguard UK Investor review
- Webull review
- XTB review
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