Best Hargreaves Lansdown alternatives (2026)

Having been around since 1978, listed on the Nasdaq and included in the S&P 500 index since August 2025, with more than 5.5 million client accounts, Interactive Brokers’ major advantage is its reputation.

Other significant advantages of using Interactive Brokers are its wide selection of financial products from 170 markets in 40 countries, solid trade execution (IB SmartRouting) and support for multiple currencies in the same account.

Some downsides of using Interactive Brokers are:

• The complex fee structure
• Lengthier than average registration and deposit processes
• No commission-free stock trading for UK clients (IBKR Lite is only available to US residents)

However, the last point is largely offset by lower FX fees than most of its competitors.

Speaking of the fee structure, there are two plans to choose from: Tiered and Fixed. Under the Tiered plan, fees depend on your monthly trading volume. Fees also vary across markets. You can see the full fee structure here.

There are several apps to access your account: the IBKR Desktop and Trader Workstation (TWS) desktop platforms, the IBKR GlobalTrader and IBKR Mobile apps, and the web-based Client Portal.

The IBKR GlobalTrader mobile app is a common choice for beginner investors, offering stocks, ETFs and options trading in a user-friendly format, with automatic currency conversions and fractional shares on thousands of US, European and Canadian stocks and ETFs.

Trader Workstation (TWS) and IBKR Desktop offer many basic and advanced features, but their learning curve can be steep for beginners. The web-based Client Portal sits halfway between them and GlobalTrader, both in simplicity and in available features.

Founded in 2006, Trading 212 launched the UK’s first commission-free share dealing service. According to its website, it has more than 5 million lifetime funded accounts.

UK residents can open a Trading 212 Invest account, a Stocks and Shares ISA and a Cash ISA. Trading 212 received FCA approval to offer a SIPP and has been rolling it out gradually since March 2026.

The Trading 212 Invest account is popular with beginner investors for a few reasons:

• The minimum deposit is just £1 (£10 for bank transfers)
• No commission on stocks and ETFs (other fees may apply, see terms and fees), with fractional shares available
• The platform is simple to use, both for account opening and for investing

The account opening and deposit process is one of the simplest on the market, and investing is easy on both the mobile and web apps.

Commission-free doesn’t mean there are no fees. A 0.15% FX fee applies when converting funds. Other fees may apply. See terms and fees.

The main cons of the platform are a narrower product range than traditional platforms (no funds or bonds, for example) and a SIPP that is still being rolled out.

Sponsored Link. To get a free fractional share worth up to £100, you can open an account with Trading 212 through this link and enter the promo code “IITW” after you verify your identity and fund your account. Terms apply.

If you need more info, check out our detailed review of Trading 212.

Interactive Investor is a UK flat-fee investment platform with 525,000 customers and £108 billion in assets under management and administration (June 2026). It is owned by Aberdeen Group, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Since February 2026, every plan includes a trading account, a Stocks and Shares ISA and a SIPP:

• Core: £5.99 a month, for portfolios up to £100,000
• Plus: £14.99 a month, with one free trade a month, £1.49 fund trades, Junior ISAs and free accounts for up to five family members
• Premium: £39.99 a month, with 10 free trades a month, free fund trades, £2.99 share trades and a 0.25% FX fee

The trading platforms (web and mobile) are user-friendly and well-designed. You can choose from thousands of UK and global stocks, as well as ETFs, funds, investment trusts and bonds. However, some products are missing, such as CFDs and forex.

If you don’t know where to begin, you can use its lists of selected funds, such as the ii Super 60 and the ii ACE 40 (a list of responsible investment options), or its ready-made model portfolios.

Account opening and deposits are fast and easy. The biggest drawback of Interactive Investor is the monthly fee, which weighs more on small portfolios. UK and US share trades cost £3.99 on the Core and Plus plans, and the FX fee is 0.75% on the Core plan (on Plus, 0.25% above £50,000). You can see its fees in more detail here.

Overall, Interactive Investor is a good choice for investors with larger portfolios, since a flat fee costs relatively less as your investments grow. It also makes it easy to invest in traditional assets like stocks, ETFs, funds and bonds.

Freetrade is a UK investment platform owned by IG Group since April 2025. It offers commission-free investing (other fees may apply) in stocks, ETFs and investment trusts, and since January 2026 its free Basic plan also includes mutual funds and gilts.

Some of the other features of the platform include:

• General Investment Account, Stocks and Shares ISA, Junior ISA and SIPP, all available on the free Basic plan
• Fractional shares on US stocks
• Variable interest on uninvested cash: 1% AER on up to £1,000 on Basic, 2.5% on up to £2,000 on Standard (£5.99 a month, or £4.99 if paid annually) and 3.5% on up to £3,000 on Plus (£11.99 a month, or £9.99 if paid annually)
• Limit orders, stop losses and recurring orders on every plan, Basic included

There are 3 plans to choose from (Basic, Standard and Plus). All of them include commission-free investing, but they differ in FX fees (0.99% on Basic, 0.59% on Standard and 0.39% on Plus), interest on cash and other features. You can compare the plans in more detail here.

There is no account fee on any plan, and the app is user-friendly. Freetrade also runs a free share programme when you invite someone to join the platform.

The main limitations of Freetrade are the 0.99% FX fee on the Basic plan, a narrower fund range than traditional platforms and limited research tools.

Overall, Freetrade does what it was designed to do very well: it offers a simple way to start investing commission-free, now with a free ISA and SIPP. If you need more information, check out our detailed Freetrade review.

Founded in 1995, AJ Bell is a UK investment platform listed on the London Stock Exchange. Account opening is quick and easy, with no initial deposit required, and you can invest from £25 a month through regular investing. The platform is user-friendly but lacks some of the more advanced features. You can choose from stocks, ETFs, funds and bonds, but there are no forex, options, futures or CFDs. If you are new to investing, you can also choose one of its ready-made portfolios.

There is a wide range of accounts to choose from, including a Stocks and Shares ISA, Lifetime ISA, Junior ISA, SIPP and a regular Dealing account.

According to AJ Bell’s charges, its main fees for the Dealing account are:

• Account charge on shares, ETFs and bonds of 0.25% a year, up to a maximum of £3.50 a month
• Account charge on funds of 0.25% a year on the first £250,000, falling to 0.10% up to £500,000 and nothing above that
• Share dealing fee of £5 per online trade (£3.50 if you made 10 or more share deals in the previous month) and £1.50 per fund deal
• No dealing charge on regular investments
• FX fee of 0.75% on the first £10,000, 0.50% on the next £10,000 and 0.25% above £20,000

Customer service is available by phone, email and live chat.

Apart from the dealing fees and the absence of some financial products, another con of AJ Bell is its limited advanced tools (research, charts, order types, etc.).

Overall, AJ Bell is more of a traditional platform that offers good service from start to finish, including customer service. Its percentage fees are low for small and medium portfolios, but frequent share traders will pay more than on commission-free apps.

IG is a well-known broker, offering a wide choice of markets, primarily in CFD and forex trading. The IG Group was established in 1974, is listed on the London Stock Exchange and served more than 1.4 million customers in the first half of 2026 across its brands, which also include tastytrade and Freetrade.

If you are a UK resident, you can also open a share dealing account or a Stocks and Shares ISA with access to real shares, ETFs, investment trusts and ready-made portfolios (IG Smart Portfolios). Share trades are commission-free when you use instant currency conversion, and IG removed its £24 quarterly custody fee in January 2026. You can find more info here.

However, most traders will be drawn to IG because of its CFD and forex trading capabilities. Some of the features of the platform include:

• Extensive educational materials
• 24-hour support on weekdays
• Weekend trading and extended hours trading
• Access to MetaTrader 4, a leading forex trading platform
• Advanced tools such as a customisable screener and personalised news

CFD trades on most markets are commission-free, with IG’s costs built into the spread. The exception is share CFDs, which are offered at the market price with a commission when opening and closing a position.

Other fees include:

• FX conversion fee of 0.70% on share dealing
• Overnight funding fees on CFD positions (depending on the product)
• An annual management fee on Smart Portfolios (0.5%, capped at £250)

You can learn more about its fees at this link.

A Junior ISA has also been available since March 2026, and a SIPP is offered through a third-party provider, with a £210 yearly fee.

In a nutshell, IG is a broker that primarily offers CFD and forex trading in a user-friendly interface, and its share dealing account and ISA have become much cheaper in 2026. It suits both beginner and advanced traders thanks to its mix of educational materials and advanced trading tools.