Best Hargreaves Lansdown Alternatives (2024)

Having been around since 1978 and publicly listed on the NASDAQ exchange, the Interactive Brokers’ major advantage is its reputation.

Other significant advantages of using Interactive Brokers are its wide selection of financial products from over 150 markets, solid trade execution (IB SmartRouting), and support for 24 currencies in its account. There are also 100+ currency pairs available for exchange.

Some downsides of using Interactive Brokers are: 

• The complex fee structure;
• Lengthier than average registration and fund deposit processes; 
• Limited commission-free trading (only available for US investors). 

However, the last point is largely mitigated by using narrower spreads and lower FX fees than most of its competitors. 

Speaking of the fee structure, there are two distinct plans to choose from – Tiered and Fixed, with the former fees depending on the trade volume. The fees also vary across different markets. You can see the full fee structure here.

There are 3 apps to choose from when accessing your account: Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation (TWS) desktop app, IBKR GlobalTrader mobile app, and Client Portal web-based app.

The IBKR GlobalTrader mobile app is a common choice for beginner investors, offering stocks, ETFs, and options trading in a user-friendly format. Other app features include automatic currency conversions and fractional shares (only for certain US stocks).

The Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation (TWS) app offers many basic and advanced features, but the downside is that the platform’s learning curve can be steep for beginners.

There is also a web-based application named Client Portal, which is halfway between TWS and Global Trader in terms of both the simplicity of the user experience and available features.

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Founded in 2004, Trading 212 claims the title of the first-ever commission-free broker in both the U.K. and Europe. As of 2024, it has over 2 million users with over €3.5 billion in assets under management (AUM). 

It offers two distinct account types: Trading 212 Invest, which offers commission-free stocks and ETFs trading, and Trading 212 CFD, which offers CFD trading only.

The Trading 212 Invest account has been rapidly gaining popularity with beginner investors especially, and with good reasons:

• The minimum deposit is just £1 (£10 for bank transfers);
• Commission-free stocks and ETFs trading is available (along with fractional shares);
• The platform is very simple to use (for both account opening and trading).

Trading 212 Platform

The account opening and fund depositing process is one of the simplest ones on the market. Trading is also easy and intuitive when using the platform, both on mobile and web-based apps. 

It is important to note that a big part of the reason Trading 212 can offer commission-free trading is its share lending program, which is mandatory for Trading 212 users.

However, that doesn’t mean there are no other fees on Trading 212. Some of the fees that Trading 212 charges are;

• 0.7% for deposit methods other than bank transfers (free up to the first €2,000);
• Currency exchange fees of 0.15% (Trading 212 Invest) or 0.50% (Trading 212 CFD);
• Overnight fees on CFDs.

You can see the fee structure in more detail here for Trading 212 Invest and here for Trading 212 CFD. Other cons of the platform include a limited offer of financial products, supporting only 3 base currencies (USD, EUR, and GBP), and high spreads on Forex CFDs.

Stocks and Shares ISA account is also available for UK residents at no extra fee.

For those of you considering joining Trading 212, you can even claim a free share when you sign up by following this link. After you verify your identity and fund the account, be sure to include promo code “IITW” to claim one free share worth up to €100.

To sum it all up, Trading 212 is a good choice for beginner investors who want a simple, effective, and cheap way to buy stocks and ETFs.

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

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Interactive Investor is a UK flat-fee investment service with more than 400,000 users and over £55 billion in assets under management (2nd biggest in the UK). They offer various account types, such as trading, SIPP, and ISA accounts, for which they charge a flat monthly fee (starting at £4.99 a month).

Interactive Investor’s parent company is publicly-listed and is a part of the FTSE 100 index as well. The platform also has excellent customer reviews (4.7 stars on +20,000 reviews on Trustpilot).

The trading platforms (web and mobile are available, but not desktop) are user-friendly and well-designed. There are 40,000+ UK and global stocks to choose from, as well as ETFs, funds, and bonds. However, some other financial products are missing, such as CFDs, forex, options, etc.

ii Platform

If you don’t know where to begin, you can choose from their lists of recommended funds, such as:

• Quick-start Funds (6 low-cost funds for beginners);
• ii Super 60 (60 funds selected by experts);
• ii Ace 40 (a list of 40 ethical funds);
• Model portfolios (5 ready-made portfolios).

Account opening and making deposits/withdrawals are all fast and easy. The biggest drawback of using Interactive Investor is the monthly account fee. This can be partially offset for a certain period by using one of their frequent promotions. You can see their fees in more detail here.

Overall, Interactive Investor is a good choice for beginner investors. The platform makes it easy for anyone to open an account and invest in traditional assets like stocks, ETFs, funds, and bonds.

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Often called the “Robinhood of the UK”, Freetrade is a UK-based broker which offers trading with very low fees. Apart from stocks, the platform also offers ETFs, REITs, SPACs, and investment trust trading, all being commission-free (but other fees may apply).

Some of the other features of the platform include: 

• The option of ISA, SIPP, or GIA account types;
• Fractional shares;
• Return on uninvested cash;
• Very active community (forum)
• Access to some advanced tools (automated order types, advanced stock fundamentals)

However, remember that not all of these features are available to all users. There are 3 distinct subscription plans to choose from (Basic, Standard, and Plus), each offering commission-free stock and ETF trading but differing in other features and FX fees. You can see the comparison between the plans in more detail here.

There is no inactivity or deposit/withdrawal fee, and the app is user-friendly. Return on uninvested cash is a nice plus, being 1% for Standard and 3% for Plus accounts, but capped at £2,000 and £4,000, respectively. There is also a free share program when inviting someone to join the platform.

Some limitations of using Freetrade include the absence of certain financial products, the lack of advanced tools, no web or desktop apps (desktop app Beta is available to Plus accounts), and no phone or 24/7 support.

Freetrade Platform

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

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Founded in 1995, AJ Bell is a public UK investment platform listed on the London Stock Exchange (part of the FTSE 250 index). AJ Bell Youinvest’s account opening is quick and easy, requiring no initial deposit. The platform is user-friendly but lacks some of the more advanced features. There are stocks, ETFs, and funds to choose from, but the platform lacks forex, options, futures, and CFDs. If you are new to investing, you can choose from some of their ready-made portfolios.

AJ Bell Dashboard

There is a wide range of account types to choose from, including Stocks and shares ISA, Lifetime ISA, Junior ISA, SIPP, Cash savings, and a regular Dealing account.

Platform fees are above average, consisting mainly of: 

• Account fee of 0.25%, but only up to a maximum of £3.50 a month
• Share dealing fee (both buying and selling) from £4.95 to £9.95
• Investment fund fees start at 0.25% + fund management fee

Their customer service is usually responsive, even having the option of a live phone call. There is also e-mail and live chat available. This is probably a big part of the reason why they have excellent customer reviews (4.7 stars on nearly 4,000 reviews at Trustpilot).

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

Overall, AJ Bell is somewhat of a traditional broker because they offer good quality service from start to finish, including customer service. However, this comes at a price of slightly higher fees than some of its competitors.

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IG is a well-renowned broker, offering a wide choice and low commissions in primarily CFDs and forex trading. The IG Group (established in 1974) is one of the most valuable UK public companies (included in the FTSE 250 index), has over 300,000 clients worldwide, and covers 18,000+ markets in total.

The user-friendly platform is available internationally (with some exceptions) and offers 6 base currencies: USD, GBP, AUD, EUR, SGD, and HKD. If you are a resident of the UK (or its territories), you can also open a share dealing account that offers access to real shares, ETFs, and automated ETF portfolios (IG Smart Portfolio). You can find more info about it here.

IG Dashboard

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-a-day support;
• Weekend trading and extended hours trading;
• Fast execution times;
• Access to Meta Trader 4 (a leading forex trading application);
• Advanced tools: customizable screener, recommended news based on your account…

They offer commission-free trading for most CFDs but charge their own spread on top of the market spread. The exception is share CFDs, which are offered at the real market price without added spread, but there is a commission when both opening and closing a position.

Other fees include:

• FX conversion fee of 0.5%;
• Overnight fees (depending on the product);
• Inactivity fee ($18 monthly after 2 years of inactivity);
• Custody fee for less than 3 quarterly trades on the share dealing account (£24).

You can learn more about their fees at this link.

Tax-favorable ISA and SIPP accounts are also available for UK residents. The SIPP account is offered in partnership with UK Options, with a £210 yearly fee charged for the service. The ISA account can be opened for both the share dealing and Smart Portfolio accounts, with a custody fee of £24 charged per calendar quarter (if you have less than 3 trades per quarter).

In a nutshell, IG is a broker that primarily offers CFD and Forex trading in a user-friendly interface and with competitive fees. It is tailored to both beginner and advanced traders due to a mix of educational materials and advanced trading tools.

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