Best Investing Apps in the UK in 2023 (compared)

The journey of investing is different for everybody: some people are investing for their future, some want quick results, and some are planning for retirement. In the UK, technology has now given us the power to track our progress towards these life goals through Investing Apps that are easily accessible on our mobile devices.

There are many, many investing apps to choose from in the UK; we are spoiled for choice. But when you start to look a little closer at the options available, you’ll quickly see that the products, services, and features can vary considerably from provider to provider.

In this article, we will make your research easy by comparing some of the best investing apps available to UK investors.

Investing Apps in the UK Compared

At a high level, we have already outlined some of the best investing apps in the UK for many different features which investors often regard as most important.

If you want to dig a little deeper, check out the comparison table below and a brief review of some of what we consider to be the top investing apps on offer in the UK.

Founded in 1978 and publicly listed in NASDAQ (ticker: IBKR), Interactive Brokers is a global online broker that surpassed major financial crises, showing resilience and a rigorous risk management process.

Interactive Brokers offers an advanced investment platform that includes a wide range of products (stocks, options, mutual funds, ETFs, futures, bonds, and currencies) from 150 markets, solid trade execution (IB SmartRouting), and a set of technical and fundamental tools to help you in your investment decisions.

Interactive Brokers also launched IBKR GlobalTrader, a modern mobile trading app to trade Stocks, Options and ETFs, ideal for beginner investors. Some of the features of IBKR GlobalTrader include automatic currency conversions, fractional shares, demo accounts, and more.

On the downside, Interactive Brokers’ fee structure is quite complex, the registration process is lengthy but fully online, and the broker doesn’t offer commission-free trading. However, when considering FX fees, narrower spreads, and the stock loan program, Interactive Brokers’ clients still get significant savings compared to most brokers.

Source: Interactivebrokers.co.uk

Want to know more about Interactive Brokers? Check our Interactive Brokers Review.

Established in 2006, eToro is a well-known worldwide fintech startup and the leader in social trading (following other people’s trades), with over 30 million users worldwide. You can also invest in other products through their platform, which is intuitive and simple to use, making it a good choice for beginners. Plus, they offer commission-free investing in the UK.

Opening an account and depositing is easy; you can even try it out with virtual money. On the downside, spreads can be high for some products. The only currency accepted is USD, so you’ll be charged currency conversion fees upon deposit and withdrawal if you deposit in GBP.

Social trading allows users to observe and learn from experienced traders in real time. New traders can follow the strategies of successful investors, understand their decision-making processes, and gain insights into market trends and trading techniques.

eToro’s social trading feed is super intuitive. You quickly filter your feed and engage with other users on companies and other investment opportunities that interest you most.

Source: etoro.com

Trading 212 is a fintech company based in London that aims to democratise the entire investment process through a simple web and mobile application.

The company aims to do this by allowing its over 15 million users to invest in over 10,000 stocks, ETFs, Forex, commodities, CFDs, and cryptocurrencies.

You will find commission-free stocks and ETFs trading, fractional shares, copy trading, social investing, and even an automatic investment system. Another very popular feature that Trading 212 offers is its Pies, which allow you to instantly build a diversified portfolio and customise it to your unique financial goals.

Trading 212 Pies (Source: Trading212.com)

New users get one free share worth up to €100 (promo code IITW). On the downside, it shows limitations regarding available products.

Freetrade is a commission-free UK stockbroker. It is an excellent choice for investors looking to build a long-term portfolio of stocks and ETFs with low fees.

They operate under a freemium (free+premium) business model. As you go up the pricing plans, users get extra features, such as ISA and SIPP, 3% interest on cash, and more.

Freetrade’s Basic plan is free, the Standard plan is £5.99 p/m, and the Plus plan is £11.99 p/m.

If you are someone who likes to trade quite a lot on your mobile app, you should be aware that the Fx conversion fees are quite high at 0.99% on the basic account, which can really add up over time. If you upgrade to the Standard or Plus plan, the Fx conversion fees drop to 0.59% and 0.39%, respectively (still higher than some competitors).

Source: Freetrade.com

Hargreaves Lansdown is one of the biggest UK platforms for individual investors. It serves more than 1.5 million clients with over £120 billion AUMs.

You will find the most relevant financial instruments (Stocks, ETF, funds,…). It’s a bit pricey, but it makes up for it by being one of the most reliable brokers.

It is well-established, secure, and regulated by the FCA. The customer service is market-leading, and their educational resources are superb.

Source: www.hl.co.uk

Interactive Investor has a strong focus on the UK market and can boast that 1 in 4 UK shares are executed on their platform. Another stamp of approval is that over 50% of interactive investor’s customers have been with them for 10 years or more. You can only achieve stats like that if you run a tight ship and interactive investors have a great customer satisfaction rate.

It offers many investment options, including trading, SIPP, and ISAs. The Stocks and Shares ISA starts at £4.99 per month (“Investor service plan”).

If investing your money responsibly is high in your priorities, Interactive Investor is a platform that can help you achieve this goal, as they have over 200 different sustainable investment options.

Source: www.ii.co.uk

Lightyear is one of the new kids on the block in the UK and has positioned itself as the low-frills option for investors. Their product offering is quite limited, but they make up for that by offering very low fees and great interest on uninvested cash (4.5% on GBP).

One way brokers can catch you out is with FX conversion fees, which can really add up if you are buying the likes of US stocks. With Lightyear’s multi-currency account, you can save big on these fees.

Source: Lightyear.com

There are, however, some downsides to Lightyear’s investing app, firstly they do not currently have a Stocks and Shares ISA account available for UK investors, which can be a bit of a dealbreaker for many investors.

Founded in 2019, InvestEngine is a Do-It-Yourself ETF platform that allows you to build your portfolio using only ETFs. ETFs cover most major asset classes and sectors, providing a broader selection of investments. With a single platform, you are well diversified without selecting individual stocks or bonds.

If you’d rather have an investment portfolio built and managed for you. InvestEngine’s Managed portfolios area great option, and you’ll get an investment that’s designed to suit your risk level and a choice of investing for longer‑term growth or regular income.

The fee structure is extremely transparent. Only a 0.25% annual management fee will apply to managed portfolios. If you prefer to manage your own investments, it will be completely free.

Source: Investengine.com

Nutmeg is one of the largest digital wealth managers in the UK (also known as “Robo-Advisor).

Nutmeg offers investors fully managed ETF portfolios that help investors achieve their financial goals, whether for retirement or a home.

Source: nutmeg.com

With over 470,000 customers, AJBell is a homegrown UK company that takes a no-nonsense approach to its investment services, offering stocks, ETFs, funds, and pensions. They even have a separate platform called Dodl, suitable for beginners who may find the whole world of investing intimidating.

One of AJ Bell’s key strengths lies in its transparent and competitive fee structure. The company aims to provide cost-effective investment solutions, offering investors access to a range of low-cost options.

Source: AJbell.co.uk

In Summary

Investing Apps have made investing accessible and convenient for everyone in the UK. We are blessed in the UK to have a product to suit every need. 

It can be a bit of a minefield when you are trying to pick an investing app in the UK; there are so many different options with their own unique features.  During your analysis, make sure that the investment app at least covers some of the basic necessities you’ll need for mobile-based investing, such as security, a good user experience, portfolio tracking, news, and alerts.

Do Investing Apps cause bad habits?

Investing, by its very nature, is meant to be a long-term endeavour, where you do not pay too much attention to the day-to-day ups and downs in the market, knowing well that over the long run, your investments will grow if you are just patient and consistent with your investing.

If you are not careful, having quick and easy access to the performance metrics of your investment portfolio can unintentionally make you build some bad habits, such as making emotional investment decisions and reacting to very short-term price movements. Sometimes, this can be difficult to avoid when the investment app is pinging you with push notifications to encourage you to trade.

This can be counter-productive to your overall long-term investing plans, therefore it is important to put some controls in place. These can be as simple as turning off notifications or having a set time every week/month to check your portfolio and decide if you need to take action or add more funds.

Are investing apps safe and secure?

Hackers are constantly coming up with more sophisticated methods of stealing your login details and gaining access to your account and other personal data.

If you are using a stock trading app on your phone, you can be vulnerable if your account is not appropriately secured. It is very easy to lose your phone or device or for it to be stolen. The last thing you will want is to have additional worries that your investments are at risk of being siphoned out of your account.

To protect your account, at a bare minimum, you should set up two-factor authentication. Here is a list of mobile trading apps in the UK that will allow you to add 2FA to your account:

Can I manage my retirement accounts through investing apps?

It is still commonplace for many people to only check in on the performance of their pension once a year when their pension provider sends out their annual statement and to have no involvement in how their pension is invested apart from taking some initial survey to work out a risk profile.

When you combine an investing app with a Self Investing Pension Plan (SIPP), such as those on offer from Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell you are putting the control back in your hands. You can not only manage your retirement investment portfolio, but also regularly check on how it is performing.