Best Online Stock Brokers in the UK (compared in 2024)

Interactive Brokers leads the list as the best online broker in the UK.

Founded in 1978, Interactive Brokers is one of the largest international brokers listed on the NASDAQ exchange (Ticker: IBKR). It is regulated by many international top-tier regulators, including the FCA, with no minimum deposit requirement.

It caters to both beginners and professional investors looking for any type of financial products (bonds, ETFs, shares, you name it!), an easy-to-use platform, advanced technical and fundamental trading tools, and a great educational component.

Interactive Brokers supports various account base currencies, including GBP, USD, EUR, and other major currencies. However, funding these accounts is limited to bank transfers. They offer one of the tightest spreads in the market, ensuring favourable trading conditions, but their commission is tier-based, meaning it varies depending on your monthly trading volume.

For investors who prefer to trade on the go, Interactive Brokers offers the IBKR Mobile app providing convenience and advanced functionality.

IBKR GlobalTrader is another mobile trading app offered by Interactive Brokers that allows traders to engage in simple and worldwide trading. The app offers the flexibility to trade in fractions and invest with as little as $1, making trading accessible to traders of all levels. You can also open a simulated trading account to practice trading before opening a live account and gain access to $10,000 in simulated cash to trade in a simulated trading environment.

On the downside, you might be overwhelmed by the number of buttons and features available on each platform, especially if you are new to investing. However, Interactive Brokers offers a lot of educational materials and video tutorials to assist you in navigating and utilizing their platforms effectively. These resources can be beneficial regardless of the specific platform you are trading or using.

Want to know more? Check out our comprehensive Interactive Brokers review and visit IBKR’s website.

Another exceptional trading platform in the UK is eToro, an international online broker with over 30 million users who trade stocks, forex, commodities, cryptocurrencies, CFDs, and ETFs. It is known for its social trading feature where you can copy the trades of other experienced traders. There are thousands of verified traders on eToro, and you can pick the best trader based on past Return on Investment (ROI), risk profile, or other factors.

The eToro platform gives users access to over 3,000 different financial instruments, including stocks and ETFs. Additionally, users can invest in ready-made investment portfolios (Smart Portfolios), a group of several assets or traders combined together based on a theme or strategy.

Plus, eToro offers commission-free stock and ETF trading in the UK (other fees apply).

Opening an account and depositing is easy, and you can even try it out with virtual money (a demo account). On the downside, spreads can be high for some products. The only currency accepted (base currency) is the USD, which means that you’ll be charged currency conversion fees upon deposit and withdrawal if you deposit in another currency.

If you want to learn more, check out our eToro Review.

Founded in 2002, XTB is a major player in the brokerage industry with extensive worldwide experience, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – plus other relevant regulatory bodies – and listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

You can invest through xStation 5 and xStation Mobile in different investment products, such as stocks, ETFs, and CFDs on stocks, Forex, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. It offers 0% commission on stocks and ETFs.

Founded in 2017 in the US and launched in the UK in July 2023, Webull joins the British brokerage industry with low commissions. At the moment, it only offers access to US stocks (over 10,000). New users get a signup bonus.

As a UK user, you also have access to a demo account where you can buy and sell as you would with real money. You can only deposit in pound sterling (GBP), which means that when investing in US stocks (traded in US dollars), you will be charged a currency conversion fee of 0.35%. Besides, each trade has a cost of 0.025%. Basically, you would pay roughly 0.375% per transaction (minimal regulatory fees also apply). 

Founded in 2008, Plus500 is an online broker offering a wide range of financial products, including real shares and CFDs on forex, indices, shares, commodities, options, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. It is available in over 50 countries and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

There are two distinct account types:

• Plus500 CFD: It only focuses on CFD products;
• Plus500 Invest: Where you can trade stocks (real shares);

The web platform you will use is the WebTrader, Plus500’s proprietary platform, offering a stable trading experience and reliable access from multiple devices, including a mobile app. All platforms are accessible and responsive, and you can start testing the features by opening a demo account.

Their customer support is helpful and readily assessed through a chat that is always shown on the trading platform. Their spreads are low, offering accounts in sixteen currencies, including USD, EUR, and GBP. Still, they charge a 0.70% currency conversion fee and a $10 monthly fee following three months with no activity. On Plus500 Invest, they only charge a small commission per trade (US market: $0.006/share).

Finally, it is regulated by financial regulators like the FCA and CySEC, meaning that Plus500 is appropriately supervised and that there is an investor protection scheme under the entity you open an account. For instance, as a UK investor, you open an account through Plus500UK Ltd, and you are protected up to £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

Want to know more about Plus500? Check our Plus500 Review.

Saxo Bank is a distinguished multi-asset broker renowned for its exceptional trading platform experience and extensive range of over 72,000 tradable instruments. It was founded in 1992 and offers a comprehensive suite of trading tools, in-depth research capabilities, and premium features.

Saxo Bank lets you open an account in a wide range of currencies, including USD, EUR, GBP and several other major currencies. They have three account types (Classic, Platinum, and VIP), each with its own features and services.

Freetrade is a mobile-only commission-free UK stockbroker founded in 2016 that lets you invest in more than 6,000 stocks (US, UK, German, Finnish and Dutch), as well as ETFs, for free.

Freetrade came to revolutionize the traditional brokerage industry. A lot of brokers still present high complexity over their platforms and product offer. Freetrade is on a mission to help customers achieve better long-term financial outcomes and, for that purpose, it wants to be as transparent and trustworthy as possible. Ultimately, their goal is to allow everyone to benefit from wealth creation.

In the Freetrade app, you will not find CFDs and other related complex products; it does not promote day trading and has no hidden fees. The accounting opening process is quick and smooth. The mobile app is remarkably user-friendly. The main drawback is the limited product offering (no options, bonds, Forex, CFDs, Commodities or Cryptocurrencies).

They operate under a freemium (free+premium) business model.

Founded in 2006, Trading 212 is a fintech based in London that aims to democratize the entire investment process through a simple mobile application. The company aims to do this by allowing anyone to invest in over 10,000 stocks and ETFs, Forex, commodities, CFDs, and cryptocurrencies. Over 15 million people have already downloaded the app.

In Trading 212, you will find commission-free stocks and ETFs trading, fractional shares, and even an automatic investment system (Robo-advisor). Opening an account is extremely quick and easy. On the downside, it shows limitations regarding available products, such as the lack of bonds and options. It charges a 0.15% currency conversion fee when buying assets in a currency different from your base account.

Within the app, you will notice two distinct sub-platforms: Trading 212 Invest, where you can trade a range of assets free of charge, and trading 212 CFD, where you may trade leveraged financial products (CFDs).

Finally, Trading 212 offers one free share worth up to €100! It may be worth checking that out.

If you want to learn more, check our Trading 212 Review.

InvestEngine is a leading broker in the UK, founded in 2016, that offers a range of innovative tools and features to help investors build and manage their investment portfolios. One of their standout offerings is fractional investing, allowing users to invest as little as £1 in any ETF on their platform, regardless of the ETF’s share price. They have over 550 ETFs available and are one of the cheapest ETF trading platforms in the UK.

Their trading platform offers several features. For instance, the smart order technology calculates the individual trades needed to align with your chosen portfolio weights.

With their Portfolio Look-through feature, investors can gain transparency and insight into the companies, sectors, geographical regions, and asset classes they invest in. AutoInvest is another convenient feature that automatically puts your available cash to work each day, ensuring you don’t miss out on rising markets. InvestEngine also offers one-click portfolio rebalancing, allowing you to reset your portfolio to your preferred asset allocation with a single click.

For those who prefer a managed portfolio, InvestEngine offers a choice of portfolios designed to suit different risk levels, with a management fee of just 0.25% per year. All their portfolios are accessible through their General Account, which allows investors to begin their investment journey with as little as £100 without any exit charges. In addition, it provides an Individual Savings Account (ISA) option, enabling investors to enjoy tax-free investing. Finally, it is worth noting that investments made with InvestEngine may be eligible for claims under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) for amounts up to £85,000, providing investors with an extra layer of security.

You can read our InvestEngine review for further analysis.