In this Freetrade review, we look at its fees, plans, products and safety to help you decide whether it’s the right investment platform for you.
Freetrade is a commission-free UK investment platform founded in 2016 and now part of IG Group, a FTSE 100 company. It is often compared to Robinhood, the US commission-free broker, and Freetrade says it has 1.6 million users.
Freetrade is only available to UK residents.
Overview
“The stock market doesn’t have to be prohibitively expensive or complicated”.
Freetrade lets you invest commission-free in more than 9,000 investment choices, including UK, US and European stocks, ETFs, investment trusts, mutual funds, gilts and UK Treasury bills.
It operates a freemium (free plus premium) model. The free Basic plan now includes a general investment account (GIA), a Stocks and Shares ISA, a Junior ISA and a SIPP (self-invested personal pension). The paid Standard and Plus plans lower the currency conversion fee and pay more interest on cash. Standard adds enhanced stock fundamentals, and Plus adds priority customer service and free same-day withdrawals.
Freetrade launched a feature called Trading Breaks, which is an attempt to incentivize users to invest responsibly to increase the likelihood of growing their money over the long term. In practice, it lets customers take a 24-hour break from trading by putting a block on the ability to buy shares.
Freetrade grew partly through equity crowdfunding rounds with its own customers, and it is now owned by IG Group.
Highlights
| 🗺️ Supported countries | UK |
| 💰 Stocks and ETFs fees | £0 |
| 💰 Currency conversion fee | From 0.39% to 0.99% |
| 💰 Inactivity fee | £0 |
| 💰 Withdrawal fee | £0 |
| 💵 Minimum deposit | £0 |
| 💰 Monthly plans | Basic: £0, Standard: £5.99 (£4.99 if paid annually), Plus: £11.99 (£9.99 if paid annually) |
| 📍 Products offered | Stocks, ETFs, investment trusts, REITs, mutual funds, gilts, UK Treasury bills |
| 🎮 Demo account | No |
| 📜 Regulatory entities | FCA (reg. no. 783189) |
Source: Freetrade pricing page and Freetrade website, checked in October 2026.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Free stock and ETF trading
- GIA, ISA, and SIPP
- No inactivity, account, or withdrawal fees
- No minimum deposit
- Great community (forum) – where users share ideas and learn about investing
- Nice and user-friendly app
Cons
- Limited asset classes (only stocks, ETFs, REITs, and investment trusts)
- Limited research and education
- Graphs and portfolio tracking still need some development
- No phone support – however, live chat support is very fast and efficient
Products and markets
Freetrade offers more than 9,000 investment choices, mainly stocks and ETFs from UK and US exchanges, plus hundreds of German, Finnish and Dutch stocks, including Finnair, Kone and Heineken. You can buy US stocks in fractions. You can check their full product listing in this spreadsheet link.
It also gives you access to investment trusts (similar to closed-end funds in the US). These are financial products managed by professional investors that help you benefit from diversification across geographical areas and market sectors. Freetrade includes the most famous ones, including the Smithson Investment Trust plc or the Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust.
It is also possible to get some exposure to the real estate market through REITs (real estate investment trusts) covering retail, healthcare, offices and more. The idea is to expose you to an asset class that otherwise would be difficult due to high costs and the right expertise. In other words, Freetrade lets you invest in residential or commercial real estate without the hassle of buying and managing the properties yourself.
Freetrade has recently added mutual funds and gilts (UK government bonds), alongside UK Treasury bills and ready-made portfolios. More advanced investors may still prefer a broker with a wider range, as Freetrade doesn’t offer options, corporate bonds, CFDs or cryptocurrencies.
Fees
Freetrade doesn’t charge trading commissions, and the free Basic plan now includes the ISA and SIPP, which used to require a paid plan. The main costs are the currency conversion fee on non-GBP trades and, if you choose one, the monthly subscription:
| Plan | Monthly price | FX fee | Interest on cash |
| Basic | £0 | 0.99% | 1% AER on up to £1,000 |
| Standard | £5.99 (£4.99 if paid annually) | 0.59% | 2.5% AER on up to £2,000 |
| Plus | £11.99 (£9.99 if paid annually) | 0.39% | 3.5% AER on up to £3,000 |
Source: Freetrade pricing page, checked in October 2026. Interest rates are variable. Other charges may apply.
The FX fee applies when you buy and, again, when you sell a stock quoted in another currency. For example, buying £1,000 of US shares costs £9.90 in FX fees on Basic, against £3.90 on Plus. If you trade US stocks often, a paid plan can pay for itself. Limit orders, stop losses, recurring orders and extended hours trading are available on every plan, including Basic.
Account types
Freetrade offers four account types, all available on the free Basic plan:
General Investment Account (GIA)
Basic account for stock and ETF trading. You can manage your portfolio of stocks and shares outside the tax-efficient wrappers like ISAs and SIPPs. There’s no limit to how much you can invest.
Stocks and Shares ISA (individual savings account)
Tax-efficient account for UK residents, broadly similar to an IRA in the US. You can invest up to £20,000 a year across all your ISAs, and gains and dividends are tax-free.
Freetrade also offers a Junior ISA, which parents can open for children under 18, with an annual limit of £9,000.
Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP)
Tax-efficient pension savings. You can usually contribute up to £60,000 a year (or 100% of your earnings, if lower) and get tax relief at your income tax rate. The drawback is that you can only access it from age 55, rising to 57 from April 2028.
Safety and regulation
Freetrade is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA reg. no. 783189) and is a member firm of the London Stock Exchange. Eligible investments are protected up to £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if the firm fails, but not against market losses. Freetrade is part of IG Group, a FTSE 100 company, which adds the backing of a large, long-established group.
Supported countries
Freetrade is currently only available in the United Kingdom.
The company used to be available in Sweden, but stopped servicing customers there.
Freetrade has not announced plans to launch in other countries.
User reviews
To assess and rate Freetrade in terms of users feedbacks, we use its Trustscore from Trustpilot. A broker’s TrustScore is a measure of customer satisfaction based on service reviews collected on Trustpilot. It’s not just a simple average of its reviews (to know more about how it is calculated, click here).
Based on 50+ Trustscore measures from 50+ well-known online brokers, we’ve calculated that the average broker’s Trustscore is 3.6 out of 5.
In October 2026, Freetrade was rated 4.2 out of 5 based on about 7,500 reviews on Trustpilot.
