Lightyear review 2026

Pros and cons

Fees

Lightyear offers commission-free ETF trading (fund manager fees may apply) and competitive stock fees, with no account, inactivity, custody, or withdrawal fees. Cash interest on uninvested funds is also paid out (via the MMF Savings Vaults), making Lightyear one of the most cost-effective platforms for long-term ETF and stock investors in the UK and EU.

A noteworthy aspect is the flexibility to hold multiple currencies (GBP, USD, EUR) simultaneously, allowing users to strategically manage their investments and avoid unnecessary FX conversions. When you do need to convert currencies, Lightyear applies an industry-low 0.10% FX fee (reduced from 0.35% in March 2026) – significantly lower than most UK and EU brokers.

While Lightyear encourages fee-free SEPA and Faster Payments bank transfer deposits, it’s essential to be mindful of the 0.6% fee applied for debit card / Apple Pay / Google Pay deposits. For UK customers, deposits via Faster Payments are free and typically arrive within minutes, making it the recommended funding method for most investors.

In March 2026, Lightyear announced a major pricing reduction for UK customers across their GIA and Stocks & Shares ISA accounts:

• FX fee reduced from 0.35% to 0.10% (a 71% reduction);
• Trading commissions removed on General Investment Accounts (GIA): UK customers now pay £0 per trade on US, EU, and UK stocks;
• The Stocks & Shares ISA remains commission-free (no changes there);
• The same pricing structure now applies to both ISA and GIA accounts for UK customers;
• This positions Lightyear as one of the most cost-competitive UK brokers for both ETF and individual stock investing, particularly for investors who want to combine commission-free trading with high cash interest rates via the MMF Savings Vaults.

For EU customers, standard pricing still applies (0.10% on US stocks with a $1 max, €1 on EU stocks), although the 0.10% FX fee reduction applies globally across all Lightyear accounts.

Products & markets

Stocks and ETFs

Lightyear focuses on long-term investment products: stocks, ETFs, money market funds (MMFs), and EU/UK government bonds – a deliberately curated range rather than a sprawling multi-asset offering. The platform now provides access to 6,000+ instruments across 16 stock exchanges worldwide, with new instruments added every month based on customer requests. While the selection is more focused than at platforms like Interactive Brokers (which offers access to 150+ exchanges) or DEGIRO, Lightyear’s curated approach is well-suited to beginners and cost-conscious investors who want quality over quantity.

It’s noteworthy that Lightyear doesn’t diversify its product range to encompass other asset classes, such as mutual funds, bonds, or options, making it a bit inferior compared to other trading platforms available for UK and EU Investors.

Fractional shares

Lightyear lets you purchase fractions of US-listed and most EU-listed shares and ETFs, making it easier to start investing with very small amounts (from $/€/£1). Fractional ETF investing is particularly well-supported – almost all ETFs on the platform are available as fractional units – while only around half of individual shares support fractional trading. GBP-denominated UK stocks are currently not available as fractional shares, which is a notable limitation for UK investors building portfolios of UK-listed companies.

This accessibility is perfect for entry-level and first-time investors with smaller amounts to invest, allowing them to build diversified positions across multiple stocks and ETFs from very small contributions. Fractional shares within the UK Stocks & Shares ISA were enabled in early 2026, opening up the same fractional functionality to UK ISA investors.

Imagine you’re a beginner and want to invest in companies like Netflix, but their shares are quite expensive at around $1,200 each. No problem – with Lightyear’s fractional shares, you can invest with as little as $1, getting a fraction of a Netflix share in return. It’s a straightforward way for new investors to dip their toes into the market without needing a large sum of money, and it also makes regular monthly contributions practical (e.g., £100/month split across 5 different companies and ETFs).

A few caveats to keep in mind: when you buy fractional shares, you can only buy at the current market price (market orders only – you cannot set limit orders for future execution like with whole shares). Additionally, the same trading fees apply as with whole shares (commission-free on UK accounts since March 2026; standard fees on EU accounts). Voting rights are also typically not exercisable on fractional positions, although you remain entitled to proportional dividend payments.

Interest on uninvested cash

Since October 1st, 2025, Lightyear has stopped offering interest on uninvested cash in most countries where it operates.

Still, if you are a resident in Ireland, Hungary or the United Kingdom (UK), you continue to earn interest on your parked cash:

How it works?

You earn daily interest on any eligible uninvested cash from the day your deposit arrives in your Lightyear account.

The accumulated interest is paid into your account on the first business day of each month, and you can view all payments in the Lightyear app or your statements.

Funds reserved for orders or other purposes don’t earn interest, and no interest is paid if you close your account before the next payout date.

Money Market Funds (MMFs)

In 2023, Lightyear partnered with BlackRock – the world’s largest asset manager – to launch Money Market Funds (MMFs) on the platform. MMFs are AAA-rated funds that invest in highly liquid, short-term debt instruments, designed to maintain a stable net asset value of $/€/£1 per share while generating yield.

Lightyear offers three distributing Money Market Funds in USD, GBP, and EUR, with total expense ratios ranging from 0.09% to 0.20% (already netted from the displayed yield). There is no minimum investment threshold, making MMFs accessible to beginners and first-time investors who want to earn returns on cash balances while remaining in highly liquid, low-risk instruments.

The yields on these products vary with central bank policy. As of June 2026, the rates were approximately:

• EUR: ~1.91% AER (linked to ECB deposit facility rate);
• USD: ~3.66% AER (linked to US Federal Reserve target rate);
• GBP: ~3.77% AER (linked to Bank of England base rate).

These yields are subject to change as central banks adjust monetary policy. MMFs are also offered “wrapped” under the Savings Vaults product, which is the more user-friendly route for most investors. Important to note: this is an investment product, so capital is at risk (this is not the same as “interest on uninvested cash” at a bank). MMFs are not covered by deposit guarantee schemes (FSCS or equivalent), although the underlying investments are AAA-rated and highly diversified.

Any extra earnings from interest on the portfolio holdings are distributed to investors as monthly dividend payments. Lightyear customers will see daily returns accrued into their accounts, with the dividend deposited on the first day of each month.

Money Market Funds specialise in investing in highly liquid, short-term debt instruments (such as government treasury bills, certificates of deposit, and short-term corporate paper), prioritising capital preservation and liquidity. Unlike exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that trade actively on the stock exchange throughout the day, MMFs trade once a day (typically with same-day or next-day settlement). Lightyear aims to make this low-cost, straightforward investment option easily accessible to all investors, regardless of their level of investment experience.

Please be aware that Money Market Funds may not be accessible in all countries, as indicated in the disclaimer presented on Lightyear’s website. Additionally, while MMFs are widely regarded as among the lowest-risk investment products available, they are still investment products – meaning your capital is at risk and yields can fall (potentially to zero or even briefly below in extreme scenarios) if central banks reduce interest rates significantly.

Multi-Currency Account

At Lightyear, you can choose from four main currencies: GBP, EUR, USD, and HUF (only in Hungary). This feature enables you to avoid paying FX fees by holding the currency corresponding to the asset you’re purchasing.

However, if you fund your account with EUR, for example, and then purchase a UK stock, a 0.35% currency conversion fee will be applied.

Baltic bonds

Lightyear now offers access to Baltic bonds, a new addition that includes bonds from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, marking the first-ever availability of this asset class.

Baltic bonds are currently expanding, and you can now trade over 25 bonds issued by both companies and governments from these Baltic countries on Lightyear. You can explore Lightyear’s bond offerings and filter by the criteria that matter most to you.

In line with this expansion, Nasdaq Baltic announced on September 17, 2024, that Estonian government bonds were listed on the Nasdaq Baltic Bond List by Nasdaq Tallinn. The nominal value of each bond is EUR 100, with a yearly interest rate fixed at 3.3%, and the bonds will mature on September 16, 2026. The offering was oversubscribed by more than four times, with 2,000,000 bonds issued and a total demand of €821 million. You can read more about the Nasdaq Baltic announcement here.

Plans

In November 2025, Lightyear introduced a new feature called “Plans“, designed to simplify long-term, goal-oriented investing. With Plans, users can set specific investment goals – such as saving for a holiday, building a retirement fund, or growing a portfolio over time – and automate their contributions toward those goals across stocks and ETFs of their choice.

Key features of Plans:

• Customisable goal-based portfolios: create individual Plans for different financial objectives (e.g., “House deposit” or “Retirement”), each with its own asset allocation;
• Recurring auto-investments: set up automated buying from your Lightyear cash balance on a recurring schedule (weekly, monthly, etc.);
• Flexible adjustments: easily adjust targets, pause contributions, change assets, or skip a contribution without losing oversight of your overall portfolio;
• Multi-asset support: combine stocks and ETFs in a single Plan to build diversified portfolios systematically.

Regarding automation, please note that Lightyear currently does not support direct debit from your bank account for Plans. To automate contributions, you have two options:

1. Set up recurring auto-investments from your Lightyear cash balance (you’ll need to manually fund the cash balance via bank transfer or standing order);
2. Set up a standing order from your bank to your Lightyear account on a recurring schedule (setup details are available in the app).

The fully automated direct debit option is on Lightyear’s roadmap and is expected to be introduced in 2026. Note also that Money Market Funds are not currently supported within Plans, although they remain available through standalone Savings Vault investments. Plans complement Lightyear’s Lightyear AI features and the broader push toward making long-term, passive investing more accessible to UK and EU retail investors.

Cash and Stock & Shares ISA

For UK investors only, Lightyear offers a cash ISA and Stocks and Shares ISA. It works in the same way as a general investment account but with the tax advantages associated with these products. You have no account, custody or subscription fees. Plus, no withdrawal penalties.

Trading platforms

Lightyear offers both web and mobile platforms. You can access your investments through your computer or your mobile phone.

Web Trading Platform

Lightyear’s web trading platform is easy to use and has a well-designed interface. However, it offers only a one-step login and does not include price alerts. The Lightyear Web Trading Platform is still in its beta phase but has improved rapidly over the past few months.

On the left side, there’s a bar with three things: Portfolio, Watchlist, and Activity. In the Watchlist, you can keep tabs on the assets you’ve added. On the right side, there’s a list of the most watched assets on Lightyear and a calendar showing events related to your assets in the watchlist. Scrolling down, you’ll find Top Stories, where you can check out articles and videos about the finance world.

In the Activity section, you can find a statement of your transactions on the platform, as well as the details of each order. Your actions can be filtered by dates with various time frames, as well as by fiscal years.

The search bar in the top-right corner is quite intuitive, as you can filter by different assets, markets, features, composition (bonds to ETFs, for example), and popularity, which will show the most trending investment products on the platform.

When you select an asset to see  the details clearly, you come across the following screen:

In this screen, you can place an order for the selected asset. The orders available are Market and Limit – you can also set a recurrent order. However, a giant drawback is that more advanced order types, like stop-loss orders, are not offered, and there are no options for setting order time limits.

This screen provides all the details you need about the chosen asset. From market trends and analyst ratings to financial and earning performance, it’s got everything. Plus, there’s a section with key info about the company and news related to the asset and related topics.

Mobile Trading Platform

Lightyear’s mobile trading platform is user-friendly and well-designed, featuring an efficient search function and neatly organised asset groups. It’s available for both Android and iOS. One drawback compared to the web platform is that the mobile app is only available in English.

In the mobile app, you are prompted to choose a 4-digit PIN to secure your app. One notable feature of the mobile app is that it allows you to use biometric data (Face ID or fingerprint) to log in.

After setting the PIN, when you attempt to open the app, you will need to unlock it. Following that, you will see the explore bar:

In this section, you can find a search bar at the top along with essential information, such as the announcement “You’re earning interest.” This indicates that your uninvested cash is earning interest, and the percentage depends on the currency of your uninvested funds.

As you scroll down a bit, you’ll come across a section titled “Popular this week.” This section is further divided into Stocks and ETFs, serving as a collection of “Trending Assets” on the platform for the current week. Clicking on “View All” will provide you with a more comprehensive list featuring 30+ popular stocks/ETFs.

If you scroll further down in the Explore section, you will find all the assets on the platform divided into groups, categorised in a way that we find very intuitive. You can find stocks and ETFs categorised by region. Plus, there are interesting collections of assets, organised based on technical aspects such as daily movers, gainers, and losers, as well as social categories like female-led, clean energy, and more.

Still, in the Explore section, you’ll discover a really cool feature in the app called “investors,” related to social trading. Here, you can connect with your contacts and check out what they’re investing in. This is a great feature for those looking for an all-in-one app with lots of cool functions – it is especially interesting for first-time investors and those looking for social trading.

The Lightyear mobile app offers Market, Limit, and recurring orders, just like the web trading platform. Although it’s complete in providing all the web platform options, it’s essential to note that compared to competitors such as Interactive Brokers, Trading 212 and eToro, the order choices are somewhat limited. This could be a downside, especially for advanced investors seeking more diverse order options.

On the search bar, just like on the web version you can filter your search by different asset types, markets, features, composition (bonds to ETFs, for example), and by popularity.

Just like on the web platform, choosing an asset gives you lots of detailed information. This information is beginner-friendly and varies for each asset.

Safety

Lightyear operates under the regulations of both UK and Estonian authorities, providing dual jurisdictional oversight for its UK and EU client bases. Lightyear Europe AS (the EU entity) is directly regulated by the Estonian Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority (EFSA) under activity licence 4.1-1/31. Lightyear UK Ltd (the UK entity, company number 14367910 registered in England and Wales) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under firm reference number 987226. Both entities are subsidiaries of Lightyear Financial Ltd (the holding company).

In terms of safety, it’s crucial to consider two factors: how your investments are protected and the broker’s background and track record. Lightyear’s investor protections vary by client jurisdiction and the specific assets held:

• UK customers: covered up to £85,000 per person through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) for cash and non-US investments held via Lightyear UK Ltd;
• EU/EEA customers: covered up to €20,000 per person through the Estonian Investor Protection Sectoral Fund for cash and non-US investments held via Lightyear Europe AS;
• US securities (for all clients): protected up to $500,000 in securities (with a $250,000 cash sub-limit) by the US Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) through Lightyear’s US execution partner, Alpaca Securities LLC.

Please note that these protections cover broker insolvency or operational failure, not losses arising from poor investment performance or market declines. Additionally, Money Market Funds (the Savings Vaults product) are not covered by deposit guarantee schemes, as they are investment products rather than bank deposits – although the underlying BlackRock MMFs are AAA-rated and highly diversified across short-term debt instruments.

In terms of the broker’s background, Lightyear is a relatively young company founded in 2020 by ex-Wise (formerly TransferWise) co-founders Martin Sokk and Mihkel Aamer, which means it has a limited operating track record compared to established brokers like Interactive Brokers (founded 1978) or DEGIRO (founded 2013). The platform has not yet been tested through a major market downturn or financial crisis, which is something to consider when evaluating its resilience.

On the other hand, Lightyear has attracted credible backers – the company has raised funding from notable investors including Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Mosaic Ventures, with a total funding round of $25 million in 2022 (Series A) and additional capital raised since. Additionally, Lightyear’s status as a privately held company means it has fewer reporting obligations compared to publicly listed brokers, although it does undergo regulatory oversight from both the EFSA and the FCA.

Critically, customer assets – including securities and cash – are kept fully segregated from Lightyear’s own corporate funds. This segregation is a regulatory requirement under both EFSA and FCA rules and provides assurance that, even in the unlikely event of Lightyear facing bankruptcy or insolvency, clients should be able to recover their assets (subject to the investor protection schemes outlined above for any shortfalls).

Countries accepted

Lightyear is a UK/EU-based stockbroker and is available in 25 European Countries. The expansion of Lightyear in Europe was very fast, which can be indicative that the company has plans to expand worldwide in the future years. However, this is just pure speculation because there is no public plan for expansion.

You can find the complete list of countries available here!

Account opening

To open an account in Lightyear, you’ll need to download their app available for Android and iOS. While you can initiate the process on the web platform, it must be completed using the mobile app.

Signing up on the mobile app is a breeze and usually takes around 10-15 minutes. It’s a fully digital process, super easy to follow. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Download the app on your mobile phone.
2. Enter your phone number to receive a confirmation code.
3. Provide personal details such as your name, date of birth, and email address.
4. Include your address and nationality.
5. Provide tax details.
6. Provide information about your source of wealth.
7. Complete the verification by submitting your national ID and a selfie.

To confirm your identity and where you live, you might have to upload your national ID. Make sure it has the same name and address you used to sign up. If it’s a bill, statement, or rental agreement, it should be from the last 6 months. Here are the documents we accept as proof of address:

• Utility bill (like electricity, water, gas, telephone, or internet);
• Bank or credit card statement;
• Residence permit (if your address is on it);
• Signed rental agreement;
• Document from a trusted public authority (such as a municipality bill, social insurance statement, or local government registry extract)

Lightyear mentions that most people get confirmed in just a few minutes, but in some cases, it might take up to two business days.

Promo code

If you’re an investor in the UK or Ireland interested in opening a Lightyear account, simply follow this link. After signing up on the mobile app, like explained above, deposit €100 and enter the following promo code: INVESTINGINTHEWEB, you’ll get a free fractional share worth up to €100!

Capital at risk. T&C apply. You must be a new user and deposit at least €100. The reward can be withdrawn 6 months after it’s credited.

Customer support

Lightyear’s support can only be reached by email – there’s no phone or live chat support, and they’re unavailable 24/7. While they offer assistance through email, the response time can be inconsistent, with some queries taking several days to address.

On a positive note, Lightyear’s website features a helpful FAQ section, well-organized to provide answers to various questions.

However, the lack of phone and live chat support, coupled with limited availability, remains a downside, highlighting the need for improvement in offering more diverse and timely customer service options.

Bottom line

Lightyear is a user-friendly, low-cost stockbroker well-suited for beginners and cost-conscious investors building long-term portfolios. With zero minimum deposit, a 15-minute account opening, commission-free ETF trading, an industry-low 0.10% FX fee, and high interest on uninvested cash via AAA-rated BlackRock Money Market Funds, it’s one of the most compelling platforms for ETF and stock investors in the UK and EU.

UK customers benefit particularly from commission-free trading on US, EU, and UK stocks (across both GIA and Stocks & Shares ISA accounts since the March 2026 pricing reduction), plus FSCS protection up to £85,000.

The main limitations: no CFDs, options, futures, forex, or cryptocurrencies; no SIPP for UK retirement saving; limited fractional shares on GBP-denominated stocks; and a young operating history (founded 2020). Investors seeking derivatives, crypto, or a SIPP should consider Interactive Brokers, eToro, or Trading 212 instead.