Best Investing Apps (UK) Compared & Reviewed For 2026

Lightyear was voted best investing app in the 2026 Good Money Guide Awards and is a simple and approachable way to invest in stocks and ETFs without unnecessarily large fees. A very well-designed low-cost investing app with discounted FX charges, limit and recurring orders for investing in local and international markets.

Special Offer: Sign up with the code GOODMONEYGUIDE to get up to £100 in fractional share to your GIA. Capital at risk.

– – Terms apply: https://lightyear.com/en-gb/signup-promotion-terms. You must be a new user and deposit at least £100 within the first 15 days after signing up. The reward can be withdrawn 6 months after it’s credited.

Fees: Lightyear is cheap for investing. The GIA has no account fee and charges only £1 commission for UK trades and up to $1 for US stocks but free for trading ETFs. If you are investing in a stocks and shares ISA, there is no commission on buying and selling stocks and shares. Much like the founders’ alma mater, Lightyear makes its money from FX fees which it adds to the interbank rate, so conversion costs are transparent.

When I interviewed Martin Sokk, he told me Lightyear planned to expand internationally fast so that its users could invest in both their local and the US markets, since many people want to invest in US stocks.

And rightly so: US shares are all household names, and one of the key drivers for investing is to buy companies you love and use. Lightyear will make money charging 0.1% per trade  (or $1, whichever is bigger) and converting GBP, HUF & Euros, etc. into USD when people buy US stocks.

Lightyear charges 0.1% for converting money into USD and EUR, which is higher than Interactive Brokers’ 0.03% but much lower than the 0.5% charged by AJ Bell, Saxo Markets and IG, or the 1% from Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor.

FX must be a key part of Lightyear’s monetisation strategy: if you charge very low commission and account fees, you have to make money somehow. So Lightyear aims to make its money in the background, initially from foreign exchange fees. FX is a good way to make money because a) no-one really understands how the pricing works and b) you don’t see the charge, it’s built into the buy/sell spread.

You can see in the example below what the fees were when I bought some Tesla shares while testing the app for this Lightyear review.

Quite a nice touch is that you get the option of making purchases repeat orders, a great way to build good investing habits. Just by investing small amounts each month, the genius of compounding returns will help you build a larger portfolio over time. Check it out with our investing returns calculator.

Market Access: Lightyear constantly adds new instruments, bringing the total up to almost 6,500. These include well-known UK names such as Rolls-Royce, easyJet and IAG; to defence ETFs, US stocks. This is great because one of my concerns about new investing apps is that they normally just cater to the most heavily traded stocks, which means they are not great for more adventurous investors. It’s great to see Lightyear providing wider market access.

Plus, it’s proactive. Lightyear says it has put live 98% of non-complex US instruments asked for by customers in just 3 months.

One of the other really cool things about Lightyear is that you can listen to earnings calls directly on the app.

As well as being able to buy fractional US shares, ETFs though limit orders and regular investing, you can also quickly see which shares pay the highest dividends or make the most money relative to their share price to help you pick stocks.

Multicurrency account & order types

Another point to make here is that you also get a multi-currency account, where you can hold foreign currency. The advantage of this is that you don’t need to do as many FX conversions which can help keep costs down.

Related guide: Compare FX rates for buying US stocks from the UK.

Progression to servicing local customers and local markets

When Lightyear first started, you could only invest in a handful of UK stocks, and they were ADRs listed in the US denominated in USD, rather than the local listings on the LSE. So, you were paying an FX fee when you really shouldn’t have to. Admittedly, there is no stamp duty so technically paying 0.1% on FX rather than 0.5% to HMRC is cheaper.

Lightyear has a cash (money market fund) and investment ISA, but no SIPP account, but I suspect that is next on the “product roadmap”.

Are your investment safe with Lightyear?

Yes, it’s safe to invest with Lightyear. Lightyear U.K Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 987226). Lightyear is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). FSCS protection applies to client money only where held with banks, not where held in QMMFs.

In the unlikely event of anything happening to Lightyear, there’s no way for creditors to get hold of the investments or cash that customers hold with us.

Keep in mind, though, that your investments are not safe from losing money with Lightyear. Overall, the market generally goes up, but there are peaks and troughs along the way.

Like Transferwise, like Lightyear

To draw on one final Transferwise comparison, it is very easy to use app-as-a-tool to help you start investing as cheaply as possible. The thing is though is that, transferring money is like car insurance. No-one really has any loyalty to their insurer, they just do it and move on. Investing is different. Investing is not like insurance, when you open an investing account, you could be using it for the next 30 years.

I think there will always be a place for traditional investment platforms because they provide excellent customer service and brand loyalty, they are mature platforms for mature investors and fees will eventually come down, as they have done in the past. Same as with Simpsons Tavern, it may not be as good for you as veganism, but if it survives, people will continue to go because they like it.

But, if low-cost investing apps are a gateway to getting more people to invest for their future, then they are the future too and will hopefully mature along with their customers, and Lightyear, in particular, is a great place to get started.

The app is one of the best ways to invest on mobile, based on our analysis, as it has loads of research, screeners and market data. And as ii is regulated by the FCA and owned by ABRDN, an LSE-listed company currently worth more than £2.8bn, the ii app is one of the safest around.

Fees

It costs from £4.99 a month for a GIA with ii. With the basic plan, trading on UK and US stocks is £3.99. There are two plans above that which include free trades. If you upgrade to a Super Investor account (£19.99 a month) you get 2 free monthly trades. Regular investing is free.

If you want UK Level 2 share pricing, you can also add Quotestream for £20 + VAT per month.

Special Offers

Free investing for your friends and family. You can give up to five people a free investment account subscription with ii’s Friends and Family plan. You pay a single extra fee of £5 a month, and their monthly cost is zero. Each member can invest up to £30,000 in an ISA or a general investing account with free regular investing and no account fees. However, they’ll still pay normal dealing commissions when they buy and sell investments.

Get £200 when you refer a friend to ii. Recommend a friend or family member and get a £200 reward. Your friend will get their first year’s service plan for free – saving £120. To qualify, your friend must transfer or fund their account with at least £10,000 in combined cash/investments.

What is the App Like to Use?

Yes, Wealthify is an excellent app but it’s not as good as the web version, because it’s easier to explore the risk and performance tables and choose a portfolio on a bigger screen.

The Wealthify app used to be brilliant for beginner investors but since they upped the minimum deposit required to start investing, it’s not as accessible as it once was.

Fees: Wealthify’s app is free to download and once you start investing is fairly cheap for a managed robbo-advisor. It costs 0.6% to start investing with Wealthify, which is one of the cheapest robo-advisor account fees. There are also investment costs of, on average, 0.14% for original plans and 0.46% for ethical plans.

Market Access: You can only invest in two portfolios, but you can choose how much risk you want to take.

App & Platform: Very easy to use, and gives you lots of information if you want to dig deeper into your portfolios.

Wealthify app screenshots taken Feb 2026, past performance is no indication of future returns.

Customer Service: Excellent – good team and friendly support.

Research & Analysis: A bit here and there, but if you are a passive investor I doubt you’ll read any of it.

Yes, the Moneyfarm app connects to all your Moneyfarm accounts and lets you view your portfolio balance and performance while on the move. As Moneyfarm is a fairly passive investment account and not that complicated, you can also use the app for making deposits and choosing investment portfolios.

Fees

Moneyfarm investing account fees start at 0.75% for accounts between £500 and £50,000, then above £100,000 it costs 0.45% to 0.35%. Average investment fund fees are 0.2% and the average market spread when buying and selling is 0.10%.

What is the App Like to Use?

AJ Bell’s app is a good way of checking on your investments when out and about. But it’s a bit clunky compared to full-service brokers like Interactive Brokers or newer apps like CMC Invest. It’s not as good as the main website, as you don’t get the full screeners or research, plus I found it an absolute pain to log into – for some reason it seems to always wipe my login info.

Fees

AJ Bell charges 0.25% of the value of your investments for a GIA but share account fees are capped at £3.50 a month. Dealing costs are £1.50 for funds and £5 for shares but drop to £3.50 if you had 10 or more online share deals in the previous month.

Special Offers

Recommend a friend, and you’ll both get £100 gift vouchers. If you recommend a friend to AJ Bell and they invest more than £10,000 in a SIPP, ISA or LISA, you’ll each get an Amazon gift card worth £100.

Switch your share dealing account and receive up to £500 to cover exit fees. If you transfer your share dealing GIA valued at more than £20,000 to AJ Bell, it will help cover any exit fees charged by your current provider. AJ Bell will cover £35 per investment moved and up to £100 for general exit fees, up to an overall maximum of £500 per person.

Free subscription to Shares Magazine worth £220 a year. Get a free subscription to Shares by maintaining a balance of £4,000 or more across your AJ Bell investing accounts.

What is the App Like to Use?

Yes, HL’s investing app is one of the best and most secure apps for investing, as the company is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Hargreaves Lansdown is one of the most popular investing apps in the UK. For instance, did you know that at its peak, the app and website were used every 9.6 seconds to top up an HL Stocks & Shares ISA.

Fees: There is no account charge for shares in a general account with HL. Funds are charged at 0.45% for the first £250,000. There is no charge for buying funds, but shares are charged at a relatively high £11.95 per deal or £5.95 if you do over 20 deals per month.

Hargreaves Lansdown has recently improved it’s app and now allows users to open several products directly. The HL app now allows clients to open its ISA, LISA and Fund & Share accounts through the app, with more products to become accessible shortly.

In a LinkedIn post revealing the update, Hargreaves Lansdown product leader Michael Loberman said it came as part of the company’s “wider efforts to transform our app and web experience”.

He added: “Keep an eye out for further changes in the coming months. Exciting times ahead!”

In its latest quarterly trading update in November, Hargreaves Lansdown reported client numbers grew by 18,000 in the second financial quarter, up from 8,000 in Q1. 

The growth was attributed to new clients setting up SIPP, ISA and Active Savings accounts.

The firm also revealed its clients had been switching their investments to cash in that update. Client cash balances rose to £12.7 billion during the three months to the end of September, up from £12.4 billion.

The £300 million shift towards cash was driven by net selling of investments by clients in September on fears the government’s annual Budget could include a tax raid, which largely failed to materialise.

Earlier in November, Hargreaves Lansdown launched its Global Income fund on the platform, bringing another easy-to-use portfolio building tool to do-it-yourself investors.

The new Global Equity Income fund invests in a portfolio of dividend-paying companies around the world favoured by selected expert managers. 

In February the firm teamed up with rival platform Interactive Investor to open up the UK Gilt-edged or government bond auctions to retail traders through a partnership with market marker Winterflood Securities.

The group’s revenue rose to £196.5 million in the second quarter of this financial year from £183.8 million in the previous three months, driven by increased dealing volumes and higher assets under administration levels.

What is the App Like to Use?

AJ Bell Dodl is a great way for the next generation of investors to invest with a “low-cost, little effort” app which focuses on making investing easy. Which it does well, Dodl is very user-friendly, has great educational content and is one of the cheapest ways to start investing.

• Investments: Shares & ETFs
• Minimum deposit: £0
• Account types: GIA, ISA
• Account charge: £0 – £10 per month
• Dealing fee: £0

Fees: General investment accounts are commission and fee free. ISA accounts cost £10 a month and are included in the Plus plan. For US shares there is a 0.5% conversion fee.

App: CMC Invest’s app gives you access to major stocks, and has a screener to help search for potential investments.

IBKR also has two other apps, which are both good – IBKR Mobile for experienced traders and IMPACT for ethical investors.

Special Offer

$200 when you refer a friend to Interactive Brokers. IBKR clients can earn $200 for each qualified referral while giving their friend the opportunity to earn up to $1,000 of IBKR stock.

What is the App Like to Use?

Yes, Freetrade is a great investing app for those with a small amount of money who want a very low-cost way to start investing in UK and US shares and ETFs. As your portfolio grows you can upgrade for better execution and data. It’s most suited to medium and long-term investing.

Freetrade is one of the original and biggest commission-free investing apps in the UK. It now offers, GIAs, ISAs and SIPPs to over 1.5 million UK & European investors. It is possible to have a free account with end-of-day orders and limited stock data. Or you can upgrade to either a “standard” or “Plus” account for tax-efficient accounts, web access, reduced FX charges and most stock data.

Freetrade also won “Best Investing App” in the 2025 Good Money Guide Awards.

Freetrade offers a ‘freemium’ share dealing service and it’s mission is to get everyone investing by making it simpler and more affordable.

Founded in 2016, Freetrade launched its iOS app in the UK in October 2018, and since then it has grown at an impressive pace.

Freetrade’s popularity stems from two key features: commission-free trading for shares and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and the ability to buy fractional US shares. These features have made investing more accessible and cost-effective, especially for beginners.

It’s worth noting that Freetrade won the 2021 Good Money Guide award for ‘Best Commission-Free Stockbroker’. It also won the 2019 Good Money Guide ‘People’s Choice’ award.

Pricing: 

With Freetrade you can buy stocks with zero commissions.

However, if you’re buying US or European stocks, you’ll need to pay foreign exchange (FX) fees. These fees vary depending on the ongoing plan you choose.

There are three options when it comes to plans. These are:

Freetrade Basic – Free

Freetrade Standard – £4.99 per month billed annually or £5.99 per month billed monthly

Freetrade Plus – £9.99 per month billed annually or £11.99 per month billed monthly

As for how Freetrade’s fees compare to other platforms, they are pretty competitive. But there are lots of variables to consider here including the type of plan you have, the type of stocks you invest in (i.e. UK vs US stocks), and how many trades you make per month.

If you just wanted to buy a few blue-chip UK shares within a General Investment Account, you could potentially pay no fees at all (you would have to pay Stamp Duty on trades).

However, if you wanted to buy and hold UK shares in a stocks and shares ISA, you would be looking at annual charges of at least £59.88.

That’s not particularly high but it can be beaten. AJ Bell, for example, offers an annual charge of 0.25% for ISAs and this is capped at just £42 per year (this doesn’t include any trades).

Market Access: In terms of accounts, Freetrade offers three options, a General Investment Account, a Stocks and Shares ISA and a  SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension). But, to open a stocks and shares ISA or SIPP you need to sign up for a premium plan.

– Special Offer: Deposit £1 & receive a free fractional share worth up to £100. Capital at risk. Sponsored link. T&Cs apply. 

– Cash ISA Bonus Rate: 4.61%. 3.6% variable + 1yr 1.01% bonus. Sponsored link. T&Cs apply. 

Trading 212 offers access to a broad range of stocks and ETFs across 16 exchanges. In total, there are over 13,000 stocks and ETFs available on the platform. 

Additionally, it offers access to a range of features that many traditional investment platforms don’t offer such as:

• Commission-free trading 
• Fractional shares (you can buy fractions of shares) 
• 24/5 trading 
• Investment pies: A pie is a diversified portfolio that invests automatically for you but note, this is an execution only service meaning the management is down to you ● A debit card with no FX fees, issued by Paynetics 

What accounts are available on Trading 212? 

Trading 212 currently offers a range of investment accounts including a regular investment account, a Stocks ISA, a Cash ISA, and a SIPP. We look at some of these accounts in more detail below. 

Stocks ISA 

With Trading 212’s Stocks ISA, you can invest in a broad range of stocks and ETFs commission-free, although other fees may apply. You can deposit up to £20,000 per year and there is no tax payable on investment gains or income but note, tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and regulations which may change. 

Benefits of this account include: 

• Access to 13,000 stocks and ETFs 
• No account fees 
• The ability to earn interest on your cash 
• Low FX fees when trading international shares (0.15%) 
• Access to ready-made portfolios 
• Fractional shares 

Overall, the Trading 212 Stocks ISA is a solid offering. It could be a good option for those looking to trade stocks and ETFs with no commissions. 

Cash ISA 

The Trading 212 Cash ISA offers a simple way to save money. You can deposit up to £20,000 per year and withdraw your money at any time.

Benefits of this account include: 

• Attractive interest rates (3.6%* AER at the time of this review) 
• Interest paid monthly 
• No minimums 
• No account fees 
• FSCS protection up to £120,000 

This ISA could be well suited to those who want a Cash ISA on the same platform as their investments. It may be possible to find higher interest rates elsewhere, however. 

SIPP 

Trading 212’s SIPP is a pension account. With this product, you can deposit up to £60,000 every year, however, you cannot access the money until age 55 (57 from 2028). Trading 212’s SIPP is operated and administered by Platform One. 

Benefits of this account include: 

• Tax-relief is provided on top of your deposits 
• No tax on investment gains or income 
• Access to 13,000 stocks and ETFs 
• Commission-free trading 
• Low FX fees (0.15%) 
• No account fees 
• Fractional shares 
• Access to ready-made portfolios 

Overall, this is a solid pension offering. There’s access to many investments and fees are very low. 

Market access 

Trading 212 offers access to UK stocks, international stocks, ETFs, investment trusts, and more. In total, there are over 13,000 global stocks and ETFs available on the platform which for most investors, is going to be more than enough options.

Those in the UK can also access CFDs. With CFDs, it’s possible to trade indices, commodities, forex, and stocks. 

Where the platform falls short against traditional platforms, however, is mutual funds. Regular mutual funds are not available – only ETFs and investment trusts. 

One other thing to point out is that the company executes through Interactive Brokers. It can take time to fill orders on small UK stocks. 

What are Trading 212’s fees 

Trading 212’s fees are very competitive. Here’s a snapshot of its fee structure: 

• Trading commissions – free 
• Custody fee – free 
• FX fees – 0.15% 
• Deposits via bank transfers – free 
• Deposits via cards, Apple Pay, or Google Pay – free below £2,000 then 0.7% ● Withdrawals – free 

Note when buying UK shares, you still have to pay Stamp Duty. This is 0.5% of the transaction value. 

How does Trading 212 make money? 

Trading 212 offers commission-free trading and also charges no custody fees. So, how does it make money? 

Well, one source of revenue is CFDs – here it makes money from the spread, which is the difference between the buy and sell price of a CFD. Another source of revenue is interest on uninvested cash. 

Who is Trading 212 regulated by and is it safe? 

In the UK, Trading 212 is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In the unlikely event of a default, FSCS compensation is up to £120,000. 

With Trading 212, your cash is held at some of the world’s largest banks where it is ring-fenced. This means that it is held separately to the firm’s money.

As for shares, Trading 212 works with The Bank of New York Mellon and IBKR to safeguard your assets. Here, shares are ring-fenced and completely segregated from the company’s assets. 

So overall, the platform operates within safeguarding requirements. There are obviously risks that come with investing on the platform, however, especially if trading CFDs. App and platform 

Trading 212 offers desktop access and an app. The app, which has a 4.7 rating in Apple’s App Store – tends to be more popular with customers. 

Through the app, you can trade stocks and ETFs, check your account balances, analyse your portfolio and asset allocation, and research individual companies and ETFs. The interface is clean and suitable for both beginners and advanced investors. 

One issue to be aware of, however, is that the company is constantly tweaking the app and desktop interfaces. Some users find this frustrating. 

Added value and research 

Trading 212 offers more investing information than a lot of other low-cost platforms. On its ‘Learn’ page, there are many educational articles. 

That said, some topics are not explained that well. As a result, beginner investors could end up a little confused. 

One handy feature on the platform is the Trading 212 Hotlist. This shows the most popular stocks among its customers. 

On the downside, there doesn’t seem to be any investment research on the platform. The only source of investment ideas is the Hotlist. 

Customer service 

You can contact Trading 212 24/7 via the ‘contact us’ function in the app. This connects you with the T212 chat assistant who can connect you with an agent from the customer care team on chat.

It should be noted, however, that some users have complained about poor customer service. One common theme is withdrawals, these seem to be an issue for many users.

Please note, when investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.