Freetrade Reviews: Best Investing App 2025

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Freetrade has shaken up the UK retail investment market in recent years. Offering zero commissions on share trades, it has been stealing market share from legacy investment platforms with lower costs and better app functionality.
Richard Berry
Richard Berry
Good Money Guide Founder

Freetrade Customer Reviews

4.6

1,336 Good Money Guide users have given this provider a review rating of 4.6 out of 5 based on their genuine experience.

Excellent76%
Very good13%
Average7%
Poor3%
Terrible1%

Tell us what you think of this provider.

Efficient and cost effective

17th October 2024

Their App is brilliant and so as web application for experience Investor. They are good for beginners and experience Investors equally. Their Forex charges are the lowest among peers.This is very important factor if you want to deal in US and Europe shares. When you have bigger portfolio,these cost plays big part in outperformance of your money in longer terms. CS is brilliant.

Bhav

Excellent

27th June 2024

Excellent

Tamara Ricketts

limited range of ‘free’ products

26th June 2024

limited range of ‘free’ products

Paul Wheeler

Its a good platform, easy…

24th June 2024

Its a good platform, easy to access and trade on.

Justine Brophy

Easy to use

22nd June 2024

Easy to use

Lorenzo Dardi

Excellent for low cost trading.

21st June 2024

Excellent for low cost trading.

Andrew Barber

Simple, easy and cheap

20th June 2024

Simple, easy and cheap

Ben Lambert

Great for easy trades

20th June 2024

Great for easy trades

Chris Davies

Good start as a beginner

20th June 2024

Good start as a beginner

Neill Taylor

user friendly

20th June 2024

user friendly

Mara Blakemore

Freetrade Expert Review

Freetrade Review: Best Investing App 2025
Best Investing App 2025

Name: Freetrade

Description: Freetrade is one of the original and biggest commission free investing apps in the UK. It now offers, GIAs, ISAs and SIPPs to over 1.5million UK & European investors. It is possible can 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.

Is Freetrade a good investing app?

In my view, 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 also won “Best Investing App” in the 2025 Good Money Guide Awards.

Freetrade offers a β€˜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 β€˜Best Commission-Free Stockbroker’. It also won the 2019 Good Money Guide β€˜People’s Choice’ award.

Pricing:Β 

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 – Β£4.99 per month billed annually or Β£5.99 per month billed monthly

Freetrade Plus – Β£9.99 per month billed annually or Β£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 Β£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 Β£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 Β SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension). But, to open a stocks and shares ISA or SIPP you need to sign up for a premium plan.

Pros

  • Zero commission
  • No fees for a basic account
  • Fractional shares
  • UK Treasury Bills

Cons

  • App only on the basic plan (no desktop)
  • 0.99% FX fee for the basic account
  • Relatively early stage company
  • Pricing
    (5)
  • Market Access
    (4)
  • Online Platform
    (4)
  • Customer Service
    (4)
  • Research & Analysis
    (3.5)
Overall
4.1

Freetrade Facts & Figures

⬜ Public Company❌
πŸ‘‰ Number Active Clients1,600,000
πŸ’° Minimum DepositΒ£1
πŸ’Έ Client Fundsn/a
πŸ“… Founded2018
Account Costs
Investment Account
Β£0
SIPP
Β£11.99 per month
Stocks & Shares ISA
Β£5.99 per month
Junior ISA
❌
Lifetime ISA❌
Dealing Costs
UK Shares
Β£0
US StocksΒ£0 + 0.99% FX (basic)
ETFs
Β£0
Bonds
❌
Funds❌

Freetrade News

Freetrade Interest On Uninvested Cash

Freetrade Plus Accounts Can Earn Up To 5% Interest On Uninvested Cash

Commission-free share trading and investing app Freetrade’s new cash investment facility which offers easy access and attractive interest rates now pay up to 5% for Plus account holders. This is 0.5% more than the 4.5% current Bank of England Interest Rates. However, there are limitations: The high rate of interest only applies up to Β£4,000

Read More Β»
Fractional Shares

Can you buy fractional shares on Freetrade​?

Yes, you can buy Fractional shares on Freetrade. With fractional shares, you can buy a fraction of one US stock. So, for example, you could buy one quarter of a share in Amazon. This can be handy if you want to buy a stock that has a high share price. For instance, if a stock

Read More Β»
Safe Investments

Is Freetrade Safe?

Yes, you can consider Freetrade to be trustworthy. Freetrade is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. Meanwhile, all Freetrade accounts are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), especially now they are owned by IG. I’ve been following Freetrade since its inception and test out the app every

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Pros and cons of short selling

Can you short on Freetrade​?

No, you cannot short stocks on Freetrade, but you can still earn money from other people going short as the commission-free share trading platform has a share lending for its customers. Freetrade’s share lending program allows its users to lend out their eligible shares held in either a GIA, a general investment account, or SIPP,

Read More Β»
Are UK Government Bonds Gilts a Good Investment

Freetrade launches Gilt investing in 9 UK Government bonds

You can now buy Gilts on Freetrade, the investing app recently acquired by established stock broker IG. The great thing about adding gilts to a portfolio is that they are much lower risk than dealing in shares, and they are income-paying bonds backed by the UK government. Freetrade also launched UK Treasury bill investing, which

Read More Β»
Adam-Dodds-Freetrade-CEO-Interview

Investing in UK Treasury Bills on Freetrade with Adam Dodds, CEO

Freetrade has just launched UK Treasury Bills for their customers, which have previously only been available to UK investors in minimum order sizes of Β£500,000. So, I have a chat with Adam Dodds, the Freetrade CEO, about how to invest in UK Treasury Bills on Freetrade and how investors can benefit from them. With Freetrade

Read More Β»

Freetrade to start lending out customer shares to increase revenue

Commission-free share dealing platform, Freetrade, is venturing into the world of stock lending, a move that it says will help to support its low-cost trading and investing operations. Freetrade prepares the ground for a move into stock lending Freetrade has written to its customers introducing new terms and conditions which include a section notifying clients

Read More Β»

Freetrade ticked off for Tiktok…

Freetrade, one of the fast-growing commission-free stock brokers claims to change the way we trade stocks and shares has been sanctioned by the FCA and is banned from social media promotions. Freetrade social media ban Freetrade has received a supervisory notice from the UK regulator which showed that Freetrade had been contacted by the FCA

Read More Β»

Freetrade FAQ

Overall, Freetrade is a good platform that offers a broad selection of investments and very competitive fees and charges. But it’s not perfect. And it’s not going to be the right platform for everybody. As always, the best platform for you will depend on factors such as the size of your portfolio, the investments you like to own, and the extra features you are looking for.

Freetrade is an independent, privately-owned company.

No. While Freetrade offers zero commissions on trades, you still need to pay Stamp Duty, FX fees, and annual charges (if you choose a premium plan).

When you buy UK stocks with Freetrade, the company deducts Stamp Duty at a rate of 0.5%. This does not apply to investment trusts or shares listed on AIM.

The minimum investment with Freetrade is currently Β£2.

Yes, it does. But you can only access this with a β€˜Plus’ account.

There is always investment risk when you buy shares or ETFs. So, if you trade through Freetrade, it’s possible that you could lose money. However, the platform itself should be regarded as safe. It is regulated by the FCA, and accounts are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

With Freetrade, customer assets are held in ring-fenced accounts. So, if the company goes bust, your assets will be returned to you or transferred to another broker. If you hold cash with Freetrade, you will be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to Β£85,000.

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