- Experts rate Hargreaves Lansdown highly, noting its extensive range of investment options and accounts, alongside exceptional customer service and research capabilities. However, they point out that there are cheaper alternatives for fund investing and mention a lack of advanced portfolio hedging tools as a limitation.
- Across 1775 user reviews on Good Money Guide, averaging 3.8/5, users frequently highlight the platform’s ease of use and excellent customer service, particularly praising the intuitive app and responsive support. However, some users express dissatisfaction with high fees and the complexity of the website, while others report negative experiences related to account management and verification processes.
Customer Reviews
Good
Good
5/5
Cheaper SIPP Fees than some
Cheaper SIPP Fees than some
Good
Good
Helpful customer service. Reasonable charges
Helpful customer service. Reasonable charges
best for junior isa
best for junior isa
Comprehensive and proactive
Comprehensive and proactive
Reliable, but some restrictions on…
Reliable, but some restrictions on more complex financial products
I wish they would adopt…
I wish they would adopt the usually accepted method of conducting financial information. I have had, several times, had to seek out an explanation for transctions instead of them being understandable “at a glance”. Otherwise, HL are OK.
OK, don’t have a lot…
OK, don’t have a lot with them, not keen on their website.
Great LISA and savings provider
Great LISA and savings provider
Good for trading account in…
Good for trading account in stocks and shares, less so for trading in unit trusts and in an isa.
Reliable great service and established….
Reliable great service and established. A platform you can trust
4/5
Good website but expensive
Good website but expensive
fine
fine
Good but fees are far…
Good but fees are far too high.
Solid, low cost provider.
Solid, low cost provider.
Opaque, not user friendly, hard…
Opaque, not user friendly, hard to understand reports
NA
NA
Expert Review & Rating
Hargreaves Lansdown Review: The Waitrose of the investing world
Provider: Hargreaves Lansdown
Verdict: Founded in 1981 Hargreaves Lansdown is one of the largest investment platforms in the UK. They offer investing, savings, ISAs and SIPP account to over 1.8 million clients with 142bn in assets under management.
Is Hargreaves Lansdown a good broker?
Yes, Hargreaves Lansdown is one of our best-rated stock brokers and investment platforms. HL offers access to a huge range of investment types, through a wide range of general and tax-efficient accounts and is suitable for almost all types of investors.
I always think of Hargreaves Lansdown as the Waitrose of the investing world. Yes, it may be a bit pricier sometimes, but I think it’s just a nicer, safer place to shop for stocks.
Pros
- Wide range of investments and accounts
- Top-notch customer service
- Excellent research and analysis
Cons
- There are cheaper options for fund investing
- Limited portfolio hedging tools
-
Pricing
(4.5)
-
Market Access
(5)
-
Online Platform
(5)
-
Customer Service
(5)
-
Research & Analysis
(5)
Overall
4.9Leave A Review
Tell us what you think of this provider.
Hargreaves Lansdown FAQs
Yes, we rate Hargreaves Lansdown as one of the safest share dealing accounts in the UK because they are well established and regulated by the FCA. Hargreaves Lansdown is also a profitable company with millions of private and corporate customers.
As an FCA-regulated stock broker, if Hargreaves Lansdown were to go bust, client cash on account would be protected by the FSCS scheme. Client investments are held in nominee accounts on CREST and can be transferred to another FCA-regulated investment platform.
Yes, Hargreaves Lansdown is considered one of the more expensive trading apps, as they charge a commission per share deal as opposed to commission-free investing apps like Freetrade, CMC Invest or Dodl, where it is free. Hargreaves Lansdown is also very expensive for holding funds on account as there is no cap on their fund account charge. Whereas, AJ Bell fund fees are capped and Interactive Investor charges a flat monthly subscription.
Hargreaves Lansdown was bought for £5.4 billion in 2024 and is now privately owned by Harp Bidco Limited, following its acquisition and delisting from the London Stock Exchange in March 2025. Harp Bidco is indirectly owned by a consortium comprising CVC Private Equity Funds, Nordic Capital and Platinum Ivy, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).
Yes, Hargreaves Lansdown offers access to a huge range of UK-listed Government and corporate bonds that you can invest in to build an income-generating portfolio. We actually used Hargreaves Lansdown to demonstrate buying Retail Charity bonds when we reviewed them.
No, you cannot buy commodities directly on Hargreaves Lansdown directly, to do that you need a commodities broker. But, you can invest in commodities on HL through a commodity ETF which is listed on the stock exchange like the Legal & General Longer Dated All commodities UCITS ETF (CMFP).
No, you cannot buy fractional shares on Hargreaves Lansdown, you can only buy whole shares, ETFs and units of funds. If you want to invest in small slices of company shares or want to invest in monetary amounts rather than shares you can compare the best brokers for fractional shares investing here.
No, you cannot trade options on Hargreaves Lansdown. I view this as quite a significant disadvantage because options are a great way to hedge your long-term investment portfolio against potential short-term stock market falls. If you want to trade or invest with options you can compare the best options brokers here.
No, you cannot buy or invest in gold directly on Hargreaves Lansdown, to do that you need a gold trading platform. But, you can get exposure to gold and invest in a gold ETF that tracks the price of the gold and can be bought and sold on the Hargreaves Lansdown platform just like shares for example, SPDR Gold Trust, iShares Gold Trust or Aberdeen Standard Physical Gold Shares ETF.
No, you cannot short stocks or go short on the Hargreaves Lansdown platform. But if you think that the Hargreaves Lansdown share price will go down it is possible to short Hargreaves Lansdown shares with a short-selling broker using CFDs, options or financial spread betting. However, if you want to go short the overall stock market to hedge your portfolio held at Hargreaves Lansdown you can buy an inverse ETF (which goes up when the market goes down) like
No, you cannot buy cryptocurrency directly on Hargreaves Lansdown. However, HL have recently listed a few cryptocurrency ETNs, that allow you to buy baskets of different digital assets managed by professional fund managers.
Read our full HL crypto review here.
Capital at risk
Richard is the founder of the Good Money Guide (formerly Good Broker Guide), one of the original investment comparison sites established in 2015. With a career spanning two decades as a broker, he brings extensive expertise and knowledge to the financial landscape.
Having worked as a broker at Investors Intelligence and a multi-asset derivatives broker at MF Global (Man Financial), Richard has acquired substantial experience in the industry. His career began as a private client stockbroker at Walker Crips and Phillip Securities (now King and Shaxson), following internships on the NYMEX oil trading floor in New York and London IPE in 2001 and 2000.
Richard’s contributions and expertise have been recognized by respected publications such as The Sunday Times, BusinessInsider, Yahoo Finance, BusinessNews.org.uk, Master Investor, Wealth Briefing, iNews, and The FT, among many others.
Under Richard’s leadership, the Good Money Guide has evolved into a valuable destination for comprehensive information and expert guidance, specialising in trading, investment, and currency exchange. His commitment to delivering high-quality insights has solidified the Good Money Guide’s standing as a well-respected resource for both customers and industry colleagues.
