IBKR's GIA is its “universal account” that lets you invest in all asset classes via shares, CFDs, futures, options or funds.

The account is excellent for sophisticated investors who want to manage their own portfolios with complex order types. It's ideal for active investors who need access to a wider range of investment products like derivatives, options, and futures. IBKR is also one of the cheapest investment platforms across all asset classes, as it was built on offering electronic discount brokerage.

Fees

There is no account charge for general investment accounts at IBKR. When you buy and sell shares minimum dealing commissions are £1 in the UK or 0.05% of the deal size.

Special Offers

IBKR clients can earn $200 for each qualified referral while giving their friend the opportunity to earn up to $1000 of IBKR stock.

What is IBKR's Platform Like to Use?

The investment platform is a slimmed-down version of its exceptional desktop trader station. For investing it gives you a good overview of shares and funds.

Yes, ii’s GIA won our award for best general investment account in 2023 and 2022. This is because of its excellent fixed-fee pricing, which makes it a good choice for investors with over £10,000 to invest. ii's fixed fee keeps your total account costs low no matter how big your portfolio gets. You can also invest in markets ranging from UK and international shares to funds, trusts, bonds and ETFs.

Fees

A GIA with ii costs from £5.99 a month if you have less than £100,000 in your portfolio on their core plan, above that the monthly cost rises to £14.99 on the ii plus plan.

Included in both are a free stocks and shares ISA account and SIPP (for pension investing). Individual share deals are £3.99 per trade. It's a little cheaper to buy funds on the Plus plan at £1.49 per fund buy or sell.

If you are buying international shares, it's quite expensive compared to other providers like IG or Freetrade, who generally offer international share dealing for free. Especially when you take into account that FX fees for converting GBP to USD are 0.75%.

Is ii's GIA Better than its ISA?

The GIA is better if you have lots of money to invest as the maximum you can put in an ISA tax-free each year is £20,000, so anything above that you should invest in a GIA. However, if you have less than £20,000 to invest each year, the ii ISA is a better option as your profits will be tax-free.

What is ii's Platform Like to Use?

ii’s platform is very easy to use and it gives lots of market data on potential investments.

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.

Yes, Moneyfarm is more of a digital wealth manager rather than a robo-advisor as the portfolios are put together by investment managers, rather than automatically. The automation, as it were, is fine-tuning your portfolio to match your risk/reward choices. Unlike with other robo-advisors, with Moneyfarm you can also top up your portfolio with individual shares and ETFs.

Fees: Moneyfarm charges 0.75% to 0.6% up to £100k then 0.45% to 0.35% over £100k. Moneyfarm investing account fees are scaled between 0.75% for accounts between £500 and £50,000, then above £100k are 0.45% to 0.35%. Average investment fund fees are 0.2% and the average market spread when buying and selling is 0.10%.

Market Access: You can invest in 7 pre-made portfolios, but also (unlike a lot of other digital wealth managers and robo-adviors) also buy individual shares, ETFs, bonds and mutual funds online. It's a bit of a shame you can't buy US stocks, But Moneyfarm is best really for setting up regular investments in a GIA, ISA or SIPP, then letting them grow over time without too much tinkering and speculating on Tech stocks.

App & Platform: It's really easy to use, plus it puts you through your paces to make sure you understand what you are investing in. Apparently, my Moneyfarm investor profile is "pioneering", which means I want to take on more risk for potentially better returns.

Customer Service: This is mostly online as you'd expect but solves all issues - I've had some good calls with Moneyfarm about how its products work over the years, and its people really know their stuff. If you want to find out more about the ethos, you can read my interview with the CEO Giovanni Daprà on how they are so much more than a robo-advisor.

Research & Analysis: Not much to speak of other than a few guides, but that's ok, as I don't really want Moneyfarm spamming me with stock trading ideas.

Yes, AJ Bell’s GIA is one of the safest and cheapest ways to invest - outside your tax-free allowances in SIPPs & ISAs - for longer-term investors in the UK.

AJ Bell won our award for Best Investing Account 2024 due to its excellent market access, low costs and customer service scores in our annual survey.

Fees: AJ Bell charges 0.25% of the value of your investments for a general investment account, 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 where there were 10 or more online share deals in the previous month. AS of May 2026, there is no commission charged for recurring investments.

Market Access: AJ Bell’s GIA is most suited to investors who want the cheapest overall investment platform for starting to grow a small investment portfolio. It offers share dealing in over 24 stock markets, bonds, ETFs and over 4,000 funds (of which around 400 are investment trusts), including a range of the company’s own funds that have been created in-house so you can invest by how much risk you want to take, or by theme or region.

App & Platform: Both apps and web version are really simple to use, no complaints.

Customer Service: Top notch, you can actually phone someone up to ask a question.

Research & Analysis: As well as being a super easy platform for beginners AJ Bell is also a serious platform for serious investors and this in reflected in the quality of their research. There are some really in-depth reports on funds and shares, plus you get a free subscription to Shares Magazine worth £220 a year by maintaining a balance of £4,000 or more across your AJ Bell investing accounts.

What is AJ Bell's Platform Like to Use?

AJ Bell’s investment platform is functional and well laid out. Key share and fund information is available to view at the time of execution.

HL is good for investors looking for more than just somewhere to buy and sell shares. The platform offers the most account types of all the investment platforms we compare, including a GIA, stocks and shares ISAs, lifetime ISAs, and junior ISAs. Plus, it has one of the best research portals to help you choose your own investments. And it boasts some of the widest market coverage, including thousands of UK and international shares, over 3,000 funds, ETFs, investment trusts, and corporate bonds.

Fees

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

Is HL's GIA Better than its ISA?

It makes sense to open a GIA only after you have exhausted your ISA allowance. With the GIA from HL, you can invest as much as you like but with an ISA you're limited to £20,000 a year in the tax-free wrapper.

What is HL's Platform Like to Use?

HL's investment platform is one of the best around. HL provides a huge amount of technical and fundamental data to help you choose investments.

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.

If you are just starting out investing, then CMC Invest is a good general investment account (GIA) for some longer-term investments. But, if you are an established and experienced CMC Markets customer you may find the CMC Invest offering too basic. Better options for sophisticated investors would be Saxo, or Interactive Brokers.

Investments: Shares & ETFs

Minimum deposit: £0

Account types: GIA, ISA

Account charge: £0 – £10.99 per month (Premium previously £25 a month)

Dealing fee: £0

Fees: General investment accounts are commission and fee free. ISA accounts cost from £6.99 a month and are included in the Plus plan. For US shares there is a conversion fee of 0.39%-0.99% depending on your account.

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

Pricing: It costs 0.6% to start investing with Wealthify, which is one of the cheapest robo-advisor GIA fees. There are also investment costs of, on average, 0.14% for original plans and 0.46% for ethical plans.

Market Access: You can't buy individual shares or ETFs with a Wealthify GIA, so it's great for people that just want a basic fund to invest in on a regular basis. You can choose from the original or ethical plans and then set how much risk you want to take.

Basically the more risk you take the more stocks (instead of bonds are allocated to your portfolio). It's a bit annoying that you can't see easy what each plan contains, but there are fact sheet details tucked away in the FAQs. But essentially, if you want better returns and are prepared to take on more risk it's about 75% stocks in the adventurious original plan. If you are a cautious investors about 80% of your money is in money market funds (income generating investments) and cash. You can see the breakdown of the portfolios below as of 25/2/26.

App & Platform: Very easy to use on both app and desktop. Wealthify’s investment platform lets you fine-tune your portfolio based on risk, and shows you good visuals of what it may be worth in the future. The user interface is slick, offering you options for setting investment amounts, monthly investment amount and your investment style.

Customer Service: Great customer service from real people based in Wales.

Research & Analysis: Not really much analysis from Wealthify, but then again if you are a set-and-forget investor you don't really need it as the investment team at Wealthify regularly update the plans and portfolios to ensure they are balanced and risk-appropriate. There are some quite funny YouTube videos that explain the market, and the odd instagram post with market updates.

Is your money safe with Wealthify? Yes, as with all general investment accounts are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), if Wealthify were to go bust, your funds would be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to £85,000.

However, your money is not safe from the plans going down, with investing there is always a risk, but without risk there is no reward.

- Special Offer: Deposit £1 & receive a free fractional share worth up to £100. Capital at risk. Refer a friend/sponsored link. T&Cs apply. 

- Cash ISA Bonus Rate: Currently 3.6% variable + 1yr 1.41% bonus (new customers only). 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.