In this review, we take a look at Saxo and explore if it is a good investing platform for beginners and advanced investors.
62% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
- Experts rate Saxo's General Investment Account highly, awarding it a total rating of 4.9/5. They commend its exceptional platform, direct market access, and competitive pricing, while noting that it may be too complex for beginners and has subscription fees for live pricing.
- Across 137 user reviews on Good Money Guide, averaging 4.2/5, customers frequently highlight the platform's user-friendly interface, extensive market access, and excellent customer service. However, some users express frustration with payment processing issues and the complexity of certain features, indicating a mixed experience for beginners.
Expert rating
Our expert rating is the average of the areas listed here, each scored out of 5 by our team.Our experts have rated Saxo General Investment Account across five key areas of our review framework.
- Pricing4.5
- Market Access5.0
- App & Platform5.0
- Customer Service5.0
- Research & Analysis5.0
Pros
- Direct market access
- Excellent platform
- Low commissions
Cons
- May be too complicated for beginners
- Subscription fees for live pricing
See full expert review
Our verdict
Saxo’s GIA is one of the most advanced accounts for UK long-term investors with access to more than 50 stock exchanges around the world and 22,000 instruments available to invest in. Saxo’s forte is as a trading platform for professional and institutional short and medium-term speculators as it offers direct market access and very low commissions. A good choice for large, active investors. Capital at risk
Is Saxo's GIA a Good Account?
Yes, Saxo was voted "Best Investing Account" in the 2026 Good Money Guide Awards
As well as being one of the best trading platforms, Saxo has good accounts for long-term investments. The platform has recently introduced mutual funds for investors who want to quickly build a diversified portfolio. And income investors can access a huge range of retail and institutional-grade bonds.
On balance, though, I'd say that Saxo remains more of a trading platform than an investing account. So if you're primarily a high-risk trader and you want to incorporate some longer-term “safer” investments into your portfolio, Saxo is a good place to invest alongside your shorter-term speculation. Saxo is also one of the best brokers for earning interest on your uninvested cash.
Compared with other retail investing accounts like eToro, Saxo is a much better option because of market range, customer service and tax-free products like ISAs and SIPPs.
Fees
Saxo charges €10 a month or 0.12% a year (whichever is higher) based on the value of your portfolio. If you have a VIP account this fee drops to 0.08%. Dealing charges, which are a percentage of transaction size, are competitive - and UK shares trading commission starts at 0.1% (£100 if you buy £100,000 worth of stock) and drops to 0.05% for more active traders.
Special Offers
Platinum. If you have £200,000 or more on account, you can apply for 30% lower transaction and account costs.
VIP. For accounts with portfolios over £1m, you get even better pricing, direct connection to experts, 1:1 SaxoStrats access and event invitations.
What is Saxo's Platform Like to Use?
Saxo’s investment platform provides exceptional access to the global markets.
Customer reviews for Saxo
Customer ratings come from reviews left on this site. Every review is read and approved before it is published.Based on 137 reviews
- Excellent54%
- Very good19%
- Basic18%
- Poor7%
- Bad2%
Read customer reviews
4/5
Pros:
Good research information
Cons:
Give a far better customer service experience
3/5
Pros:
Offer options calls
4/5
Pros:
Good choice of research tools
5/5
Pros:
Spreadbet and options trading
1/5
Pros:
Nothing.
Cons:
Not sure - don't really use them much, plan on closing account.
4/5
Pros:
Fx forwards
Cons:
Fx forwards
3/5
4/5
Pros:
safety
Cons:
no thoughts
3/5
5/5
4/5
4/5
3/5
Pros:
N/A
Cons:
Customer service and trading costs
4/5
Pros:
Scale
Farhang @ 04/17/2020 03:26
The platform is difficult to use, one has to have Demo platform for month to be able to use the platform, on line or web platform. Customer service us OK but it seems they don't know much about the banks they are associated with. I tried to transfer funds from USA but their associated Deutsche Bank declined funds and no body knew why SAXO account is not active in Deutsche Bank. I hope they start to understand and offer MT4 as 3rd part platform where traders are comfortable with, and take a look at their Bank accounts in US for fund transfer. This would be very unprofessional that a bank says Saxo has no active account with us.
James Taylor @ 09/14/2018 09:34
Very easy to use, the best trading platform out there today. 10/10
Pietro Carlucci @ 09/13/2018 11:57
Very happy with Saxo - the platform does everything I need it to do. Pro platform is on a different level to other platforms. Use them for both trading and investment purposes.
Professional company with professional staff who know what they're talking about.
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.
