Top 5 Best Online Brokers in the UK for 2023

Freetrade is relatively new to the UK investing scene. This hasn’t stopped it from making a lasting impression since its launch in 2018/2019.

The best thing about the Freetrade app is that there’s no commission to pay on most stock orders. Also, it’s free to hold a GIA (general investment account).

There’s no minimum deposit, and you can start investing with just £2. Freetrade also lets you buy and sell fractional shares, so you don’t always need to fork out for a whole share.

The Freetrade app is bold and user-friendly, which is excellent for beginners. If you’re an experienced investor or trader, you may find that it lacks some tools and resources.

You have to be on a premium plan to access the analyst ratings, advanced fundamentals, or use automated trade orders. Another downside is that you’re limited to stock exchanges in the UK, US, and Europe.

But for the majority of investors, this trading platform will tick a lot of boxes. And, more features and investments are always being added to the app.

If you want, you can opt for the paid pricing plans. These come with extra benefits and features. For example, with the “standard” plan you also get a stocks and shares ISA account. And the “plus” plan includes an ISA along with a SIPP (self-invested personal pension).

Hargreaves Lansdown, or HL as it’s sometimes called, is one of the biggest online stock brokers in the UK.

HL is a FTSE 100 company with over 1.7 million clients, and manages over £120 billion in assets. It’s not the cheapest online stock broker. But it’s definitely one of the most comprehensive platforms if you want to trade stocks.

A big plus is the massive choice of investments on offer. You can invest in stocks, shares, ETFs, bonds, mutual funds, Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs), or ready-made portfolios. The platform also includes discounts for frequent traders, stock trades cost:

• £11.95 (0 - 9 trades)

• £8.95 (10 - 19 trades)

• £5.95 (20+ trades)

You can access loads of resources like portfolio analysis tools, watchlists, and expert research from HL. You can hold pretty much any type of account with HL, .including:

• General investment account (GIA)

• Stocks and shares ISA

• Cash ISA

• Junior ISA (JISA)

• Lifetime ISA (LISA)

• SIPP (self-invested personal pension)

• Junior SIPP

The company also has a solid reputation for customer service. But the major downside is that the HL platform is more costly than some competitors. Sometimes, you get what you pay for.

If you want a more premium investing experience, Hargreaves Lansdown is a strong option to look at.

eToro is quite a divisive online stock brokerage. Some investors love it, and others aren’t big fans.

For investing options, eToro has over 3,000, covering most bases (including cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin). Here’s a quick rundown of the types of investments available:

• Stocks and shares

• ETFs

• Crypto

• Commodities

• Currencies

• Indices

• Bonds

One of the best features of eToro is the “copy trading” element. This allows you to follow other investors and traders. Basically, looking at what stocks they’re buying and selling and copying their trades.

An interesting recent development is eToro’s partnership with Twitter. You’ll soon be able to browse stocks on Twitter and then go straight to eToro to buy or sell shares.

eToro also offers CFDs (contracts for difference) and the ability to trade futures using leverage. This is risky and worth avoiding if you’re just starting. But it may appeal to confident traders.

This is another online stock broker offering a vast range of stocks and investments. In total, there’s over 13,000 shares and ETFs from stock exchanges, plus over 18,000 markets with spread bets and CFDs!

The platform is slightly complex compared to other online stock brokerages. It’s designed for traders and investors who already know the basics.

For costs and fees, IG is competitive (especially for active investors). Yet, the fee structure can be hard to wrap your head around. It's based around your past activity, and it’s not super easy to grasp:

A major benefit of IG as an online stock broker is the sheer amount of investing resources available.

For traders, there’s advanced platforms and charting – L2 dealer, ProRealTime and MT4 along with a full suite of alerts and risk management tools.

You can also access expert analysis, analytics tools, seminars/webinars, news reports and economic calendars.

If you’re new to investing, you can even use a demo account or one of its fully managed “Smart Portfolios”.

This is one of the biggest online stock brokers in the world. The major benefit of this trading platform is that you can access heaps of investments, trading tools, and resources.

You can buy and sell in 150 global markets. This allows you to trade stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds, funds, and more.

IBKR uses state of the art technology to execute trades at speed, and you’ll have access to global stock markets. You can even use the IBKR GlobalAnalyst technology to scan the world for undervalued stocks.

The platform can feel challenging to use if you’re a beginner. If you know what you’re doing and want to trade, this is one of the best online brokerages available to UK stock traders.

The fee structure is very competitive but is designed more for traders than long-term investors. You also have the option to trade in up to 26 different currencies, which is helpful if you plan on investing internationally.

In most cases, the lower the costs, the better. But, whereas some online brokers like FreeTrade have low fees all-round, some are cheap in specific ways.

For example, a few eToro doesn't charge any commission for buying US stocks. And with others like FreeTrade and Interactive Brokers, you can trade UK shares cheaply (or for free). Or if you just want to trade funds, you can do this for free with HL.

There are also online stock brokers and trading platforms that work out cheaper for frequent investors. For example, both HL and IG have a tiered system with lower commissions when you trade more.

Similarly, others will suit those who only make occasional investments. HL has a regular investing service that allows free share trading (you only pay commissions to sell).

Before you pick a broker, it’s well worth checking out all the platform fees. More importantly, it’s worth researching the costs that will apply to the way in which you plan to invest or trade.

This is a big one for lots of investors, especially beginners.

If you’re learning the ropes, it’s well worth using an online broker with a platform that’s easy to understand and use.

Otherwise, you might feel overwhelmed or make a trading mistake that costs you money. You can always start on a simple platform and graduate to something more complex as you grow.

Also, all the online brokerages mentioned above let you use mobile apps, whereas others will only have a desktop trading platform. So this is something to consider if investing using mobile apps is your preference.

For experienced investors or those looking to trade regularly, avoiding a certain level of complexity is hard. The user interface can be more complicated, but this is because you’ll have more options for investing and trading.

Most of the “difficult” platforms (IG, IBRK, Saxo Markets) will provide plenty of resources to help you learn. You can always give an online brokerage a try to see how you like it.

There’s no point becoming a trader or an investor with a diversified portfolio if your online stock broker doesn’t let you access a decent range of assets or stock markets.

You may not need a brokerage with the most investments (like IBJR or IG). After all, you can only invest in so many stocks or assets (unless you have unlimited funds!).

But you don’t want to use an online stock brokerage that will restrict or limit what you can invest in either (within reason). The Freetrade “Basic” plan only has around 1,500 investments, which may not be enough for some people.

Yet, if you’re a beginner, sometimes a limited choice can be easier to wrap your head around. Whereas, for those with more experience, you’ll probably want a greater diversity of choice.

Most online brokerages in the UK should make it clear on their websites what you can invest in using their platform.

This may not be important to you, but we’ve all had an experience where something has gone wrong and dealing with companies can be a nightmare.

Most of the time, you’ll probably never have to interact with the customer service team at your brokerage. Yet it’s best to know that a competent team is ready to help you out should you need it.

It’s worth taking a quick look online to get an idea about what the customer service is like for the online broker you’re looking at. Ideally, check out independent reviews and websites. Don’t just rely on companies that are affiliate partners.

Keep in mind that in some cases, you’ll pay for the privilege of great service and support. Having a qualified support team at your beck and call costs money, so those online brokers may have higher fees.

Most regulated trading platforms in the UK should be regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) and be members of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This protects your deposits up to £85,000. But don’t forget this doesn’t stop your investments from losing money, it only covers cash deposits held in your account.