Cheapest UK trading platforms

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"Cheapest" depends on what you hold and how often you move it. A platform with no fees at all can still be the expensive option if it charges a percentage every time you convert currency to buy an American share.

The ordering below is by total cost for a typical portfolio, not by headline rate — the modelled figures further down show why those two answers differ. Each platform's cheapness also comes with a constraint, and those are named.

Our ranking

1. 1. Trading 212

   No platform fee and no dealing commission, with currency conversion low enough not to matter for most people.

   Platform fee Free · UK dealing Free · FX 0.15%

2. 2. InvestEngine

   No platform fee and no conversion charge — the cheapest here on paper, provided ETFs are all you want.

   Platform fee — · UK dealing Free · FX 0%

3. 3. Lightyear

   Very low currency conversion, plus interest paid on cash sitting uninvested.

   Platform fee Free · UK dealing Free · FX 0.1%

4. 4. XTB

   No platform fee and commission-free dealing, with conversion costs between the others here.

   Platform fee Free · UK dealing Free · FX 0.5%

What to look for

• The FX fee, which is the cost most often overlooked and the one that recurs.
• What the platform gives up to be cheap — a narrower account range, ETFs only, or no funds.
• Whether "no commission" is funded by a wider spread or by interest retained on your cash.
• Whether the free tier is the tier you'd actually use.

Compare every UK platform