How we build the ranking
For the UK market, the most relevant differences between platforms aren't tax treatment — all four offer the tax-free ISA wrapper, and UK residents pay no extra broker-side tax on top — but cost structure and account range. A percentage-based platform fee like Hargreaves Lansdown's scales up as your portfolio grows, a flat monthly fee like interactive investor's becomes cheaper at scale but is a fixed cost for small pots, and a 0%-fee platform like Trading 212 or InvestEngine is hard to beat on cost but may lack a SIPP or a full investment range. We weight six criteria:
| Criterion | Weight | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Cost for smaller portfolios | 20% | What a typical investor pays on a modest ISA or SIPP |
| Cost at scale | 15% | How costs behave as your portfolio grows into six figures |
| Account & investment range | 20% | ISA, SIPP, LISA, Junior ISA, and access to funds, shares, ETFs and trusts |
| Platform quality | 15% | App/web experience, tools, automation |
| FSCS protection & reputation | 15% | Regulatory standing and track record |
| Customer service | 15% | Support quality and availability, including phone support |
The score (shown as a 0-5 star rating) is a weighted average of these six criteria. One link on this page is an affiliate link and may earn a commission if you open an account, at no extra cost to you — this doesn't influence the ranking or score: brokers without an affiliate partnership with Investlytic remain ranked by the same method, with a "Direct with the broker only" label.
Head-to-head comparisons
Want to compare two specific brokers side by side? Pick a pair: